Yes, I have returned to the quit and calmness of
Minnesota. As I finish putting together these posts from my journal notes, I am currently sitting on the
porch enjoying the peace and sound of the crickets in the woods. The extreme difference from where I was 2
weeks ago is incredible. Our world is so
big yet so small. I will pick up where I
left off in my adventures in China.
June 26, 2013
We took the bus with Duo and Leigh to a place close to the
island called Hawa Café. It was a unique
place, with more of an international feel.
Little flags were hanging on the ceiling and writing was all over the
walls. I ordered pumpkin soup and a
watermelon yogurt shake. We had
originally planned to walk through the park on the island after dinner,
however, it was raining and wouldn’t stop so we decided to get some hookah -
peach flavored, and spent about 3 hours in the café, simply chatting and
enjoying ourselves. That was nice and
relaxing – though come about 7:30 the place picked up and became very loud.
We then bought some umbrellas and took a taxi to the tea
house for another round of tea. We drank
tea to our hearts desire – until I felt so full of tea and a little woozy from
the fermented tea, that I thought I would fall over. Who needs to drink alcohol when there is
hookah and fermented tea? Not me! This was very relaxing and we had a great
time with the shop owner and her husband.
Thursday we had classes in the afternoon, which I found I
did not like as much. Firstly, I felt
out of it and really tired by the time the afternoon came. It took a while for the kids and myself to
get into the swing of things, whereas in the morning I feel I can jump right
in. We made it through just fine, then
as soon as I was done I went with Duo on yet another adventure. We stopped at the stationary store to buy
some paper, had it wrapped up as is was still raining. Then we took the bus back to his neighborhood
to meet Leigh for dinner. We went to a
restaurant in the “ghetto” area as Duo called it. The food was once again delicious. Duo went to town on the menu, as he usually
does, ordering way too much food. We had
taro (a purple, starchy root vegetable), frog, kong shin tsai
“open-heart” green hollow vegetable, peanuts, and broad bean noodle pasta. It is really crazy how much fabulous food you
can order here and it ends up being so inexpensive! Nowhere in the U.S. can you find some of the
vegetables and fruits they serve here.
Again, American food will never be the same.
After filling up with food, we hopped in a taxi to his uncle
(he is a friend, though they call close friends here as aunts, uncles, sisters,
brothers, or cousins) house, who is a very talented calligrapher and had agreed
to write a verse – 1 Corinthians for me in ancient Chinese calligraphy to take
home as a gift. He does beautiful work,
and is quick at it also! We watched him
work, and relaxed in the living room talking to his daughter and wife. His wife then of course served us some of the
watermelon that we had brought as a gift off the street, and poured us some
smoked green tea. After the calligraphy
was done we all sat and talked for a while.
I then made it back around 10:20 p.m. to my ritual of a night-time
shower and then to bed – which always leads me right to sleep, as China is a
fascinating but exhausting city!
It is interesting to find so many fermented food and drink items here. There are many health benefits, and it is a good way to preserve food items for a longer period of time. I have been learning different aspects of Chinese medicine while here, and it fascinates me. I would love to study and learn more - to bring a broader understanding back to the states. So many of the beliefs, ideas, and concepts make so much sense - it is sad that our American industry is so heavily dependent on pharmaceuticals and ignore what is really good for us - natural remedies and holistic care.
Thursday we had classes in the afternoon, which I found I
did not like as much. Firstly, I felt
out of it and really tired by the time the afternoon came. It took a while for the kids and myself to
get into the swing of things, whereas in the morning I feel I can jump right
in. We made it through just fine, then
as soon as I was done I went with Duo on yet another adventure. We stopped at the stationary store to buy
some paper, had it wrapped up as is was still raining. Then we took the bus back to his neighborhood
to meet Leigh for dinner. We went to a
restaurant in the “ghetto” area as Duo called it. The food was once again delicious. Duo went to town on the menu, as he usually
does, ordering way too much food. We had
taro (a purple, starchy root vegetable), frog, kong shin tsai
“open-heart” green hollow vegetable, peanuts, and broad bean noodle pasta. It is really crazy how much fabulous food you
can order here and it ends up being so inexpensive! Nowhere in the U.S. can you find some of the
vegetables and fruits they serve here.
Again, American food will never be the same. 
After filling up with food, we hopped in a taxi to his uncle
(he is a friend, though they call close friends here as aunts, uncles, sisters,
brothers, or cousins) house, who is a very talented calligrapher and had agreed
to write a verse – 1 Corinthians for me in ancient Chinese calligraphy to take
home as a gift. He does beautiful work,
and is quick at it also! We watched him
work, and relaxed in the living room talking to his daughter and wife. His wife then of course served us some of the
watermelon that we had brought as a gift off the street, and poured us some
smoked green tea. After the calligraphy
was done we all sat and talked for a while.
I then made it back around 10:20 p.m. to my ritual of a night-time
shower and then to bed – which always leads me right to sleep, as China is a
fascinating but exhausting city!
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