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My stomach was a powerful barometer of my travels. In Nepal, the student orientation warned us of the possibility of stomach illness. As someone put it, it’s not a question of if you get sick, it’s a question of when. I spent the initial months in Kathmandu staying with a lovely Tibetan family. The mother, Ama-la, was a great cook and with every meal would put out a dish of sepen, spicy, ground red chiles. I can remember asking her if Tibetans liked spicy food to which she said, “No”. Sadly, I really like spicy red chiles and I would spoon copious amounts onto my plate with every meal. Midway through the summer, however, my bowels turned Maoist and began to protest. I visited a Tibetan doctor, and that, much to my regret, was the end of the sepen. Going to Chengdu, I was anxious because Sichuan is renowned for its spicy cuisine. I did not want to endure another round of stomach problems.

I went into Chengdu planning to eat strategically. I was paying double tuition for my university in Montreal and tuition for SWUN. While a Quebec bursary generously covered a chunk of my expenses, things were still tight. Luckily, the Chinese government strongly supports universities and student life. SWUN’s older campus boasted four different cafeterias, each of which had a different selection of delicious, inexpensive meals catering to the diverse student body. If you were skillful, you could eat well and cheaply.

Each cafeteria featured a central seating area lined with booths manned by cooks in white coats and caps. Each booth served a different dish. People lined up to get dishes, a little like in a food court. In the first month, I warily navigated the lineups, testing the spiciness of different dishes. In addition, I made sure to finish meals with bubble milk tea to protect against too much spice. Unfortunately, Helen loved greens and kept choosing the spiciest dish in the cafeterias. Hands down, this was the sichuan green beans. They were liberally laced with ground red chiles and were stomach killers. I tried them once. Just once.