Bridge of Food

Chinese Lunch: A Bridge of Food

Last weekend, there was an exceptional gathering of the Chinese community in Mostar -- but not only of Chinese. We gladly welcomed visitors from East Sarajevo University Sinology Institution, that were not only from China but from here, in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Hongli, our seasoned second-year, cooked traditional Sichuan food in Suyin’s kitchen, joined by Meng Xiu Kun, the Chinese teacher based at West University, Mostar, cooking up a storm! From beef and carrot stew to meatball tomato soup and stir-fried broccoli, braised aubergine and pork with courgettes, everyone was delighted with the long-desired authentic Chinese food. What made everyone feel homelier was also talking in Mandarin to the professors who had spent years studying Chinese. When we communicated with people that look completely unlike us entirely fluently, it truly warmed our hearts. Seeing people willing to put in effort into learning our language, to live and fit into Chinese culture, and to come back to BiH to spread more influence was almost pleasantly shocking to us.

Through talking to them, I learned that teaching assistants Doroteja studied in Dalian, and Jelena lived in Xi’an, while Bojana Pavolovic, the head of the Sinology department, has a PhD in Chinese, and lived for seven years in Nanjing. Each of them had their own story, their own experiences of learning Chinese: whether it was finding Chinese characters interesting, making friends in China, or being fond of Chinese culture. Having received scholarships, they enjoyed what China brought to them and intended to bring that impact back home.

I was so very much inspired. Seeing people from such exotic countries like the Balkans that generally have such little exposure to anything Chinese, put so much energy into learning my language and culture was absolutely special.

The lunch was like a bridge of food. The bridge in Mostar connected the ethnic groups together; ours connected two continents.

©️ Written by Michelle YuXin Wang 王裕昕; Edited by Suyin Chan 陈素茵