Richard (of Bohemia) and His Coversation with Ruiting Han -- Week 1

China is huge! For some clarification, check out that map!

Ruiting lives somewhere within those boundaries. I asked him what part of China he was from and he said the name of some place I couldn't pronounce, so I will assume it is somewhere between Urumqi and Guangzhou. The odds of being correct are in my favor, I think. Anyway, I regret to say that he caught me off-guard when, about five minutes into the conversation, he asked me if I was married. I gracefully showed him that I was very, very unmarried (in 100 words or less, I choked on my tea a little). It was enough to convince him. That beverage took the words right out of my mouth... quite literally. Of his marital status, he is close to being engaged (at 19!), which is better than what I did at that age.

He's a very bright almost-engaged young man, and he knows English fairly well; I heedlessly assumed our mother tongue would be very difficult for him, but that's not the case at all. He enjoys playing basketball and table tennis (for those who are illiterate in the Chinese culture, the word they use for table tennis is ping pong), and I marveled at the fact that the price of produce in the East is very inexpensive. In China, Meat = Arm & Leg. Fruits & Veggies = Increased Longevity. Who knew!

Ruiting showed his disdain for pickles when I asked him what foods he didn't like here. At first, I thought he was saying "potholes," which, to my recent knowledge, doesn't come with fries unless one finds them smooshed on Tennessee Street. I corrected him on his pronunciation and he got it after a few attempts. Even so, he still hates pickles, and I assume he too has no particular affinity to potholes either.

By the way, I managed to reach him by phone after class on Thursday. He just wanted to talk. Aw, he missed me, and I, too. We'll probably have our next conversation next Wednesday, so stay tuned for take two with Ruiting and me.