Boxing children in donkey and bear(?) outfits on national television. Some of my dear readers may recall my run-in with less lavishly costumed boxing children on a Sunday in the park in Tijuana. A new global trend?
Although I have not yet joined the marching band, I do dine daily in the student cafeterias, where I follow native Chinese speakers' practice of pointing at what they'd like and saying "one of those, half a plate of that, and some of that." I swipe a punch card ($6 has lasted me about 12 lunches), find a seat, and begin to inspect my catch (success means finding no chicken claws).
Yesterday, my classmates and I went to check out a Muslim-style canteen and were pleased with the selections (hand-pulled wide noodles, spicy broths, plenty of well-spiced green vegetables), only to find that our punch cards hadn't been activated [literally translated as "opened"] to allow us to eat at that particular facility. No drama; we were invited to return the following day to pay.
When I went to activate my card, I was of course directed to a second office. There, I tried in vain to "open," "open," "turn on," "open," [big hand gestures] my card to eat at the "Qingzhen," "special," "additional," restaurant but was met with blank stares. Finally an attendant asked whether I was Muslim. Yes, I guessed, correctly. Five seconds later, my card was blessed. Perhaps this is what the Tsinghua foreign student guide means by "Please observe religious activities in designated areas only."
1 comments:
That may actually be a scene from the Folsom Street Fair East.
Post a Comment