On the final day of the Chinese year, firecrackers begin bursting at 7am. They continue throughout the day in small cracks, pops, and sometimes massive, pounding bursts. There are those that are endless sizzling fizzles and plenty with staccato bravado. It is a sign of the joyous event that is upon us, as over 1.3 billion people bring in the New Year on at midnight. It reminds me of the 4th of July when I was a kid when, more than a professional show downtown, we would look for backyard fireworks bursting in the neighborhood skyline. Yet, here in China, after hours of this, sitting sleepily on the sofa after a big lunch, it has begun to sound more like gunfire and mortars exploding nearby. Hence the title of this post. The earplugs only soften the kaboom, and music certainly has a nicer melody, but celebration knows no silence. As night falls, there is a lightshow to accompany the crash and bang of merrymaking.
Today is the 30th on the Chinese lunar calendar. However, as we approach midnight, the word used for "new year", chūnjié, is used. Today, J's cousin taught me the phrase: Chunjie chi jiao zi, which means "On new year's, we eat dumplings". Although, I must confess, we've been eating dumplings since the 29th--who can resist!
When we wake tomorrow, chunjie continues, but it is also referred to as chūyí, literally "the first (day)". The first is the day to wish your relatives and friends a happy new year, giving us the phrase: Chuyi guo nian hao. This is accompanied by a gesture holding your hands in front of your chest, with your left hand in a fist covered with your right hand.
And thanks to that, I might never have to take out my earplugs.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
Monday, January 31, 2011
Herd on a Hill
At the back of Zu Qiu Park is a garden space where J's father has a small plot for vegetables. Of course it's winter so there's nothing growing there now, but we took a look at the fence he'd built up around the space. It was by far the most impressive of the other plots in the area, of which there were at least 20 others. I told him his was "very nice" (hen hao) and he said thank you (xie xie).
Then we headed past the garden plots and started up a slope through a forested area. It leads up to the top of a river dam, which was actually built by the Japanese during the war. The area J lives in is known as the Western Mountain Dam (Xi Shang Shui Ku), and it has some stunning views from up top. We actually climbed a considerable slope which leads up past the dam, so you can see to the west of Dalian and the river below. I'm not sure how many meters the climb is, but my guess is about 300 or so. It is a pretty steady incline, so nothing too difficult, and longer than it is high/steep. We also saw a number of other hikers on the way, as well as--and this was a bit surprising, but imaginable after some thought--a woman tending a herd of goats. I counted about 20 head of goats, some large and some fairly young. They were all milling about the side of one slope amongst the trees. W spoke to the woman watching over them, and then started digging through the leaves. Soon I realized he was scooping up acorns, and he passed a few to me. W called one over by saying "yang, yang, yang", which I later learned means goat (or sheep, depending on if it's a shan yang/goat or a mian yang/sheep). We started feeding the goats, who nibbled the acorns from our gloved hands quite happily. After that, we continued up the hill and made it to the top about 10 minutes later.
On the way down, the herd seemed to have moved to another area. We had picked up a few more acorns on our way down, so I put a few in my pocket and we threw the others back on the ground for future herds to find. Walking back through the park we saw two old men flying a kite (feng zheng) high up in the sky. They were sitting at the edge of the park chatting, seeming rather nonchalant about it. Further down the path, we saw a soccer team had emerged; about 20 junior high school aged boys were practicing dribbling and passing the ball up and down the field. There was also a young guy playing basketball by himself, and the soccer ball we'd kicked over the fence was no longer on the courts.
Then we headed past the garden plots and started up a slope through a forested area. It leads up to the top of a river dam, which was actually built by the Japanese during the war. The area J lives in is known as the Western Mountain Dam (Xi Shang Shui Ku), and it has some stunning views from up top. We actually climbed a considerable slope which leads up past the dam, so you can see to the west of Dalian and the river below. I'm not sure how many meters the climb is, but my guess is about 300 or so. It is a pretty steady incline, so nothing too difficult, and longer than it is high/steep. We also saw a number of other hikers on the way, as well as--and this was a bit surprising, but imaginable after some thought--a woman tending a herd of goats. I counted about 20 head of goats, some large and some fairly young. They were all milling about the side of one slope amongst the trees. W spoke to the woman watching over them, and then started digging through the leaves. Soon I realized he was scooping up acorns, and he passed a few to me. W called one over by saying "yang, yang, yang", which I later learned means goat (or sheep, depending on if it's a shan yang/goat or a mian yang/sheep). We started feeding the goats, who nibbled the acorns from our gloved hands quite happily. After that, we continued up the hill and made it to the top about 10 minutes later.
On the way down, the herd seemed to have moved to another area. We had picked up a few more acorns on our way down, so I put a few in my pocket and we threw the others back on the ground for future herds to find. Walking back through the park we saw two old men flying a kite (feng zheng) high up in the sky. They were sitting at the edge of the park chatting, seeming rather nonchalant about it. Further down the path, we saw a soccer team had emerged; about 20 junior high school aged boys were practicing dribbling and passing the ball up and down the field. There was also a young guy playing basketball by himself, and the soccer ball we'd kicked over the fence was no longer on the courts.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Soccer Park
After dinner the other night, I took a walk with J's dad over to "Soccer Park" (Zu-Qiu Gong-Yuen). The night air was crisp, and I quickly put up my hood to keep warm. The park is just a 5 minute walk or so from their place, and it was nice to get some exercise after a very large dinner.
We had made a massive amount of food to eat over the new year holidays coming up, which I'd helped to make. It was fun to see how they make everything, and also to try and communicate with J's parents on my own (J was in the other room working on her computer). Her dad, W, showed me how to make a mixture of radish and pork, with some spices and flour mixed in, which I then scooped up in a spoon and dropped into frying oil to make a small fried ball of the mixture, called wanzi. We also made a dish a fried-fish (zha yu). W showed me how to make sure the fish didn't stick together after putting them in the oil, and also to lift the fried fish out of the oil once for a few moments with a wide laddle, then drop them back in for a minute, and then scoop them out one last time. It was a lot of fun, and made it all taste that much better knowing that I'd helped to make it.
The next day we had a large lunch, including the dishes above, as well as steamed buns (man tou) and corn porridge (yu mi zhou). Actually, I wish I could name ALL the different dishes we've had, but I'm sure I'll get to them, little by little--I'm a perpetual foodie blogger. Again, W and I strolled over to Zu-Qiu Park for some exercise. This time when we got there, I saw a forgotten soccer ball in the field. I ran out and gave it a kick toward the goal. W soon got the idea and joined me, so we passed it back and forth a bit, and then took turns as goalie. After a few minutes, one of the park staff came out and joined us too. He was a young guy and spoke a bit of English. I think he said he was a teacher, so I think he was a sports coach of some sort. Anyway, after about 20-30 minutes, we managed to kick the ball out of bounds and over a fence into the basketball courts. It wasn't a problem, but the end of our game, so we said farewell to the coach and W and I continued our stroll.
We had made a massive amount of food to eat over the new year holidays coming up, which I'd helped to make. It was fun to see how they make everything, and also to try and communicate with J's parents on my own (J was in the other room working on her computer). Her dad, W, showed me how to make a mixture of radish and pork, with some spices and flour mixed in, which I then scooped up in a spoon and dropped into frying oil to make a small fried ball of the mixture, called wanzi. We also made a dish a fried-fish (zha yu). W showed me how to make sure the fish didn't stick together after putting them in the oil, and also to lift the fried fish out of the oil once for a few moments with a wide laddle, then drop them back in for a minute, and then scoop them out one last time. It was a lot of fun, and made it all taste that much better knowing that I'd helped to make it.
The next day we had a large lunch, including the dishes above, as well as steamed buns (man tou) and corn porridge (yu mi zhou). Actually, I wish I could name ALL the different dishes we've had, but I'm sure I'll get to them, little by little--I'm a perpetual foodie blogger. Again, W and I strolled over to Zu-Qiu Park for some exercise. This time when we got there, I saw a forgotten soccer ball in the field. I ran out and gave it a kick toward the goal. W soon got the idea and joined me, so we passed it back and forth a bit, and then took turns as goalie. After a few minutes, one of the park staff came out and joined us too. He was a young guy and spoke a bit of English. I think he said he was a teacher, so I think he was a sports coach of some sort. Anyway, after about 20-30 minutes, we managed to kick the ball out of bounds and over a fence into the basketball courts. It wasn't a problem, but the end of our game, so we said farewell to the coach and W and I continued our stroll.
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