Hello Everybody, 新年快乐!
Happy New Year! If you did not already know, it is the year of the snake. So, there are TONS of snake themed things for sale in China right now. I had a very good new year with my family. We went to Nanchang, which I'm pretty sure is south of Nanjing. My host parents told me that it would be warmer than Nanjing, but boy were they wrong!
Happy New Year! If you did not already know, it is the year of the snake. So, there are TONS of snake themed things for sale in China right now. I had a very good new year with my family. We went to Nanchang, which I'm pretty sure is south of Nanjing. My host parents told me that it would be warmer than Nanjing, but boy were they wrong!
It snowed hard the day after we got there, and then my host dad made us go for a walk. Let's just say that I have never been colder in my life. On top of that my host grandma's house had no heating! Besides this, everything was pretty amazing.
Here is how it the fun began...
On Tuesday my host parents made a last-minute decision to leave a day early, so I spent that night frantically packing as fast as I could. On Wednesday we hit the road. The car trip went super fast, and by evening we got to my host grandma's house.
Here is how it the fun began...
On Tuesday my host parents made a last-minute decision to leave a day early, so I spent that night frantically packing as fast as I could. On Wednesday we hit the road. The car trip went super fast, and by evening we got to my host grandma's house.
In China they have different names for the grandparents on each side of the family, so to not get confused, I will call my host mother's parents Waipo (grandma) and Waigong (grandfather), and my dad's parents Nainai (grandma) and Yeye (grandpa). We stayed at my Waipo and Waigong's house.
On Thursday we literally did nothing. I just did some homework and watched some of the big New Year concerts on TV. I am happy to report that I got to see the Back Street Boys, and Celine Dion on Chinese television! Everybody thought it was very funny when I said nobody in the USA really likes either of them anymore...
On Thursday we literally did nothing. I just did some homework and watched some of the big New Year concerts on TV. I am happy to report that I got to see the Back Street Boys, and Celine Dion on Chinese television! Everybody thought it was very funny when I said nobody in the USA really likes either of them anymore...
On Friday tons and tons of people came to my Waipo's house: some cousins, some aunt and uncles, some great aunts, and some people I have no idea who they were. The cutest person was my little cousin. He was adorable! He called me his JieJie, which means older sister in Chinese. The good thing about little kids is that you don't have to say much, they just talk forever.
I really loved my host mom's family. They are all so sweet, and they all talked to me a lot, which made me feel really comfortable. After a HUGE lunch, we played games.
The game we all played the most was this game about Murders and Detectives, which was a little like "Murder in in the Dark", a game I played back in America with my friends.
Around dinner time we went to my host dad's younger brother's house. There we watched more of the never-ending stream of concerts on TV, and then ate another HUGE dinner, even bigger than the first! After dinner we played ANOTHER game, which was sort of a mix of "Charades" and "Telephone". In this game an word is translated into an "action" which is then "acted" down a line of people, and the last person has to guess what word the action represents. It was really fun! I actually took some videos so I will show them to you all when I get back in the States.
After that game... we played the Murder/Detective game again! Fun!
I really loved my host mom's family. They are all so sweet, and they all talked to me a lot, which made me feel really comfortable. After a HUGE lunch, we played games.
The game we all played the most was this game about Murders and Detectives, which was a little like "Murder in in the Dark", a game I played back in America with my friends.
Around dinner time we went to my host dad's younger brother's house. There we watched more of the never-ending stream of concerts on TV, and then ate another HUGE dinner, even bigger than the first! After dinner we played ANOTHER game, which was sort of a mix of "Charades" and "Telephone". In this game an word is translated into an "action" which is then "acted" down a line of people, and the last person has to guess what word the action represents. It was really fun! I actually took some videos so I will show them to you all when I get back in the States.
After that game... we played the Murder/Detective game again! Fun!
A few pictures of the family group...
Later that night, at about 10, fireworks started slowly to go off, more and more. It really was astonishing. At about 11:30, all you could hear was the pounding of the fireworks, the sky was so full of them. You know those huge fireworks that we went to the Silverado golf course to watch? Well, those are legal for EVERYBODY here. So right outside my apartment were these GIGANTIC exploding fireworks! Everywhere these were going off, and it really was quite astonishing..
The next day we (again) played games the whole entire day, only those two games I told you about, though. The older people played Mahjong. That night fireworks also went off the entire day.
On Sunday and Monday and Tuesday... the truth is, I have already forgotten what we did! We didn't do much. One day I went shopping with my host mom, one day we went to karaoke, played games, and did fireworks, and the other day... I have no idea. On Wednesday we stayed the night at a fancy hotel, all 30 of us. It was in a different town, although I have no idea which town it actually was. The hotel was so fancy, though. It had buttons in the room for which I had no idea of their purpose! There was a button that just said "wait." Two of them actually, and I didn't have the guts to push it and see what it did.
On Sunday and Monday and Tuesday... the truth is, I have already forgotten what we did! We didn't do much. One day I went shopping with my host mom, one day we went to karaoke, played games, and did fireworks, and the other day... I have no idea. On Wednesday we stayed the night at a fancy hotel, all 30 of us. It was in a different town, although I have no idea which town it actually was. The hotel was so fancy, though. It had buttons in the room for which I had no idea of their purpose! There was a button that just said "wait." Two of them actually, and I didn't have the guts to push it and see what it did.
That evening we ate in a special events room, and enjoyed lots of good food. My Waipo's 70th birthday (or maybe older actually) is in June, but because they won't be able to visit, we celebrated it that night. We got this big cake, and when she was cutting it she sang this old folk-song. She is pretty cool! I love her, when I first got to the house she hugged me. That is the first time anybody has hugged me in... maybe 5 months! When I left she also hugged me, she is the sweetest old Chinese lady in the world!
Today I am back home, and I really love my home.
Now, I will tell you something crazy. I ONLY HAVE 4 MORE MONTHS!!! How can this be?! I just got here?! When AFS told me that the year would go quick, I didn't really think it would, but it really, really has. Right now I have these two conflicting feelings. One is the feeling that I miss my home, and my family in America. The other is the feeling that I am going to miss this place so very much. I suddenly realized this while I was in Nanchang. I have really come to think of Nanjing as my second home, and I have grown to love it so much. I love my room, how it's so small, but so cozy. I love the nice guards outside my apartment, and the friendly lady at the supermarket. I love the people at the milk-tea shops, who ask me tons of questions, and I love the cheery people who sell breakfast on street corners. From here on out, I am going to try and spend as much time as I can with my host family and all my friends. This really is a special place!
Happy New Year to you all! May it be the best year of them all.
Until next time, 再见,goodbye!
Now, I will tell you something crazy. I ONLY HAVE 4 MORE MONTHS!!! How can this be?! I just got here?! When AFS told me that the year would go quick, I didn't really think it would, but it really, really has. Right now I have these two conflicting feelings. One is the feeling that I miss my home, and my family in America. The other is the feeling that I am going to miss this place so very much. I suddenly realized this while I was in Nanchang. I have really come to think of Nanjing as my second home, and I have grown to love it so much. I love my room, how it's so small, but so cozy. I love the nice guards outside my apartment, and the friendly lady at the supermarket. I love the people at the milk-tea shops, who ask me tons of questions, and I love the cheery people who sell breakfast on street corners. From here on out, I am going to try and spend as much time as I can with my host family and all my friends. This really is a special place!
Happy New Year to you all! May it be the best year of them all.
Until next time, 再见,goodbye!