I remember this Chinese family staying behind my house. Back then, it was common for three generations of people, the grandparents, the parents and grandchildren to stay together and this big extended family lived in a big house where the head of the family ran a sundry shop. Sometimes, during the evening when I was playing with the little girl from the house, an adult from the house would come and ask her to go home for dinner. He always spoke to her in the Cantonese dialect; so, I presumed they were Cantonese. The family always had dinner at about the same time, at about five to six in the evening and they would eat together, eating out of bowls and using chopsticks to pick at the dishes that were spread out on a round table. I suppose you don't see this type of lifestyle these days. With progress, each family member with his or her own job and programs, come in and out at different time and it would be fortunate enough to be able to come back to even a cold home cooked meal. Most time, people eat out; in schools or offices, with friends, colleagues or alone. No more like old times when the younger members in the family invite the seniors to eat before they themselves pick up their bowls to take their first bite...
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