"Octopus and Emperors" - Martha Kimmel

Editor's Note: Martha Kimmel graduated from Furman in 2008, Summa Cum Laude and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Martha double-majored in English and Asian Studies and participated in Study Abroad in China Fall Semester 2007. She is currently working as an Admission Counselor for Furman in China. She met with the group while they were in Suzhou and Shanghai. Here is her summary of her time with our group from the US

Octopus and Emperors

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting up with the group of Furman alumni and friends currently braving the adventure of traveling in China. I've been living in Suzhou since March working on introducing Furman to high school students here, and it was great to see a group of familiar Furmanites and hear their reactions to their China experiences up to that point. I've lived in China for about a total of two years now, but I always love seeing how people new to the country react to different aspects of a culture that in some ways is vastly different from our own.

For one thing, the food is always a shocker. Suzhou food involves a great deal of seafood: fish, shrimp, squid, and, what seemed to be David Ellison's favorite, octopus. As far as I know, I've never had octopus here before (I don't always know exactly what I'm eating here... I figure if my Comrades think it's edible, it can't hurt me!). But by the group's third day in Suzhou, David was willing to try anything. "What's this?" he asked, when the dish of gray, slimy looking chunks of something was set on the lazy susan, amongst the other dishes that we all shared family style. "It's that seafood with eight legs that shoots out ink when it's scared" Xu Chong, a Chinese teacher at Soochow University, explained to me in Chinese. "Octopus," I told David. "Great!" he replied, enthusiastically digging in with his chopsticks, with Frances happily following suit. Most of the octopus dish was left on the table when we finished the meal, which spoke volumes about its deliciousness, but I was impressed that there was enthusiasm at the thought of trying anything that could be described as "seafood with eight legs that shoots out ink."

The group also seemed charmed by the Chinese dining habit of "gan bei," literally "dry cup." Kate is the best at taking up this honor/challenge. She's learned impressively well how to deal with "Chinese vodka," a liquor made of sorghum which might be better described as Chinese white lightening. Every big Chinese meal involves multiple toasts, all of which require a dry cup in the end, and failure to dry your cup is considered loss of face. During the meals we shared with Furman friends from Soochow University, we all made a valiant effort to keep up with Dean Liu's toasts, but, in the end, only Kate was able to keep face while the rest of us looked on, faceless but admiring.

Suzhou is also famous for its canals, silk and beautiful women. Monday evening, after dinner, I joined the group for their boat tour on the Grand Canal, riding along in what we were told was imperial style, just like the Emperor of China 1,500 years ago. It was a beautiful evening, and the walls from the old town were lit, giving them a mystical aura. The aura lessened a bit, however, when we passed several structures advertising the World Expo in Shanghai. These were also lit, in neons and as many colors as you can imagine, making us feel less like imperial royalty and more like we were riding along in Willy Wonka's wackily terrifying boat. Thankfully, the Chinese love for bright colors was redeemed when we passed a more tactfully lighted fountain, also awash in a rainbow of color. The rest of the canal ride was made complete by a traditional music performance onboard.

After such enticing advertising on the Grand Canal, Richard and Carrie Tucker were kind enough to take me with them to the World Expo on Wednesday. We enjoyed wandering the vast expanse of pavilions that represent countries around the world in all sorts of interesting, artistic ways. We even ended up being a part of a TV commercial for the restaurant where we ate lunch.

I had to leave the group in Shanghai as they headed out to continue their adventures in Lhasa; I look forward to hearing stories of the crazy things they ate and colorful lights they saw there!