Meet More of Our Best Friends

We ordered dinner in this restaurant and then the owner asked if we would pose for a picture.  This must be a new form of advertising.  

While eating lunch one afternoon this gal asked if she could pose with us.  She must be eight months pregnant.

This guy took a selfie while we were on the bus.

Rick and two of his best friends at the Museum of Science and Technology

This is Baotuquan Springs during the lantern festival.  The baby must be wearing 6-8 layers of clothing.

This delightful man was speaking with me in English at the open market.  This was the day of my Chinese haircut (scalping).  Thankfully, there was a brighter side to that day.

Another new friend

The children prefer to have a photo with Rick.

The Forbidden City in Beijing, even adults get caught up in the celebrity photos with foreigners.

We were quite an attraction in Chongqing.

 We had a wonderful time in Chongqing and several wanted to snap those memories.

I thought the veggie displays at the Weifang vegetable festival were spectacular.  Who thought foreigners would glean as much attention as the seeds and gourds?

We were a novelty item in Weifang.

She wanted a photo with Rick alone.  Should I be worried?

Rick is meeting another friend in Qufu.

Qufu visitors became our latest friends.  Our celebrity days are ending.  When we return home no one will want a photo with us. 

Rick was a major attraction at the beach in Qingdao.  Cameras were snapping everywhere.  When he emerged from the water this man immediately asked for a photo.  The white skin and hairy chest are a novelty to the Chinese. 

These are our true friends.  We will miss our wonderful students.  This class met at 8:00 AM every Tuesday.  I always looked forward to seeing them.

Rick posed for endless photos with his students.  They were generous in their comments and gifts.  We will miss them!!

Qufu: The Home of Confucius, the Great Philosopher This one’s for you, MaryAnne!

Rick stands outside the city wall.  The Moat is on the right.

A performance using traditional Chinese instruments 

The entrance to the temple courtyard

The world’s first classroom

The ceiling of the outdoor classroom.  Beautiful!

Rick and Kevin, our guide, stand in front of the carved stone pillar.

Actors depict the royals entering the mansion.

We are kneeling on the stone “washboard” used for punishment.  The usual time is four hours.  30 seconds was enough for us.

Rick and Kevin stand in front of the lotus leaves.  The gardens surrounding the house were lovely.

The painting tells the story of the baby dragon with multiple musical instruments.  He also wanted the sun (upper left corner) and that was his downfall.

“Frienemy” intersecting roofs.  Note the number of carved animals guarding each dwelling.  The more royal the individual, the greater number of carvings to stand guard over the home.

The ornate structures are amazing.  Note the detail in the wood pieces supporting the roof.  No nails or glue are used in their assembly.

This display depicts the Confucian belief of living in harmony.

Touching the teeth of the baby dragon brings wealth.  I already have riches in the form of blessings, but we’ll see what happens next.

The cemetery is acres of serene trees, mounds, and stones.  It is still used for direct descendants of Confucius. 

The tomb of Confucius

Chinese Cuisine

 Large filled dumplings.  We never know what the filling will be until that first bite.

 The lavender “roll” has a dark purple filling.  It is most likely a purple sweet potato filling.   They use a lot of red bean paste to fill rolls, bread and dumplings.  However, the purple product has a flavor that is unidentifiable to my palette.

 My teeth discovered this star-shaped seasoning item.  It was as hard as a rock.  I don’t even know what it is.   Note the twisted, steamed roll.  Most of their bread is steamed not baked.

 Meat on a stick and a bowl of rice and veggies

 Spinner dinner!!  This is a common restaurant scene, especially when busloads of tourists approach a restaurant.  All the dishes are placed on the “spinner” (I prefer that term to Lazy Susan) and everyone uses chopsticks to serve themselves on the small plates provided.  The spinner dinner always includes rice and soup.

 Dumpling dinner.  Notice the different shapes of dumplings.  The orange color has a duck filling and they are twisted into the shape of a duck.  The purple potato filling was my favorite.

 The cooked balls with sweet potato filling were my delicious.  We are enjoying dinner with the Gordons and Lily.  She is a great supporter of BYU teachers who uses her taxi friends to take us to the airport when we travel. 

 The soup bowls are HUGE.  It is difficult to eat all the wonderful, slippery noodles with chopsticks.  The soup spoons are also very large and awkward to manage.  Soup is a common meal and some varieties are the highlight of the meal.

 Yay!!  I’m the winner!!  I have the chicken’s head.  (No, I did not eat it.)  This prize was passed around the table so everyone could talk a picture holding it.

 Potatoes are cooked differently in China.  Our favorite style is this thinly cut piece which is sautéed briefly with a few veggies and too many hot peppers.  We will try to duplicate this dish at home, without the MSG.

 Choose the type and cut of meat you like.

 Fresh poultry?  In the open market you choose the actual live chicken.

 Pheasant under glass?  Peking duck?  You choose the delicacy you prefer.  We have not eaten a lot of meat in China.  I can’t explain why.  Do the pictures help?

 These unique delicacies are shrimp flavored rice puffs.  They were part of the meal package – much like potato chips in the US.  There is not much taste and the texture is annoying. 

 We have sampled delicious melons.  These small treats are tasty.

 This bright yellow melon is sweet and similar to honey dew.

 Sam treated Rachel (another English teacher) and us to an authentic Korean dinner, in Jinan.  Rick especially likes the rice noodles with veggies.  The pumpkin soup was exquisite.

 Making dumplings with the help of Chinese students

 They demanded that we make the dough just right.  Working it into a perfect circle was a challenge.

 The carefully prepared meat filling then goes inside.

 Dumplings are folded in a particular fashion.  The folds and dimples take a lot of practice.

 They are ready to be boiled and eaten.  Truthfully, they turned out great!

Our final dinner with Wade, Mia and Thome.  These students have become our family.  Mia ordered a fabulous dinner of famous Shandong cuisine.  Note the whole fish on the platter.  Actually, it was delicious.  The sweet and sour shrimp was the best we’ve ever tasted.  Mia taught us how to eat the shrimp with chopsticks.  Remember, the shrimp are served with heads, large beady eyes, tails, and everything else.