Hi.

Well I said I probably wouldn’t write anything before I left for my little vacation, as I wasn’t expecting anything overly exciting to happen in the few days between my last entry and my departure.  How wrong I was!

The first thing may not sound like much, but it was very significant for me.  On Saturday after my last lesson (taught this Saturday because we have a week holidays now) I was beckoned over by a group of students to play football with them.  This was the second time I had played football with these kids, and while playing football with some of the school pupils may not sound so wonderful to you, it really was for me.  I miss football more than almost anything.  Not so much the playing, as I don’t do that all too much in England, but the observing and banter that goes along with the game in general.  What makes it even better is that I appear to be better at football here than I am in England.  Or maybe people in China are worse?!  Either way, it allows me to do more in the game than I am used to, and most of what I try comes off.  It’s amazing what a little confidence can do. J

Anyway, while football on Friday night was good it couldn’t compare to the Saturday that I had.  I had arranged to meet a girl that I had met a week or so ago.  We had met in the bookshop while I was looking for guides on how to speak Chinese, and she offered me her opinion on which she felt were the best.  She is teaching a Korean man to speak Chinese so I valued her opinion more than just any lay person too.  We talked a little and we mentioned the idea that perhaps she could help me learn Chinese, and I could assist her with her English.  I gave her my msn address, and since then we have spoken a few times.  Neither of us had any plans for National Day, and se we decided to meet up then.

At first we walked around Tian Yi and climbed some steps to give us a better view of the shows taking place.  The centre of the city was unbelievably busy (something like Christmas Eve in a major city in England) and before long we decided to take a walk to a quieter part of the city so we could find somewhere to sit and talk for a while.  We headed over to an area of the city that is very pretty and also holds many of the city’s pubs and more expensive restaurants.  This area used to be where the docks were in the city, before the docks were moved further out from the centre, and so has enjoyed a lot of renovation.  This means that has become one of the most attractive areas of the city centre, and even more so because of the various European style buildings that have remained from the traders that frequented the port.  We walked a while before sitting by the river edge and talking about this and that.  After a time we decided to walk a little more.  We came upon an art gallery and decided to go in.  We were inside for several hours, looking at a mixture of styles, and comparing what we felt each piece meant.  Some of the pieces were fascinating, especially when some of the more culturally specific meanings were explained to me. 

After all this time we were getting a little hungry, and Vikki (Just realised I hadn’t mentioned her name before) was getting rather concerned about me needing to eat.  I told her that I was fine, but like so often in China it’s very hard to say ‘no’ sometimes. J  It was during this meal that the direction of the day was to take a turn.  Vikki had told me earlier in the day that she had to leave by about 4:00 as she was going to a wedding reception (in fact we had originally arranged to meet later and we changed the times around this)  She had taken a call and asked me if I wanted to go with them to the wedding.  I thought it would be foolish to decline and so gratefully took her up on her offer, after first confirming that my rather casual dress wouldn’t be an issue. I was told it wouldn’t be so we made the appropriate arrangements.  We finished our meal and walked a little more around the city, looking at the occasional shop, or stopping by a park we were near.  As four o’clock came closer we took a taxi to a hotel where we met up with Vikki’s boyfriend and his mother (who was our rather tenuous link to the wedding party) with whom we entered the reception room.  We thankfully took a place on a table at the rear of the room as we were amongst the first to arrive and could choose to place ourselves a little away from the action.

The focus of the event was the food, as it so frequently is in china, and this is certainly what I will remember of the evening.  First of all is the quantity of it.  It just kept on coming, and coming and coming.  Courses don’t work the same as in England, and I remember being given a slice if cake at some point between jellyfish and spicy beef.  This also means that it is impossible to gage how much had come, and how much further there is to go.  And so you just keep on eating, confident that it has to cease at some point. J  More memorable than the quantity though were some of the dishes.  I think I have a bit of a reputation amongst my friends for being a fussy eater, and probably correctly so.  I think I would make any of them proud however with my exploits so far here however, as I have impressed even the Chinese people around me with my desire to try every single thing on the table.  This means that this evening I tried some things I had not expected.  We started of pretty easily, having lobster.  Not unusual, but just something that I had not had a go at before.  It was very nice, and something that I look forward to having again.  The second of my four new experiences was not overly unusual either.  It was salmon.  Now I have had salmon before in England, and I’m not really very keen on it.  But this salmon was white.  I thought salmon was always pink?  Isn’t that why we have the colour ‘salmon pink’?  Well, this salmon not only was white, but was also gorgeous, tasting nothing like the salmon from home.  Ok, enough about the salmon then.  Third up were oysters.  I have wanted to try oysters for some time, but in England they are always served with lots of garlic which really isn’t my favourite flavour.  I got a chance to try them here without the intrusion of garlic.  Although, they were raw.  After teasing the shell apart and revealing a very bloody mass inside you simply dipped the remaining half shell into some vinegar and sucked the flesh out.  It had a very unusual taste, but not wholly disagreeable, and so I went back for several before deciding I had had enough.

The last delicacy was the most upsetting, and perhaps also the most rewarding.  When the table was spun around so I was face-to-face with a turtle, I was a little taken back.  It was whole, with its shell, head, arms and legs all available.  I needed a few minutes to gather myself before tucking into the dish, and so by the time it came round to me again, much of it was gone.  But with a little assistance from the fabulous man sitting to my left, and with some physical assistance from Vikki to my right, I had a piece of Turtle, including skin, in my bowl.  I wasn’t expecting a taste sensation, but that is certainly what I got!  It was amazing.  Without a doubt my favourite taste of the entire meal, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone who has the opportunity.  Although I must admit that the little face still staring at me from the soup was slightly unnerving.  The rest of the evening was wonderful too, with plenty of wine and a chance for the married couple to come round to every table.  

After a good few hours it was time for us to leave, and I was taken to a taxi by Vikki and her boyfriend (who I have given the name of Rhys, as I had never heard of the English name he was going by before.  It was something like ‘Vae’).  I had very little expectation when I had left in the morning.  Not because I did not think it would be a good day, but just simply because I did not know what to expect.  I could not have imagined that the day would have worked out so spectacularly, and I wore the biggest of smiles as the relatively surly taxi driver took me back to the school.  It appeared that Vikki too had had an enjoyable day, and I look forward to the next time we can meet up.

Well, I wasn’t going to write anything before I went away, and as it turns out I didn’t get to publish this before I left.  However I felt it was such a wonderful experience I thought I should publish it anyway, even if it is a little delayed.  I hope you enjoyed the story, and you won’t have long before the account of my holiday is coming up.  I expect it will be another long one.  Sorry! J

Byebye

Mat

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