We were fed in the same compound as we went to rehearse. By the time we got there the dancers had already set up some sort of routine with the really sweet and nice Chinese ladies who cooked two meals a day for us (lunch and dinner). Among my favorites were the Shrimp and Broccoli, any type of bread (lol), the fruit, and honestly, I couldn't even make up names for some of the dishes I really liked but wasn't really sure what was in it. Most of the food that was brought to us was delicious.
Chopsticks.
Never again will I go three weeks where I use chopsticks at almost every meal. I got it down-ish, eventually! The food over there almost needs to be eaten with chopsticks... haha
We did have breakfast at a different place than lunch and dinner: The Hotel.
The last time I went out of the country, was to Australia, and I remember relying on the fact that they would serve toast at breakfast almost anywhere we went. I don't have toast in the States very often - I have Cereal for breakfast.... but I love toast out of the country.
And in the Hotel, we were served a boiled egg, corn, yogurt, hot water, sausages and two pieces of toast every morning... mostly. I liked it all but never was in the mood for corn that early in the morning...
But I did like to take people's toast. But sometimes I had the guts to ask for more. However, no matter how much I pantomimed or pointed... I was very rarely successful in asking for more. It was kind of depressing.
Oh, and orange spread... disgusting. :P
The most interesting experience, at least as far as food goes, was when the musicians all went to the Hunan Province and were treated to two very amazing meals of ... I couldn't really tell you. I do know that among what is on the table in the next picture is at least two parts of the duck I would never even think to make into food. Mike and I had a bit of hard time. I was trying mostly everything. My eyes were watering, I probably looked flushed. And I very rarely went back for seconds on anything. BUT - I could tell these things were acquired tastes... and then you love them, you know? Really good Chinese food!
I must've learned like seven card games I didn't know previously when I was there. Joe knows a lot of card games, let me tell you.
My favorites were playing Phase 10 with Dr. Bradshaw because he got probably one of his first glimpses at my ridiculously competitive card playing side. I find great enjoyment in "going out" when hardly anyone has phased :).
We (as in mostly me, Lydia, Joe and Mike) played Hearts, Five Crowns, Rummy, Lucky Unders, and Rich Man Poor Man (some people call it "Scum"). There was a point in the trip, however, where we played with Heather and Tashina a little bit more often. I don't think either of them like cards that much...
BUT - we were playing Rich Man Poor Man and Lydia was trying to help out and would shuffle the cards that were no longer being used to play. I don't know how many rounds we went before we all realized that Tashina was passing just to pass. So one of us asked why she wasn't participating and she says....
"Lydia shuffled my HAND!"
I guess she couldn't play after her hand was shuffled away... :)
Not to mention that I couldn't get Joe out of Lydia's and my room sometimes. It'd be close to midnight, and we were all a bit jet lagged and Joe turns to me and asks "Am I a truck?" and just... starts... cracking up!
Apparently that question is only funny when you get to a certain point of exhaustion. Which Joe obviously was.
Alright before I go on I must mention that I roomed with Lydia. We had a good time. But like... the third night or something like that I apparently was sleep talking... asking her if she was okay, and then mumbling about being in China and getting killed or hurt or something.
I have no recollection of this. Obviously. Because I was sleep talking.
And Joe roomed with Mike - who kept him up with his snoring. Poor guy...
One of our favorite games by the end of the trip was Lucky Unders... which we had nicknames for mostly every part of that game:
Normal - Us
Unders - Panties
Overs - Bras
Hand - Hand (okay yeah we couldn't think of something stupid here hahaha)
Lucky Unders - Dirty Underwear
And when we dealt it was always an adventure...
We also played Rich Man Poor Man as a group of six including: Me, Joe, Lydia, Dr Bradshaw, Dr. Vartan and Mike.
Dr. V is insanely good at this game and there was ONE TIME... when I was sitting Queen under her as the King, and I had three of the four Jokers. I had played one already... and then decided to take control of the round and took like two Aces or something away from her and totally threw off her entire game play. She was stuck with like... one three or something like that. I'll never forget being told MULTIPLE times by Dr. V that she would never forget when I played my two Jokers and totally screwed her up... LOL
The conversation during the card games were also hilarious. One night stands out to me in particular because we were in the Hunan Province and I succumbed to staying up till 3am so that Joe could bother me to his heart's content....
We played through most of our card games and the subject found it's way to French Kissing and how Mike has yet to do it, and (since I kind of forgot what Joe's take on it was hahaha, I think he mostly talked about how he married Britania) I didn't understand how Lydia doesn't like it because I do!!
We all bonded that night. It was good because we weren't prying. Prying is irritating...
Just as a closer - there was a point when Lydia was trying to teach Heather Patty Cake which I found hilarious!
And the morning we were getting ready to leave for the airport to go home, Lydia had a conversation that went a little like this...
Katy: "Ugh, I won't miss this lighting..."
Lydia: "Yeah... florescent coming downward..."
Katy: "Yeah... coming from the topward?"
Topward?!
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