A Taste of China

One of the perks in Japan is the number of gifts you get given. Almost always it is some sort of food. Sometimes it just a single piece of candy that a cute Japanese child in so delighted to share with you. I never get tired of their generosity, exuberance and smiling faces as they hand you the cherished gift. But, I have also been given tons of other foods as well. I am only now finishing up with all the treats I was given before the holiday break. But today I was given something a little different. Mrs. Kaneda from the Skyland class just got back from a trip to China. She brought me a box of mini moon cakes. I looked up Mooncakes on Wikipedia before biting into one. According to them mooncakes are very dense traditional Chinese confections with one of many types of fillings. The most traditional is Lotus Seed Paste, but as that is very expensive other fillings are frequently substituted. Such as mung paste, black bean paste, yellow bean paste, or red bean paste. I have no idea which one I may have tried, but I think I got a nice variety pack. I quite liked the one I just finished nibbling on. And it was really filling for only being the diamater of a quarter. The trip was only 5 days, of which 2 were mostly travel. But she went to a palace, Tianamen Square, the Great Wall and saw Chinese Acrobat performance. For someone who is currently living in a foreign country, and planning trips to two more foreign countries I shouldn't be so jealous. But, alas, I still am. Think I'll eat another moon cake.