Behind the Zodiac

     The first day was coming to an end, and evening was descending upon us as we made our way to our last destination before returning to our hotel: dinner.

     A notorious dish in Beijing is Peking Duck, so we went to a small restaurant that prepared the famous dish.  Again, as a vegetarian, I was worried.  I'd had two meals in China thus far and they were great, but the plane ride here had been disastrous... How would this meal end?

     When we arrived at the restaurant, I was shocked by how small it was.  The first restaurant was, what seemed to me, a five-star restaurant.  It was in a two-story building and was incredibly elaborate, whereas this restaurant was a small building and we were on the first floor with crowded tables.  Like lunch and breakfast, the dinner tables were round and contained a lazy-susan top. 

     But on top of these tables, aside from our dishware, were laminated pieces of paper that contained the Chinese zodiac, the animal, the years, and some characteristics of the animal. I watched as other delegates learned about their Chinese zodiac. 

     In Chinese class at school, we had learned a lesson on the Chinese zodiac, and even learned about the legend behind the zodiac.  I knew that I was a pig--born in 1995.  In class, we had to memorize the order of the Chinese zodiac:

1. 鼠 (shu, pronounced "shoe") Rat
2. 牛 (niu, pronounced "knee-oh") Ox
3. 虎(hu, pronounced "who?") Tiger
4. 兔 (tu, pronounced "two") Rabbit
5. 龙 (long, pronounced "long") Dragon
6. 蛇 (she, pronounced "shut" without the "t") Snake
7. 马 (ma, pronounced "ma") Horse
8. 羊 (yang, pronounced "yawng") Sheep
9. 猴子 (hou zi, pronounced "hoe-tsi") Monkey
10. 鸡 (ji, pronounced "gee") Rooster
11. 狗 (gou, pronounced "go") Dog
12. 猪(zhu, pronounced "jew") Pig

     If you want to learn more about the Chinese zodiac and about which animal you are, I highly recommend you read this page: link

     Phoebe announced that we could order and buy a Chinese stamp with our Chinese zodiac and Chinese name.  Earlier, Phoebe had given us name tags with a Chinese name that fitted phonetically with our original name.  On the back of the card was her contact information.  When my American name, Stephanie, is translated to Chinese, it means gibberish; so, I decided to go with my original Chinese name I had selected from Chinese class: 许梦安 (Xu Meng An, pronounced "Shoe Mung On") which means Promise Dream Safe.  In Chinese culture, the surname is placed first, to show respect for your ancestors.  During the trip to China, everyone called me Meng. 

     So I decided that I would buy a Chinese stamp with my zodiac (the pig) with my original Chinese name on it.  This was my first purchase in China, and I was thrilled it would be a stamp.

     Phoebe explained to us that stamps in China were highly revered.  Once you are an adult, it is "required" of you to have an official seal.  Originally, only the emperor was permitted to have a seal, but then it spread out over the twentieth century to higher officials, and then today to all people. 

     My seal arrived the next night.

On the left is the red ink, and on the left is my seal.

     My worries about food were put to rest: plenty of vegetables were available.  Many students from our delegation were adamant about not eating duck, though.  I was becoming more and more trusting of the foreign food.  Better yet--I was really enjoying Chinese food.  I had only had take-out Chinese food once in my life before, and I had hated it.  This authentic Chinese food was fifty thousand times better.