Schell of a Man

Today is Thursday and I should have been preparing lesson plans for Saturday. A quick side note: we didn't have any classes this week because of the National Holiday (a digression on the side note: we weren't official told that we had a week off until the week before it, such is China), but we couldn't just have a week off, no, that would be way to simple. Instead, we have no classes this week but on Saturday and Sunday we have the classes we would have normally taught on Thursday and Friday. So if you have multiple classes of the same course spread throughout the week, those on Thursday and Friday will now be a week ahead of the others. I don't understand the logic of all this, and quite frankly it is a pain. But that is not the point of this story.

So today, instead of planning lessons, I went with Wendy, another foreign teacher from England, and two Chinese guides, Cookie (a man) and Emma, to visit a temple in a rural area outside of Shaoxing. This involved riding the number 116 bus for an hour into the countryside (a note on bus numbers: the bus number is asigned to the vehicle depending on how many years old it is... just kidding... maybe). So after a long hour we got off the bus and began a several-mile hike through the countryside, passing multiple villages, rice fields and groves of mulberry trees (the leaves of which are used to feed silk worms. I thought there was only mulberry brushes. like in the rhythm, but I guess I was wrong). In one village we passed, Cookie recognized a man and woman as the couple his mother lived with thirty years ago following the Cultural Revolution. He and his family had come to visit them every couple of years since then. The couple recognized Cookie and told us all to return in a little while and join them for lunch.

We hiked for another 45 minutes or so before reaching the temple. It was interesting enough with statues of ancestors and an emperor who ruled China 3000 years ago. (He had apparently been born near there). I had my fortune read and was told it (my fortune) could turn bad if I allow myself to be distracted by beautiful women. Good to know, I guess. I also heard that on September 27 each year from 11am to 1 pm, thousands of fish in the river below the temple line up in straight lines facing the temple to pray, and it is very bad luck to catch them while they are praying. Also good to know.

When everyone "staffing" the temple (and by staffing I mean staring at us and giggling) decided to take their lunch break we realized we were late for a lunch date of our own. Starving from the hike and fortune-hearing we made a hasty retreat to the village for lunch. However, our retreat was apparently not hasty enough, because our host hired a truck from the village to drive out and pick us up. He came along in the truck as well, making it one seat short of fitting us all in. (Cookie had to ride on the bed in the back.) It was nice of him to come so the driver wouldn't miss us but honestly, there was little chance of that since we were the first foreigners to visit the temple or village in anyone's memory. I was given a place of honor in the truck, the middle of the back seat, right where the drive shaft goes through so I had to keep my knees pressed to the my chest. The whole ride back to the village our host happily talked to me, seemingly unconcerned about my inability to understand Chinese.

When we arrived at the house, we found a large meal all prepared and set out for us. Cookie explained that we were very important guests in the house because we were the first foreigners to eat there. To show how big of an event this was, our host opened the large front doors (even though we all came and left through the side door) to let out (as well as in) the good fortune of the event. We then sat down to eat with the host and hostess, her sister and a smattering of children and grandchildren. Here's what was on the menu for the day (also see top picture):

Cold Chicken with soy sauce (all of the chicken, I mean all).
Drunken Duck (cooked in wine, served cold as well)
Fried fish (minnows actually. Caught in the village river, fried and eaten whole. Not bad. See photo)
Cooked Red Pork (It is actually mostly pig fat cooked in a very good sauce. See photo above)
Lima Beans (they have a very important meaning for this region, though I am not sure why)
Roasted Chestnuts
Bamboo shoots, vegetables, and pressed tofu.
Green beans still in their husks (or what ever it is called)
Radish Pork Soup (my favorite)
Cauliflower and Tofu
Celery, Pork, and Tofu
Green Peppers and Tofu (Can never have enough tofu...)
Tofu and Congealed Ducks' Blood soup

All this was serviced with a bowl of beer to drink. I had the bowl for about a minute before the host made a speech, then I heard "Gambi," which means "to the bottom." So I had to down the whole bowl of beer, which was promptly refilled. In addition, I was poured a bowl of Shaoxing wine which is very potent but tasty. I also had a very fancy cup of tea (the one with the lid in the top picture), with the tealeaves picked from the highest point on one of the surrounding mountains.

In the top photo you may notice a pile of trash next to my bowl of beer and wine. In China, all inedibles like bones and...well, whatever you refuse to eat, goes on the table. The table is out of bounds, if any food falls on it, you can't eat it. Spitting bones, etc. from your mouth directly onto the table is the preferred method of delivery. Pretty much all western table manners go out the window here. Slurping and lip-smacking are two ways of showing the cook you are enjoying your meal. So during the meal, I had to remind myself to smack my lips as I ate as to not offend my hosts. If only Peter (my brother) could have seen me then...

Following the meal, I took on the youngest grandson in table tennis and was thoroughly trounced. Towards the end I did improve a little bit (though I think he was given the signal not to embarrass me so much by not letting me score a single point). We were then given the grand tour of the house, Which was nice large and comfortable. After which we were lead into the street where we made small talk for a couple of minutes (mostly for the neighbors' sake-so they could see who had come for lunch. Normally there is very little small talk following a meal). Finally, with full stomaches and heavy feet, we were then pointed towards the bus station and sent on our way back to Shaoxing.