Eating Like Chinese

Meals with Chinese food is always so much different. Firstly, I know now know the reason for why the FDA exists, and everyone now knows that Chinese people don't have the same constraints. Anything from what is called street food, (served everywhere on the side of the road and with undoubtedly hefty doses of dirt and germs swarming the kitchen) to what is cooked in our not so spotless kitchen, isn't the safest in the world. And they're certainly not like the Sino-American restaurants in the States we like to call Chinese Buffet. When in reality they are endless supplies of food are oftentimes filled with obese European Americans looking to gorge themselves with a slightly different flavor with more food than is ever necessary.

Chinese restaurants, are often quite dirty and can range anywhere from being given nice menus with pictures (always a plus) to no menu and you have to write down your order on a blank piece of paper (in Chinese characters mind you!). Since anything you order is a larger portion of one type of food, it is much more conducive to coming with friends and each ordering a dish to share it amongst each other, the Chinese way of eating in community.

It has been a gut check for me because every time one of my favorite dishes is about to run out, my automatic reaction is to grab the rest of it myself instead of waiting for others to have their fill. Then I started thinking how many times finding what was best for myself regardless of other people's needs took priority in my own life ... getting the best seat at a sporting event, merging (or letting someone merge) on the highway, expecting immediate and superior service at a department store, taking time for what I want and giving other people what's left. Its like we think we deserve so much. Why us and not someone else? Can I even practice a mentality that is not me first? Maybe I can start with how I eat Chinese meals.