Why so good?

I don't want to be all down on China. I love this country, and this trip has been great. My last post was a little negative, in part because I'm ronery now that all the students are gone and I'm in Beijing alone, but at the same time I have no privacy thanks to the curious sleep habits of my Singaporean roommate. It's a tough combo. So let me take a moment to share a couple of the wonderful things about daily life in China.

For breakfast this morning I ate dan bing, my favorite Chinese street food. It's a crepe/pancake. You break an egg up all over one side, and sprinkle with scallions. Then, you flip it over, and paint the other side with tasty bean sauce and hot sauce, sprinkle a little fresh ginger, maybe a crushed peanut or two. Add a weird fried crispy thin dough thing and then fold it all up and feast. I first ate this in Xi'an, and it rocked my world. At left, the woman who changed my life.

For lunch I ate a fresh Asian pear. They cost $2 each in the U.S. Here, I paid the equivalent of about 20 cents. Thus, it's not just that Chinese food is really tasty, really fresh, and skillfully made. You can also taste the affordability! I've been chowing down since I crossed the border into Shenzhen. While we were there, we made friends with a bunch of the university students. Whenever they ate something they liked, they would always exclaim, "Why so good?!?" The Chinese in general eat with a great deal of zest, and it's fun to join in.