We had met Mrs. Wang at Behai park a couple days before, and were taken aback by her kind and easygoing nature, a stark contrast to most of the Beijingers we had encountered. So when she invited us over for dinner, we eagerly accepted.
Of course we had no idea what to expect, and it was an interesting cultural exchange to say the least.
The Wang’s live in a modest apartment in central Beijing, just a short walk from the subway station where we were met by Mrs. Wang, her daughter and one of her students. The 8 of us definitely filled the place to capacity.
Mr. Wang speaks no English, but he rehearsed one phrase for our arrival : “You are welcome!”. We were touched that he went to the effort. Their daughter spoke a little English, but the language barrier didn’t stop the kids from having a great time.
We were also touched by the number of gifts we received, including a really cool set of Mao Tse-Tung pins and a nifty top. We had brought a couple of token gifts, too, but they paled in comparison.
Mr. Wang prepared us a feast of dumplings. He just kept making more and more – they must think Americans have enormous appetites.
We got another glimpse of the Chinese view of Americans from an English Language learning program on their computer:
Pretty funny.
As the kids played happily, we adults did our best to carry on a conversation. It was a bit of a challenge, given both the language barrier and the cultural differences.
There were no deep political discussions, and the Wang’s had surprisingly few questions about life in the US. They spent most of their time showing us all their stuff – and they had a lot! Apparently buying stuff is is a big part of Chinese culture.
After we’d eaten all the dumplings we could, we finally said our goodbyes. It was an interesting glimpse into Chinese middle-class aspirations, and I certainly won’t forget their generosity.
{ 5 comments }
That was so sweet of the lady to invite you. It tells you a lot about different cultures and traditions. You always assume they are guarded from us as we are some times guarded especially on travel. But that shows you how much a person can learn traveling.
A terriffic experience in human nature . GOOD SHOW GUYS!!!!
what a great experience!
What a great story. This really gives us a wonderful look at the people and culture you are experiencing. You should find more people to ask you to dinner! LOL How great for Hannah and Olivia.
We laughed and laughed at that picture from the English-learning program!
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