Honoring Rice Noodles

                                Honoring Rice Noodles

   China is a country with about 5000 years of history. During this long period of time, various food has been created, which makes China have a huge diversity of food in the world. However, there are different types of food in different regions. In southwest of China, where my hometown is located there, is famous for spicy food, but, I’m not going to introduce hotpot or staff like that. I want to describe a very common food in China, but people from other countries may not know-- rice noodles, and Mixian is another name for them.  I love eating rice noodles for some reasons :it is very convenient for me to eat, they are cheap but delicious, and I can put whatever spices I want in the noodles. Most importantly, they are probably the beat things that can represent my childhood and immaturity. 

  First of all, rice noodles are not exactly look like noodles you see every day. They are made of white rice, which make them seem white. Unlike noodles, they are not very elastic. Vulnerable, is pretty much what I can describe them. When I eat them, it is very easy for me to break them. But this is also why they taste somewhat smooth, so I would rather choose rice noodles than normal noodles. Since they are noodles, which means I don’t need to follow the sequence like I eat other food such as soup, dishes, and white rice. It’s convenient for me to eat them just with a pair of chopsticks, and you can use forks if you want. Since they are mixed with soup, they are usually called rice noodles soups.

  In addition, rice noodles are cheaper than the normal food I eat. They probably cost me under 20 RMB, while I eat a normal meal by myself it will practically cost me 100 RMB. Plus, I usually get full after eating one bowl of rice noodles.  They are cheap, but that doesn’t mean that they are not tasty. Rice noodles are not just noodles boiled with water, people usually put spices in the soup. For me, I prefer to put dry hot peppers, soil sauce, vinegar, garlic, and caraway. You may think I put a lot of staff in the rice noodles soup, but these things will make the rice noodles tasty. In fact, these are the basic things that people put in China.

  The last but not the least thing is that rice noodles have some special meanings to me. When I was young , my grandparents made very delicious rice noodles soup. Thus, every time I eat rice noodles my grandparents will come to my mind. When I grew little older, we have less time together, so I couldn’t eat  rice noodles they made anymore.  Eating rice noodles makes me feel home, since I eat a lot when I’m with my grandparents. However, my grandparents and me live in separate cities, so it is not very often for me to visit them. Therefore, rice noodles are like the connection between them and me. Time flies, grey hair has grown on their heads, but my love for them never changes. I feel like home when I eat rice noodles, and sometimes I can smell the scent from my grandmother even though she is far away from me.

   My parents and I all understand that I will have fewer chances to see them once I choose to study in another country. To be honest, I am somewhat regretful, because being here means I will have less time to be with my family and friends. And yet, I have to be responsible for the path I have chosen. I remembered that my dad told me “ If you do think you can’t handle this, you are welcome to come back.” My dad said this to support me and he didn’t want to give me so much pressure. I know this is my decision, and I will keep going no matter what. Therefore, rice noodles are my childhood and immaturity to me, they accompanied me for years, and finally, I can’t have them anymore. Now, in this country, bread is what every body eat every day. I would love to use an analogy: bread is like maturity to me, because here I am, independently. Bye, rice noodles, and I should probably say hi to bread.