Today, I ate what I think was tofu, pork, carrots, some kind of bean sprout, rice, broth soup and a banana. And today was the first time that I actually “liked” all of the choices. I’m not sure if I’m just getting used to the food of if it really was just better today.
The cafeteria is different. You don’t pick out your food and head up to the register. They have 4 big Styrofoam bins that they serve the hot food from, a cauldron for the soup and a pile of fruit. From what I can tell, everyone gets a bowl and grabs food. They specially prepare a tray for me because I’m apparently too fragile to figure out how a buffet works. On the upside, they also wash my tray for me. The line workers have to wash their own dishes.
After they get their food, they sit in a big cafeteria, similar to the one that was at my high school, and sneak peaks at me, then whisper to their friend, while we all eat. Hmmm, I guess it’s a lot like my high school cafeteria… everyone whispering about the new kid, but only a few people actually talking to her. (I admit all the people in my high school all spoke English, so it was slightly different.)
As a special bonus today, on the way to the cafeteria, I nearly scared to death one of our little line workers. (She's average size around here, but trust me, she's little.) I came around a corner from one direction, she came from the other direction… I’ve never seen anyone lean that far backward and not actually fall over. After her initial shock, she, just like every other person in this country, was even more surprised by my height than nearly running to each other.
I learned the Chinese word for ‘tall’ last night. As she walked away whispering to her friend, that was the only word I understood. I had to laugh. Really, what’s my other choice.
2 comments:
Sorry, I laughed, too. What is the Chinese word for short or little? Might come in handy!
The chinese word for short is ai. I don't hear that one oftern though. :)
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