Amazing Food and Amusing Dialogue

If you ever come to China just be aware, the food is pretty mediocre. It’s not terrible. I’m not saying that at all, although there are things you probably want to avoid. It is just profoundly banal. Everything is greasy, or lathered in sauce, and piled on with rice for filler. Any given restaurant doesn’t offer many vegetables, so don’t expect a balanced meal. If you get a bowl of soup with noodles you’ll probably get one stalk of a green something thrown in there, but don’t expect much more than that. I usually ask for extra tomatoes put into my noodles and they are usually happy to do that much for me. I would say that the best food I’ve had in this country was from the student cafeteria; which is either a great compliment to their facility, or a vast insult to this city. Regardless of how you choose to read that, last night changed my mind completely.

It was a friend’s birthday party and he wanted roast duck, so about thirty of us went down to a fancy restaurant down the road. In China you generally don’t order separate dishes, you figure out what the whole table wants and they put it on a big glass turnstile in front of you. We ordered three whole ducks by the end of the night (priced at 50 “big” RMB each, or $7 American). Each is enough to serve a whole family, and they divide the duck into three different dishes, spring roles, deep fried duck, and duck soup (also the title of a favorite movie of mine interestingly enough). The spring roles are supposed to be very dainty and neat, but I was just hungry and didn’t have the patience to eat beautiful food. It was so delicious it felt sinful to take bites. I ended up wolfing down each one whole, to the chagrin of my esophagus, and the joy of my stomach. By some stroke of hedonism we also ordered about 8 other sides, and yes, every single one of them was delicious too. The whole experience makes me wish I knew how to cook so I could take all these with me back home. Of all the side dishes, my favorite was probably the simplest: edamame with a bit of lime juice. I think these could easily replace popcorn for me when I’m watching movies. They’re these brilliant little soybeans that you just pop in your mouth and enjoy. My fingertips hurt from touching so many salty bean pods by the end of the night.

After my belly was contented (and it definitely was) we topped off the night at a karaoke lounge. It was a good night indeed, and another mark on my list of adventures.

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A brief dialogue from a recent encounter:

Me: Hey, I saw your ad online. I am looking for a tutor to supplement some of my class work.

Tutor: Okay, when would you like to meet up?

Me: Is Tuesday okay? I’m busy Monday.

Tutor: How about at 6?

Me: Okay sounds great. How much do you charge by the way?

Tutor: Haha, you should have asked that in the beginning. I’m very expensive. You might not like my price. (wholly serious)… 50 RMB ($7 American) an hour.

Me: (keeping my poker face on) Hmm…okay why don’t we see how our first session goes and then we’ll talk about price.

***I love China. I live like a king where ever I go.***

Hey, everybody! My names Liam, and right now I'm living a dream that I didn't think would come true. I am living in China, studying at Nanjing University for a full ten months. Don't ask me why I wanted it so badly, I've just always been drawn to the culture. Europe sounded too comfortable to me, and there are so many chances for growth and adventure in this country. As for me I like finding a good adventure outside of the mainstream, having a challenge, and reading a few books (at once) when I get the free time.

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