Schell of a Man

Flat Water

On two different weekends in March I was invited to go “have a picnic” with some of my students (each time with a different group). The invitation seemed like a simple enough affair but was, in actuality, quite a production. Fortunately, I was merely a bystander (or honored guest, depending on who you asked). The first picnic involved showing up to school at 8 am Saturday morning to board one of two chartered buses which took me, two other teachers (including Wendy, The Brit), and 80 students 45 minutes outside of Shaoxing to a reservoir called Ping Shui (平水, which means “Flat Water”). The lake itself was beautiful with the morning fog laying heavy over it, and the islands lurking in the background, but the picnic site left something to be desired. It was just a gravel-covered clearing at the end of a dirt road, which was littered with the trash of several previous picnics. As soon as we arrived, like a well trained army, the students set to work. Apparently they were divided into squads, with each person with their own responsibilities.

Most of the boys went off into the nearby woods to search for fuel for the fires and the girls (who outnumbered the boys by quite a bit) set to work building fire pits; laying out the bowls, cups, and chopsticks; and washing and chopping vegetables and meat. (A note on sanitation: all the food was washed in the lake along with the pots and pans. It was no wonder that picnic food always makes me feel a little ill). There were six fire pits set up along the bank, one for each squad, with large stones around the edge close enough to hold a wok over the fire. The cooking process for picnics is apparently no different than if you were at home, the food is the same and the fact that you are outdoors seems to add only a little extra inconvenience. It took a little over three and a half hours to prepare all the food.

We (Wendy and I) didn't realize it would be such an extensive meal. Wendy had brought a disposable grill and started it about the same time that all the students began cooking. She grilled mushrooms, tamarillos, and strips of pork in hoisin sauce (all of which was wonderful. I forgot how much I love grilled food). The problem was that we were much too quick. We had finished eating and cleaning up by 10:30, two full hours before any of the students began to eat. It turned out to be a good thing; it gave me time to digest. When the students were ready to eat I had to go to each group and try a little of every thing they made (saying "mmm, hen hao chi"—"delicious"—after each bite). I was really amazed by the sheer number of dishes they prepared and even more amazed by how fast they devoured them.

After the meal, the students wondered off to do a number of different things, including fishing, flying kites, skipping stone, playing cards, and just talking while munching on sugar cane and sunflower seeds. The responsible students started to wash up and gather the cooking utensils. I brought my (formerly Howie's) frisbee and taught a few students how to play. I also brought a hackisack but it wasn't nearly as popular. Around 1:30 it started to drizzle so we packed up everything and headed back to the road to wait for the two buses to come pick us up.

Dragon Tiger

The second picnic, two weeks later was much the same as the first except it was with a smaller group (only 40), we had to leave at 6:30 am instead of 8, and we went to Long Hu (龙虎 "Dragon Tiger") reservoir, a smaller and more secluded lake. It sat on a small shelf between the tree-lined hills above and tea fields below. This second picnic was a quite a bit more fun since I knew most of the students better than the first group, and it was beautiful day. The food preparation went quite a bit faster this time and Wendy and I didn't bring much of our own food to prepare. Again, I spent my time walking from group to group, with a set of chopsticks tucked in my sunglasses, stopping to chat and try each freshly prepared dish (and of course each one won approval). This time I even took an opportunity to do a little cooking myself. I made scrambled eggs and tomato, probably the easiest Chinese dish to make--and I still managed to screw it up. Still, everyone couldn't say enough good things about it in English (though I heard a few “ma ma hu hu's”—which means “just so-so” in Chinese).

P.S. I've added a few more pictures from around town to my family's blog. Click here to check them out.