Today felt like a day back when I first started in Guangzhou, beginning at lunch with a co-worker over interesting looking food! Sofia (above) took me to a Chinese restaurant she normally goes to for lunch. She is an incredibly nice girl on our team here, so even though I haven't been feeling the Chinese food lately, I went. We had such a nice chat over lunch. She's from Guangzhou originally and is an only child still living with her parents, so it's quite interesting to hear about her life here. Plus, since she is a local, she was able to fill me in on some questions I had about the city and let me know the good spots to pick up some last minute souvenirs.
Above: The menu at her normal lunch spot.... a bit difficult to decide what to order when all is in Chinese.
Above: I ordered shrimp dumplings and noodles and milk tea with Sophia's help.
Sofia was kind enough to ignore my embarrassing attempt at noodles with chopsticks. I haven't improved in this department and noodles are close to impossible.
During my lunch with Sofia, we had a funny moment. She told me about her time working in Shanghai and how an American co-worker cooked for her during one of the American Festivals (Thanksgiving). He cooked a turkey, she said, but it was not good! To which I replied, "Yeah, turkey isn't really big in China, is it?" Of course she replied (gesturing with her hands), "no, no, very small." The subtleties of language are so funny and so complicated! So many meanings for the same words. How would I ever master Mandarin? How do so many of them have such a command over English? It's impressive.
For dinner tonight, I met up with my friend Dave's good friend, Billy, who lives in China. Billy started out selling sports equipment over the internet back in the late 90s when he was in college, graduated to importing goods from China, and is now involved with a company with 30+ factories here. Quite an incredible story. I realize when I meet people like this that my 5 weeks here is nothing compared to the adventures other people have had! He's been doing business with and in China since he was in his early twenties. I'm almost thirty and this is my first trip here! It's just a nice reminder to continue to get out and explore....
We had dinner at the Westin.... back to an experience I had on my second day in Guangzhou. This time, instead of two cabs dropping me off in the wrong spot on my way home, Billy drove his own car. And, to top it off, at one point he stopped the car and told me it was my turn to drive home!
The pictures above are not fake. I drove. Not far, but I can say I drove a car in Guangzhou. Pretty much 2 blocks. It was a riot.... especially as we drove past security on the way into my apartment complex and the guards looked at me sideways. There goes the little American girl we see every day in a car?!? Anyway, it was good for a great laugh.
The little American girl is getting super excited to get home but also trying to make the most of the last few days in Guangzhou. Tomorrow, Sofia is taking me to a tea market during our lunch break and has also promised to show me the subway system here. For now, there's still time for more "firsts" here.
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