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Letter from China: From dumplings to Gossip Girls

This post first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 14, 2008 - My favorite restaurant here in Beijing is nestled inconspicuously between my hotel and the closest subway stop. I don't even know the name of this place because the sign is written in Chinese characters, but I do know that it serves delicious dumplings for 5 yuan. It was here that a friend and I ran into a lively French-speaking Chinese diplomat. We had ventured into the restaurant at 10 p.m. for a late dinner of dumplings, but chance led us to an enjoyable cultural exchange.

Upon meeting Mr. Hong-Guang in line, the kindly 64-year-old insisted upon treating us to several plates of his choosing. He spoke no English, but my friend and I speak French and could communicate with him. The meal started with the popular Chinese beer Tsingtao (similar in taste to Bud Light) and appetizers of dried fish and sweetened vegetables. Over the main course of pork filled- dumplings and noodles, we discussed what the diplomat likes about Paris where he and his wife lived for 11 years -- the cheese and coffee. He described to us every possible place in Beijing we could go if we craved good French cuisine.

Mr. Hong-Guang recently retired and has returned to live in Beijing. Even though he spent 11 wonderful years in Paris, he's very fond of Beijing and was very curious of our opinions of the city. I thoroughly enjoyed his sense of humor and joviality -- as well as the free meal, which he seemed more than happy to share with us.

Although I love sampling the local cuisine at casual diners, I can't deny that I have visited several non-Chinese restaurants, attempting to satiate my American-bred taste buds. But the Mexican food at "La Bamba" and "Saddle Cantina" isn't quite on par with the Mexican restaurants I'm used to in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where authentic Mexican eateries run by natives are on every street corner. But I have found one diamond in the rough at "Pyro's Pizza," run by an American ex-pat, where the pizza beats out Papa John's or Domino's any day.

With a Chinese girl I volunteer with, named Wei, or her English name is "Violet." She actually asked me to give her an English name that started with a V or W because her Chinese name starts with a W, so I suggested Violet.

When I am not exploring the various cuisines in Beijing, I am learning how the lives of young Chinese people are similar and different from mine. Our countries' differing views on the media always make for interesting conversations with my fellow Chinese volunteers.

For example, one volunteer is studying print journalism and hopes to work for Xinhua, the state-run news agency in China. However, another told me she doesn't agree with its news, which is heavily censored by the government and prefers to get her news from the BBC or CNN over the Internet. In fact, most volunteers access the Western media through the Internet. The Internet is also their link to American television, which is very popular among my colleagues.

My fellow volunteers watch the popular shows "Gossip Girls," "Friends," "Desperate Housewives," "Lost" and "Prison Break" online. "Prison Break" is by far the most popular show among my Chinese friends; they rave about it and are shocked to find out I have never seen it. I'll have to check it out after I return home.

I try to explain to my Chinese girlfriends that my life, and the lives of most young American women, are not like those of the uber-wealthy, glamorous socialites of Manhattan on "Gossip Girls." They seem to understand the difference between the reality of American life and that pictured on television. Their favorite part of watching the show, like most American girls, is debating which of the handsome young actors is the best-looking.

Besides entertainment, American TV shows are even used as learning tools in the classroom. One student said he had rehearsed a small clip from "Gossip Girls" as part of an oral English exam. It would be fun to visit a Chinese English class, with the TV re-enactments and well-illustrated books: A fellow volunteer told me I look and act just like "Katie," the blonde English character in her English textbook.

My Chinese colleagues have developed an accurate insight on my life, and through my experiences here,  I'm starting to develop a pretty good understanding of life on the other side of the world.

Rachel Kurowski, is a free-lance writer for the Beacon.