Thursday, March 01, 2007

Those aren’t raindrops

Day One for us in China was Day Five of the Chinese New Year. That means a lot of Chinese history and traditions (one of which is not to receive visitors – oops), but the one you can’t miss is setting off of firecrackers throughout – and I mean throughout – the city. Since we just left a land with tin roofs and heavy rain storms, it just sounded to us like we were in the midst of a continuous downpour. But those weren’t raindrops we were hearing. Firecrackers and fireworks of all shapes and sizes are shot off along streets (as people bike by), out of apartment windows, and on bank door steps from just after sundown until the wee hours of the morning. So we of course joined in – before the wee hours of the morning arrived - and along with our friends and their 4 & 5 year olds, lit a few fuses and responded with a few squeals. Okay, us girls squealed and the guys just couldn’t hide the giddiness of living out their boyhood dream of setting things on fire and watching them blow up.

Oh yeah, and it’s cold. But refreshing – like we finally got to stick our heads in the freezer to cool off.

On top of all that, it’s just really nice to be with old friends and to be part of their world for a short time.

1 comment:

T-Dub said...

That sounds like loads of fun! But J, you don't have to visit China to experience those fireworks. Just gimme a holla when you get back and we'll go light some of. We've got a decent stash that Brittany got from Arizona. I also have some crackers from Mexico.

How long will you be in your current location? I'm sure that you will make the most of your time there-no matter how long that may be.