The New Year of 2014 is quite different from the Chinese New
Year. The Chinese New Year is based
around the Lunar calendar and will be celebrated later this month. The Chinese New Year, (better translated as
Spring Festival), is the most honored holiday for Chinese people. Many children from the kindergarten have been
absent since the first of this month in order to extend their New Year
celebrations with family members in various parts of China. I’ve been told that it's the craziest time to
attempt travels in China.
The Western New Year’s Eve mildly interesting to
Chinese people, and thankfully the first of January is considered a public
holiday. Many people told me that going
out on New Year’s Eve was a mess and not to bother celebrating. After work I headed to a
friend’s place on foot. The streets and
walkways appeared no more busy than usual.
The metro stations were not crowded and no one looked festive or
aggressive in any way, shape, or form.
After dinner with a friend we drove to a popular expat
hangout, Brussels cafe. The place was
loaded with a mix of Chinese and foreigners, the music was great, and the party
favors were a highlight. Later on I
discovered that my mask would leave smurf blue marks on my face, but thankfully
I didn't have to remove my mask for the night.
A Chinese woman told me that this year all fireworks on New
Year’s Eve would be illegal due to the increase in air pollution. Despite the warnings, someone set off
fireworks on the other side of the lake and we had a grand display.
Since January first life has returned to normal busy. I’m preparing for an 8 day teacher workweek
where the teachers will be organizing their rooms, creating more cultural
materials, and practicing for a practical exam.
This is the last week of students and we will all re-convene on February
17th. The work week starts
next week and goes across the weekend.
After this I can take a few weeks break and finally catch up with life
on the other side of the globe.
This past weekend my neighbor and I set off to find Chairman
Mao’s Wuhan residency on the East Lake.
The day was beautiful and the walk offered sights of birds, fragrant
blooming winter trees, cycads, and soft pines.
The winding roads finally led us to our destination, but the residency is closed for the season. We took a few
pictures before heading to a nearby gala hosted by my traveling group.
During the gala the leader of the group, (Yang), showed
photos from the trips to small villages interspersed with performances by both
Chinese and foreign members of the group.
I sang “Wo Zhi Zai Hu Ni” by the late great Theresa Teng as the only
foreigner in a Chinese singing group. At
the end of the event I sang a slightly different version of a Bob Dylan classic
to honor our group leader:
May your heart always be joyful, may your song always be
sung, and may you stay……
Forever Yang
No comments:
Post a Comment