On Saturday we had lunch at the home of our aiyi. She is the woman sitting in front of Nick wearing glasses. She had invited 2 of her sisters and a friend also. We had a good time with them. Mrs. Li prepared 15 different dishes for us. You can see the variety on the table in the picture. They have a smaller kitchen than ours, and yet 3 of those women were crammed into it cooking for hours.
Everything they made was delicious, but I was particularly excited for a vegetable dish with green peppers, eggplant and potatoes. I watched them make it and I can't wait to try it at home. If it turns out well maybe I'll share the recipe. I never really ate eggplant before we came to China, but it is prepared so well here. I love it. I did learn one secret from Mrs. Li that I will share. Apparently you shouldn't cut eggplant. You have to rip it into pieces with your hands. Maybe that is why it never turns out as good when I make it.
Mrs. Li was such a good hostess. She was a little embarrassed to have us in her home, but it was great. The food was amazing and she made an effort to have all the things we like. She knew I like to eat eggplant so she made that dish especially for me. She also knew that Nick and I don't drink so she had gone out and bought about 25 cans of Sprite just for us because it is the only thing she had ever seen us drink in our house.
It was a crazy day with Nick having to translate everything for us to communicate, but they really loved any little Chinese words I could add to the conversation. They wanted to make sure I got enough to eat and kept telling Nick to serve me more. I finally managed to say "Chibaole" or "I'm full" and everyone laughed and clapped. I am learning Chinese slowly and am starting to recognize more and more. I still have to concentrate pretty hard and translate slowly in my head, but it's slowly getting easier.
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