2010 Year of the Tiger

Disclaimer: In no way should this be misconceived as complaining, as I am rather grateful for the opportunities I have here. I am merely noting some observations.

Today has been raining firecrackers. It's like being in a war zone, or being stuck in the middle of some war movie. There is the constant sound of firecrackers going off in the distance or up close. I cannot fathom how people must feel in war-torn areas. It must be terrifying. Thankfully I know that none of this is out of malice, but rather a celebratory action, but still, it makes for a rather noisy environment. The Chinese have always been known as a boisterous people, and this merely confirms it.

I spent New Year's Eve with Kamla's family (or those on her maternal side of the family), and I must note that there are significant differences between every subculture of "Chinese." Though "southern" as well, I found myself rather unaccustomed to the food and the environment. While they are more "festive" in some ways, they lack the same traditional air that I am used to. Instead of dressing up, people are wrapped in their thick quilted pajamas, and in some cases, their down-sized jackets. They all look like marshmallows and kind of in some ways waddle around like penguins (or at least the children do). Needless to say I was somewhat miserable while eating dinner, partially due to the fact that I was freezing and my hands were starting to cramp up while holding chopsticks, but mainly because they were serving 80% cold dishes (凉拌菜）. It was bad enough that their single portable heater was not functioning properly, and that I could feel the draft behind me from the 阳台, but the dishes were cold, and I was drinking cold orange juice concentrate with fake pulp. Needless to say, it didn't sit well with my stomach. But granted, the dishes were very abundant, and all tasted wonderfully, but the Cantonese in me was wishing for a nice hot plate of stir-fried veggies, or a hot dish of soy-sauce chicken. I think the dishes would have been more suited for the summer than winter. I now understand though why northerners eat such spicy foods. It really does generate heat in the body. While I normally find spicy foods insufferable, this was the only circumstance in which I appreciated a hot spicy plate of kungpao chicken. Haha, boy do I miss Cantonese foods.

Another thing I observed that was significantly different, was that the Chinese do not seem to decorate as much as we Cantonese do, or at least what we do back home in the States. Perhaps this was due to frugality and practicality, but I kind of missed my mother's efforts in color-coordinating everything and having 对联s posted on every corner of the house. It made the whole festivity of new year's seem lacking, though I don't think Kamla noticed because I don't think she celebrates it nearly as traditionally as my family does. What I really missed was the 过年盒 filled with sweets and goodies inside. This is definitely a Guangdong tradition that other parts of China lack, and I missed it dearly. Granted, they had all the traditional nuts and stuff, but it lacked presentation and was simply in plastic bags lying on the coffee table. I miss my family's way of celebrating the new years, and I definitely miss the food. Somehow this dinner was lacking, but hopefully tomorrow's lunch will be better. I am eager to meet Huang 叔叔 and his family. Hopefully I won't have to spend too much time there, but I'm sure it'll be pleasant nonetheless.