Chun Jie Kuai Le (Part I: The People)

Among other things, Chun Jie (Chinese New Year) revolves around people. Much like Thanksgiving in the States, families in China reunite during Chun Jie. The eve of the new year is spent with family--in the case of a married couple, it is usually spent with the husband's family--focusing around a large evening meal. Conversations among family members discuss events of the year and ideas about the year to come. If Chun Jie focuses on people, then why should I take a picture of the four-lane street outside my apartment building? This picture was taken at about 16.00 on the Eve of the New Year, Saturday, 17 February. I had just gotten back from purchasing some serious fireworks (I will get to more about that in another "Part"). The group I was to be spending the evening with was gathering outside my apartment complex. This picture shows "suicide crossing," four lanes of generally treacherous traffic, which must be negotiated to get to friends' apartments, some restaurants, the 'caishichang' (the market--fruits, vegetables, meat), and a branch of the Bank of China. Normally, I wait a few minutes for traffic to slow enough for me to get across. As you can see, only two vehicles wisk by in this photo. Most everyone had already gone to be with family.
Our KIA group consisted of Candy (Elem. ELD), Emily (6th grade), Jasmine (Kindergarten), Michelle (Guidance counselor), Sarah (4th grade), and me. We were invited to our Chinese teacher's, mother-in-law's home for the meal. In this photo, Candy (left) and Emily (right) sit on either side of Zhang Kim, our Chinese instructor. We piled eight adults and one child into Kim's husband's company 'mian bao che' for the short drive to his mother's apartment. For those of you who do not know what a 'mian bao che' is, it is a mini-van that makes our mini-vans look like full-size conversion vans. The name 'mian bao che' comes from 'mian bao' (bread) and 'che' (vehicle), because the van looks like a small loaf of bread. Yes, that is my ear on the left side of the picture.
Getting into the spirit of the holiday, Jasmine (left) and Sarah (right) share sparklers with Ding Ding (bottom), Kim's six-year-old son. While there are firestations in Kunming, everything is generally built out of concrete. I have not seen a single firealarm in any building I have entered. Therefore, lighting sparklers inside a twelfth-floor apartment is not even thought of as dangerous. It is expected. In fact, . . (wait, I will get to more of what people do in their apartments when I talk about fireworks in another "Part"). Jasmine is from the States, but has spent much of her life in Yemen. Sarah came to China from up-state New York. Both are new members of the KIA staff, like me. Based on the Chinese government's law, Ding Ding is an only child. His smile is quick, and on this evening, he ran about the small apartment constantly asking to light the fireworks waiting in one of the bedrooms.
Here is Ding Ding in his fancy, new racing jacket. While I will share more about New Year traditions in another blog entry, it is important to know that new outfits are traditional, and red, being a color of celebration, is the prefered color. For those of you who know children's literature, you may be familiar with a very old story about the Emperor's New Clothes. This story finds its roots in Asian culture--many Asian countries celebrate the Lunar New Year--and has often been modified to fit our western culture. We can probably thank Marco Polo for that. This photo was taken after the meal and after fireworks, just as we were preparing to leave. I wish I could have gotten a picture of Ding Ding lighting fireworks. Those of you who are parents of boys probably know the joy and excitement that picture would have displayed.
Sadly, this is the only good picture I have of our host. The little woman in the middle, with her back to the camera, is Kim's mother-in-law. (I am sorry I do not know her name. In Chinese culture, a wife does not take her husband's name. I do not know Kim's husband's name or the mother-in-laws name either. It would be a lot of names to remember.) She prepared ninety percent of the food on her own. Sarah is on her left, Candy and Jasmine are in front of her, and Michelle is on the right in the grey hoody. One other person who had been present at the meal, but left before the fireworks, was Kim's brother-in-law. After I was dropped off at home, I strolled the streets, watching the fireworks, until about midnight. But more I fireworks later.