Just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes something else! At least that’s what Joel was thinking last week when he walked the aisles of grocery stores in the south central province of Guangxi.
He was looking for some snacks to take with him on his travels across the province by both bus and train. At first he was just looking for some of those things he was familiar with – but soon discovered some other interesting items alongside his favorite Snickers bar and Oreo cookies.
After all, North Americans aren’t the only ones who like their bite-sized treats to munch on. Anywhere you go in China you will find a wide assortment of small snack items being sold by street-side vendors. Everything from a skewer of flame-broiled squid, to a small serving of stinky tofu, or a bag of freshly roasted chestnuts. But that’s another story. That isn’t what Joel found on the shelves of these grocery stores.
Right alongside of the rows of ‘plain’ and double chocolate Oreo cookies were a few other options to choose from, including some flavors Joel never thought he would see. I can only assume that they are trying to appeal to the local taste buds with some of the following flavors: Green Tea (pictured); Blueberry and Raspberry; and Mango and Orange. I bought a package of the Blueberry & Raspberry Oreos to take back to Hong Kong and share with Debbie – she wasn’t too excited about my present!
I wondered if this trend of new flavors was also being packaged in other snacks, so I made my way down another row to see what kind of salty snacks were on sale. I wasn’t surprised to see the potato chips – both Pringle’s and Lay’s chips have been on the market for some time now, but I was surprised to see a new selection of flavors. We’ve seen both regular and seaweed flavored chips in stores before, but this was the first time Joel had seen tomato; blueberry (yes – you read correctly) and ‘cool cucumber’ (pictured)!
In many ways, we shouldn’t have been surprised by these products. After all, not everyone is going to have the same food preferences that we have – every culture, every country has their own unique palate. But blueberry chips – that’s just wrong!
Many years ago as we were struggling to adjust to life and the new smells and flavors of food here in Asia, someone shared this thought with us to help us adjust to the new culture and surroundings we found ourselves in. They reminded us, when you see something different from what you grew up with back in Canada/USA, just remind yourself – “It’s not wrong – it’s just different.” It hasn’t always been an easy process adjusting to life in Asia – there are so many things that are different here than what we grew up with, but we are thankful for what we’ve learned over the years. God has used our time here to open our eyes to a world that is so much bigger than what we once thought, and helped us learn to appreciate the diversity He created all around us.
So, while we probably won’t make a habit of eating seaweed flavored chips, we will probably try some new flavors and items. After all, most things are worth trying – at least once!
Until next week,
Joel & Debbie
PRAY WITH US:
Thank you for praying for Joel as he traveled in China last week. He had many good conversations with church leaders in key cities across the province, and was encouraged by the opportunities to partner with them, particularly in the area of leadership training. PRAY for God’s leading in the coordinating and planning a training session for lay workers in the coming months.
This Friday (September 30) secondary Bible teachers from ICS will be meeting together for an all-day retreat. We will be taking time to pray for the school, our students and one another. We will also be narrowing down essential parts of the curriculum in order to plan for next year’s high school course offerings. PRAY that we would be led by the Spirit and would be an encouragement to one another,