Hot Pot Night

Last night Nina, Kelly and I went to Chinese Culture Club's Hot Pot night at Unity House. It was a lot like I expect Beijing will be: noisy, crowded, confusing, and just a little bit sketchy. This being the case, I decided that the event would count as taking place in China, which meant that I suspended my vegetarianism for the evening. I didn't really have a choice. We were instructed to mix up a sauce from the components on the table. I used sesame oil, soy sauce, and peanut sauce. Then we went into a crowded room where about twenty people were crowded around a table with two hot pots of boiling water. Nina manouvred her way up to the front to secure food for the three of us. She tried to get only vegetables and tofu and stuff for me, but it was all cooked up together so it was hard to avoid meat altogether. I enjoyed everything except the taro and was particularly fond of the soft omelet-looking things that turned out to be bean curd. There were also some delicious chewy mushrooms and fried rice that was not much like the fried rice you normally get in Chinese restaurants here in the US. It had beef in it and I picked out all the visible bits and gave them to Nina but I still felt rather wicked and decadent.

Today Nina and Kelly, along with a few of our other friends, came over for a chai party, and Nina complained of a stomachache after our meal. I feel fine. So did Kelly. I worry sometimes about next year in China, and one of the things our textbook has warned me to be wary of is the many sources of gastrointestinal distress- which I would be able to describe rather evocatively in Mandarin. Maybe I'll bring a suitcase full of pop tarts.