Fellowship and Fries

It may say "Big Mac" on the box, but it didn't say it on the menu.

Let’s get to the point:  I ate McDonalds today.   I refuse to feel guilty about it.  It’s what I wanted and what  I needed.

Backstory:  I have always thought it was ridiculous when people ate at McDonalds when they were traveling in other countries.  I don’t eat McDonalds at home, why would you want to on the road?  Well, let me tell you why:  1) it’s predictable; 2) It’s cheap; and 3) their fries are good and sometimes you need fries.   

The food here in Chengdu has been really good.  I’ve enjoyed every meal I’ve had out with my hosts, and especially have appreciated the opportunity to have them share their favorite dishes with me.  I’ve discovered, to absolute no surprise, that I love dumplings.  They have several different kinds of dumplings here, and I love them all.  But I’ve tried fish, pork, vegetables, rice, noodles, and it’s all been good.  I’ve gotten sick a couple of times after meals, but I think it’s because they use a lot of oils in the local cooking, and I’m not used to it.  But overall, I’ve loved the food.

But for the past couple of days, I’ve been craving fries.  I want the texture and the salt, and the familiarity.  I considered going to a nicer restaurant, but who knows how good their fries are but really what I wanted are plain old McDonalds fries.  So I went out and got them.  But I ended up getting so much more.

When I arrived at the counter, I was faced with a menu on the wall that had pictures, but only Chinese writing.  Thinking the easiest thing would be to order the quintessential McDonalds sandwich, whose name must be the same everywhere (ok, I forgot the whole discussion of it in Pulp Fiction – forgive me, I hated that movie), “Big Mac”.  Only they had no idea what that meant.  I kept talking in English and eventually they pulled out a card with pictures for me to point to.  I still ordered the Big Mac meal – why change course at this point.  While I was waiting the man next to me said hello – I looked up to see an American who immediately started a conversation with me.  When our food came, he invited me to sit with his family, and I eagerly agreed.  I haven’t had a conversation with a native English speaker in two weeks, so this was a treat.

I ended up talking with this family for over an hour.  William and his wife Becky came to China as missionaries, but are a bit unique.  They aren’t affiliated with any official organization, and in fact, William is a student at SCU, studying Chinese.  They’ve been here for 9 years, and have three children, with another due soon.  They also own a café that serves bagels and smoothies, which I’m going to hike to tomorrow (it’s a good 30 minute walk, so it will balance out the calories of the all carb breakfast).  Their 9 year old son was very friendly and imaginative, and I enjoyed chatting with him. William and Becky gave me some tips about local sites to see, and places to eat, but that's not what I enjoyed most about talking with them. It just felt nice to have a friendly conversation without worrying about my word choices, and to have a meal that I didn’t need to stress about using chopsticks.  When it was time to go (the 1 year old was clearly past her expiration point), I thanked them for being so generous with their time.  I would describe our conversation as good old fashioned fellowship, which may have been the last thing I expected to find at the McDonalds in Chengdu. 

Burger, fries and a side of community.  I’ll take that.