Tam

“When one person collapses, the other instinctively shoulders their weight.”
― Michelle Zauner, Crying in H Mart

“And I said nothing about how in the child's fear I had seen reflection of all the difficulties that I had ever encountered in Fuling, the people's uncertainty about things new and strange. It was a natural, helpless, human response - an instinct as blameless as a child's. It took time and effort to deal with that, as well as patience, and now I realized how much work had been done on the other side.”
― Peter Hessler, River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze

“In China it's common for people in restaurants to complain about food. The Chinese can be passive about many things, but food is not one of them; I suppose this is one reason they've ended up with a first-rate cuisine and a long history of political disasters.”
― Peter Hessler, Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory

“She and her family hadn't invited me in order to make a point about xenophobia, or anything like that. They knew that I was alone on the holiday, and i was their friend; nothing else mattered. They were simply big-hearted people and that was the best meal I ever had in China.”
― Peter Hessler, River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze