"Chuyi, eating bread, hamburgers, potatoes, corn, green peas every day... my mouth is about to feel like a birdās from blandness!" In less than two weeks, Chen Miao began to complain.
Xia Chuyi shook her head upon hearing this and said, "Who did you learn that phrase from?"
"From those guys, of course..." Chen Miao replied, "In this foreign land, the most familiar Chinese I remember now is just food and swear words."
Xia Chuyi almost couldnāt contain her laughter.
Thinking for a moment, she said to Chen Miao, "If you really want to eat Chinese food, we can actually go to Chinatown."
"Chinatown?" Chen Miao responded, "Chuyi, how come you seem so much more familiar with NY than us, though we all came here together?"
Xia Chuyi chuckled and said, "Maybe because Iām from the Foreign Languages department, Iāve had more exposure in the past."
Chen Miao didnāt doubt her at all and said, "Then letās go to Chinatown!"
"If I donāt eat something sour, salty, numbing, and spicy soon, Iām going to go crazy!" After saying this, she dragged Xia Chuyi towards the door.
The two went out to eat Chinese food and naturally asked others if theyād like to join.
Huang Feifei glanced at the two and said, "Youāre studying abroad, not here to enjoy yourselves. Why eat Chinese food?"
"Hardship and simplicity are the fine qualities of us from Z-country!" Huang Feifei habitually lectured them.
Chen Miao rolled her eyes secretly, too lazy to pay her any mind.
The exchange students receive a certain allowance; usually being frugal is fine, saving up enough to occasionally eat something nice shouldnāt be a problem.
The guys, except for Li Mingzhi, all agreed happily.
However, upon hearing Li Mingzhi say, "My language skills arenāt quite up to par yet; Iād better go to the cafeteria and interact more with Americans to quickly improve my language."
"Moreover, the money Iāve saved has already gone into buying relevant professional textbooks." Li Mingzhi said with a gentle smile.
Hearing him say this, Chen Chen also said, "Forget it, I wonāt go either; Iāll save up, save more, and when I have more money on hand, Iāll go for Chinese food then!"
"After all, Iāve heard that in the United States, Chinese food is particularly expensive." Chen Chen said in distress, "Just like Western food is very expensive in Z-country."
Upon hearing this, Chen Miao also felt distressed, and leaned in to whisper to Xia Chuyi, "Chuyi, is it really that expensive?"
This was something Xia Chuyi wasnāt too sure about either.
She hadnāt been abroad in her past life, and information about foreign countries and Chinatown she only saw on TV.
Some of it she heard from foreign guests at the private dining room back then.
And her language teacher at the time also told her quite a bit about foreign matters.
Thinking about it, Xia Chuyi softly said to Chen Miao, "If it really is expensive, Iāll treat you."
"How could I let you do that?" Chen Miao immediately shook her head and said, "Letās go Dutch."
This was the first thing they learned to adapt to local customs in the United States after arriving.
"However, if itās indeed very expensive, you can lend me some money." Chen Miao whispered in her ear, "Iāll save up and pay you back slowly later!"
Xia Chuyi said, "Donāt worry about it."
Since the guys had two people not going, Xie Junping hesitated slightly and said, "Iāll go with you."
Otherwise, with two girls going out, Xie Junping felt a bit uneasy.
So in the end, only Chen Miao, Xie Junping, and Xia Chuyi went to Chinatown.
Upon nearing Chinatown, originally a bit worried that her wallet might not be enough, Chen Miao immediately got excited.
"Wow, this is Chinatown!" Chen Miao said extremely excitedly, "Itās just like being back in Z-country; it feels so familiar!"
Some things they usually donāt talk about, but that doesnāt mean they donāt feel it.
Americans still have strong racial discrimination.