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5/29/2005

After yesterday’s class, Vivian told me that she would like to invite us her family to make dumplings. While thinking this would be excellent opportunity for the Americans to see a really Chinese family, I worried it would be too much work for her family. After all we were not a small group. She assured me that it would be an honor if we could make it. I told her I needed to consult with Dick/Karin, the students and Cliff and let her know as soon as possible so that her family would be given some time to prepare.

I got a go ahead from all the parties this morning. I called Vivian around 10:30am and told her that we were coming. She sounded really excited on the phone. Since we had two other places to go before we became free, she decided to invited Sharon and Belinda to join us for the whole day activities before taking us to her family.

The Seashell Museum was really educational and scenarios of the Honeymoon Park were breathtaking, but by far the highlight of the day was at Vivian’s family. There were 12 of us. We had to make two trips. The first group were all Americans but Vivian but she had to come back to get the second group. Her family did not speak English. So there was no communicado in the house while she was gone. She already got a few phone calls to ask her to rush back so communications could be re-established.

When we got there, dad was in front of the house greeting us. The house belonged to Vivian’s grandfather who was an Army general. Mom was in the kitchen cooking away. The house was full of nice armor of Chinese food. The living room was full of seasonal fruits and soft drinks. Dad and Uncle were running in and out trying to make us feel comfortable and had enough to eat and drink.

The moment of truth arrived. Mom prepared dough and fillings for us to make dumplings. Everyone was so enthusiastic and willing to try. Karin learnt it very quickly while Dick struggled a little but managed to make a couple of dumplings. It seemed like the plan of opening up a dumpling stand near SU by the Hoffmans was one step closer to reality. Cristina, Pat and Matt tried only briefly before giving up. David refused to get his hands “dirty” due to a scar he suffered from making 300 dumplings with one of his ex Korean girlfriends. Erik and Luke, however, showed their feminine sides by sticking to the process till the end.

There were so many people that we had to sit in two different rooms. I thought it was just a dumpling dinner which would be simpler for the family. Soon after the dinner started did I realize how wrong I was. Dishes after dishes and drinks after drinks were brought to the tables. Mom, Dad and Uncle were in and out trying to make us eat and drink more. I sat with all six SU students and we all agreed this was the best meal we had. Everything was hand prepared and freshly made. It must have taken the whole day for the family to cook such a feast. They had not known us at all before this afternoon and yet they poured their hearts out welcoming us. This was the “Chinese Hospitality.”

After dinner, everyone was sitting in the living room while the family, Belinda and Sharon were still busy cleaning up. I tried to arrange Dad to sit next to the Huffman’s so they could talk a little bit with Vivian or me as interpreter. He was so humble and tried not to draw attention to him. After much persuasion, he agreed. Once sitting down, he showed the color of a solider. He commanded the room instantly. He opened his speech by saying that he regretted that he did not pay much attention to Vivian when she was a little girl due to his work. He hoped that she would have as many opportunities as possible now. He wanted to her to be successful in her study and future career. One of the keys to succeeding was to learn to communicate with different people in different situations. He encouraged her to be open and make as many friends Chinese or otherwise as possible. Dick responded in reciprocal that Vivian was just a fine and delightful lady and that everyone would be Lukey to have her as a friend.

Vivian interpreted the whole thing. She did it very well. When Dad mentioned his regret that he could spend much time with her in her early age, she started to cry. I was sure her family was really proud of her that she could serve as a bridge between two cultures by translating our conversations back and forth. I could tell most of SU students were impressed and touched (David’s eyes were red and teary). They saw firsthand what a Chinese family was about.

There was no never-ending banquet. When saying goodbye, Dad and Mom insisted that we visit them again next time we would be in Dalian and we could stay with them. Matt decided to take up the offer by saying when he was in Beijing next year he would come to Dalian to see them. Mom said that they would welcome him 120%.

When we got back, David and I decided to get a foot massage but did not know where to go. We waved down a cab and asked for suggestions. The driver said he knew a nice place. So off we went. The foot massage was good and the by product was to get to know David a little better. He was a good kid. I remembered a talk we had on our way to the Seashell Museum. He said he wanted to be a capitalist with conscious. The fact that he could get a discount on Hyatt where he worked did not hurt, either.

The saying of the day was “Do it.” Erik adopted it from Movie “Starsky and Hutch” Now whenever he saw me, he would say it with a very deep voice.

posted by Unknown @ 6:03 PM