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mom in china: the menu
Here is the second half of an email from my mom, in which she gives the menu from the university restaurant (she scribbled it down while eating), and then adds some entertaining tidbits:
Stewed Forrest Toad with Hawaii Papaya
Flagrant duck heads
Coir Raincoat Cucumber
Jellyfish in aged vinegar
Braised goose intestine with chili
White fungus in orange juice
Sautéed chicken tendon with hot spicy sauce
Mixed goose gizzard with Chinese toon
Food-fashion salad stick
Quick-fried bullfrog in XO sauce
Braised pigeon maw and green vegetable with XO sauce
Nestle Lucky Dish with Four Treasures
Golden goose liver grains
Stewed angle-shaped refined flower stuffing with eggs and pork
Pickled Tile-shaped Pig Lip
New-style braised sliced kidney with pepper
Special gluttonous bullfrog with chili
Clodhopper-style gluttonous dish
Lron-grilled Weever with Soy Sauce
…. needless to say, we are facing some challenges here. Even when we manage to identify something we might imagine eating, they are wont to tell us they are out of it. There is also something strange about the portions. We figured dumplings are a pretty safe bet, but there is a column labeled “Dumplings” and nothing under that heading is translated, so we are just working our way down it, pointing at one after another. The first night we were told that the minimum dumpling portion was 15. Ok. But the next night when we asked for ONE order of dumplings, we got about 30. And tonight when again we asked for ONE order of dumplings, we got TWO plates with about thirty on each. We figure that if this goes on much longer, in a short while the whole restaurant will be filled to the ceiling with our dumplings…
Well, just when I thought that is definitely enough (dumplings and text), T discovered a card that had been set on our beds. Here is the content:
Go to bed
In the evening, the lower the temperature here, please take care yourself.
Weather forecast
21-28 °C
If you have anything else, let me know please.
Your housekeeper
Good night
****
Stay tuned!
love,
—mom
Chronicling the life and times of a somewhat unwilling but dedicated teacher in a program that sends idealistic youth to teach in some very interesting yet needy schools. This is where I recount the absurdities of my teaching days, ponder pedagogy, and interweave images that are visually pleasing and tend to have nothing to do with teaching. Overall, I offer a collection of things I find awesome in both meanings of the word: the awesome that can uplift and give hope with the awesome that inspires me with fear and hopelessness for America's youth. And makes me laugh. A lot.
