Tuesday was the Dragon Boat Festival! (Duanwu Jie) The story behind the festival is that there was a man who couldn't save his kingdom so he drowned himself. People took boats out to rescue him and threw rice wrapped in bamboo leaves into the water so that the fish would eat them instead of this man. I don't think they saved him, but now we have a holiday where people race boats (Dragon Boats, in fact) and eat "zongzi," which is sticky rice with either meat or bean paste (I think...it's something sweet). I think I have mentioned zongzi before, because Amy's driver's mother had brought some over the morning after I stayed at her place.
Anyway, work got off to a great start with zongzi made by Rager's mother. Rager is the 4th staff member in the office, and he just got back from Thailand. The day passed...I worked on some proofreading and projects for camp. It was actually warm enough for AC today - I think we're slowly working our way up to a real Shanghai summer.
Damin texted to see if I could come home early so we could go to his cousin's to celebrate the holiday. This is the same cousin who had us over on my third day here, and it was fun to be back. More zongzi, more eating more than I want to because there are too many unexpected courses. Caught part of a dinner table discussion about whether Shanghai people were thin or pudgy (for lack of a better translation). (The answer is unequivocally "thin". The only slightly pudgy people I have see have all been wearing Hawaiian shirts and speaking English.) Also understood Cousin to be telling her daughter she should learn the Shanghai dialect, because she was real Shanghaiese, having grown up there. Daughter didn't seem very interested.
I'm at 1/4 through the trip now. I can't decide if I feel like I just got here, or like I've been here forever.
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4 comments:
Better be careful - eating all those surprise courses - or you may be one of those "pudgies" by the time you come home!
Reading about all this yummy-sounding food has made me hungry! Think I'll have to get lunch at the little Chinese place across the street. (You probably wouldn't even recognize their food as Chinese!)
Happy Dragon Boat Day! Sounds like fun. So nice of Rager's mother to make zongzi for you and nice of Damen's cousin to invite you over again. Are you learning to make any of those good food items?
the festival! (can't believe no one said this before me. or maybe i'm just the biggest loser)
Sorry to be behind, Judy, I haven't had internet for a few days.
And I think it's been forever and no time at all, and that completely makes sense to me.
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