Food

The food in China was very delicious, but we had to venture outside of our comfort zones and try new dishes. One meal that stands out in my memory is the "Hot Pot." In the center of the table, there was a large pot of boiling water. We were given a variety of ingredients to place in the bowl, such as vegetables and meat. After the mixture was cooked, we all took turns scooping up the soup that we had made. Traditionally, meals are served "family style." This means that there is a large amount of food in the center of the table, and each person takes his or her turn picking out food. All of the food excluding soup is consumed with the help of chopsticks. Getting used to these sticks was difficult for our group, because we never had experience with them before. After many frustrating attempts to pick up rice and vegetables with the wooden sticks, we started to get used to the idea. As time went on, many of us preferred to use these utensils because it was a learned skill that we wanted to practice. We even had competitions on who could pick up the most rice with chopsticks.

Sometimes, we were given food, and we had no idea what it was. One time, we sat down at a table with a collection of rolls in the center. Hungry and hopeful that the food would taste good, our group started eating the rolls. The rolls contained some kind of meat that was sweet and cold. It tasted odd, but we figured we had just eaten meat of some kind. Later, our guide, Chung came over to us and asked where the rolls were. After explaining that we had just eaten them, he became very concerned. Chung stated, "That had raw chicken. I hope you have stomach of steel." Fearful that we would now become sick, our group asked him why the rolls were placed on the table if they were supposed to be cooked. Chung explained to us that we should have put the rolls in the hot pot. Fortunately, no one got sick and we all learned a very important lesson: Always wait for instructions before eating!