'Ganbei' (干杯)
English translation = "Turn up!"
..or for those who are more sophisticated, "Cheers!"
Saturday evening, sitting around the dinner table at a Chinese teacher's home. Our stomachs are full with traditional Chinese cuisine and our glasses are filled to the brim with homemade wine. I have been sharing laughs and conversation with fellow foreign teachers, Mom (the Chinese teacher), Dad (her husband), Grandma and Grandaddy (her parents), and little Tony (her son). Suddenly, Grandaddy says 'Ganbei!' and every body must finish his/her glass - this is repeated multiple times until Grandaddy decides everyone is inebriated enough. Ha!
One
thing I really love about being in China is the in-home dinners with various colleagues
and friends. Being invited to someone’s home for dinner means I can look
forward to an eventful evening of food, laughs, and cultural
exchange. Not only is the food always delicious, the familial experience is
what makes these dinners so special to me. Having a 'family dinner' tends to make me feel more at home in this foreign land. The inclusion around the dinner table allows me to separate myself from my sidewalk-identity as an alien for people to gawk at, becoming someone who is accepted and welcome in their presence.
I’ve had the opportunity to attend a few family dinners since living in China, and they usually follow the same routine. When you arrive at the person's home you are greeted at the door, asked to remove your street shoes, and given some swanky house shoes to wear. You are then seated in the living room where you are served fruit and green tea, which serves as
the appetizer. Once the dinner is ready, you are asked to be seated
at the table and this is when the real fun begins. The hosts are always so hospitable and kind, and I have truly enjoyed myself at
every dinner I have attended. Being able to fellowship with the locals and learn more about Chinese culture is so exciting. Some of my favorite moments have been learning
how to paint my name in Chinese (妮可儿) and learning how to make 'jiaozi' (饺子)(Chinese
dumplings) - see pictures above.
- FBG
Saturday evening, sitting around the dinner table at a Chinese teacher's home. Our stomachs are full with traditional Chinese cuisine and our glasses are filled to the brim with homemade wine. I have been sharing laughs and conversation with fellow foreign teachers, Mom (the Chinese teacher), Dad (her husband), Grandma and Grandaddy (her parents), and little Tony (her son). Suddenly, Grandaddy says 'Ganbei!' and every body must finish his/her glass - this is repeated multiple times until Grandaddy decides everyone is inebriated enough. Ha!