"O HOW I LOVE THE SMELL OF CORDITE IN THE MORNING"
Trip Start
Feb 19, 2010
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Trip End
Feb 19, 2011
Zigong, Sichuan, China
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
We had a wonderful lunch with Vivi's grandmother. This was a real cultural experience. Her house is a 4 story walk up in a complex that looks very much like some of the complexes we would see in the US. The house was fairly spacious, though sparcely furnished. The windows were all open and the house had no heat. The warmest place was the kitchen, but it was fully occupied with cooks preparing our meal. There were wonderful dishes traditional and plentiful. So we sat on the couch and drank hot tea and conversed.
We were soon invited to the table and served a traditional plum wine with the customary toast and welcome. We all said Shin Yen Qui Low, happy new year, and the feast began. Spicy chicken with wood ear, rooster soup, Chinese meat loaf, ribs smoked pork and sausage, spicy tofu and pumpkin rice.
Some observations: It was obvious where the rooster had been killed that morning. The house was full of smoke from firecrackers. The kitchen was clean. The food was wonderful.
It was time for a football game,(a nap) so we thanked everyone and returned to our respective houses.
That evening, we were off to Jim Lynn's house to spend the evening with Jing's family and provide a bit of sanity for Jim with some spirited conversation after dinner. Jing and sister's had been cooking all day and the menu went like this. Peking Duck rolls, fresh spring rolls, roasted and coated peanuts, roast pork with pickled vegetable, carrot and chicken, spicy chicken and wood ear, pepper steak, fresh made smoked sausage, Chinese meat loaf, smoked pork slices and garlic bread. Wine and juice were served and there was a lot of food left at the end of the meal, but the celebration goes on for days, so it will not go to waste.
After the meal, the table was cleared and we English speaking folk stayed at the table while our Chinese friends started paying Mahjong. Jim and I started on what was left of a bottle of Jack Daniel's (several ounces), so we sipped and talked about everything from Guns in the US to marriage and politics. What fun. But it was getting late and we wanted to see the fireworks from our house, so one of Jim's non drinking Chinese friends took us home. At 11 PM the festivities had already started.
Leigh and Patrick had purchased a rather large string of firecrackers and stayed downstairs to light them and watch from the street. Pam and I opted to watch from our house on the 18th floor. One room at home faces both north and west, so we turned out the lights, opened the windows and watched in amazement at the spectacle before our eyes. Obviously we tried to take pictures, but to no avail, save one.
Imagine the largest, most spectacular fireworks finale you have ever seen, I'm talking Disney. Multiply that times 10,000 and I'm not exaggerating and then imagine it at eye level because we are 180 feet up in the air and you might be able to fathom the event. It lasted for 2 hours in all directions as far as the eye could see and the smoke from the pyrotechnics was so thick that it blocked the view so that in the last 45 minutes, unless it was right next to the building, you could not see the aerial explosions. The 'thunk' of the mortar tubes, the bangs and booms of the bright explosions at the apogee and the sounds of the 20 foot long strings of firecrackers on the ground would remind many veterans of an intensive firefight during any war you care to imagine. We tried to call home and let Cris experience the thunder and crack, but it was to no avail.
My title for this blog came from my experience this AM when we finally got up and opened the window. Wow. Enuf said. Enjoy the pictures. Zaijian
Comments
Get ready for sleepless nights for the next couple of weeks. Fire works and fire crackers will go off anytime for the rest of this month. Are you all going to other places in China during the CNY?
WOW!!!!!!It It sounds so amazing. I can't believe how much food they had.
Hope you're enjoying every moment....Cherish it...Love to you both