Cooking in the Hutong

John plunged into his job today... with a trip within China. It made me realize what a wonderful time this has been...learning about China together...sharing Mandarin language training.

And now our lives begin. We live in China.

So what is my life going to look like? The language training is wonderful -- so exciting! But that's just the beginning.

So I signed up for a cooking class in a historic area of Beijing --in a traditional Chinese home called a Hutong.

Back home, this would be easy...here in China, it took every ounce of courage I have...courage to take a cab (we're always ending up in the wrong spot...abandoned). Courage to meet a whole new group of people -- alone. Things I took for granted back in the US feel like a huge success here.

It was a great night -- a cooking class with 14 people...we divided into 7 teams and each made a dish that was judged! I was older than everyone else by about 20 years... (I didn't realize what "Hook and Cook" really meant...) but it was great fun!

We drank wine...created a song about our dish, "I'm a little clay pot, full of pork..." And most importantly, my matchmaking skills were in high demand!

I met some terrific girls who reminded me of darling Andi. And a guy from Toronto!

My goal is to meet everyone in Canada -- there are about 4 million more people in Beijing alone than in the whole country of Canada!

I AM a Chinese claypot!