Weekend at Grandma's

Last weekend I made a quick trip to Hong Kong via Shenzhen to renew my visa before I left for Wudang mountains. It was my first opportunity to spend time alone with my grandmother where we could really talk and catch up. The language of our conversations flowed from Mandarin to English to Cantonese, whichever was more convenient. My grandmother was very excited that I was studying Mandarin and from one side of her mouth, was teaching me Shanghai-hua and out the other, was telling me to focus my energy only on Putonghua (Mandarin). She, not surprisingly, is still learning English and actually speaks it quite well. At 82 years old, she’s busy as ever trying to finish reading all the books on her shelves. In her duplex like dwelling, the main floor is dominated by bookcases filled with books, jars of herbs, vitamins, and photos of family. In fact, dried herbs can be found in just about every nook and cranny of her little place. Since she retired some 15-20 years ago, she has studied Chinese herbal medicine and used it to take care of her family and friends.

Grandma had lunch waiting for me when I arrived Friday afternoon that was partly prepared by Catherine, the housekeeper that comes once a day to clean and cook. It was one of the freshest and most delicious lunches since coming to China. We had my absolute favorite vegetable, choy sum, which is a Cantonese specialty and very similar to another favorite gai lan. So sweet! I’m totally inspired to find a regular supply in Austin when I return. We also had steamed pumpkin which was in season and stewed pork which my grandmother marinated for 5 days. Yum! I realized just recently that I am very much a Cantonese diner. The day before I left Shanghai for HK, Matt and I went to a Cantonese restaurant near his work and ordered choy sum and a dish that contained shrimp paste. The waitress was distressed that the flavor of that dish would be too strong for us and asked if we wanted to order something else. I was confused at first, but said that we don’t mind, bring it on! It was great and actually it made me realize I’ve been missing that flavor in my own cooking.

In the afternoon, we went to the Tai Po Market to get more groceries. Grandma doesn’t drive much except to go to the subway station or to the market but she can back into a space like a pro. Never even turns her head – uses mirrors all the way. This market was somewhat similar to the one near my apartment in Shanghai except MUCH cleaner. Much more spacious, hygienic, and brightly lit. We got some really nice Korean apple pears, American red pears, and some Chinese dates. I’ve only had dates when they are dried so I was completely surprised when I bit into these dates and found they tasted just like a little apples.

At the market we picked up some live shrimp and when we got home, we decided to boil them up and dip in soy sauce for appetizers. This is a very popular and common dish that I’ve had many times in my life. I realized that I wasn’t exactly sure how it was prepared and my grandmother was also at a loss when it came to the specifics. I half jokingly suggested we call my mother who is the chef in the family and would certainly know the proper steps. It was quite a hilarious sight, grandmother and granddaughter floundering around in the kitchen with a bag of bouncing shrimp while the knowledge of cooking them skipped my grandmother to my mom, then skipped me. In the end, we rinsed them then dumped them in boiling water. They were fabulous and just like I remember. The next day my grandma said she was really worried that we would be poisoned by the shrimp, but we survived and ate the leftovers in a stirfry.

Saturday morning I caught the first presidential debate on Pearl TV. I just don’t think I can bear the thought of McCain winning this election. It gives me the most horrible sinking sensation in my gut. His contempt for Obama was clear as day and came off almost like a whine. My grandmother calls Obama “Bahama” and McCain, the old man. She thinks McCain must be very smart, but that he’s too old to be president.

We spent the afternoon riding on the subway and looking for bookstores. My grandmother really wanted to find some Chinese medicine classics in English for me to read, but alas, none could be found. In the evening, we had dinner with Uncle Dennis, Aunt Lorraine, and Lena, my youngest cousin. It was a brief reunion because they were leaving for the Netherlands so my uncle could get a hip replacement. After dinner, we watched a movie my grandmother kept because the protagonist reminded her of my grandfather when he was a Chinese soldier before they moved to Hong Kong. Assembly is a bleak and gruesome account of the 1948 civil war in China between the PLA (Peoples liberation army) and KMT (Nationalist army). It’s a deeply moving film about the camaraderie found between soldiers and how difficult it can be for a professional soldier to acclimate to life without his brothers and without an enemy.

I had a lovely time visiting my Grandma. She is such a tough yet delicate lady. She’s very in tune with her body and what it needs. For the most part, she has lead a very healthy lifestyle and practiced tai chi, qi gong, and meditation for a long time. She recently had a colonoscopy and her doctor said her intestines were “beautiful”!. She was very excited that I was coming to Wudang mountains and even said that since her health is good, she may come up to visit me. She advised that I be like an empty cup, and let the Tao fill me with knowledge and understanding. I think she really hopes that I will have “natural talent” for qigong and tai chi and that I won’t know it until I “touch” it. We shall see, I’m not too hellbent on it. I’m just here to learn and study while having fun. I love the movements and trying to get my mind to work with my body rather than against it. I can see my grandmother has a natural fluidity even when she just stands and turns. She’s a real inspiration. It’ll be great to see her again when my brother comes in December.