This weekend I went to the Beijing countryside with my family. They have a second house in Miyun, an area of countryside on the outskirts of Beijing. We left Saturday afternoon and didn’t get back until around 6:30 Sunday night.
It was a lot of fun, and I think I began to connect with my family even more. The best part was that on Saturday night we made jaozi (dumplings) and Sunday night we made pizza together. I really enjoyed being able to take part in an aspect of their culture (dumplings) and then share part of my culture and life with them (making pizza). I also think these tasks helped me bond with my family even more.
Another thing we did while in Miyun was go see the lake. The lake there has a dam that the people of Beijing get their water from. I thought this was really cool, and we took a lot of pictures near the lake. The weather in Miyun was so nice on Saturday; very cool and breezy, and nature smelled so good. There were mountains everywhere, and lots of trees and plants. It was nice to get away from the city and I can see why my family would want a home in Miyun.
On Sunday we ate breakfast together and then hung out for a little bit before going out. Jing Jing, mom, and I went to play ping pong! It was fun, and again I think it helped me bond with my family. I also talked to Jing Jing in Chinese a little more, and so I hope I can start speaking more of it in my remaining time here.
On the way home from playing ping pong, my host family mom picked up a lot of plants from the ground. They were special Chinese medicine plants that you can eat if you have a stomach ache (which she did). So for lunch she cooked these for us and it was really good. I hope I don’t get sick from eating it, but it was cooked so it should be okay. My family has their own garden at their house in Miyun, and we ate cucumbers from it with our lunch, cooked with eggs and these weird mushroom-type fungus plants. Again I thought this was really cool that they have their own garden. Their house in Miyun is very eco-friendly. The water for the showers is even powered by the sun!
Going to Miyun and spending a lot of time with my family this weekend made me realize another difference between China and America. The people in America are always busy and always have to be doing something. I know when we were just sitting there, I was itching to go somewhere or be doing some kind of activity. I forgot to bring my homework with me, so it was really painful to just sit there without having anything to do. But the Chinese seem content to do that, and I guess it’s just another difference in our cultures.
They also eat really late here! We had “lunch” around 3 and 4 both days, and dinner not until about 9:30 or 10pm. For me, that’s really late. I know some people in America eat dinner around this time, but coming from a family that eats earlier, it’s always shocking when I end up eating a full-blown meal at 10:30 at night, because usually I’m about ready to go to bed within the hour.
I guess these are just a few things I have to get used to while here, not that they are bad things. They show the differences in our cultures and in our family lives. I really enjoyed my weekend in Miyun, and while I was discomforted when we got there and felt really alone and not at home, I ended up having a great time with my host family and am very glad I got to see another side of Beijing, and another side of their lives.
For the time my mother serves dinner, I guess she just went from being European to International! Who knew? What kind of pizza did you prepare?
ReplyDeleteThe place in Miyun sounds fantastic! We should all embrace the slower pace and self-sustaining lifestyle. You know, self-sustaining is just a fancy word for "I have a garden in my back yard." Keep enjoying your experiences, Christine!