Ninth Graders of Fujian

Foreigners are still a rarity in parts of Fuzhou. As I ordered my lunch, the couple at the table near mine continued to turn around and stare. The three kids pointed and giggled. And the waitresses were skittish to come over. After a few minutes however, the brave kid decided that a single female foreigner must not be too dangerous. She (I cannot read her name in Chinese - will need to get someone to translate it for me later) sat down and talked to me for at least 30 minutes. As I told her, very brave! Here is the photo of her (bluish/greenish shirt) and her two classmates. We have exchanged emails so I hope that one day we will be able to chat again. Although she lives in the countryside, she visits her older sister (who lives in Fuzhou city) occasionally. Very interesting and nice kids.

Japanese Teppanyaki - Fuzhou

Tried another new place in Fuzhou this past Friday. Started out being a group of 13 - which meant two different tables. However by the time we left to taxi to the place, only 8 of us were going - back to a single table. At this teppan place, you can order ala cart or you can have an all you can eat and drink for a set price of 150 RMB. We went with the all you can eat and drink package! Our order was huge! Four different kinds of beef, scrimp, oysters, lamb chops, etc. Definitely a place to go again.

No way to get everyone in one photo. [At least two people must have been having a very serious conversation -- ;-)]

Scenes around Fuzhou

Over the past few weekends, I have been trying to 'find my way' around Fuzhou; was too sick with the US flu last trip over. So far I have found a great new restaurant area - Italian, French, Japanese, Chinese, Juice bar, and coffee shops. A.T. and I went to the Italian this week; Bambino's has good food. We will try to get the group together Friday for the Japanese. When the area was built, the pagoda was left intact.

One of the Carrefore store locations is located in a U.S. style mall. Will go back there one day when it is raining. Four or five stories of stores. And across the street another mall. Yes - I need some place to just walk around during rainy season. The Carrefore mall has more than 4 different SPAs too!

Ever wonder how you would transport an expensive piece of electronics? Well here is the method in Fuzhou. (And other Asian countries too!)

Email Jokes --- The Modern Hello?

Last week I received an email cartoon that really hit home. It explained that forwarding email jokes, cartoons, and maybe other useless information was the modern way of waving to your neighbor just to say hi or to let someone know you hoped everything was okay with them. Made me think about what it means when someone does not acknowledge your "forward" or other meaningless email. Does it mean that they don't care if you say hello? Is it the electronic age 'blow off'? And then think about how you feel when someone even writes "thanks" or "thkx" when you forward them something. Makes you feel 'appreciated' for your effort or thought doesn't it? So to my friends who take the time to send me an electronic 'hello' and to acknowledge mine -- thank you!

Return to Bamboo Park - with Barbeque

Earlier this month, I returned to Bamboo Park (or Forest Park or Botanical Gardens depending on the translation). A last minute invitation to a hike then barbeque. Most of the paths up from the park are stairs, unfortunately they are not good for my knees (it took 3 weeks for them to recover last time) so I only joined the group to the trail beginning then enjoyed rock jumping and resting until they returned.

The park has an interesting concept for barbeque - wonder if it would work in the US? You pay a certain price per person ($60 RMB) and in return you get a plate (for each person) of food to be barbequed. You also get the "fixings" - barbeque grill with hot charcoal, plates, utensils, sauces, table clothes, bench clothes, etc. The drinks are selected separately; priced according to what you want. And when you are thru, someone comes and cleans it all up before the next group uses the spot! Nothing to haul, nothing to clean, just cook, eat, and leave.





The meal came with a lot of food - squid slices, chicken, pork, beef, fish balls, hot dog, sausage, bread, 1/2 a baby bird (hummingbird size), sweet potato slices, corn on the cob, etc. One of our group (H.H.) bought some bananas on the way back to the barbeque area. So J.F. was able to share his grilled banana treat with everyone after we had eaten the rest of the meal. Fantastic food followed by a sweet dessert. Perfect day in Fuzhou.