Photo Friday: A Special Visit

Nearly five years ago, my son and his fiancée had their wedding reception in China with her friends and family. A month later, they had a civil ceremony back in the States, which we attended. At the time (December 2019), we were making plans to have a reception here in the summer of 2020. Her parents were going to come over from China so that we could finally meet. Everything was cancelled due to Covid, and because of the ongoing restrictions, my son and his wife decided to just forgo the reception. Although I was disappointed, I understood.

The years quickly went by and when they announced they were having a baby last year, her parents once again began making plans to visit. It is quite a process with visas, etc. and the flight is 22 hours, in addition to two layovers. And there is a 12 hour time difference. I could not do it.

My DIL's father has never been outside of China and doesn't know any English. Her mother had been to the USA twice. She knows enough English to be able to communicate. We were excited (and nervous) to meet them and show them around. I'm sure they were most excited about meeting (and staying with) their 8 month old granddaughter!

I made them a welcome basket for their arrival at my son's/DIL's home. It consisted of regional foods and some novelty items that have to do with our major league sports teams. (I forgot to take a picture of it.) I am not including faces in the photos below to protect their privacy.

I hosted a dinner at our home a few days after they arrived so that we could formally meet. I tried to make foods I thought they'd enjoy: teriyaki salmon, roasted vegetables with couscous, and a salad with strawberries and mango. It was the first time my DIL's father had used a fork and knife.

They brought us a ton of gifts. For my husband was this agate locust amulet that you rub for good luck. On the right is a Feng Shui gold gourd, which is for courage in your career. Everything was packaged so nicely! 

For Middle Child was this beautiful silk scarf (she's using it on her cedar chest) and a comb in a silk pouch.

For me was this set of lotions. They explained to me that the women on the tins are popular symbols of 1920's Shanghai.

This embroidered hanging has two birds on it and the reverse says 'Forever' in Mandarin. It's for married couples.

They also brought these beautiful tins of tea.

And this porcelain canister, which was my favorite gift.

During their time here, we wanted to show them some things we like to do. They do not have wineries in China, so we took them to the nicest one in Cleveland for lunch. Cheese is an uncommon food in China, so they really enjoyed that. This winery also has a bakery, so my husband ordered a plate of small desserts. My DIL's father discovered he had a sweet tooth and loved the cannoli's. Sweets are also not typical over there.

They were very interested in playing ping pong and pool in our basement, so we took them to a place that has a lot of arcade games, like skee-ball, duckpin bowling, and sand shuffleboard. My other grandkids came along. As my grandson says, he's "good at that place!" He can beat me at skee-ball every time.

We also took them to lunch at an American tea room, so they could see the difference from theirs. They do not strain tea leaves like we do, but rather just let the leaves settle in the bottom of the pot/cup.

They invited the entire family over to make pork and shrimp dumplings. My grandson really enjoyed learning how to shape them.

They made us a delicious Chinese meal. Clockwise from the top are the two kinds of dumplings, lotus root in a garlic sauce, braised beef, tofu noodles, and a celery salad. Most homes in China do not have ovens, so everything is made stove top.

They also were generous with gifts for all our grandchildren. These embroidered Chinese zodiac animals (this one is a snake) . . . 

These amazing intricately made paper animals on a stick that kids wave around during Dragon Boat Festival, which took place while they were here.

And these glass animal etchings. 

My daughter-in-law was excited for her parents to experience a traditional American holiday at our house and my husband broke out the smoker on July 3rd. It takes him a good 12 hours to smoke the meat, and of course, it rained. Here's his makeshift tent. He smoked two slabs of ribs, two pork butts, two turkey breasts, and a huge brisket. People are always shocked by this amount, but he only uses the smoker once a year and then we freeze the majority of it and enjoy it for a long time.

He shreds the pork for pulled pork. Also pictured is my son's macaroni and cheese.

My oldest daughter made potato salad, my son-in-law made homemade biscuits and bread, and I made a cucumber salad and cut up some cantaloupe, which is a fruit they don't have in China. We played cornhole and giant jenga and they got to see what our Independence Day is all about.

Some other activities that my son and DIL took them to see was the Cleveland Museum of Art, Lakewood Park/Solstice Steps along Lake Erie, Brandywine Falls, and they walked on the towpath along the canal in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. They got to see a Great Blue Heron, which was something they'd never seen before. As they are from a very large city, they were impressed with all the trees and greenery that we have here in Northeast Ohio. They are back home now and will be missed. Despite the language barrier, we had a wonderful time getting to know them and learn about each other's culture.

 What sites would you take visitors from a foreign country to see near you?

**I will be on a blogging break soon for a few weeks**