Dinner with the Muslims

So I have a non-traditional student attending/observing some of my classes.  He is a former travel agent/teacher who is in Xi'an for a one year sabbatical. He calls me up and invites me to go to dinner with a group of friends/students.  Never one to turn down a dinner invite, I agree to meet him at the Rainbow Bridge the next evening.  Unfortunately, Tim had to teach a class, so off I go again to dinner with a stranger.

Twenty various individuals head downtown near the city wall, through a back alley and into the parking lot of a nice hotel.  Xin jiang--it's an autonomous ethnic group from nearly as far west as Afghanistan.  We proceed to eat a 20- course dinner, beginning and ending with lots of delicious fruit.  Watermelon, cantaloupe, grapes, dragon fruit, and "dragon eyes". Then comes the noodles, rice, veggies (tiny cucumbers the size of little green beans), mutton that was BBQed, roasted, and stewed.  Fish (a whole one) and various unknowns. Also Greek yogurt (yum) and moon cakes.

I was a good sport and tasted everything.  Even ate with chopsticks.  Yes, I had to toss my shirt into the laundry.  They had wine, and vodka, or something similar and toasted each other profusely.  I  think I downed 3 glasses of Coke trying to be gracious.  I was like the guest of honor, so they made a big fuss.  They also had 3 dancers perform wearing ethnic costumes.  It was great fun, but I was gone for 4-1/2 hours.  Tim thought maybe I'd been kidnapped.  Dining out is an all-night project here.  No such thing as diner and a movie on the same night.

We welcome opportunities to experience truly native customs.