Today was not your usual Saturday for quite the variety of
reasons. First of all, it began on a celebratory note because my body decided
to wake up at 10am! [I haven’t been able to sleep well for the past several
months so it seems as though my body finally got the memo and took the time it
needed to rejuvenate itself] This is a miracle, people.
Today was the first day I (well, we) were ever invited into
a Chinese persons home. Our “supervisor” here at the school and his wife invited
us over for lunch to their apartment. Sunny came along with us [some of you
know about Sunny and how she is near and dear to our hearts]. The day
began by getting there. Half of us hopped in a taxi, the others of us hopped in
…this…
The driver of this vehicle was insistent that he could take
us wherever we needed to go. He and the real
taxi driver struck a deal that he would follow and charge the same amount
as a real taxi. So we hopped in the small yellow vehicle and signed to
ourselves “only in China”.
All in all, the man was super happy to say that he had Americans in his car.
You know he’ll be telling that story at the kitchen table for years to come.
I’m glad we could make your day, sir.
We got to Vincent & Tina’s apartment; it was absolutely
beautiful as if designed by the Barbie Dream House team. Every wall was pink,
the curtains were pink, the bedspread a hot magenta, and splashes of pink and
red everywhere we turned. Vincent was even cooking in a pink Snoopy apron! :) {In China,
the colors of pink and red symbolize good luck}. We were greeted with such
hospitality and for hours we sat, talked, shared stories, and poked fun at each
other.
Our meal was specially prepared by Vincent, himself. He
cooked everything. This includes steak and vegetables, miniature sausages,
Russian style sausage soufflés, fish,
fruit salad, warm pumpkin drink, orange&apple juice [blended together],
shrimp & red wine sauce [still with heads, eyes, tails and legs attached],
and freshwater crab. Before today, I had never needed to rip the limbs from a
shrimp before. That changed all of 6 hours ago. I had also never needed to
remove the lungs from a crab either. Alas, there is a first time for
everything.
We were also joined by another colleague from the English department
and her daughter (who was too shy to talk to us). We enjoyed such pleasant
company with these beautiful friends of ours. I’m so thankful that they are in
our lives and that we are able to share pieces of our lives together. We
finished the night with some Chinese tea and homemade apple pie {thank you,
Laura Baker}. While we were enjoying company, Harbin’s first snow began to fall and stick
to the ground! That made for a very fun taxi ride home as
A. our
driver got lost
B. “snow
tires” although most likely made in China
are not used by those in China
C. The
de-fog option either doesn’t exist in their cars or they opt not to use
it. I’m thinking the latter. That
means that driving with the windows down is a natural solution to the
problem.
{mom and dad, pretend that you
didn’t just read that}
What a better way to finish a day than with watching your
favorite movie [Invictus] with fellow teammates and a cup of hot tea? I’m just
saying.
The snow has fallen.
It is officially winter. I guarantee there will be many more adventures to come.
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