Zhuhai
We took a weekend trip to the beautiful city of Zhuahi. This is a place situated right on the China Sea, a city known for clean, fresh air and delicious seafood. The best part about the trip is that we went with a group of our teachers from campus. These trips always seem to be one of my favorites. We have so enjoy the company of our co-teachers, and to travel and live like the Chinese do—well, it’s always a chance for Rocco and I to learn more language, and more about the culture, and there are always a lot of laughs and good memories.
We arrived in Zhuhai on Friday evening, had a delicious Chinese meal, and then took a walk to the beach. We enjoyed the company of 2 other foreign teachers that went on the trip with us—Vincent, from France and Giette from India.
The next morning after breakfast, we headed for the ferry terminal to catch a ride to an island off the coast of Zhuhai that was about an hour away.
Now, the natives are famous for motion sickness and needless to say it didn’t take much to turn this happy bunch green. Rocco is also famous for his “fishing technique” off the coast of Oregon but he was fine on this boat ride.
The island was quaint and reminded us a bit of a James Bond Villain’s lair. The weather was a bit windy and rainy but the remoteness from the mainland populous was a welcomed treat. It is a fairly inexpensive getaway and we recommend it to other Laowai in the area. The harbor is filled with fish farms and the daily catch made for some the freshest sea food we have every enjoyed.
Speaking of food:
Chinese Dumplings: Jiaozi (rhymes with yowza!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JiaoziRocco and I are the only married foreign teachers on campus, but there are many Chinese couples that work and teach together at school. It always makes me smile to think of husbands and wives…getting on the bus together, riding to school, having lunch together, coming back home. I just enjoy it. And we have shared this special feeling with our couple friends…and we all seem to agree that it is pretty cool!
One lovely couple that we work with are Harold and Maria. They are both Han People from the province in China, WAY up north….Inner Mongolia. They invited us over last week to make Jiaozi, or as Westerners would know it—the dumpling, or the won ton, or the pot sticker. Now I have always loved these—even before I came to China. And they continue to be one of my favorites, and I try to eat them every chance I get. In the olden days, when people were poor, they only ate these for special occasions, and the grandest occasion of all of course is the biggest celebration day of the year, Chinese New Year. So saying all that, I was THRILLED to be invited into a Chinese home to see how the real thing is done!! Harold and Maria are just about the nicest people you could ever meet, and also have a handsome and sweet son named Harry. When we arrived, there were several appetizer dishes waiting for us, and something else that I was anxious to try…some milk tea from Harold’s home town. In northern china, it gets VERY cold, and the people are know for eating a lot of meat, and it is a custom that they drink this tea that is a like tea with milk added, and a tiny bit salty. I thought it was delicious. Then Maria set out a lovely green salad. We don’t get a lot of salad here, especially in southern China—most Chinese want all their vegetables cooked—and I mean ALL….so the thought of eating uncooked lettuce to them is just unacceptable. But things are a little different in the north, and this salad was something Harold says Maria makes every day. It was simple—like we would eat at home…but with a touch of olive oil and some salt---oh so fresh and tasty.
While Harold and Rocco and I munched on delicious yummy things, Maria was in the kitchen, preparing the dumplings. Most people in China and most of us at home in the USA, when we make these, we go to the store and buy the dumpling wrapper—but Maria made hers from scratch. I watched her pull and press the dough, then cut a little piece, uses the rolling pin to flatten it, then she put the scrumptious filling into the wrapper. The filling was a mixture of pork, a few spices, some oil, and celery and onion. It smelled so great as I stood over the bowl watching the skilled hands roll out the small doughy circles. Of course those of you that know me know I was just itching to get in there and get my hands in the action!
After we made about a million of these things, Maria put them into boiling water to cook, and then it was time to FEAST. Oh let me tell you, I ate more dumplings then I care to admit, but they were so satisfying and each morsel was like heaven. We had a wonderful time with some great people….and the very best thing is that we came home with a “doggie bag” that Maria instructed me to put into the freezer until we were ready to eat, then simply boil some water, put the dumplings in, and when they are ready, they will rise to the top—the little pillows of perfection just waiting to be dipped in some soy mixed with a tiny bit of some spicy chilies….oh my…….I think I hear them calling now………………!! Jiaozi Heaven!!
