A Tale of Two Cultures

Tonight I attended a farewell party in Washington, D.C for Xin Li, Caijing’s Washington correspondent who will leave for Beijing this month.
About 20 people attended the party. Almost everyone was cooking when Xin Li called them that afternoon, she said.
This is typical Chinese party in the States-every guest brings a dish-not only wine or flowers- so that people can enjoy the food and exchange tips on cooking during the party.
At a traditional Chinese party, usually the one for spring festival, the equivalent of Christmas in the States, guests not only bring food but also make food, usually preparing dumplings with the host.
This is the biggest difference between a Chinese party and an American party. How good the food is at the party is a matter of life or death.
It not only shows the talent of the host's wife but also works as a permanent topic of discussion for strangers as the topic of weather, or a refuge for shy people. If you don’t know what to talk, you can at least enjoy the food!
On the contrary, it seems food is the least important focus at an American party. To Americans, the most important thing at the party is talking, then liquor or beverage, then dessert, then the meal. It could be nice if you know most of the guests or you have pleasant conversation with other guests. It could be terrible if you find all the guests around you are strangers or boring, plus you have to stand there with little to eat.
The first B.B.Q I’ve attended in the States was in a White House reporter’s home in Washington. I told my colleagues all the details about the B.B.Q:
“We had food under cherry blossom in his backyard.”
“Wonderful!”
“We had candles and flowers on the table.”
“Beautiful!”
“We played with his dog.”
“Interesting. What about food?”
“Hamburger.”
“Are you kidding?”
And then I knew American B.B.Q is not the camp B.B.Q that I imagined before, and hamburger or cheeseburger is the typical food for B.B.Q.
I attended some pleasant parties in Philadelphia and then decided to hold a party at my apartment. I prepared four dishes as main entrées, including lobster, which is obviously fancy in American cuisine but still a little bit light to Chinese. I thought everything was perfect until I found I missed one important course:
Dessert, always Americans' (especially American women’s) favorite course.
I felt sorry about that for a while then I felt better. Since we’ve already enjoyed the fancy Chinese food, why bother to have dessert?