Our First Amazing Adventure: The Orchestra

Last week Ben was on the subway and noticed a woman carrying a pipa (pronounced something like pee-paw):


True to form, he couldn't resist chatting with her and before he knew it, we'd be invited to hear her group play on Saturday. Now...we're thinking...street musicians, casual afternoon "jam session"...

Saturday came and Liu Taitai (Mrs. Liu) picked us up from the designated subway stop. She drove us to a rather non-descript building and we followed her into the basement where we found...

...an entire Chinese orchestra, complete with strings both bowed and plucked, dulcimers and other harp-like instruments, flutes, shengs (another wind instrument) and a conductor. Liu Taitai proudly informed us that they were rehearsing for the Olympics (well...she modestly admitted not the Opening Ceremonies) and that they are the number 2 ranked competetive amateur music group in Beijing. Wow!

Ben and me with Liu Taitai and her pipa:



We spent two phenomenal hours listening to them play. Invitations were pressed on us from all sides to come back any time and to bring our friends. When it was over we thought it would be polite to do something to thank Liu Taitai so we invited her to join us for dinner. Wrong move! I fear we embarrassed her. She graciously excused herself on some grounds related to her husband (he was not there? out of town?). On the way back to the subway station we asked her to recommend a restaurant in the neighborhood. Wrong (right?) move again! She wouldn't hear of us eating at a restaurant. Instead she called her friend, Yang Laoshi (teacher Yang), the orchestra's composer/arranger and invited us to his house for dinner.

Ben with Yang Laoshi:


Yang Laoshi lives in the hutongs, a twisting network of tiny alleways bordered by walled compounds housing anywhere from one to five or six families, mostly in miniscule, one-story buildings with a courtyard in the center, generally with shared neighborhood toilets (of the squat variety). Yang Laoshi's home seemed to consist of three small rooms with a cooking shed in the courtyard (two propane burners, a cold water sink and not much else). Another family lived in the front half of the compound.

Yang Laoshi and his wife couldn't have greeted us more warmly, despite the fact that one must generally get to know someone quite well before you are invited home. Yang Taitai disappeared shortly after our arrival (I suspect to buy food for the unexpected guests). Yang Laoshi, Liu Taitai and Ben chatted away about music and who knows what else (my Mandarin isn't exactly up to conversational levels!).

At some point Yang Taitai arrived and food started appearing. First came a magnificent bowl of cherry tomatoes and cherries. Then we got some kind of salty, cured pork (cold), and a scallion omelet. We had to keep reminding ourselves that it was normal that we were the only ones eating. It's quite common for Chinese hosts to spend the entire party preparing and serving the food their guests eat, but it was definitely culture shock for us! The capstone of the meal was a huge bowl of classic Beijing-style noodles with the scrumptious sauce whipped up fresh by Yang Taitai in her miniature kitchen.

I'm not entirely sure how Ben excused us, but after a delicious meal in an extraordinarily charming setting with wonderfully gracious hosts, we finally headed home. I wish I knew how to respond appropriately.

How often in New York does someone you randomly talk to on the subway respond, let alone invite you to her orchestra rehearsal, never mind arrange a phenomenal dinner in a friend's home?! Truly a local adventure and a warm welcome to a culturally rich and gracious country.