One of the best things about hanging with locals is that they know where to eat. Paul, one of Joylani’s old high school pals, has generously treated us to delicious dinners the past two nights. Last night, it was Peking/Beijing duck. We ordered a bunch of dishes, but the Peking duck dish definitely lived up to the hype. Satisfied, I was able to cross the meal off my list of things to do in Beijing, although it was so good I might have to have another go at it. Then tonight, we met up with Paul again, who also invited a few other friends, for some hotpot. There was six of us to split the countless plates of meat and vegetables. The boiling pot in the center of our table was split into two parts, one hot and one not. Needless to say, I only pulled stuff out of the non-spicy side. Besides plates piled high with pork and lamb, the most unique dish ordered was chicken heart. It was a dark, almost purple-y color raw, although after being cooked, it looked and tasted a lot like a dark cut of beef (like what you get in pho sometimes). And of course, beer. In a year of traveling, I’ve learned that people around the world like to drink. But in China its almost always beer and its socially acceptable to drink in public. Beer seems to be drunk with every meal and its usually cheaper than Coke or tea. Although Joylani is clearly the foody one of us, I’ve really been enjoying eating and drinking the past couple weeks.