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Published: February 23rd 2008
Spring Festival
We woke up a few minutes before the sun on Feb.7, our first morning in the Kaifeng countryside in the province of Henan. The thermometer read 36deg F . . . in our bedroom. We made a mad dash from our mountain of blankets, grabbed for whatever layers we weren’t already wearing, and stepped out into a crisp silence, unlike anything we have experienced in China thus far. There were no car-horns, there was no construction work, absent were the calls of street vendors. The constant city buzz, the constant buzz of people, had been left in the last big city. The silence was vast.
Things began to take shape in the twilight and soon the village began to stir. We had decided to start our Spring Festival celebration with an early-morning tai ji quan (tai chi) lesson from the guy who made it all possible, our friend George. George and Stephanie studied performance art in Kerala, India during the summer of 2006 and managed to stay in touch during George’s continued travels throughout Southeast Asia. He recently finished a year-long teaching contract in Henan and generously invited us to spend the festival with the family
of one of his friends/students, Kevin. As our tai ji quan lesson continued, the rest of our spring festival family joined us in one of three large sand yards included in Kevin’s family’s property. In total there were us, George, Ita (a wonderful woman and friend of George), Kevin’s mother, father, 3 brothers, sister-in-law and his almost-too-adorable nephew. His father took particular interest in the unfolding lesson, and we casually inquired if he did tai ji quan, or knew any gong fu (Kung Fu).
His response? A rapid sequence of kicks, jabs, stabs, and punches complete with a roundhouse and a leg sweep. Yeah he knew some gong fu. It turns out he learned gong fu while serving in the Chinese army in Inner Mongolia (this was the perfect introduction to the man who also spent many years as a traveling magician). He proceeded to show us a barrage of simple yet astoundingly affective self-defense moves featuring arm manipulation, most of which unfortunately used Cody as his sparring partner, where Cody played the role of "bad guy". After a few wrist twists and elbow hyper-extensions, Kevin’s dad told Cody to try and grab him from behind. The self
The Kitchen
These red decorations were on all of the doors in the village, in the effort to ward off bad luck.defense move for combatting this hold was not as technical, and with one swing of his arm, Kevin’s dad performed the move most of us would think of if a "bad guy" grabbed us from behind. With one swing of his arm, he landed a swift and precise blow to the groin. The results? Cody definitely released him and chuckled about “leaving himself open for that one” as he got up from his knees a couple minutes later.
Then came the food. Lots and lots of food. Breakfast was a harmonious blend of warm mantou (doughy steamed buns) a saucy dish of chicken and vegetables, and a glorious sweet-potato and rice porridge. Lunch and dinner dishes ranged from cauliflower and spicy diced pork, sugar-coated fried peanuts (from the family's fields), amazing unidentified vegetable dishes, and huge, artfully presented whole fried fish, to soups, porridges and hodge-podge stews. All served with that wonderful mantou, perfect for dipping (though apparently uncouth) in lingering sauces and broths.
We then prepared for one of the most important nights in Spring Festival, Chinese New Year’s Eve. When Stephanie asked her students what they planned to do on New Year’s Eve she
Path Prancing
Whats an open, endless path without some frolicking? was surprised to find that all of them said “watch TV” with their family. On the eve of the Lunar New Year in China everybody (read: several hundred million people) gathers around their televisions and watches the CCTV (government news channel) New Years Eve gala which includes traditional performances, and comedy routines, not to mention the latest up-and-coming pop stars. We were happy to participate in our host’s tradition of watching the gala until dawn, though it felt a little strange to sit in silence staring at the tube after the festive atmosphere and togetherness of the day.
Until then, the fireworks had been minimal. Every once and a while we’d hear a boom or a string of fire-crackers, but nothing too notable. Then midnight came. We all left the TV and scuttled into the pitch-black yard. There was movement on the roof and the rest of the family had their eyes turned toward the sky，waiting in anticipation. Finally, we heard the tell-tale pssssssiiit of a lit fuse which erupted into a series of beautiful flowers above Kevin’s house. The flood gates were opened and a song of booms, cracks，and bangs rose from the surrounding countryside. We all
Lunch!
Eventually, there were so many people we had to move outside. watched in delight as the ground shook and the sky shone. Kevin’s family eventually went back in the house to watch the rest of the gala, but the fireworks did not stop and they lulled us to sleep that night around 2am.
But we didn’t sleep for long. We awoke with a start at 6:30am to Kevin’s gong-fu-kickin’ magic-trick-slinglin’ father lighting off fireworks outside our bedroom. It was time for breakfast. Kevin informed us that if a family was among the first in the neighborhood to have their traditional jiaozi (dumplings) boiled and ready to eat that morning, it meant they would be responsible and hard-working for the rest of the year. We listened as surrounding houses lit long strands of firecrackers to show the rest of the village they were early risers, and had their jiaozi ready. The backyard erupted with our very own fire-cracker barrage and we sat down to yet another scrumptious, stomach-splitting meal of jiaozi and mantou.
For the next two days we relaxed, chatted, explored the expansive countryside, and played in the yard. The Dirtbags (hackey sacks) we brought were a huge success and their presence resulted in a family-wide tournament
Yes, There's a Baby in There
This little guy sported the pictured puffball winter gear complete with butt-pants our entire visit. What are butt pants? Almost all toddlers wear pants with a built-in hole in the butt. This makes diapers downright silly since the little ones can simply do their business on street corners, in backyards, and on linoleum floors. This definitely produces less waste (the paper kind) than disposable diapers and we imagine the little tikes feel a lot freer to boot. Diapers are worn in bed and on 49hr sleeper trains (thank goodness). of a cross between monkey-in-the-middle and dodge ball. We also taught Kevin how to juggle. Kevin was the only one in his family who spoke fluent English, so we did most of our communicating with Chinese and hand-gestures. Our Chinese really improved even after just a few days, and we were definitely inspired to hit the books, in hopes that next time we visit, we can tell them a little more fluently just how thankful we are.
The warmth of the family and the village wasn’t stopped by the language barrier. Kevin’s family pretty much adopted us. His mom and Stephanie hit it off immediately despite their language limitations and his mom patiently taught Stephanie new words in Chinese such as xi gua (watermelon) and more importantly mama (mother, pronounced with a long first 'a') which she insisted Stephanie call her. They were both taken with each other’s hands, Kevin’s mom with Stephanie’s because Stephanie’s are perpetually cold, and Stephanie with mama’s because mama’s are perpetually warm. They were really a match made in heaven and spent most of the New Year’s Eve gala holding hands. Mama and the rest of the family told us over and over
Government Issued Trees
The gvt. reimburses farmers money (for their lost farm land) if they plant trees in order to stave off desertification. The result is forests of identical, equally spaced trees. that we have to come back in the summer when the xi gua are bigger than our heads, and everybody is guaranteed to eat themselves sick. We think we just might.
After a sad goodbye, it was back to Kaifeng where we spent the remainder of our holiday. We revisited the incredible night market (with more than 100 food stalls!) and attended a huge Spring Festival Celebration with amazing performances including lion dances (see video!). We also booked our return train tickets to Chengdu. Absence really must make the heart grow fonder, because some how we forgot about the hell that was our first ‘29hr’(actually 49hrs) hard seat train, and booked another 24hr hard seat trip from Kaifeng to Chengdu. This time, the train actually only took 24hrs, and the seats were softer and a little roomier. The train was once again packed, with every space taken by a body, aisles included, and getting to the bathroom was an obstacle course, but once we were seated, we settled in and prepared for an uneventful ride.
Now that we were seasoned train pros, we came prepared. Knowing that train food is expensive and frankly bad, we had
A Day For Fires
It was particularly cold our second day in the Kaifeng countryside, and in one of our after-meal strolls around the village we stopped at a corner fire. People meandered out of their houses to warm themselves, add corn-stalk kindling, and catch up with neighbors they hadn't seen in a while. Everyone was pretty intrigued by the waiguoren (foreigners). The warmth (interpersonal/actual fire) inspired us, so we made our own in Kevin's yard. Pictured here are Kevin's sister-in-law, Ita, Cody, Mama and Xiaogou (the tiny glove-stealing(eating?) pooch). enough snacks to keep our bellies full and happy, and we made sure we ate a big dinner in Kaifeng before boarding. We boarded at 8:40pm and at 12:30am, only four hours into the ride, Cody was regretting our Kaifeng meal. Not because it was too big, or it left him with a bad taste in his mouth, but because there was no denying it, he was experiencing his first bout of food poisoning in China. There couldn’t have been a worse time or place. We were packed in like sardines and the only place one could toss one’s cookies was directly in front of us into plastic bags we had brought our snacks in. This is what had to be done, and we held on to those brimming bags until we could get to the end of the car to throw them away. It was miserable. The best part was that through all of this, the people seated in our area, (some not more than a foot away) slept through the entire thing! This made the whole ordeal a little easier. There’s nothing worse than onlookers when you’re ruffling your tummy feathers.
By morning, Cody was feeling
View From the Living/Dining Room
Baba (father) and the little tike. better, and after a day of truly beautiful northern Sichuan scenery, we arrived safe and sound in Chengdu. It’s good to be home. Now that we're at the end of the Spring Festival, the last of the fireworks are being lit, and Chengdu smells more like spring each day. After some time away, we are both feeling inspired and excited about making the most of the next term and taking advantage of what this city, what this experience has to offer. Thanks for reading.
Stephanie and Cody
P.S. Don’t forget the attached videos! Video #1 shows an unaware Stephanie frolicking in the Xiamen surf (she lost the coin toss, so you get to see it) and video #2 is a snippet of the sensational lion dance in Kaifeng. Enjoy!
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janet/mom
non-member comment
Happy Chinese New Year!
Wow!!! What a great Chinese New Year's festival. I love your adjectives describing the food. Makes the mouth water. I simply love the dancing lion!!!!! And I love the countryside. What a treasure to find such a wonderful, warm welcoming family! What does Nu'er mean? The TV watching seemed a lot lile New Year's eve here. I wonder what people there did before TV. How cold was that water, Stephanie? Was that the ocean or a lake? Thanks for sharing your wonderful holiday with us. Love you tons!