Days 271-272: Day with International Faculty, Followed by Indoor Day

I notice that often here in China I tend to go back and forth with going out and staying in. Friday I spent a lot of time out socializing, but Saturday I was pretty much a hermit and stayed in the apartment.

Friday I did some work on my lecture for my Honors Class on Wednesday, but then Kerry and I went to the International Cafe event, where we learned how to make zongzi, a traditional food for the Dragon Boat Festival in China, which this year is on June 18. We international faculty sat around tables and and learned the origins of the Dragon Boat Festival: it it meant to pay tribute to a wise man who was killed and then thrown into the water. The people who loved him threw rice in the water to distract the fish from eating his body. Hence, the zongzi are leaves with white and/or sticky rice inside. Some zongzi also had pork (like the ones we made), some had dates, some had eggs in them. I managed to make a couple of them, but they are difficult: the leaves kept breaking apart, and they had to be tied together tied with string so they wouldn't come apart in the water in which they are boiled. After making the zongzi, we were led outdoors for a group picture. While most people stayed outside, Kerry and I ventured back in. For some reason, I was feeling REALLY anti-social: perhaps I was feeling a bit sad that this was the last event with these people, so I guess I didn't see the point to meet new folks and talk to them. I normally don't feel this way; typically, I'm a very affable guy. I couldn't figure why I didn't want to talk. Soon after Kerry left to go gaming, though, I forced myself outside to talk to Claudio (the Italian teacher) and Anna (the Hungarian teacher). They are both really nice people; I told them I was going to Europe. Anna told me a little bit about Hungary. "It's very different," she said. "Many people are anti-Semitic." This surprised me. I also met her daughter, who had a perfect American accent. It turns out that her daughter went to an American school--so it makes sense. "Things were more relaxed there," she told me. Not a surprise. Soon after I tried the zongzi: we undid the string and opened up the leaves and just ate the inside, which was mostly rice and a piece or two of pork. Not terribly exciting, really.

A few of us at Indian Kitchen, where we went after the Zongzi event. Judith, Gabor, Navin, Damon, and Enrico (left to right)

(After the event, though, several of us went to an Indian restaurant called Indian Kitchen. Peter and Navin organized this event for us; Navin had reserved a table. I took a cab with Christa (who's from the Netherlands) and Peter to the restaurant. I sat in the back with Christa, showing her pics from the Wild Animal Park. She proclaimed her love of raccoons, which are pretty commonplace in the USA. The table we had was really nice; very private. I met a younger guy named Enrico, who apparently lives in our building--I wasn't even aware of this. He's Italian and teaches business. Others there included Damon, Curtis, Mohammed (Iranian faculty), Judith (Lebanese faculty), Gabor (Anna's husband), and Rolf (visiting German faculty). We actually had a really great time; I finally loosened up. We had appetizers like samosas, fried paneer, fried onions; main courses like butter chicken, palak paneer, potatoes, boiled egg curry, and mutton; and then kulfi for dessert. I also had two mango lassis. Such wonderful Indian food! I must go to India Palace when we return to the USA. The dinner was pricey--I paid about 190 RMB (about 30 dollars for my portion), but it was worth it. I took a cab home with Christa and Navin. It was interesting to hear her perspective on things; she talked about how open sex education is in the Netherlands. I'm really going to miss talking to all these other faculty about what's going on in their countries. I was pretty full when I got home, so I didn't do much after my return.

Saturday I pretty much stayed in and did grading and prep work. Kerry wasn't feeling well, so he slept all day long. He had a sick stomach. Although he did feel better by evening; we had pork burgers for dinner (and I had salad).

Other pics from Friday:

Me and Kerry making zongzi. Rolf, a visiting German instructor, on my left. Max, Russian instructor, on right.

With many international faculty and staff. Grace is in the beautiful yellow maternity dress.