Huo Guo

The other day, I heard someone mention that huo guo is a traditional Chinese New Year meal. I hadn't heard of that before, but found myself at an all-you-can-eat huo guo buffet for dinner. David was meeting a group of friends he met during the Overseas Chinese Youth Language Training and Study Tour to the Republic of China and invited me to join them. I attended the same study tour years before. I was the 3rd oldest male to attend that year, a distinction that brought with it a minor celebrity status. My fondest memory of the six week tour was an afternoon I was to meet a friend for a jazz concert in the courtyard of the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. I took a cab and arrived to find the space devoid of musicians, and my friend. I climbed the steps of the opera house to better scan the crowds from its terrace. A Taiwanese student stood beside me, looked at me askance, and then began to talk to me. We spent the afternoon chatting in Chinese, and when the afternoon threatened to become early evening, she led me to the nearest bus stop and directed me the way home. I had never before been so squeezed into a vehicle.

Earlier in my stay, I had asked a cousin of mine if she could tell we were not local Taiwanese. She laughed and told me it was obvious, from the shorts and t-shirts we wore, to the Tevas on our feet. What if we traded outfits with a typical Taiwanese native? I asked. She said it was still obvious. It was in our bearing, our attitude, the way we walked. In my more recent travels through Asia, I have been mistaken for a Chinese mainlander, a Bangkok native, a Myanmar villager, a Japanese teenager in Kyoto. I'm uncertain whether this means the east has become more western, or if I am better able to adapt to my surroundings.

In Myanmar I took to wearing longyi. They were significantly cooler than my pants. It was near Inle lake that I was mistaken. I was returning to my guesthouse after a day touring the area, and night was falling. As I turned in, the owner emerged from her office and paused. She told me she thought I was a local boy walking home until I turned into the driveway and the light caught my glasses. "None of the kids here wear glasses," she told me, then asked what I wanted for dinner. Later that night the power went out. I have never before seen so many stars. Posted by eku at January 25, 2004 2:18 AM