(Journal Entry May 10, Nanjing)
After getting lost once again on the road, we arrived at a fabulous restaurant and a half hour late for lunch. We went to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum where we embarked on a steamy, sweaty journey up over 200 stairs to his place of burial. After another 45 minute trek, we checked into our hotel and met our guide, Maria. That night we were invited to a welcome dinner with the head of the dance department, the dean of music school, and some dance teachers.
This "event" proved to be very awkward. While we have been in China for a few days, we have not come close to communicating with them unguided...and able to ask questions. We first sat down at a round table set to seat 20 with a 6 ft lazy susan in the center. As I looked around the table, all the Americans were seated silently with hands clasped in their laps, waiting to be prompted on the next respectful step. At first it was interesting to hear questions or statements, hear the translation, hear the response and hear the translation again. But that soon got to be a long process to sit through. While its necessary...but long. I didn't enjoy the meal this night. It was funny to deal the student waitresses circling the table and serving us portions. Previously we have been using and used to the self-serve method. But this was slightly different with only some dishes in the center. If you were paying attention you could politely accept or refuse the offering. However, if you happened to be engaged in a conversation with your back to the waitress, you would have a pile of goodies left on your plate when you continued eating. Apparently in Chinese culture, wine is offered sip by sip. As indulgent as we are, this didn't sit well with us wine lovers. The waitresses literally had to run around the table to refill our glasses every minute. It's also rude to eat all the food from your plate or drink all of your beverage, as its a gesture that the host has not given you enough. So... this was a weird balance of trying not to be rude but ask for more... After dinner, we headed to the rooms to shower up and unpack while we waited for Venetia to finish a meeting to talk about the next day's responsibilities.
After getting lost once again on the road, we arrived at a fabulous restaurant and a half hour late for lunch. We went to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum where we embarked on a steamy, sweaty journey up over 200 stairs to his place of burial. After another 45 minute trek, we checked into our hotel and met our guide, Maria. That night we were invited to a welcome dinner with the head of the dance department, the dean of music school, and some dance teachers.
This "event" proved to be very awkward. While we have been in China for a few days, we have not come close to communicating with them unguided...and able to ask questions. We first sat down at a round table set to seat 20 with a 6 ft lazy susan in the center. As I looked around the table, all the Americans were seated silently with hands clasped in their laps, waiting to be prompted on the next respectful step. At first it was interesting to hear questions or statements, hear the translation, hear the response and hear the translation again. But that soon got to be a long process to sit through. While its necessary...but long. I didn't enjoy the meal this night. It was funny to deal the student waitresses circling the table and serving us portions. Previously we have been using and used to the self-serve method. But this was slightly different with only some dishes in the center. If you were paying attention you could politely accept or refuse the offering. However, if you happened to be engaged in a conversation with your back to the waitress, you would have a pile of goodies left on your plate when you continued eating. Apparently in Chinese culture, wine is offered sip by sip. As indulgent as we are, this didn't sit well with us wine lovers. The waitresses literally had to run around the table to refill our glasses every minute. It's also rude to eat all the food from your plate or drink all of your beverage, as its a gesture that the host has not given you enough. So... this was a weird balance of trying not to be rude but ask for more... After dinner, we headed to the rooms to shower up and unpack while we waited for Venetia to finish a meeting to talk about the next day's responsibilities.
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