First Trip To The Wet Market
We jumped out of the way of wiry delivery men bent in half, carrying sacs of rice on their backs. We maneuvered through customers pushing from every side, either trying to reach a vendor or escaping the masses with their prize; a tiny cut of meat and a few vegetables, enough to feed their family for a day.
My eyes were wide with excitement. I looked into shops smaller than closets, with various cuts of meat hanging in their open windows. Caged birds squawked and fresh fish, glimmering in the sunshine, flipped and flopped on the table, a sharp contrast to the ocean they had just been pulled from. But it was the organs, including brain, that really caught my attention.
Why Eggs?
What impressed me more than the realization that Southern Chinese really do eat stomach, intestines, and brain, was the sandy-haired, ten-year-old boy who walked beside me. He didn’t acknowledged the sights and smells that overwhelmed me. To him, this was normal.
I had spent my whole childhood dreaming of living overseas and was finally getting just a small taste of it. But for this boy, it was his life.
I mentioned this to his parents, our guides, and they agreed that China was home for their children. They may look Canadian, but the way they think, the way they view the world, has been shaped by their unique experiences. They joked that their kids were eggs; white on the outside, but yellow on the inside.
Our Family in China
Now we have three eggs of our own and they are the ones walking beside visitors as we tour wet markets. The sights and sounds that surround us don’t grab my children’s attention, they have become a part of them.
Join us here, as we share our experience of living as a Canadian family in China.