Then the Chinese students couldn't come, but in the end Li Juan and Pang Laoshi (our program coordinator) got invited and bought us 2 bottles of wine and some weird Chinese candy. So on Wednesday I went over to Matt's house in the afternoon and started cooking. I, with Matt's help, made pumpkin pie, french silk pie, apple pie, and challah bread. There were many things that did not go as planned. 
I rolled out the dough with some wooden num-chucks that Matt had, for example, but all things considered everything turned out pretty well. Then I swept Matt's floor because it was disgusting. The next day Laura and I strapped all our food (soup, veggies, deviled eggs, etc) to the back of our bike and rode over to Matt's. We watched movies while I made famous Heilman family stuffing (my Grandpa's special recipe), gravy, and green bean casserole. The gravy was made with chicken stock and red wine, so it turned out purple but tasting OK, the green bean casserole had cut up stale bread instead of onion curl things on top because they don't sell them in China, but the stuffing turned out really well and was the hit of the evening. Around 2 or 3 other people started showing up. Deborah came over and she had made some special Chinese treats for us to try. Then Andrea came with garlic mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes. 
Then Sunny came with plates, bowls, chopsticks, and drinks. Then Ben came with some chairs. Finally, Tabitha arrived with the turkey we had ordered. We ordered it baked and thought it would come hot, but we were mistaken. So I carved/butchered it and heated it up quickly in Matt's oven, then we started eating. It was delicious! I made everyone go around and say something they were thankful for. I was thankful to have the opportunity to come to China and to be here with such a wonderful group. We have all really come together and I feel like they are my family away from home. Sometimes I think about how close and how comfortable we have become with each other and it just makes me smile. Now here comes the surprise. About a half an hour later, a Chinese student that we have met before, but know only a little, knocks on the door. The first thing he says is "sorry I'm late" and we are all looking around at each other trying to figure out who this guy is and how he got here. No one knows. So we just tell him to have a seat and help himself and play it off like we knew all along that he was coming. 
Shortly after Eugene, an SU student we are friends with, shows up too, then Li Juan and Pang Laoshi. For many of them it was their first time trying turkey, which was fun. Li Juan and Pang Laoshi only stayed for about a half an hour. All in all, it was a great day and although it wasn't like home, for many reasons, it was still yummy and I still ate too much and got to hang out with people I like to be with. After helping Matt clean up, Laura and I went home. I tried to do homework, but after a while I was just too tired from all that turkey and wine and I had to go to sleep.Today was a little cold and rainy. It is getting more like winter everyday. I went swimming today and the guy who tells me the pool temperature everyday said it was 14 degrees Celsius today. This evening we had to give another PowerPoint presentation too. This one was a little confusing because we had about 3 people telling us different things or the same thing 3 different times all the way up until today and we were never quite sure who to listen to. This lack of communication seems to be characteristic of China. Speaking of characteristically Chinese, I saw a lady walking a Dalmatian wearing Louis Vuitton today and a guy riding his bike with a plant in his front basket, 3 computers in boxes strapped to the back, talking on his cell phone. Only in China.
No comments:
Post a Comment