Helenenorth

 Hi again This blog will try to explain how important food is in China.  During the Cultural Revolution, many people died of starvation.  Since then, having enough food to eat has been a number one focus. Food is the center of celebrations, marriages, holidays, birthdays and funerals.  It is a huge industry!  In Fuzhou, seafood is the special.  Other parts of the country specialize in other things--hot, spicy and so on. When you go out for dinner, the host orders.  They get there ahead of everyone else, and go to the food room.  All of the dishes sold at that restaurant are displayed around a room.  Large tanks with fish, crab and any other sea food are also there.  You go with a restaurant person and order the dishes.  Usually between 12 and 13.  Sometimes, you have a private dining room with your own wait staff, bathroom, and sitting room.  At less expensive places, you sit at a round table in a large dining room with ot...

 Hello friends I had hoped to keep you all up to speed on my trip to China, but I was not able to access blogger because it is a google thing.  China does not do google.  I also had no shaw the whole time away, so I had to rely in Gmail--at least that sort of worked. It was so wonderful to see so many people after four years.  I set up a daily schedule of visitations, and made over 23 visits to families, former students and colleagues.  The trip took me to Fuzhou, where Bert had rented me a one bedroom apartment.  I used that as my headquarters, and traveled to Ningde, Xiamen, Quanghou, Beijing and Huiyang. My friends helped me immensely by booking the tickets for me, and it was easy to pay them, using transfer, on my Chinese Bank account.  They also helped me to book the taxi rides in and around the cities I visited.  Taxi is very cheap.  Lili, in Fuzhou, took me out to the university, and took me around a lot to visit.  Sharron, in Bei...