Chinese New Year

I recently returned to Chongqing after spending the Chinese New Year with a family in Hunan province. I was invited by the woman who works in the foreign affairs department at the university, Juliya, and we stayed most of the time in her family's old apartment in a town named Taoyuan. It wasn't always the most fun, but was packed full of the essential Chinese cultural experiences, and I was definitely in parts of China where no foreigners would ever go.

The morning of New Years day sounded like a war zone, firecrackers going off non-stop. We woke up just before 6:00am, b/c in that area of China it is the tradition to have a big family meal before sunrise. We were then off to the rural village where Juliya's husband grew up, to visit the tomb of his parents. It became very obvious why Juliya's husband loves reading and is a professor - it allowed him to get away from that kind of desolate, rural life.

I also witnessed drunk, middle-aged Chinese men singing Karaoke, and understand how they get so drunk. They drink baijiu, more than 50% alcohol, out of teacups, and at dinner parties there are endless toasts. Each person goes around the table and forces everyone individually to drink. At the dinner party I attended there was a special toast for me - something about improving Chinese-Canadian relations, as well as a mention about Dr. Bethune.