The Year of the Tiger!
Our first night of Chinese New Year was spent at Austin’s parent’s house. They live in a beautiful home in the outskirts of Shanghai. We’ve been told it’s a popular neighborhood with expats. Hope you enjoy a few photos from that night.
新年快乐 (= Xīnnián kuàilè = Happy New Year!)
There were personalized lanterns outside of their front door– fancy!
Fireworks are taken seriously here in China! The displays here and the one we saw in Beijing were like nothing we’ve seen in the states.
Sorry this photo isn’t formatted correctly, but this is the firework “program” for the evening. Some of the translations are pretty funny.
This is my friend from college, Shireen, at her finest. :-) This room served as the “kids” room for all the beginner mahjong players. Rob and I got a chance to learn the basics, but there’s no way we could play with the “adults.” We didn’t get to see them play this night, but we’re told it’s very fast paced…. some of the photos below are from other gambling events of the evening. Between hongbao (red envelopes) and gambling, lots of money was exchanged in this house!
The two men to the left were hilarious to watch! We have no idea what they were saying, but their grand hand gestures/body language combined with their screams of joy/anguish when there was a lot of money in the pot, allowed us to get the gist of what was going on. I wish we had a good video so you could see what I mean….. Shireen is the only female representing at the table (you go girl!) and that’s her dad to the right. :-)
Some of the boys playing poker, yet another gambling table. :-) And yes, Shireen’s dad is picking his nose, which is something we’ve found is completely socially acceptable here. In fact, many men grow out their pinky finger nails, so that it’s easier for them to get-up in there. Yes, yes…. a bit gross sounding, but I actually think it makes sense. I mean, even though “we” hide it, we all pick our noses. Chinese are so practical. :-)
This is a whole shrimp that Rob ate, he was told to eat the head because it’s good for “the man.” Austin’s mom then apologized to me and warned me to “watch out” that evening. She is an awesome lady and clearly not very shy. :-) The next pic is a picture of pork… chinese style, which means mostly fat. I never thought I would intentionally eat a piece of fat, but eat it I did! You’ll see in future blog posts that we ate many other interesting things throughout the week. Finally, the last pic is of a massive kumquat. At least it looked massive to me because I’m used to the small ones which are pretty sour. Here though, the kumquats are much larger and sweeter. I think I must have eaten close to ten that night. Oops!
Dinner at the kids table. That’s me in the blue dress! :-) You can see this was quite the celebration… maybe 30-40 people there?!?
All in all, it was a great night with great food, great company, and two great firework shows. We’re so thankful we were invited to join in the festivities! Special thanks to Shireen and her family and to Austin’s family for hosting us!
More blog posts from happenings later in the week to come.
Hey … looks like you are having lots of fun. Happy Chinese New Year! Send Shireen my best. How is your chinese coming? Miss you … xoxoxo!
BTW - don’t start picking your nose .. just blow it using tissue to catch any yuckies.
Looks like you had a great first Chinese NY in China. I don’t think mahjong is something you pick up quickly. Did you read Joy Luck club? They played mah jong. It was great to talk with you on our way home from PD. Bet you would like to have some of that desert warmth. Is it still pretty cold in shanghai? aloha
Yes, some PD warmth would be nice! Although the last few days here have been great. 60’s and sunny. The weather forecast is all the way up to 70 the next two days! We’re hoping it lasts.
I’ll say one thing… it definitely beats the weather in nyc!
Great pictures. Nice being able to view the family having fun. I even had a good chuckle. Where do they do the fireworks? Mahjong was played by some of my Jewish neighbors in Skokie, Il. Wonder where the game originated?
Did you get my Valentine email?
Gung Hay Fat Choy looks much different when spelled with Chinese characters. Dinner looks delicious and the kumquat is on steroids! The apartment has all the amenities but many don’t work, is that pretty much the gist of it? Be well. Can’t wait for the Bejing report.
Gung Hee Fat Choy! What a lucky couple to have such good friends to invite you to join them in this big celebration. It’s a chance not everyone gets to have. What fun! Am enjoying it all vicariously. Keep them coming. I’m ready for mah jong lessons when you return.
How great to experience a real Chinese NY celebration. Have you had any Chinese dishes that you have had here or our ours Americanized. I remember hearing the mah jong tiles when I stayed with Auntie Daisy. Every week she would have friends over to play back in the laundry room - I think - and hearing the click-click of the tiles. Are there parades? Is it a holiday from work and school?
No chinese dishes that we ate at home…. at least not that I can remember. I’ll do some more blogging about foods we ate while up north. Some of it was quite interesting! I think there are parades, but we didn’t see any. Just lots (and lots) of fireworks. The working holiday is 5 days in a row, but then you have to work the following Saturday and Sunday, so it’s actually only three days of lost productivity.