Hello, I have made an Error. China continues to Surprise me.
I've been in China for about three and a half months now and I just about love everything about it. The fact that I'm leaving in a few weeks is a very sad thing for me to think about. There will be a lot of things that i'll miss:
In fact, the list of things that I don't like about China is incredibly short. I'm pretty sure there's only about 6 things on there. The first being the pollution level here in Beijing. I can't even tell you how many times I've gotten acute bronchitis while I've been here *insert eyeroll emoji*
The second thing is the way the Chinese take care of animals. Besides the Pandas (which are treated like royalty, like I'm pretty sure being a Panda is probably the best thing you could be in China), the animals that are used for work or kept in zoos look absolutely miserable and every time I have the unfortunate experience of coming across one, a piece of my heart disintegrates and never regenerates.
The very last thing on the list though, surprisingly enough, is the food. I say surprisingly because before coming here it was the most hyped up aspect of China that I had been told about. All anyone kept telling me was "Wow you're actually going to be able to taste authentic Chinese food" and truthfully, I'm not much of a foodie, so I hadn't given many thoughts to what the food was going to be like, but once people started putting it in my mind it became something I was very excited about.
Two days after my arrival that excitement turned into disappointment so fast I didn't even know what hit me. There was absolutely nothing familiar to me, nothing that I could understand in the least bit, which, granted, would've been fine if it had actually tasted nice, but the fact of the matter was that every meal I had did not taste good or was mediocre at best. It didn't help that I had no idea how to read any of the menus either. I usually just went by the very few pictures that were on display. This turned into a sort of Russian Roulette that I had grown to hate. On the flip side, occasionally I would be introduced to local people who "knew what was good to eat" and I could feel a small sliver of hope invade my heart. But I was ultimately disappointed again every time because my palate was not like that of the Beijing locals.
Now, I'm telling you all of this not in an effort to bash China for it's food. In fact, this is more of a retractory piece. A reflective work, if you will.
Yes, for the longest time "Chinese Food" had been the last thing on my very short list of "Things I Hate About China", but today I have a huge bottle of white-out ready to erase my short-comings.
You see, I had thought that 3 months delving into Chinese cuisine was enough for me to make a definitive decision on whether I liked it or not.
I was wrong.
My mind changed a week ago when I took a trip to Sichuan Province. I stayed in Chengdu, Sichuan for about three days with my roommate, Mellisa. She had been excited about this trip for so long. The plan was to go meet her friends that she hadn't seen for a year. I wasn't really excited about this trip at all, mostly because I had heard that there were little to no foreign people that inhabited that area, which for Mellisa wasn't going to be a problem because she looked Chinese. But for me, being too dark to pass for anything expect black, I knew it might pose some problems. I had also heard from a lot of Chinese people that areas like that tended to be very prejudiced, but I decided that I should find out for myself. Besides, with no foreign people there, it was sure to give an authentic look at what people call The Real China.
And anyway, if I ended up hating it, the plus side was that A.) I would at least know and make a mental note never to step foot in Sichuan Province again B) I wouldn't be there for long and would be returning to my diverse habitat in Beijing that I loved so much.
"I think you'll like it. And besides, my friends are locals there. They'll be able to order us some really great food!" Mellisa had said while we were boarding the train.
Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before. I remembered thinking.
Turns out Mellisa's friends were completely awesome and my three days spent with them were incredibly memorable.
But the main thing I hadn't expected was: almost everything I ate I LOVED. I found myself still eating even when I was completely full, something I couldn't remember doing since I left the States.
The food resembled that of Beijing, but it was prepared with so much care and love that it was amazing. So flavorful and tasty. I find myself still thinking about the little sausages I had in our ChuanChuan pot on the first day.
Coincidentally enough, today in class our teacher showed us a map of the Provinces that were known for good food in China. Sichuan Province was, of course, one of those places. Unsurprisingly, Beijing was not. Truthfully, I don't really blame Beijing for this though. It already has so many things going for it that maybe it isn't worried about the food that much? Either way, I learned that the food in China was very vast and that if I wanted a good meal I just needed to know where to look.
I am, however, happy to report that I have since had an incredible meal at the most unsuspecting place here in Beijing.
In China, there are small little family owned BBQ places that are operated right next to homes. They are located usually in the most sketchy looking alleyways (which explains why I hadn't stumbled upon it before.) and recently I had met someone who lived in one of those places. When you go to eat the BBQ you get a little stool and a little table to put your food on and you can pick anywhere you want to put it. I was with two others and we decided to sit near some steps that was facing the outside of a home.
I proceeded to have the best meal that I had had in Beijing. The BBQ was cooked incredibly well and again, I found myself eating even when I was completely full.
I realized after this that maybe I had grown to be too comfortable in the Metropolitan life that China has to offer. It's not that I would leave it completely, but I know now that I need to step outside of my comfort zone more and look to the places that most foreign people would not. I needed to venture more into the real China because there are some hidden gems that are just begging and waiting to be discovered.
So yes, the white-out has dried. "Food of China" I am pleased to inform you that you are officially off of my 不喜欢 list. Congratulations, take care, and I can't wait to see what you'll surprise me with next.
- The people I've met
- The efficiency of the transportation here
- the convenience of all the places you want to go
- The fact that I can order McDonald to be delivered for a charge less than 1 US Dollar (crazy right?)
In fact, the list of things that I don't like about China is incredibly short. I'm pretty sure there's only about 6 things on there. The first being the pollution level here in Beijing. I can't even tell you how many times I've gotten acute bronchitis while I've been here *insert eyeroll emoji*
The second thing is the way the Chinese take care of animals. Besides the Pandas (which are treated like royalty, like I'm pretty sure being a Panda is probably the best thing you could be in China), the animals that are used for work or kept in zoos look absolutely miserable and every time I have the unfortunate experience of coming across one, a piece of my heart disintegrates and never regenerates.
The very last thing on the list though, surprisingly enough, is the food. I say surprisingly because before coming here it was the most hyped up aspect of China that I had been told about. All anyone kept telling me was "Wow you're actually going to be able to taste authentic Chinese food" and truthfully, I'm not much of a foodie, so I hadn't given many thoughts to what the food was going to be like, but once people started putting it in my mind it became something I was very excited about.
Two days after my arrival that excitement turned into disappointment so fast I didn't even know what hit me. There was absolutely nothing familiar to me, nothing that I could understand in the least bit, which, granted, would've been fine if it had actually tasted nice, but the fact of the matter was that every meal I had did not taste good or was mediocre at best. It didn't help that I had no idea how to read any of the menus either. I usually just went by the very few pictures that were on display. This turned into a sort of Russian Roulette that I had grown to hate. On the flip side, occasionally I would be introduced to local people who "knew what was good to eat" and I could feel a small sliver of hope invade my heart. But I was ultimately disappointed again every time because my palate was not like that of the Beijing locals.
Now, I'm telling you all of this not in an effort to bash China for it's food. In fact, this is more of a retractory piece. A reflective work, if you will.
Yes, for the longest time "Chinese Food" had been the last thing on my very short list of "Things I Hate About China", but today I have a huge bottle of white-out ready to erase my short-comings.
You see, I had thought that 3 months delving into Chinese cuisine was enough for me to make a definitive decision on whether I liked it or not.
I was wrong.
My mind changed a week ago when I took a trip to Sichuan Province. I stayed in Chengdu, Sichuan for about three days with my roommate, Mellisa. She had been excited about this trip for so long. The plan was to go meet her friends that she hadn't seen for a year. I wasn't really excited about this trip at all, mostly because I had heard that there were little to no foreign people that inhabited that area, which for Mellisa wasn't going to be a problem because she looked Chinese. But for me, being too dark to pass for anything expect black, I knew it might pose some problems. I had also heard from a lot of Chinese people that areas like that tended to be very prejudiced, but I decided that I should find out for myself. Besides, with no foreign people there, it was sure to give an authentic look at what people call The Real China.
And anyway, if I ended up hating it, the plus side was that A.) I would at least know and make a mental note never to step foot in Sichuan Province again B) I wouldn't be there for long and would be returning to my diverse habitat in Beijing that I loved so much.
"I think you'll like it. And besides, my friends are locals there. They'll be able to order us some really great food!" Mellisa had said while we were boarding the train.
Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before. I remembered thinking.
Turns out Mellisa's friends were completely awesome and my three days spent with them were incredibly memorable.
But the main thing I hadn't expected was: almost everything I ate I LOVED. I found myself still eating even when I was completely full, something I couldn't remember doing since I left the States.
The food resembled that of Beijing, but it was prepared with so much care and love that it was amazing. So flavorful and tasty. I find myself still thinking about the little sausages I had in our ChuanChuan pot on the first day.
I am, however, happy to report that I have since had an incredible meal at the most unsuspecting place here in Beijing.
In China, there are small little family owned BBQ places that are operated right next to homes. They are located usually in the most sketchy looking alleyways (which explains why I hadn't stumbled upon it before.) and recently I had met someone who lived in one of those places. When you go to eat the BBQ you get a little stool and a little table to put your food on and you can pick anywhere you want to put it. I was with two others and we decided to sit near some steps that was facing the outside of a home.
I proceeded to have the best meal that I had had in Beijing. The BBQ was cooked incredibly well and again, I found myself eating even when I was completely full.
I realized after this that maybe I had grown to be too comfortable in the Metropolitan life that China has to offer. It's not that I would leave it completely, but I know now that I need to step outside of my comfort zone more and look to the places that most foreign people would not. I needed to venture more into the real China because there are some hidden gems that are just begging and waiting to be discovered.
So yes, the white-out has dried. "Food of China" I am pleased to inform you that you are officially off of my 不喜欢 list. Congratulations, take care, and I can't wait to see what you'll surprise me with next.
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