Lantern Festival

Xi'an is big, polluted, and very dry. Including the surrounding area, the population is 8 million; people are everywhere. There are wide streets with pedestrian bridges, and in the downtown there are tunnels, which is good because crossing the street is a challenge. Being in the crosswalk doesn't mean a thing; even the police will run you down. I do my best to stick closely to a Chinese person and cross when he does; otherwise, I hold my breath and drift across. There are some bicycles, but very few, and only electric motor scooters are allowed. There are lots of buses and taxis.

My first week here I joined in with the festivities of Lantern Festival, the sixteenth day of the lunar calendar, full moon. This marks the end of the Chinese New Year season; this is also Spring Festival even though it still feels like winter. It's overcast and in the 40's. 2009 is the year of the bull that represents strength. “Jack,” the Associate Dean, is responsible for me, and he has been very kind and helpful. After my physical exam, which consisted of going from exam room to exam room to check out my various body parts – only time I had to partially disrobe was for the chest x-ray. What's really bizarre is that before I could even apply for a visa to come to China, I had to have a very complete physical at home. After this we took the bus south to the provincial town, Yang Xian, where his wife is from. Jack is from a village nearby. It took us three hours in a very nice bus on a beautiful new expressway that has only been open one year. Before it took seven hours for the same trip. We went through numerous tunnels through the mountains, many of which were over six kilometers long. I was told that next year there will be a new express train that will take 40 minutes. Everything is very modern; it's definitely a time of rapid change.

The first night, Monday (February 9), there were fireworks, the usual and some very special ones that I'd never seen before: low horizontal ones that spelled out words and made pictures of lanterns, waterfalls and bulls. Thousands of people were watching. On Tuesday and Thursday there were parades with lots of marching groups playing drums and percussion instruments. There were also men in the backs of trucks playing huge drums. It was very loud not only with the music, but also firecrackers that were being set off in the streets. Trucks and cars were also decorated and music blared. Kids were dancing on low stilts strapped to their feet, and men were dressed as brightly- colored lions. Women were passengers in boats, which they wore, and men with long beards paddled next to them. There were several dragons, men carrying the long body of a dragon and doing a dragon dance by weaving back and forth. Floats consisted of children dressed in elaborate costumes representing folktales, sitting or standing on platforms. Trucks, motorcycles, or even tractors pulled them. The children wore lots of makeup and never smiled. It was great fun. I was a novelty being the only Westerner in town, kids especially would stare, and I often smiled and said hello. They usually smiled back and often greeted me. Photographers even took my picture!

On Wednesday we went to Jack's farming village near by. Many changes are occurring there. The one-story buildings of mud and brick are being replaced with two and three-story houses usually with white tile on the outside. His mom still uses the old house for cooking, and it seems like most activities still take place outside, washing and cutting vegetables, eating, drinking tea. I was told there was indoor plumbing, but when I needed to use the toilet, I was led to an enclosed square area with brick walls that came up to my waist. There was a cement drain inside. Babies are bundled up, yet their crotch seam is open from the front to the back so they can pee or poop. I was amazed at the very young children being held so they could pee on the ground. Mom or Dad somehow knew when it was going to happen.

Upon arrival, I was served green tea and peanuts. Later we had breakfast that for me was lunch, consisting of rice and ground up white beans with tofu making a thick porridge. A vinegar sauce with onions was served on top. It was delicious. I walked in the vegetable fields, all being manually worked. The present cash crop is cauliflower; the farmers loaded it into huge baskets in carts, which were hand-drawn or attached to a tricycle. It eventually goes to Xi'an.

I walked in the fields and then sat on a low bench in the sun. Early morning was very cold with heavy fog. As the sun came forth, I shed layers, my down vest, polar fleece jacket, and one sweater. I kept on another sweater and long underwear. I was served more green tea - a few leaves are put in a small plastic cup and hot water from a thermos is poured into it. One is not supposed to finish the tea, but more water is constantly added.

In town I stayed in a hotel where breakfast was included. It reminded me of Japan where there were lots of salads, cold noodles and a thin tasteless soup or gruel. At least there were hard-boiled eggs, filled steamed dumplings, and cake. No tea. In my room, though, I could boil water for tea.

Now I'm back in Xi'an. A young English teacher gave me my first Chinese lesson today; otherwise, I had only learned “thank you." She is very sweet and also helped me purchase a bowl, plate, and cup my first day in town. Starting Wednesday, there will be teachers’ meetings and then students begin the following week. I still know nothing about my classes.

I've become addicted to the English TV channel. It's excellent, not only do they have Chinese and worldwide news, but also Chinese history and culture. Everyday we hear about the drought here and also the unemployment of the migrant workers. It's definitely a difficult time, but the government is trying to assist people who want to start businesses.

So far everything is new and exciting – so many strange looking foods to try, or not. Walnuts are plentiful and served in many vegetable dishes. I just bought a bag of many different dried fruits, some I recognize like kiwi, pineapple, apricots and dates. I'm able to make Australian oatmeal in the morning, and I found black tea, which was no easy task. In the stores, there are one or two clerks in every aisle to assist. I stood by the tea and pointed to my black bag, little did I know that black tea is really red tea. I had six clerks around me, then two young women who spoke English came to my assistance and I was able to walk away with a bag of black tea, which by the way, is excellent. Everyone here only drinks green tea. Food is very cheap. I bought a stalk of broccoli for about 75 cents and some cookies for about a dime apiece from a woman who had set up a little stand on the street outside her apartment building.

I've done a little sightseeing in the center of town, but otherwise I'm mostly exploring the neighborhood. There's a little park nearby with an artificial lake and lots of people. A university campus is also nearby which is good for walking, but it's not the one where I'll be teaching. To get to that campus, it's an hour bus ride. I'll have a lot to tell once school starts. Hope you are all doing well.