The Trade Show and The Grand Dinner . . .

What a day! The trade show began today (Tuesday). Our booth looked great and it was interesting to be the exhibitor instead of the attendee, as I am at teacher conferences. It was a sea of people - several million we heard. I have never been in such an enormous group of human beings. Amazing! We were there from 9:00 a.m. until 5:30 p.m.  The expo continues for two more days.

                                                 THE ENTRANCE OF THE EXPO CENTER

        

                                              FEW PICTURES OF THE GRAMINEX BOOTH

                                  

                                  

         

We were invited by Jebsen Industrial, who shares our booth, to a GRAND DINNER. There were two tables of twelve in a private room.  At my table were people from China, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and France. Most could speak at least some English.  The meal lasted about two and one half hours and I lost count after twenty courses. If you have a weak stomach, continue reading with caution. New foods  I ate included: rice flat noodles with sesame seed paste (good), Sweet Chinese tofu (nothing like our tofu, and quite sweet), black fungus (don't ask), pork belly with hoisin sauce, Chinese cabbage and pork spring roll, lychees (a fruit that was pretty tasty), abalone (what we would call conchs, and I would call gross. Slimy, hard to chew, and even harder to swallow), Chinese broccoli, Alaskan halibut (good), coconut/tapioca soup (great), mushroom/pork soup (not that great), jellyfish (yuck). Be ready . . Thankfully, I did not know what the following were until after I ate them: shaved duck head, duck stomach, crispy duck skin, and chicken feet. Need I say more? Cindy also ate hairy crab. I did not attempt it -- I could hardly look at it! Cindy evaluated the Grand Dinner this way: "The Carmenerre Chilean wine was the best part of the meal." Perhaps I should have tried it.