The Relatively Unconventional

吴璨 and I making dumplings at her 婆婆’s home.

Me ice skating in China during the summer.

After a normal breakfast of oatmeal, corn, and fruit and a typical run, my host family and I headed to 吴璨's 婆婆's (pó po) home. If you're wondering, 婆婆 is the name given to the mother's mother in Chinese culture. In other words a 婆婆 is the maternal grandmother. In Chinese culture, there are so many different names used to refer to different family members. In my family, I just call my grandparents grandparents and my uncles and aunts uncles and aunts. In Chinese culture, there are different names for uncles and aunts based on if they are the youngest or the oldest or if they're on the mother's side or the father's side. It's all very confusing. Names aside, at 吴璨's 婆婆's home, we made dumplings, and I also made biscuits. Yes, real biscuits. To make the dumplings, 吴璨's 婆婆 made two different fillings: one with chicken and the other with shrimp. Typically dumplings are made with pork or beef, but they were accommodating to my abstinence from pork and beef. We took a thin, circular piece of dough, used chopsticks to place a generous portion of filling in the center, and then wet the edges. Lastly, we pressed the edges together and crimped the edge about three times to make it look like a delicious and happy little dumpling. In regards to the biscuits, I used a recipe from the New York Times. 吴璨 asked me to make an American dish because there was a party today, so I thought about American dishes I like and know how to make. Biscuits were one of the first tings that popped into my head because biscuits are a pretty stereotypical Southern specialty. The day prior, we went to the grocery store in order to purchase a few ingredients, including flour, baking powder, and butter, for the biscuits. Gathering all the ingredients and materials to make biscuits in China was a little difficult. To make the biscuits, first I had to find a measuring cup. Measuring cups are not something that many Chinese households seem to have, but luckily 吴璨's 婆婆 had one cup with a few marks on it to make other measurements. I scooped out the all-purpose flour into a bowl, and then I accidentally put the milk in next without thinking about the other dry ingredients. I just went with it because this whole process was a little unconventional. Next, I added the baking powder and sugar, and then I cut the butter into little pieces and put it into the bowl. Since 吴璨's 婆婆 didn't have a fork, I cut the butter into the dough with a knife. I actually cut the dough. I didn't add any additional salt because I was using salted butter. Lastly, I formed the dough into a square, folded it over a few times, and then let it rest for 30 minutes. Afterwards, I cut the dough into little squares and put it onto this tiny tray. In addition to not having many measuring utensils and no forks, they didn't have an oven, so I used a tiny, microwave-looking oven thing. Surprisingly enough, It worked. I put them on for 10 minutes, and they came out soft, crispy, and golden brown. My host family was very fascinated with the whole process. They kept watching me and seemed very interested in the biscuits as in butter. Shout out to Heidi, a close friend and lifelong teacher, for teaching me how to make biscuits. This was truly a testament to effective teaching. After making dumplings and biscuits, we ate. We ate plate after plate after plate of dumplings, and we also drank chicken broth and ate mushrooms and bok choy. I took a liking to the mushrooms, so they kept feeding me more and more. After eating enough dumplings to satisfy two people, 吴璨 and I ate some plump, juicy grapes. Full and happy, 吴璨 and I were dropped off at 海滨城 (hǎi bīn chéng). We met up with Chandler and Annette and their host siblings, so we could go ice skating together. In getting ice skates, I learned that my foot size based on the Chinese shoe sizing chart is about 39-41. I always thought my foot size was pretty average, being about 8-8.5 in America, but here in China, I think my feet are considered big. Funny how everything is relative. With my size 40 skates, knee pads, and elbow pads, I cautiously stepped onto the ice. It only took me a few minutes, and then I got confident enough to part with the wall. 吴璨 and I held hands for a while, saving each other from kissing the floor multiple times. I skated by myself for a little while and watched past famous ice skating routines on a large screen above the rink. The music they played at the rink was past popular American songs, such as “What Does the Fox Say”. I had such a great time. After skating for a while, we headed to Maria’s host family’s house for a party. I brought my homemade biscuits, and Annette and Chandler brought cookies and muffins they had bought. The party was just a simple get together with most of the NSLI-Yians and host siblings. We ate fruit, snacks, peanuts, and Chinese food, danced a little, and listened to music. At 8:30 pm, we arrived home and watched a Chinese television show, that I could partially understand, and ate lychee and plums. After a long day, I took a show and then fell asleep trying to studying the hundred new words I learned that day.