Fellowship, Food & Fun at the Rotaract Yummy Box Bash

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Rotaract Yummy Box Bash

On 13 October Rotaract Beijing West kicked off the recruiting season in Wudaokou!
Over 80 attended the Rotaract Yummy Box Bash, close to the Wudaokou Subway Station.
The Rotaract Beijing West crew put on a great party that had many nice pizzas, other dishes and free flow of beer.
Over 25 teams participated in the”beer pong tournament” with Team Dutch being victorious.
This event was one of many to come to provide an opportunity for new members to join in on the fun.

(Pics updated 18 Oct 16)

Rotaract Beijing West

The Club grows its presence in Wudaokou in an effort to better the community we live in. Coming up they will have plenty of opportunities for volunteering, fundraising and other development aspects of life in Beijing.
Regular weekly meetings are held at BoCoffee in Wudaokou, on Thursdays at 8pm. Join the experience ‘Fellowship through Service’ with fellow students and young professionals living and experiencing Beijing.
See the article of the Club:
http://www.rotaractbeijingwest.org/the-latest/fellowship-food-fun-at-the-rotaract-yummy-box-bash

Daring to try TCM concoctions

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

TCM versus Western medicine

As my Western doctors seemed to be clueless about some minor (but irritating) skin problems I am having, I tried TCM concoctions (Traditional Chinese Medicine). My friend doctor Gloria has patiently given me several TCM concoctions to drink.
She admitted that she herself would rather suffer the skin problems than drink the “tea”.
She recommended to only buy at Tongrentang, the famous and old pharmacy chain of Beijing.

Yes awful to drink

I would not try to identify the real content but yes there were centipedes, snake skin and stuff.
See the Tongrentang staff preparing the packages: one per day.
You have to boil it for some 20 to 30 minutes in a special pot (no metal).
And yes it tastes AWFUL. But I followed the whole treatment.

Besides this my doctor gave me a long list of food and drinks I should avoid.
Well, I wonder what I still can eat. At least a Belgian steak is allowed, but alcohol in whatever form is strongly opposed. No fun when I love a Belgian beer, red wine and a single malt.

So, my verdict? I would not dare to come to a conclusion yet though I do see some results. I do have a respect for the way TCM looks at the body and mind, something Western doctors mostly overlook (reason their treatment was totally useless).

Vegetables can be art

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Creative vegetables: not only in China

Chinese can be very creative with fruit and vegetables, mostly with impressive carvings. You can often see those in hotels and restaurants, on the buffet tables. Yes, vegetables can be art.
But sorry to my Chinese friends, “foreigners” can be very creative too.
See here some cute pictures I collected from other sources.

I will limit myself to eating it all.

Getting old? Happy Chongyang Festival

Posted on by Gilbert Van Kerckhove

Cartoons cheer us up

Oh well we all get old someday and in China it is actually a problem: too many “seniors” and it will get worse.

One of those days it was supposed to be “Double 9”, senior day in China. Looks like nobody noticed. I am still waiting for some of my Chinese “bosses” to decide about this year’s Chongyang Festival celebration.
In the meantime, we can enjoy the humor from some cartoonists.
Never too old for a smile!

About Chongyang festival

Chongyang Festival (Double Ninth Festival)
This year it was on October 9; next year,  October 28
There is no holiday for this traditional festival. And nobody except one lady noticed the day.
Held on the 9th day of the 9th lunar month, Chongyang Festival is also called Double Ninth Festival. In Chinese, nine is regarded as the number of Yang (which means masculine as opposed to Yin which is feminine). The ninth day of the ninth month is the day that has two Yang numbers, and ‘chong’ in Chinese means double which is how the name Chongyang was created. It is a day for people to eat Chongyang cake, drink chrysanthemum wine, climb mountains, and pay homage to chrysanthemums.

See more: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/chongyang.htm