23 Nov. 2011: FROM RICE WINE TO RICE, WHITE

The banquet last night wasn't bad at all. The fish, dumplings, and veggies were all better than they looked. Pat and the officials toasted (a measly 14 times) with rice wine --- so smooth that the guys wound up having 2 bottles. Kampai! The driver drank only orange juice but was the life of the party, sort of a combination Maynard G. Krebbs and Spock. I bailed out on the drinking with a couple of sips of light draft Tsingtao beer, and lots of green tea. Not much of a Canadian, eh?

This morning it was back to school. It's a very classic campus with huge amounts of green space and thick canopy of mixed softwood and hardwood trees. Traffic is restricted, so you can hear the gush of the Australian fountains and the tinkle of the piano keys in the practice rooms. The local community uses the facilities for everything from croquet to kite flying. There's even a guy in samurai gear every morning juggling 40-pound weights.

Meals are available in the 7 or 8 "canteens" within the same food building. One has tablecloths and wood trim for weddings and other events. The rest are free-for-alls as the students (and us) choose combos from behind the glass, then wolf it down. The only constant in all the choices? Rice, white.