Rice or Noodles?!

I spent last weekend working in the classroom. We finally got cabinets Friday afternoon, so Saturday and Sunday we unpacked and cleaned everything we could in the short period of time. There was a layer of dust on everything when we came back the next day. It's jsut a part of living in China, I suppose.

All of the Elementary teachers were at the school until about 9 or 10 on Saturday night (with the exception of one, that happened to be there until 2am!). We took a quick break once Kim came back with dinner from the rice and noodle shop. Well, I opted out of getting dinner when she offered. I should have taken her up on the offer, because I ended up fairing the weather too and walking down the street to the rice and noodle shop. They were closing up shop, and cleaning the kitchen. I felt bad, but I was hungry, and knew that had to have something in there for me to eat for 5 kuai (or 80 cents). I tried to motion to her to pull out the Chinese/ English menu by practicing my "interpersonal dance" skills. She wouldn't give it to me though. Thankfully, this older guy stepped up and translated for me. He asked if I wanted rice or noodles. I told him rice. He said ____ fan (which is some kind of rice). She said _____fan mayo _____ mien (which is noodles). I sensed that she was saying somehting like, "no...she's not getting rice tonight! I already cleaned up the rice, and all I have left is noodle soup with lamb. If she's hungry, she'll eat it." (The rice or noodle dishes come with meat and veggies too...and you can get it served as a soup, steamed or pan fried. Well, I wanted fried rice with pork and veggies. Sounds good, right? (Especially for only 80 cents!)

I sat down, after thanking the kind man for ordering for me. A few seconds later, I was shouted at from behind the counter. The lady was motioning that the noodle soup was for me. It smelled alright, but it was not what I ordered. I didn't feel like protesting though. I asked for a to go box, and left the little shop.

I had another similar scenario last night with Tonya. We rode our bikes about 40 minutes west to go to Chicago Coffee. On Tuesday nights, they have English Corner, where the locals and English speakers come for English Conversation. We had not had dinner yet, so we decided to walk around and see what we could find. There were a few bakeries, but we needed/ wanted substance. The other coffee shop we had it said they had food, but their menu was completely Chinese...and that was just not going to do! I didn't want to just randomly pick a dish! (You're thinking, com'mon! where is your sense of adventure, right?) We walked around the block, and upon coming back to Chicago Coffee, we passed a humble little restaurant, but the food smelled good, and it looked appetizing. We walked up to the window, where we could see what they were cooking. Someone started to tell us to go back and pay first (which is usually not the case here...most of the time you pay after you've eaten). They told us it would be "ba kuai," which is 8 kuai, or about $1.20. We said "dui" to everything, which means correct...and once again, set ourselves up for an adventure. We sat down and waited for our food. This sweet elderly woman working at this restaurant spoke to us in Chinese, and almost mothered us. She for sure was having compassion on us, and just wanted to see us fed. From the little Chinese I do know, I could tell that she was telling us what everything was, and why she was mixing it all in this boiling bowl of water. We had (we think) raw chicken, maybe some kind of fish and bacon (?! who knows!) and some herbs and some veggies. Then we poured the rice noodles into the bowl. Everything cooked, and then we ate it. It was amazing! I might just have to go back there and eat it again. The Chinese brag about how delicious their food is. I like lots of foods, but I can understand why they brag. They have so much flavor in every dish. They use mint, cilantro, ginger and peppers. Tonya and I ended the meal by saying "hao chi" (you actually say chur for chi...so I wonder if the straighteners are really suppposed to be called chur's not chi's?!), which means it is "delicious!" I could tell she was telling us to come back more. She liked having us and wanted us to try more of their food. I might have to take her up on it.

I do have to say though, these two experiences (among many, many others), is making me realize how much I really need to learn Chinese pronto!