It's easy, sometimes, to fool myself into thinking I actually sort of fit in here. I try hard to say things correctly and act appropriately in social situations. Then there are those moments when reality sets in and I realize, momentarily, that I am a big, blundering, studdering, goofy foreigner.
My classmate and I have a shameless love for tea eggs. Tea eggs are hard boiled eggs cooked in a soup of tea and spices. When partly cooked, you simply crack the shells a bit so the tea seeps into the egg. They are the perfect class break snack. Conveniently, there is a small shop with tea eggs on our campus that we visit several times a week. Today was no exception. Entering the shop, we found our crock pot of eggs waiting for us. I immediately noticed the sweet smell of cinnamon wafting out of the dark brown liquid. "It needs about two more minutes", said the shopkeeper. He was a friendly 50-something with thick glasses and a head of conpletely grey hair. He had a kind, yet no-nonsense demeanor that put me at ease immediatley. Making conversation, we asked the shopkeeper what spices he used. "Do you want to see?", he asked. Since we had the time, we agreed. He pulled out a plastic bag and began going through. "Star anise. Salt.", he said being sure to inform us how much each spice cost. He pulled out another spice we didn't recognize. Then he pulled out cinnamon sticks. "Wow! You can buy that here?", I blurted out. I have yet to see cinnamon in a market here. "What! Of course you can buy this here. Just look in any market", he said. It had a twinge of sarcasm and disbelief that these two foreigners didn't know where to get cinnamon. It felt like he was actually sayin, "Duh. Open your eyes, dummy."
My classmate and I left laughing at ourselves. We realized we probably looked a bit silly oogling over a bag of common spices. On further reflection my friend put it in these terms. Imagine your average gas station. In walk two Chinese international students who can't get enough of those gas station hot dogs. On one particular visit they inquire with the attendent how he creates such amazing hot dogs. When he explains how they are best with mustard, one Chinese fellow exclaims, "Wow! Where did you get that mustard!?" Imagine. The attendent would sort of laugh and say, "Ah, well. You can get it at just about any store or gas station", and would probably be tempted to add an emphatic 'duh' to the end of his sentence. If you've been around internationals in the States, you know there is something endearing and just a little amusing about watching someone discover things we take for granted as common and mudane. I always appreciated watching someone experience my own culture with fresh and new eyes.
Today I was the international student that discovered the wonderful world of tea eggs and readily available cinnamon sticks. I wonder if the shopkeeper saw his tea eggs with renewed awe and wonder as well or if he just thought we were two weird, albeit loyal and amusing foreign customers. Either way, I enjoyed my tea eggs.
My classmate and I have a shameless love for tea eggs. Tea eggs are hard boiled eggs cooked in a soup of tea and spices. When partly cooked, you simply crack the shells a bit so the tea seeps into the egg. They are the perfect class break snack. Conveniently, there is a small shop with tea eggs on our campus that we visit several times a week. Today was no exception. Entering the shop, we found our crock pot of eggs waiting for us. I immediately noticed the sweet smell of cinnamon wafting out of the dark brown liquid. "It needs about two more minutes", said the shopkeeper. He was a friendly 50-something with thick glasses and a head of conpletely grey hair. He had a kind, yet no-nonsense demeanor that put me at ease immediatley. Making conversation, we asked the shopkeeper what spices he used. "Do you want to see?", he asked. Since we had the time, we agreed. He pulled out a plastic bag and began going through. "Star anise. Salt.", he said being sure to inform us how much each spice cost. He pulled out another spice we didn't recognize. Then he pulled out cinnamon sticks. "Wow! You can buy that here?", I blurted out. I have yet to see cinnamon in a market here. "What! Of course you can buy this here. Just look in any market", he said. It had a twinge of sarcasm and disbelief that these two foreigners didn't know where to get cinnamon. It felt like he was actually sayin, "Duh. Open your eyes, dummy."
My classmate and I left laughing at ourselves. We realized we probably looked a bit silly oogling over a bag of common spices. On further reflection my friend put it in these terms. Imagine your average gas station. In walk two Chinese international students who can't get enough of those gas station hot dogs. On one particular visit they inquire with the attendent how he creates such amazing hot dogs. When he explains how they are best with mustard, one Chinese fellow exclaims, "Wow! Where did you get that mustard!?" Imagine. The attendent would sort of laugh and say, "Ah, well. You can get it at just about any store or gas station", and would probably be tempted to add an emphatic 'duh' to the end of his sentence. If you've been around internationals in the States, you know there is something endearing and just a little amusing about watching someone discover things we take for granted as common and mudane. I always appreciated watching someone experience my own culture with fresh and new eyes.
Today I was the international student that discovered the wonderful world of tea eggs and readily available cinnamon sticks. I wonder if the shopkeeper saw his tea eggs with renewed awe and wonder as well or if he just thought we were two weird, albeit loyal and amusing foreign customers. Either way, I enjoyed my tea eggs.