On Saturday, I went out to lunch with Joyce and two of her friends to Osaka. She wanted to introduce me to them because they are from Beijing, which is where I will be in just a couple short months! Jialu greeted me with a huge smile and hug right off the bat even though we had never met before and her husband Zhao followed in suit. They were happy to meet an American who was so eager to learn about their culture.
Over our two hour meal, we discussed a plethora of topics including places to visit, public transit, parts of the city to live in, and pregnancy traditions. The last one wasn't so random because Jialu is currently 9 months pregnant and is set to deliver in the next couple weeks. This was certainly the most interesting conversation topic though. Joyce was able to provide input of Taiwanese cultural differences on the issue too. Apparently, in China, after the mother gives birth they are not allowed to put on the air conditioning and she is forced to stay in bed for an entire month! As a result, the baby's grandmother (either paternal or maternal) will come to help do all of the cooking, cleaning and generally assist with the newborn as well. The reason for the lack of air conditioning is so that the new mother does not catch a cold so they always keep her warm.
We spoke a little bit of Chinese too for practice. Although they seemed to be impressed with my skills, I know I have a long way to go studying before I head over there. It was a very informative lunch and we friended each other on facebook. Jialu insisted that I ask her any questions about Beijing on there and not to ask Zhao because he "never gets online".
Interesting how traditions get started, often for very good reasons, and continue to this day.
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