Master Chef

I’m falling behind. I’m very sorry, everyone. There’s just so much to do and so little time to write! It’s already Tuesday morning at a ripe 6:30 a.m., and I’m still stuck on Sunday’s activities.

I’ve realized, too, that I’ve been going on about my excursions, yet I’ve neglected my own campus! Let me introduce to you ZUT (Zhejiang University of Technology), the second best University in Zhejiang province:

It’s quite compact, actually. The buildings make it look like a city, but really we are gated off from the bustling city outside. However, one step out the “后门” (the back gate) and you’ll find yourself in a loud, active, fearfully large street.

Sunday afternoon we decided to just get out for a walk. There’s a river that flows right through our campus. 大运河 da4yun4 he2 (Big Moving River) is quite interesting because it runs all the way from Beijing to Hangzhou. The man-made river was designed to make the transportation of goods to and from the north a lot more convenient during the times when China had yet to see trains and motorbikes.

Amy, her roommate, my roommate, and I decided to take a stroll down that river path. Walled off from the city, it’s fairly quiet and scenic. However, it’s not totally without noise or disturbance: the people on the path sitting on benches, playing 下棋 (Chinese chess), or taking a walk themselves have no problem staring you down as you walk past, often shouting 外国人 or 老外 (foreigner)!

We walked and walked, and eventually strolled off the path into an indoor market full of knock off headphones, over-priced Mahjong sets, Tupperware of all shapes and sizes, pots, dishes, and probably thousands of chopsticks, along with rows and rows of clothing stores. One particular mini-shop caught my eye. The massive red lanterns were all huddled and hung together, taking the leading visual role in an aisle of dull tupperware and bland colors.

However, our main goal was to buy locks for our desk drawers and some Tupperware for leftovers, so having successfully found both we moved on. On this particular evening, the four of us decided to do some cooking of our own, which, of course, meant a trip to the supermarket. Well, not really a supermarket… more like a market full of fresh meat and veggies.

Amy and I stood back as our two roommates took over. Their rapid Chinese and knowledge of the local food was one thing, but they also knew how to stand their ground, holding a stand owner responsible for any over-priced goods. I walked around the many rows of greens and even took a peek at some of the meats.

When we had our ingredients in hand we all headed back to campus, which was good because our bellies were aching. This is when my roommate worked her magic. 他真的很利害！This small girl spread her arms wide and proceeded to take over the entire kitchen and all people in the vicinity. If you can’t take the heat, get out of the kitchen! Well, hanging my head low and feeling utterly useless, I once again got out of the way so she could have full reign. I still don’t know what she was cooking. A pork dish of some sort.

And then, finally, it was time to eat! We all ate standing up in the kitchen we were so hungry! My roommate’s good cooking even attracted some passersby and she was good enough to share with everyone.