Eat 'til You Drop

October 07, 2006

Finally you say.

That trip recap was getting a bit long in the tooth for both of us.

Back in Datong the group had a bit of a food falter - an all-you-can-eat “Western” food buffet. Think pizza, spaghetti, frenchfries, onion rings and beer on tap. American health food. We sat at our table right as the restaurant opened. Just in time to see the morning employee pep-talk. Twenty uniformed waiters clapping and cheering.

Every table in the joint was soon filled with Chinese intent on one thing - eating. Alot. To drive home the urgency - so apparent on each face - a small paper tag clung to the edge of each table.

On our table, the same paper tag with the numbers “10 - 11:40.”

No wonder the abandon with which they scooped slices of pizza and grabbed fresh chicken legs - they only had an hour and forty minutes to cram American buffet down their foodtubes.

China got in the last punch of the trip - my plane to Yinchuan ran 5 hours late due to a rainstorm and the bus to Guyuan was an hour late due to lack of people.

The week went by without much todo - students seemed mildly engaged by my lesson about travel and travel preparedness. Most seemed to think matches and a radio eclipsed a tent or a water bottle in importance. Why bother living if you can’t enjoy a smoke or a good tune.

Priorities.