Farewell, Changsha

Tonight, I’ll leave Changsha for the last time — at least until I return to visit. After two years teaching at Hunan University, I’m moving on to my next adventure. I’m excited for where I’m heading, but of course I’ll also miss Changsha. In addition to friends, both Chinese and American, I’ll miss:

• 

  This Chinese version of hash browns was a favorite lunch dish at a Lushan Nanlu hole-in-the-wall.

  Lushan Nanlu: My apartment building is right off of this street, which runs between the university teaching buildings and the student dorms. Students walk back and forth several times a day, and the street has evolved to meet their needs: You can buy almost anything you want, for very little money. Mangoes, umbrellas, a new computer mouse: I’ve found them all on Lushan NanLu. And the food — oh, the food! Every other storefront is a restaurant, and all the cuisines of China are represented, from Hunan and Sichuan to Uighur and Dongbei (the northeast).

• The Fujian Dumpling Place: Fondly referred to as FJDP, this is my favorite restaurant on the street. It opened last fall and immediately entered our lunch rotation for its flavorful pork-and-veggie dumplings and creamy peanut sauce. Now we’re regulars. The once-surly cooks now smile whenever we walk by, and when we’re out of town for a few days, they are quick to notice. I can’t imagine a better lunch for 75 cents.
• Hunanese food: Noticing a theme yet? Food is definitely where Changsha shines, and nowhere more so than in preparations of the local xiangcai. I’ll miss the piles of hot chilies that come in every dish, now that non-spicy food seems inedibly bland. In my last week in town, I made sure to get one final taste of my favorites: spicy eggplant and green beans, smoked ham and peppers, and fish head covered in peppers.
• 

  Me and my students!

  My students: As much as I’ve complained about them over the years, they can be pretty freaking fun. I’ve caught them practicing how to pronounce “The Rural Juror,” thanks to an episode of “30 Rock,” and taught them to call each other “dork.” The indubitable highlight, however, came this semester, when a student wrote a letter to Abraham Lincoln thanking him for freeing the slaves — because it allowed African-Americans to go on to play in the NBA. A priority, indeed.

All that notwithstanding, I’m definitely excited for a life with more regular access to lattes and pizza. On Friday, I’ll tell you where I’m going to find them.

Related posts:

1. Bullfrog, Changsha style
2. Eating in China: A Study in Impermanence
3. How to Eat Well in China: Find Friends
4. The delights of 口味虾
5. A Spring Festival Ghost Town

Tagged as: Changsha, China, food, Hunan