Taken at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Base: From left: Maya, Monique, Shahidul Alam, Sandra, Justa, Afroza Khan and Zenia (on top), Kenneth, Flower, Saleh and Abebe (Click picture to enlarge) Ni hao mi amigos y amigas!
One thing I cannot forget in Qingdao was when we ate just outside Ocean University of China. It was about 8pm and we took a walk to the nearest bookstore (once outside the University gates, just walk to the left and you will find it) and I remember we did not have much success in finding books with English translations, but there were many good english-chinese dictionaries and maps. So when we walked back, I think I was together with Tassanai, Benny, and Maya, we found a food stall outside the University.
The stall was very small and it was in the sidewalk, it had a round, circular table and in the center of the circle there was boiling soup where we could dip vegetables and mushrooms in sticks until they are cooked. We sat in the portable seats placed around the table and I remember hoping the seats would not break because it was small and I was very heavy. (It would have been embarassing if I fell down like when Humpty Dumpty sat in a wall and Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...)
Once the food was cooked, the store owner, who was a very young man, gave us paper plates and he put sauce, which tasted like peanut butter, on the vegetables in sticks and it was really tasty and delicious. I think I finished three or four sticks. While eating, we were happily talking with the man about the food he served. Maya helped by translating in Chinese what we wanted to say.
One thing I cannot forget in Qingdao was when we ate just outside Ocean University of China. It was about 8pm and we took a walk to the nearest bookstore (once outside the University gates, just walk to the left and you will find it) and I remember we did not have much success in finding books with English translations, but there were many good english-chinese dictionaries and maps. So when we walked back, I think I was together with Tassanai, Benny, and Maya, we found a food stall outside the University.
The stall was very small and it was in the sidewalk, it had a round, circular table and in the center of the circle there was boiling soup where we could dip vegetables and mushrooms in sticks until they are cooked. We sat in the portable seats placed around the table and I remember hoping the seats would not break because it was small and I was very heavy. (It would have been embarassing if I fell down like when Humpty Dumpty sat in a wall and Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...)
Once the food was cooked, the store owner, who was a very young man, gave us paper plates and he put sauce, which tasted like peanut butter, on the vegetables in sticks and it was really tasty and delicious. I think I finished three or four sticks. While eating, we were happily talking with the man about the food he served. Maya helped by translating in Chinese what we wanted to say.
When we finished, we offered to pay for the food but the store owner said that the dinner was for free. He did not let us pay. We did not expect it and we did not know what to say, we really wanted to pay him for his hard work and kindness. He said that it was okay because we were his last customers for the day and that he was about to close the store. But I knew, although he did not say it, that the store owner just wanted to make our stay in Qingdao more memorable.
The kindness and hospitality of the store owner left us speechless and I realized that, aside from the beautiful tourist spots, it is really the warm smiles, respect and courtesy of the people toward their fellow human beings that will make tourists want to come back again and again in China, or in any country for that matter. The thoughtfulness and kindheartedness we experienced that night will definitely not be forgotten. I just wished we got that good man's name.
Let us spread the kindness, good cheer, and our blessings in this season of giving.
Warmest smiles and cheers to you my friends.
The kindness and hospitality of the store owner left us speechless and I realized that, aside from the beautiful tourist spots, it is really the warm smiles, respect and courtesy of the people toward their fellow human beings that will make tourists want to come back again and again in China, or in any country for that matter. The thoughtfulness and kindheartedness we experienced that night will definitely not be forgotten. I just wished we got that good man's name.
Let us spread the kindness, good cheer, and our blessings in this season of giving.
Warmest smiles and cheers to you my friends.
"He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love. (Proverbs)"
Emmanuel Domingo
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