Emmy, whose Chinese name is Jiajing, invited me along with two of her high school friends and their parents to her home for dinner on Sunday. I met Jiajing and one of her friends at church. After church Jiajing’s dad came by to pick us up. At her home I met everyone else. It helped that Jiajing’s two friends could speak English and so we spent time together like we would at the coffee shop as we waited for dinner preparations to be completed. As we talked we ate some of the fruit that was prepared for us.
Before long the food was ready and on the table and we were called to come and take our places. There were nine of us at the table, big enough to seat six. That didn’t matter because here in China you get used to being close together. Before we started eating I mentioned that I wanted to take a picture, which pleased Jiajing’s mom.
There were some foods I couldn’t identify, but everything was very good. There were two kinds of fish, three kinds of meat and a variety of veggies. I was glad for my experience with the chopsticks as it was a long way to reach across the table for your food. Half way through the meal the dishes at the ends of the table were switched to give everyone a fair chance at all the food.
After dinner everyone wanted to view a slide show I had prepared showing my family and the places Jiajing would visit if she comes to the US. So far this year the US has been very free in granting vistas. Granting these visas is really controlled immigration as 90 percent of those who come to the US for study will not return to China. We watched the pictures and then they wanted to see them again. After that we all got sleepy. Jiajing’s friends went home before long and the rest of us took naps. Again I was to sleep on Jiajing’s bed and slept for nearly two hours. She and her parents found their places and we all rested.
After our naps the four of us talked about various topics. I learned that Jiajing’s grandfather fought with North Korea against us in the Korean war. If I had been drafted at that time I could have been fighting against him. Now I may have the possibility of taking his granddaughter with me to the US. Isn’t that something to think about? I also learned that Jiajing’s parents have lived in their apartment for four years. For the last three years Jiajing has lived in the dormitory of her high school. During those three years she would not see her parents for more than a couple of hours each week for 52 weeks of the year. As a result she says she has very few memories related to their present apartment.
I was asked to stay for the evening meal, but I would have to help prepare it. That will be covered in the next blog entry.
Before long the food was ready and on the table and we were called to come and take our places. There were nine of us at the table, big enough to seat six. That didn’t matter because here in China you get used to being close together. Before we started eating I mentioned that I wanted to take a picture, which pleased Jiajing’s mom.
There were some foods I couldn’t identify, but everything was very good. There were two kinds of fish, three kinds of meat and a variety of veggies. I was glad for my experience with the chopsticks as it was a long way to reach across the table for your food. Half way through the meal the dishes at the ends of the table were switched to give everyone a fair chance at all the food.
After dinner everyone wanted to view a slide show I had prepared showing my family and the places Jiajing would visit if she comes to the US. So far this year the US has been very free in granting vistas. Granting these visas is really controlled immigration as 90 percent of those who come to the US for study will not return to China. We watched the pictures and then they wanted to see them again. After that we all got sleepy. Jiajing’s friends went home before long and the rest of us took naps. Again I was to sleep on Jiajing’s bed and slept for nearly two hours. She and her parents found their places and we all rested.
After our naps the four of us talked about various topics. I learned that Jiajing’s grandfather fought with North Korea against us in the Korean war. If I had been drafted at that time I could have been fighting against him. Now I may have the possibility of taking his granddaughter with me to the US. Isn’t that something to think about? I also learned that Jiajing’s parents have lived in their apartment for four years. For the last three years Jiajing has lived in the dormitory of her high school. During those three years she would not see her parents for more than a couple of hours each week for 52 weeks of the year. As a result she says she has very few memories related to their present apartment.
I was asked to stay for the evening meal, but I would have to help prepare it. That will be covered in the next blog entry.
