Thursday morning I made everyone get an early start since it was our only day in Guangzhou and we were meeting Billy's boss for lunch. Unfortunately, Joe still wasn't feel up to snuff so he stayed behind.
The rest of us headed out to the Chan Family Academy, which was a few subway stops away. It was the ancestral home of this family built in the 1890s to be near the local governing offices. It was a beautiful place filled with exhibits of artwork native to this, Guangdong, province of China. So there was one room filled with ceramic paintings, another with embroidered paintings, a huge room of ivory, which was closed for some reason, as well as garden spaces filled with bonsai trees (not sure what the Chinese name for them is). And just in case the mood struck you, there were at least 3 gift shops! We spent about an hour and a half here and then hopped the subway to check out a local “shopping” street which was full of tiny shops selling practical items for locals. It was fun to walk down the street and people watch. We then found our way to another subway and headed to meet Billy's boss and co-workers from South Normal University for lunch.
After a circuitous walk from the subway (there was a LOT of construction), we arrived at the restaurant. This was another hot pot meal, but what a spectacular one! The focus of the restaurant was seafood, and Billy's boss had gone and picked out the seafood from fresh tanks before we arrived. The broth was a rice congee, which is kind of a rice porridge, though thinner than what we think of as porridge. First in the broth was clams, then elephant clams, next razor clams, then sea worms, and some type of scallops. We also had dim sum of fried dough (think funnel cake but not greasy nor covered in sugar), two types of noodles, leek cakes, a cannoli-like egg roll filled with sweet rice foam, ribs, and fish mouths. Then the pot was filled with a Chinese-like paella, with prawns, fish and vegetables. By this time we were exploding but also had a few more courses! Next came fish meatballs, some type of meat, meatballs and a type of green squash. This was a full banquet! Our hosts toasted us and Billy repeatedly throughout!
Two professors hosted us (one of which was Billy's boss, a very nice woman who was very complementary about Billy) as well as one of the grad students who has become good friends with Billy. It was a great experience.
We were so full we rolled ourselves through the subway and returned to the hotel for naps, though I ran across the street to pick up some gifts.
It was very difficult to say goodbye to Billy. It was such a treat to be able to spend nearly 3weeks with him. I had gotten accustomed to Skyping with him over the past 6 months, but now I will be going through withdrawal after having him with us in person.
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