Home Visit

Yesterday, I went to my friend Tracy's parent's house. Her family members are native Beijingers and so it was quite the cultural experience. I have been living in Beijing now for a year and a half and I am sorry to say that until this point, I have never been into a local home. I have been into people's homes, but they have had at least one foreigner living in their home...this home had no foreign influence. It was great!

Their house was in a hutong, very small and quaint, and although the space was small, they had it set up in a way that was really comfortable. Although they didn't have a lot, they really had some nice things and they took care of everything that they had...a quality I admire in people!

We had gone to the market to buy some food because they were nervous about feeding a vegan. We picked out lots of great veggies and Tracy's Mom's Boyfriend cooked the most delicious meal! He made a mushroom and cucumber salad with vinegar, a spicy tofu dish, veggie noodles with eggplant and beans, tomatoes stir-fried with onion, and eggplant stir-fried with spring onion, all served with warm coconut milk for beverage....delicious!

I am sorry to say that I could only understand about 5% of the conversation in Mandarin, but I could tell that they were happy to have me in their home. They were definitely hospitable. They were really very lovely people. What a great day!