One British New Year, one Chinese New Year and a lot of dumplings

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I’ve definitely got the Christmas blues after having such a wonderful time on Christmas day with lots of food, presents and spending time with friends. However, we’re still looking forward to a day off at New Year and seeing what the day brings…. We’re not usually a massive fan of New Year celebrations, opting to either work or spend it doing something low key, but it will be interesting to see how Chinese people celebrate it, if at all. We’ve been invited to a house party for westerners by one of our friends, but we kind of feel past that particular way of socialising now, and are hoping to do something more sophisticated instead.

Our sophisticated plan for the evening consists of taking a bottle of wine into the park to watch the live show and fireworks lol. But first, we go to our favourite Chinese BBQ for some food with a few friends before wishing them an early happy new year and making our way into the park. I’m actually really excited about the prospect of drinking some wine, as all we’ve really drank since we’ve been here is beer. Wine is one of those status symbol items here, and as most of it is imported, it isn’t cheap at about 15 quid for even the cheapest bottle of wine. Ok, so it’s not exactly paying £150 for a 1978 cheeky vintage, but that’s still a fair chunk of money to us on our meagre teachers wages! As a result, we’ve not bought wine before, so this is a rare treat, and one I am really looking forward to.

After dinner, we’re about to leave to go to the park when I ask Greg if he’s remembered to bring the bottle opener. Of course he hasn’t so we have to ask the lovely staff at the BBQ if they can open our wine for us, which they do without a second thought- they are so lovely here and we thank them gratefully. Off we head, and find a nice spot at the side of the park to sit and watch the nights events unfold. So drinking wine in a park COULD be seen as a bit jakey, but we’ve brought our own wine glasses with us, so we feel quite posh as we sip away.As midnight approaches, we wait for the countdown to start, and actually manage to count down in chinese which we are really proud of. As the clock strikes midnight, we wait for a flurry of people celebrating and hugging with fireworks going off in the background, but actually what happens is… nothing. Everyone continues to play about with their iphones, couples sit in silence and no one does anything. What an anti-climax!

We give each other a quick ‘cheers’ and chink of the wine glasses and decide to head back to the apartment to finish the rest of the wine, but there is a mass exodus of people who have the same idea as us (probably not the wine drinking part). It’s absolutely crammed with people everywhere, I think the whole of China decided to come to Shunfeng park to (not) celebrate! We manage to fight our way through the crowds and then make our way back to the flat unharmed.

The next morning we have a lie in and get up around lunchtime. We’ve agreed to meet our boss for a coffee before we head over to one of our other friend’s house for some food. We take our boss to our favourite little coffee shop and order our usual. As we go to leave, I offer to pay our half, and our boss dismisses it saying she will pay. She then explains that in China it is customary that if you invite someone out for drinks/food then it is up to the person who has taken them out to pay the bill. We didn’t realise this until now and it dawns on us that when we took our t.a’s out for lunch last month, they were a bit taken aback when we only put in enough money to pay our half of the bill lol. Oh well, every day we learn something new!

We head out to meet our friend Angel who has brought along her very cute niece to greet us. She takes us back to hers via walking street- this is a street that we have been trying to find for a few months now and have just found out where it is. It’s one of the biggest shopping streets in Shunde, and I’m so pleased to finally find it! Excitement over, we head across the river and into her apartment complex. Once inside, she offers us a selection of home cooked biscuits that are traditional of the area, and taste very nice. Her niece, Emma, who is about 6 years old, is eager to impress us, and continually offers us bananas, biscuits and tops up our cups of green tea every 2 minutes. She is really sweet but we soon have to tell her we can’t possibly fit any more tea or biscuits inside of us!

When Angel’s mum arrives back home, she asks us if we would like to learn how to make some Chinese dumplings, which we of course say that we would love to. So we sit down and watch as she effortlessly takes some mince mixture and then folds it up inside a dumpling parcel and crimps the ends in seconds. We have a go and our first few efforts leave a lot to be desired! But we soon get the hang of it, and we are told that we are very good learners. We sit down to an absolute feast of pork dumplings along with oodles of noodles and some tomato broth. It’s such a delicious meal and a great way to celebrate British New Year- in a Chinese house with Chinese food, as you do.

Going back to work the next day is a bit of a bummer to say the least. The weather has been a bit up and down and quite often cold and grey, which hasn’t helped make us feel any better. Greg hasn’t been able to play football because of the holidays and I feel we’ve not really done anything fun since new year’s day. So we need something to cheer both of us up. For Greg, that comes in the form of playing football again, and for me- what every girl needs to cheer them up- a new haircut!

Greg realised just how much he missed playing football and having banter with the boys, whereas I’ve realised I’ve missed having a day to just pamper myself. These are the things you sacrifice first when travelling, so it’s a luxury I’ve had to miss out on for a long time. However, when I find out that it only costs about £10 max for a cut and blow dry, I decided that it’s a luxury I can afford after all J

I thought I would write about my experience as it was quite an interesting one – it’s not often you get your hair cut in a salon in China!

As I walk into the salon, about 5 polished (presumably gay) chinese men all fuss round me speaking in chinese, which of course means I have no idea what’s going on. Thankfully my chinese boss is on hand to translate for us, so a second later I am being whisked off to get my hair washed (at least that’s what I hope I am doing).

Getting my hair washed is definitely a more pleasant experience than back home, as instead of the really uncomfortable round sink things you put your head into, it’s just a flat, slightly sloping surface. My new hairdresser and best friend then washes my hair for at least 10 minutes, massaging my head as he goes which is rather nice indeed and I can feel my eyes closing... My hair is usually a nightmare to deal with as it’s been coloured non-stop since I was about 14 years old (oh orange) and therefore is as brittle as a broom, and I am slightly concerned when I notice he isn’t putting any conditioner on my hair. But then for the next 5 minutes, he proceeds to de-tangle my hair by hand and then delicately folds my hair up into those attractive little turban towel shapes.

As I wait in the chair to get my hair cut, the hairdresser puts a white collar thing round my neck so I look like a priest. I have to laugh when he tentatively places a Chinese ‘elle’ magazine in my lap and brings me a rose tea- a bit different to heat magazine and a cuppa with 2 sugars! Once he’s finished cutting my hair, I am amazed as another guy comes over simply to stand and hold parts of my hair up while the other guy blow dries it- no clips or clasps in sight. Who needs clasps when you can have a guy to do the job for you eh? But now I know why they have about 20 staff in the salons. He finishes off by curling my hair using the hairdryer only - no tongs or straigthtners to be seen- not even a spritz of hairspray to set the style. And we’re done! I must admit, I do the swooshy head moving thing as I walk back down the street, it’s so nice to have my hair cut at last!

New hairdo achieved, its back to school as usual, but thankfully we only have one more week left of term, then a week of winter camp and then Bali! Did I mention that we are going to Bali? Lol.

One of our teaching assistants is leaving at the end of the term and we’re really sad to see her go- she’s really dotty and always laughing at how funny Greg is (perhaps she knows a different person to the one I do) and how ‘handsome’ he is (see previous comment). We’re forever catching her doing yoga at the back of the classroom or hula hooping in the staff room or massaging her facial muscles because it’s good for her skin, and with a name like Coco, you can get the picture. She’s lovely though, and as a thank you for her help, we offer to take her and the other teaching assistants out for lunch (this time double clarifying that we will pay!).

They choose the restaurant for us, and start ordering a multitude of different things, which slightly scares me considering a few of the surprises I’ve ended up eating before! This is no different, and soon we are all hacking bits of (what I think are) really chewy meat off of big bones and then sucking the meat juice from the marrow. I say we, but actually I take one bite and then discreetly move my ‘bone’ to the side of my plate. There’s a variety of noodles, rice and vegetables, including these amazing tasting sweet potato balls to dig into as well, so I definitely don’t go hungry. There’s also frog, which Greg has some of (Amanda, I apologise now) but I just can’t bring myself to be that brave. For those of you wondering, it just tastes of chewy nothingness apparently (yes, there is most definitely a recurring them with chewy textures in Guandong).

We didn’t expect the teaching assistants would want to repay us back by taking us out to dinner and it is a really kind gesture. They say we must try a dish called ‘drunken goose’, and the best one is apparantly cooked in a back street restaurant in the middle of a small village in the middle of nowhere. ‘Drunken goose’ is a local speciality and something that we just need to try. We accept their offer and 15 minutes on a bus later we arrive at what looks like someone’s back garden with those plastic red coca cola chairs and tables. We are at the mercy of the teaching assistants as they order the food, and I’m slightly nervous. A woman brings over the hugest wok I have ever seen and adds loads of chopped up goose (bones, kidney and all), chinese rice wine and loads of a sauce mixture before setting it alight with a naked flame. They then cover it for 20 minutes to let it cook through before adding some spring onions as a final garnish. I must admit, it smells absolutely amazing. It tastes pretty good too, pretty much like slighty chewier (there we go again) duck. My only criticism is that it is still attached to bones and everything else, so it’s a bit of a lucky dip as to which part you get – the neck, the ribs, the wings or even the feet! But I manage to work round it and really enjoy it. They then order some lettuce and rice so we can soak up all those wonderful juices and it’s like the best gravy you’ve ever tasted- yum! As we’re about to leave, Coco hands us over a present she has got us for Chinese New Year. We open it up to see a lovely carbon decorated plate with two chinese characters on the front. It is very traditional and often given as a wedding present. She has engraved it on the back with a really personalised message wishing us lots of joy and happiness, and it brings a little tear to my eye. Sometimes I love this place and the people we meet.

So the winter camp finally arrives, which is good on one hand as it means we have the evenings off, but on the other hand it means we have to get up early, not one of our strong points! Thankfully the first half of our classes are an arts and crafts session with the younger kids, so we basically make lots of messy things from glue and cardboard and watch cartoons, not too taxing! The afternoons are slightly more taxing as we actually have to teach English (what’s that all about) but I don’t mind as it’s all of the nicely behaved kids who are attending, so they are a breeze to teach. As the weather has been really sunny and pleasant this week we decide to take them to the park one day as a treat, but you would have thought we’d have told them they were doing a double maths lesson instead! Chinese people really don’t like being out in the sun during the day, and within 15 minutes of walking, they are all complaining they are too hot and need water. Honestly… But once we give them some water and start playing some games, they have a great time, and we manage to get some English in by having a big game of eye spy in the park J

A few days before we go to Bali we go for our usual game of badminton to keep our beach bodies ticking over (and to burn off all that goose and frog). Usually we go at 2 in the afternoon as we work in the evenings, but this time we have to go in the evening as we are working during the day. When we arrive the place is absolutely rammed with people and we’re lucky there is only 1 court still available. We have our usual game where I absolute tank Greg (so not what happens but I like to dream) and just as we’re about to leave, a guy approaches us and asks if we want a game of doubles. We agree as his partner is about 25 stone and looks like we could totally take him. I feel like an absolute idiot 2 seconds later as we get completely thrashed badly! After a few minutes I think they realise how crap we actually are and then ask if we are willing to play their wife and daughter who are beginners, oh the shame! But actually, the wife and daughter combo are actually not too shabby and certainly give us a good game! The original guy we spoke to explains they have a little badminton league going on every Thursday night where everyone takes a turn to play each other and asks if we’d like to take part. We’re gutted as we explain in broken chinglish that we work every Thursday night L Once again, I’ve been shown the friendliness and hospitality of Chinese people.

In the last few days run up to Chinese New Year we notice a huge difference in the amount of people in the area and a change in atmosphere. The place has a buzz about it and the supermarkets are all mobbed with people buying their presents and last minute shopping for the holidays. It really feels like the equivalent of what its like in Britain at Christmas time, and I guess this is pretty much the same thing for Chinese people. But instead of buying brussel sprouts, blue cheese and lots of booze, they are filling their trollies with red and gold decorations, lots of nuts, dumplings, gold chocolate coins, fruit baskets and coconut sweets. These are things which are commonly given out as presents or laid out in bowls for guests to eat when they arrive at their relative’s house. I guess it’s the equivalent of offering mince pies in a British household. We also notice that there are little orange trees in every shop and outside houses- again it is a different form of Christmas tree here, and oranges are seen as having the ability to help people do things well over the coming year.

Talking of good luck superstitions (of which there are many) we have been learning what we should and shouldn’t do to guarantee we have a successful and prosperous 2014. The two main things we have been told are that we MUST thoroughly clean our house a few days before the New Year, as it would displease the God of cleaning (I think we probably fell out quite a few years ago already). And you aren’t allowed to clean on New Year’s day as apparently it sweeps and washes all of the good luck away (that's something I'm quite happy to do). Similarly you are not allowed to wash your hair for the same reason- that it will wash all of your good luck away. It’s pretty traditional to wear brand new clothes on New Year’s day as it means a new beginning. And if you are a child then it’s like all your Christmas’s come at once as elder relatives give you a red envelope (lucky colour) containing lots of money! There are many more I’m sure but just a quick glimpse of how the Chinese do it!

Happy Chinese New Year and remember, I hope it’s a happy and prosperous year. And remember, don’t wash your hair! J

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