NAHSS: Special food culture in China

On the first evening in Beijing we went to a local restaurant near campus. This is where we first became familiar with the typical Chinese phenomenon of 'hotpotting'. Chinese collectivism percolated strongly at the dinner table. Instead of everyone ordering their own meal, many small dishes were selected and then placed on the table to be thrown into the hotpot. I still remember how, despite my Indonesian background, this went against my individualistic feelings. Did everyone get enough and was it distributed fairly? Am I paying too much for what I actually eat? I found myself eating extra so that I wouldn't get the short end of the stick when the bill arrived. However, during the weeks there was soon a habit of getting used to it and the insight that sharing everything is something beautiful. This created a feeling of connection with the people you eat with. Combined with eating with chopsticks, which makes you extra aware of what and how much you eat, eating is an important and enjoyable part of socializing. The round glass turntable on the table also created hilarious scenes. It was not unusual, since you were not yet practiced with eating with chopsticks, that you dropped the food on the table while 'serving' it. Or simply hadn't finished subtly filling your plate with your favorite dish. That is a disadvantage: you also have to share the dishes that you would actually rather keep for yourself.