Today I went with my friend Mary, to the Flower Market next to the US Embassy, and what a treat it was! Mary, her husband Kyle, and Mike and I were invited to have dinner at Anka’s and Eldor’s (no last names please) house tonight, and we needed some flowers to bring to Anka. She was planning to treat us to a real German meal, and I was sooo looking forward to it!
When I first entered the doors at the market, I was hit with a wave of humidity that my skin immediately sucked up, (much like a sponge, it is so dry here), and also succulent floral smells that made me flash on images of Hawaii. We proceeded down rows and rows of venders selling all kinds of flowers looking for just the right combination for our hostess tonight. Since it is “Women’s Day” (Yes, it’s a thing!) there was a lot of men buying huge bouquets of flowers—nothing is done small in Beijing. Most of the bouquets were really too outlandish for our needs, so we decided on a nice simple grouping of sunflowers and eucalyptus wrapped in newspaper. It had a nice old world charm that we thought our German hostess would appreciate.
The dinner tonight was one I will not soon forget; it was fabulous! In the center of the table was what Anka called a “raclette.” The name raclette (pronounced ruck-lett in English or rah-klett in its native French) refers to a meal, and to a type of cheese with the same name.
--I feel a history lesson coming on so I will try to refrain and just provide a link for the background of it. –
Suffice it to say it involves potatoes, cheese, vegetables, and other meats that we either grill on top of the contraption or slide inside on our own personal trays. When I first saw the assortment of food, I thought there was NO WAY my stomach (IBS) was going to tolerate this. But I think it was the best meal I have had in a long time!
All in all it, was another great day in China experiencing the many variety of cultures and customs that are now an everyday occurrence for us.
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