NAGA CITY?Don?t be surprised if one day, Bicol dishes like ?laing, kinunot na pagi (stingray) and the incendiary Bicol express? would find their way to restaurants in Fujian province in China.

Xu Shangdong, 25, a cultural exchange volunteer from China, spent a lot of time hanging around a small canteen just outside Ateneo de Naga University (AdeNU), observing how Filipino dishes are prepared, as a way of learning the local culture.

Xu, who has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese Language and Literature from Zhang Zhou University, is one of two volunteers from the Fujian province selected to work in the Philippines for one school year.

This was made possible under a cultural exchange program of the AdeNU in coordination with the International Education Exchange Association, an organization of universities based in China.

Xu, who chose the English name Paul, endeared himself to the Lucky 12 Canteen owners and employees. He would often hang around the kitchen to watch Mac, the cook, prepare Bicolano dishes.

?He would stay for about an hour, just watching and asking me about Filipino cooking. He would take out a small notebook and write. Later, he would teach at Ateneo High School. He would come again the following day,? Mac, the cook, said in Bicolano.

Through his daily visits, Xu learned the basics of Filipino cooking, which he said was similar to some of the cuisine in his province.

Food as culture

?In China, cuisine is part of the cultural and art heritage. The emperor?s meal, composed of 180 recipes, had been preserved for hundreds of years,? he said.

Xu said he would bring the recipes he learned in his 10-month stay in Naga City to China. He hopes to introduce them to his friends and family.

He left on Thursday for China and vowed to come back in May next year ?to mentor students in Mandarin and Chinese culture.?

Teased about the possibility of marrying a Filipino woman when he returns, Xu smiled and complained: ?I have no girlfriend here, nor in China.?

Family-oriented

The Chinese volunteer said there were similarities between the Filipino and Chinese ways of life?both were family-oriented.

?I come from a small town called Ping Nan. My father runs a small business and my mother is a housewife. I have a sister who is two years younger than me,? Xu said, but did not elaborate on whether the ?one child? policy in China was still enforced.

?They cannot follow everybody. China has 1.4 billion people,? he said.

Xu said he taught Mandarin language and Chinese literature to high school students in China and did the same at the AdeNU.

While here, he connected to his friends in China through Facebook.

10,000 characters

According to Xu, 80 percent of the universities in China are owned and controlled by the state so students pay matriculation fees which are much lower than those in private schools.

?I studied six years in elementary, six years in high school and four years in college,? he said.

To be able to speak and write in Mandarin, he said, one must memorize 3,000 characters. For advanced learners, one must memorize 10,000 characters.

?You could write a book if you have memorized 10,000 characters,? Xu said.

Warm people

He said the Chinese educational curriculum required all students to learn English starting in high school up to college. He was thankful for the exchange program as he was able to practice English.

?In China, we only speak English inside the classroom. It?s hard to practice English because we speak Mandarin all the time,? Xu said.

He said he felt a sense of fulfillment being given the opportunity to join the exchange program.

According to Xu, Filipinos are warm and accommodating which allowed him to get to know and appreciate the culture.

The delicious food was a bonus, he said.