Meeting with Alan 2
For our second meeting, Alan and
I met in the library again. We met at
the computers in the loud section of the library, so that I could see pictures
of what he was talking about and understand better. This was especially useful as, after we made
the standard small talk, asking how each other’s week and classes were going,
the main topic of our conversation was the types of food that Alan usually eats
at home, and how it differs from the food that is usually served in America.
First, we talked about general
concepts. I remembered from our previous
meeting that he didn’t care much for American food and didn’t like cheese. I asked whether he usually eats out or at
home in China, and he told me that he usually eats at home because restaurants
are less healthy and tend to use more salt and oils than he prefers.
Next, we looked at pictures of
foods that different regional cuisines in China (there are several) are known
for. The foods that he pointed out as
things that he would typically eat at home came from the Anhui cuisine. I took note of some of the things that he
showed me that he liked, including:
A pork dish with peach-based
sauce
A dish that looked like a sort of
soup, with egg, ham, mushrooms, peas, and some other vegetables
I was somewhat surprised when he
also pointed out crispy fried chicken that looked much like what I would expect
to find in a restaurant here in the United States. It looked much more familiar than anything
else that he had shown me.
The meeting was still pretty
awkward, but I found myself coming out of it with hope that we’re slowly
finding some common ground, and that maybe our conversations will eventually be
able to flow a bit more naturally, instead of just like an assignment. I’m crossing my fingers here, and trying to
think of ways that I can help that happen.
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