Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Not Bad...

WQ: Let's have a party next weekend.
me: ok! What kind of party?
WQ: I don't know...hmmm.
me: hmmm.
WQ: Well, I have an idea! I've never had steak before, and I think I would like to try it!
me: Sounds good to me. We can make it ourselves, and then you can see how to make it, too!
WQ: Cool!

The week after that conversation took place, WQ and 5 of her friends came over to my apartment for a steak dinner. Here's what I was picturing: grill some savory steaks, put together a nice salad, and serve some mashed potatoes on the side. Yumm!

Not what they were thinking! Just before coming, WQ called and told me they had just finished buying meat and vegetables for hot pot. This is a picture of hot pot:
You cook your own food - vegetables and thin slices of meat- in boiling broth and eat it as you go. It's not bad tasting, but it's no steak, that's for sure. That was my first disappointment. Not bad, just not what I was expecting. Or that's what I kept trying to convince myself!

The next disappointment came when I went downstairs to meet them. Not knowing how many people there would be, I held off on buying the salad and potatoes. When I told them I needed to stop in a little shop and buy some other things to go with the steak, they made it clear that they planned on having hot pot as the main meal, and just wanted to try the steak beforehand. Steak as an appetizer? Seemed kind of strange to me, but that's what they wanted, so I tried to be flexible. Not bad, but not what I was expecting. Or that's what I kept trying to convince myself!

Since it was a little chilly (and for the sake of convenience), S set up the tiny grill in my kitchen, opened the window and turned on the vent, where he grilled our delicious steaks, along with a mushroom topping. They were incredible!
Our friends really liked them, too, even though cutting them was a little bit of a challenge for some.
Meanwhile, while the steaks were being grilled and vegetables being washed for hot pot, games ensued in my living room. I came out at one point to see a strange scene. Not bad, but not what I was expecting!


Apparently they were playing some game in which the loser had to stick wet tissue to his or her face! The result at the end of the game:


Although it wasn't what I was expecting, I did have a lot of fun, and I think they did too. I've learned that rigid expectations here almost always lead to disappointment, while flexibility lends itself to adventure, surprise, and lots of laughing.

Now, for that nice steak dinner...
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Textile Town

China has 3 art districts, in which former factories are converted into private art studios. Beijing's 798 Art Zone seems to be the biggest/most well known, but Xi'an just started one of its own in March 2007. Using the buildings of former textile factories built in the 50's, the artists work and put their art on display for anybody to see. After accidentally walking into grounds of a factory still in operation, we found Textile Town.
Terracotta Warriors in Action
Xi'an's Drum Tower


little boy on a carousel
a close-up of the same boy

the view down the hall
This guy's art was mostly downstairs, with his Hummer parked inside as well, but his living area was up on the second floor. You can see his bedroom behind the glass walls.

The photos obviously can't capture the art compared to the real thing, but it was neat to see different forms of art, and the creativity in using factory space to show off personal talent.
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Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Day 2: Paper Machete Heads and Black Shoe Polish

The second day, I joined them around noon, but the party had, once again, started earlier. After more waiting and talking, we went out to the little alleyway outside the bride's parents' home, where the craziness began. Large paper machete heads with the appearance of a Chinese toddler were placed on heads, and a donkey made out of material and worn around the waist began galloping around, if a donkey can gallop! The woman pictured below wanted to make sure that we were coming that Saturday, and we soon found out why...there was to be a parade from the parents' home to the new couple's new home, and the donkey and paper machete heads, worn by us, were to lead the parade!
Heavy and large, the heads provided limited visibility, but the observers didn't seem to mind. If they felt like we were moving too slowly, they slapped the top and told us to walk faster. Or if somebody thought we moved too quickly, they had the full right to slap the head and yell at us to move more slowly! Not only was speed important, apparently entertainment was too, because another reason to pound on the top of my head was to tell me to dance or move around more and make more of a fool of myself! I felt like I was wearing a football helmet, between the limited visibility and getting slapped on the top of my head, the difference being that the coaches all seemed to be on the playing field, and there was no strategy to win!
Just behind us, the bride rode in a traditional sedan chair, carried by 8 men and women. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see much of her, because of my helmet! At one point, I lifted it up to see my friend and be able to take this picture. Just after snapping the picture, my "head" was slammed back down and I was spun around to face forward again, with the instructions, "Turn around! You can't do that! Dance more! Faster! Faster!"
Just before arriving at the new home, we ran into the groom and his best man. Chained together, their faces were both smeared with black with shoe polish all over. The chains must have been somewhat heavy, because every time I saw them, they were holding them up to protect their necks. The black shoe polished seemed to qualify the two of them for any sort of abuse or teasing anybody felt like giving them, so every once in a while, one of them received a big slap to the head.
After more pictures with the bride in their new home while her husband waited on the curb outside, still chained to his friend, the new couple entered their new home. I left at this point, but the party continued with games and other festivities until much later. You can barely see the two of them together below, with all the family and friends crowded around watching.
What a great experience! I still laugh about it, and have a feeling it will be one of those stories that will be told over and over again.

You can watch a video of the parade here.

Hui Wedding Day 1

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to attend another wedding. The last few times, I didn't know the bride or the groom, but this time I had met the bride before, which made the celebration much more fun! The festivities started on Friday afternoon for me (I'm pretty sure they started earlier). Friends immediately took us to the gift room, where shiny silver teapots, a flatscreen tv, furniture, a motorbike, and lots of clothes, blankets, and other things were stacked up and displayed. We talked and waited in that room for a little while, then headed next door, where the bride was waiting for her Prince Charming. She looked, and said she felt, really nervous, but we didn't get much time with her before we were sent back downstairs. After more waiting, somebody ran in, announcing that the time had come! Excitedly, people moved into the room where some unknown activity (to me, not to them!) was to take place.

It turns out that the unknown activity was the bride coming downstairs, where the groom was waiting for her. They sat at a table with all the family and friends standing around, while a man at the opposite end of the table gave a message and blessed them, part in Chinese and part in Arabic.After the ceremony, we all took pictures with the bride. That poor woman, she had to sit and try and keep her smile genuine for nearly half an hour as different combinations of family and friends came and stood beside her to get their picture taken.
The women in the picture below, relatives of the bride, spent much of the day preparing food. Jiaozi, or dumplings, are made with a flour and water "skin," as it literally translates, wrapped around a filling, in this case beef and a green leafy vegetable (ground and finely chopped, then mixed together). This time, they were boiled and then put into a broth to eat.
The final product! This broth has water, hot peppers, and cilantro.
Some of the relatives. The woman in the middle is the grandmother of my friends.
The day was filled with lots of waiting, trying to figure out what was going on, and eating. Actually, that pretty much sums up lots of days here!

To come: Day 2...

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Yulin

A couple weeks ago, I went to a friend's hometown in Yulin, in northern Shaanxi Province. Further north is the Ordos Desert, which extends into Inner Mongolia. It definitely felt like a desert there - lots of sand blown all over and a very dry climate. The original city wall is still standing, and parts of the Great Wall actually extend that far west.

The city wall, with homes built into the side of it

The Great Wall

My friends called this a beach, but I wasn't about to swim in the icy water! Near this river was Red Stone Gorge, with ancient writing was carved into the side of the rock.


a pagoda in town lit up with rope lights
my friend and his parents, with their brand new car

Some other pictures from the weekend...


Sunday, March 1, 2009

Jeremy

Meet Jeremy. An 8 year old friend who grew up in the city orphanage, he now lives with a Chinese woman and 3 other kids ages 4-9 who are in the process of being adopted. I think Jeremy's papers have already gone through the system, so he'll be heading somewhat soon to the States to live with his new family. I found out about these kids through friends of friends, and started going over once a week to play with them. Deprived of consistent/regular as well as deep love, all of them, and especially Jeremy, have been so much fun for me to spend time with. One weekend this winter, I was going swimming with some friends, and decided to call the ayi, or auntie, and ask if I could bring Jeremy along. She was so excited that I called, because each of the other 3 kids had been taken by their "foster families" for the weekend, except Jeremy. He could hardly wait! When I got to the apartment, he kept looking up at me and saying, "We're going swimming! We're going swimming." He had never been swimming before.

We went and visited some friends, then headed to the pool. He loved it! My friends took him under their wing, too, playing with him and including him in what they were doing, which was fun to see. It's so refreshing to me to be doing something I feel like I'm gifted at doing - making kids feel loved and special. I'm learning that I really have a heart and desire to love on kids that don't receive that love at home. Even though I'm just now identifying it, looking back, I can see that desire in my college internships in elementary schools, summer jobs, and when I was student teaching, too - all in poverty level schools. As I think about my next stage in life, I'm excited to see what kind of role that desire will play. Until then, I get to keep hanging out with Jeremy and the other kiddos from the orphanage.