Mao's Last Dancer - Li Cunxin [64]
Like the inside of the plane, the airport was surprisingly cool. I thought we had been given the wrong information about Houston’s hot weather and was thankful we had our jackets on. But the cool air didn’t last long. As soon as we walked outside an intense and humid heat, like a hot wet blanket, overwhelmed us. Then one of the ballet board members, who Ben introduced as Betty Lou Bayless, ushered us into her car and it was cool in there too. Her car was so comfortable, so smooth. This was the very first time I had ever been in a car. Such luxury could only be enjoyed by government officials in China. I felt incredibly privileged.
When we passed downtown Houston and saw all the modern office buildings I thought to myself, “If Houston looks this prosperous, what would New York and Chicago be like?” Nothing I had seen so far matched the dark, decaying, depressing picture of America the Chinese government had painted in my mind. Instead I saw high-rise buildings and wide, clean streets. I knew our foreign hosts could maybe fake their behavior, but they couldn’t have built these buildings just to impress us. I was confused. Someone had lied to us about America being the poorest nation in the world and China being the richest. It seemed to be the opposite. But still I was confident I would eventually find many things about America that I could hate.
We arrived at Ben’s home, a large house in a fenced complex with a security gate and guards. Zhang and I were ushered inside—and my jaw dropped …
I saw a huge room, beautiful beyond belief, with pastel colors, sofas, and matching chairs. And giant mirrors. There was carpet—beige, soft, and bouncy. To the left I saw a kitchen—and my jaw dropped even lower. A refrigerator stood against the wall, as tall as me and four times as wide. And an electric stove and two sinks. The kitchen was simply enormous. Everything was new. Even the air smelled new.
Ben showed us upstairs to our bedroom, which had two single beds in it, a small walk-in closet, and the same luxurious carpet as downstairs. There were small tables with lamps beside each bed. It even had its own bathroom!
That first night in America we were taken to a local Chinese restaurant called “The Mandarin.” A Chinese lady from Taiwan greeted us at the door.
The restaurant was very crowded but we were taken to our own private room. Clare Duncan and the two gentlemen we had met at the airport were there, as well as two other friends of Ben’s. Zhang and I didn’t know what attitude we should have toward these people. If this were China they would have been killed or jailed under Mao’s regime simply because of their wealth.
We had a couple of tasty Tsingtao beers from my hometown, the first time I’d ever had one, and as the evening progressed we gradually let our guard down a little and joined in the fun. Ben ordered many delicious dishes, including Peking Duck. I’d never had Peking Duck before either, and it just melted in my mouth. “No one is going to believe me back home,” I thought.
Many courses later, Ben asked us if we were still hungry. We didn’t understand what he was saying, but we remembered that we had to keep smiling and saying, “Yes, yes!” just as the Chinese officials had told us. More and more food kept arriving. Eventually I just held my head and shouted, “Oh dear me!” and everyone burst into roars of laughter.
In desperation I went to the Chinese lady who owned the restaurant. “Can you please tell Ben to stop ordering any more food? Our stomachs will simply burst!”
“But he hasn’t even ordered dessert yet,” she said.
I’d never heard of dessert.
By the end of the evening we had so much leftover food on the table I asked Ben if we could take it home. I couldn’t bear the waste. I thought of all the starvation in China. Everyone that night seemed to admire our slimness and I couldn’t understand why. In China being thin was a symbol of poverty; being fat meant you had money to buy good food. Later I discovered that many people in America went to expensive diet clinics to lose weight. I could easily