The Questions

When living in a foreign country you soon pick up on the language Some languages are easier than others, as for me I can pick up on Spanish 20x's faster than Chinese. Despite any barriers you soon pick up on certain questions which seem to come up no matter who you are talking with.

1. Where are you from? (From me the question is are you Russian?)
2. Where are you going? Alone?
3. Are you scared to travel?
4. How old are you?
5. Are you married?
6. Do you like China? (Country your visiting)
7. How much do you earn? Pay?

These are the first questions that I picked up on in Chinese. My students/ translators would translate, but soon gave up translating and ended up answering for me because the questions were/are asked so often.

Happy Life

For the past year I have learned about what it truly means to be happy. 

I understand now that life is about more than having fancy gadgets. Of course those things are nice, but they don't necessarily make me happy. The time I was the happiest while living overseas was not in the hustling and bustling city, but a tiny remote village. I found more joy and peace in such a tiny place. I learned to survive several weeks without many modern convinces. I also enjoyed living in harmony with nature. Living without the bombardments of modern life rejuvenated my spiritual happiness. 

During the past year of my life I formulated "5 tips to living a happy life" that have bettered my life.

http://sharonrott.hubpages.com/_14gkjlab5897/hub/5-Tips-to-Living-a-Happy-Life

My Favorite Tofu Dish

http://sharonrott.hubpages.com/_14gkjlab5897/hub/Ma-La-Tofu

My typical reaction to tofu is like many Westerners, YUCK!  Once I discovered the many possibilities of cooking with tofu I realized that it’s just bursting with flavors. I have found that there are many healthy tofu recipes. The tofu  benefits is that it absorbs up the flavors of whatever you cook it with. 

My favorite tofu dish is Ma La Tofu. I decided to share the recipe with others and it can be found at the following link.

Frozen Fruit on a Stick: Tang Hu Lu 糖葫芦

Living in NE China this had become my favorite winter time treat. This delightful treat can only be found in the winters months. It is a simple treat that brings joy to a person during the long winter months. It is basically a stick with fruit coated in sugar. The most common type of tong hu lu is the hawthorn berry. The sourness of the berry and the sweetness of the sugar is a charming treat. Other types of tong hu lu are pineapple, tomatoes, grapes and kiwi. 

Tong hu lu for sell on a street corner near my  home.

My friend and me buying tong hu lu at a village market.

Food the Culture of China

Food is the source of life in China in fact it is the biggest part of their culture. They always seem to be eating banquets, but are as skinny as can be. As an outsider the concept of eating and eating and eating has always been associated with obesity, but now my viewpoint has change. I now associate eating and eating and eating with leanness. The biggest difference is the foods being eaten. If you eat a "Big Mac or Whopper or Milkshake" 3 times a day for 365 days of course you'll be obese. Occasionally is ok. For the Chinese they eat vegetables and fruit 3 times a day (and snakes) for 365 day. Yes, they eat meat and even strange meats, but the portions are smaller, and compensated for large portions of fruits and veggies.

As I live among the Chinese I hope to share my experience of their culture FOOD.

500 + Healthy Chinese Recipes Cookbook