Appropriate Food

I caught the bullet train to Beijing to visit Xiuyu Paio (Judy), a graduate of ETSU who is now a financial analyst.  Judy was approved for US study at ETSU in 2009, but officials booked her on an overseas flight which arrived two weeks before formal move-in.  The flight could not be rescheduled, and on-campus housing was intransigent.

"You tell them Chinese people they gotta go by the same rules as everybody else," said the director of housing.

 Judy stayed with Joe and Roz Gann a couple of weeks.  Later on, upper level administration changed the policy.  Eventually, Judy became my graduate assistant. 

At the station Judy brought me flowers, which the Chinese sometimes do when greeting old friends.  She is certain Chinese food is not good for Westerners, her attitude resembling that of my dog-loving friends who decline to feed their pets table scraps.  There was no seating at KFC, a popular destination for dates, so Judy sat me down at a fast food Chinese restaurant and returned a few minutes later with a salad.