Buns for Breakfast

On my way to work yesterday, I saw a bunch of food vendors on the street - soy milk, pancakes, crepes, buns, dumplings... they all looked so good! I figured that if they're out during the AM rush, they'll probably be back during the evening rush. Wrong! I guess breakfast is the big meal here. You're suppose to eat a hearty breakfast consisting of anything from sweet to savory. When I was talking to my relo consultant today, she laughed at the thought of street vendors in the evenings. She said - "You need to eat a big breakfast! Diet coke or Starbucks? Not good!"

Well, on my way to work today, I saw the same vendors. Then all of a sudden, they started to make a mad dash. I nearly got run over by one of the wooden carts full of pork buns. Turns out the police pulled up and I guess they are illegal. I assumed they were like the hot dog carts in New York, there's one around every corner. All of a sudden, I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. These vendors were both young and old. One girl couldn't have been more than 5 feet tall, 100 pounds at most, hustling her wooden cart, buns were flying all over the place. I felt sad all day. I've seen plenty of vendors in New York, some legal, some not so legal, but for some reason, this was different. It made me realize that living in the US, I take a lot of things for granted and that I have the freedom to make my own choices. I am very thankful to my parents who made the choice to come to the US so I can make my own choices and have opportunities. I think they realized that at an early age, I would not be a good bun maker more like a good bun eater.