Ariel and I made caramel brownie cheesecake - it's much better than whatever my parents are eating

Ric and my parents are in China now. Mom is posting on their blog, but when I talked to her the main thing she said was that the pictures do not do the filth justice. They do sound like they are having a great time though. Dad sent an email that I will post here. The picture is of Ric right before they left. Again, it was so much easier to say goodbye when you weren't terrified that he wouldn't come back.

Hello, one and all
from Jin Feng, Fujian, China!!! At least that is where I think we
are! We left Atlanta Monday morning on a sweet direct flight to Shanghai
and made it in just under 15 hours, which compares to 27 hours on our last
voyage. We spent one night in Shanghai trying to recover from the jet lag,
sleeping over 12 hours. We flew out of a different Shanghai airport on
Wednesday, flying to Fuzhou. There we were met by Ric’s grandfather, Ming,
his aunt, Xian, and his first cousin, Suhuai. It was Suhuai’s 20th
birthday and, fortunately for us, he speaks a little English. Ming had
imposed on friends who owned cars to pick us up at the airport and they drove us
to the front door of the Changle Guo Hui Hotel. I mean right to the front
door as Catherine got out of the car and took two steps into the
hotel!
After checking
into our room, we went to Ming’s house. (Our mode of transportation was by
one of our most favorite things that we do when visiting China, the bicycle
taxi.) There we found gathered a few family members, a few friends, and a
few neighbors. They were there to see the Grandchild, Ric, and to join in
on a feast. The table held 10 – 12 unrecognizable dishes and 10
participants around a 4 foot diameter table. The drill was the same as
last time, with food being piled onto our plates by others, and when the
quantity on our plates dwindled (even slightly), eager chopsticks piled more of
the unrecognizable stuff on. As I said on our last visit, I complimented
my Grandmother’s cooking by eating my plate clean. Here, cleaning one’s plate is
an insult, telling the host that he is not feeding you enough. Of course,
as long as there is food on the table, that is not possible, as they kept our
plates full. One finally has to put your hands out over the plate and make
the universal, “I’m full”, sign, to get them to
stop.
A bicycle taxi
ride back to the hotel and a good night’s sleep on a very full stomach and a
very hard bed came next. Still adjusting to jet lag, we awoke around 5
a.m. The breakfast buffet here is also a complete feast and is very
enjoyable, especially as you fill your own plate with the unrecognizable
stuff. (Oh, I did recognize the snow peas, celery, tomatoes, and rice
soup.) The bean-like stuff is great (although it takes me a long time to
eat with chopsticks) and all of the noodle dishes taste fine. After
breakfast, we decided to walk the 2 or so miles to the Jiang (Ming’s last name)
house to do some shopping and take in the local flavor. When we arrived
there was a lively game of Mah Jung going on in the living room, but shortly
after we arrived, it was time for another feast. The meals all take over
one hour, and, even after one hour, they are still bringing fresh plates to the
table.
After
the feast and a short visit, we taxied back to the hotel, where I completed a
social faux paux. I gave the taxi-peddler a 10 Yuan bill (about a buck and
a half in the US), and although he reached into his pocket for change, I told
him to keep it all. As we entered the hotel, the worker / greeters were
all smiling at this fool, but another guest was shaking his head at me in
derision, I suppose, and indicating with his fingers that the fee should have
been only 3 Yuan, or about 44 cents. I think the local’s that utilize the taxi
service would not like it if foreigners drove up the fare for a 2-mile taxi
ride. Tonight, Xian, Ric’s aunt, wrote the address for me to give to the
taxi-peddler tomorrow, insisting that I only pay 3 Yuan, nothing more! Oh,
well, I hope this does not lead to an international incident!
Tomorrow we are in
for a change. We have been with Ric’s paternal grandparents thus far;
tomorrow we will move to near where his maternal grandparents live. I
think it is about 30 – 40 miles away. Change is on the horizon, but I bet
the feasting will be the
same!!!
More
later,
jerry