China Cuisine and Bugs

The rain finally held off this morning. It has been raining so much lately, that getting to walk somewhere without carrying an umbrella is now a special treat! I have also missed my longer walks as it's hard to carry Hadassah very far these days, and her stroller molds if it gets wet...

So this morning I was glad for the excuse to walk 15 minutes to a nearby apartment complex, for a get-together with friends. Through the American families we've been getting to know better, I got to know a really sweet Chinese lady. She speaks very good English, having spent a few years in the states, and also stays home during the day, which is rare here. Last time she made some delicious food, so I asked if she would show me how to cook some Chinese cuisine!

 She showed me 3 dishes this morning, and then had us and some other friends stay for lunch. A happy stomach and a happy heart is what we left with. :) It is good to fellowship. The above dish, simple steamed lettuce with soy sauce, oil, and garlic, is both Hadassah's and my favorite. Hadassah isn't yet to the point where she'll eat raw lettuce - she tries sometimes, but always takes it back out of her mouth with a strange, "why am I eating a leaf?" face. But when it's lightly cooked? "More lettuce?" is what I heard over and over during lunch today!

I have been wanting to learn some authentic Chinese cooking for a while now, so I am very excited to find someone with time to teach me!

On the way home we were on a fairly empty (in terms of pedestrians) stretch when a grandma came toward us and I heard a whirring sound. She was carrying a large beetle by the wings, and stopped to show it to me, talking excitedly as if we were good friends (to my knowledge, I have never seen her before). I didn't understand most of what she said, but as she held the bug out to me multiple times, I recognized the "want or don't want?" phrase. "Don't want" I told her a few times, but she kept insisting.

So... yup, those are my hands. I am definitely not a hold-a-bug kind of person, but I didn't have much of a choice! ;) Hadassah was interested, as long as it didn't get too close to her. She has a healthy fear of bugs too. So when the grandma was far enough away, I asked Hadassah "should we say bye-bye to the bug" and she smiled and said "Bye-bye bug" so I let it go and it flew away.

Life in China... You never know what you'll run into while you're out!