They say that the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach but it is also true that the quickest way to delve into a new culture is through the stomach. Food was definitely one of my biggest concerns before leaving for China. I am generally a picky eater and don’t enjoy trying out new tastes to expand my pallet but that is exactly what I would be doing for a month in China. On top of that, the way culture dictates the way one eats is entirely different. I’d be using chopsticks instead of forks, spoons and knives just to name one way. Despite all my fears, everything worked out in the end. In fact, I would argue that eating in China helped mold me in a positive way.
My pallet has most certainly been expanded in the last four weeks. I tried many things I wouldn’t have even considered to be food before I visited China including, but not limited to: dove eggs, cow stomach, cow tendons, jellyfish tentacles and even congealed duck blood soaked in duck blood. Granted, I did not like many of the things listed here (the jellyfish tentacles weren’t half bad though) but at least I tried them. Now when I am met with an opportunity to try something new in America I can think to myself, “I ate (insert strange food here), how bad could this be?”
China also introduced me to a different way of enjoying a meal with others. Most meals we ordered as a group were served on a round table that sat about ten. In the middle of the table sat a Lazy Susan allowing the collective meal to be spun around to everyone. Instead of everyone ordering individually, the table orders as a whole.
Becoming adept at using chopsticks in China was necessary if you wanted to finish any meal in under two hours. Learning new skills is never something to take lightly, it is the reason we are at Penn State after all. So picking up how to use a different set of utensils is sure to prove useful in my life moving forward.
-Christopher Walsh
Example of a table with a Lazy Susan (Dalian)
Scorpions on a stick from a street market (Beijing)
Sea cucumbers are a delicacy (Dalian)
