Lunar New Year - Part 1 - Magores Lives in a War Zone

(This ended up being a multi-part post... This is part 1. Read on, and you'll see why this is taking more than one post.)

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For the past week or so, I have been hearing "small arms fire" and "howitzer-sized" kabooms outside my window.

I admit that I have never been in a gun battle, or anywhere close to a war zone. But, I imagine that Beijing right now, sounds something like Iraq does.

Don't worry though. I live in a reasonably respectable neighborhood. (No gang-bangers.) And, as far as I know, nobody is invading.

What is happening is... It's New Year's Eve. Lunar New Year, that is. And the Lunar New Year means lots of fireworks. And, I'm talking LOTS of fireworks.

Some people may understand what a "shload" is. In case you don't, here's the explanation... A "shload" is a "shit load". And what we have in Beijing right now is a shload of fireworks.

Keep in mind that the Chinese invented fireworks a long time ago. They've had a long time to figure out how to make things go boom in a spectacular fashion.

Everyone knows what an m-80 is, right? Now imagine, m-1080s being shot into the air. Strings of "ladyfingers" 2000 fingers long. Roman Candles that could literally light up Rome. And... You know the fireworks that US cities shoot off on July 4th? THe ones that make you go "ooh" and "ahh"? I call these "city-size" fireworks. (They aren't as big as a city, but in the US only the cities can shoot them off.) Beijing has those too. Only... They aren't being set off by the city. Some guy bought these somewhere, and is shooting them off his porch. It really is insane.

I tried to take pictures of some of the fireworks... Oh jeezus... I literally just saw two of those big city-size fireworks go off prematurely in the courtyard of an apartment building across the street. It's friggin insane.

Sigh... I don't see a fire, and I don't hear sirens, so I guess everything is okay.

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I don't know of any way to get across the point of how many fireworks there are right now... Maybe if you think about it this way... Beijing has 14 million people (I think). Let's say that 3 million of them are lighting fireworks. Typically they are lighting strings of ladyfingers with 2000 fingers each, or the flying m-1080s which shoot 10 each. Add in the businesses which are doing their part. And, the crazy people with the city size things. And, the kids with their sparklers.... Its friggin insane.

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Jeezus.... More of those city size fireworks... Not premature exactly, but they aren't going higher that the buildings around them. Buildings are 25 stories. Explosions went off at about the 13th floor.

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One of these days, I'll have to explain how the "community" ("xi li") or "neighborhood" thing works in Beijing. For now, just imagine ten 25-story apartment buildings encircling a courtyard. Then imagine that the only people that know how to access that courtyard are people that actually live there. Now, keep in mind that I live in building #208 of my xi li. I've been here over 2 months and saw building #23 for the first time today.
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Back to the fireworks... It's not even 6pm yet. From what I understand, things get really interesting at midnight.
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This year might be something of an anomoly. (Speeling?) Apparently, Beijing and all the other big cities in China outlawed fireworks 12 years ago. This is the first year in Beijing that they are legal again. Apparently, the government didn't think about legalizing only the "Safe and Sane" type.

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Of course, the Lunar New Year is about a lot more than just fireworks. Its really more like a combination of Thanksgiving and Christmas. China does T-Day and Xmas because they are excuses to have a party, but this is when China REALLY celebrates.

Basically, the entire country takes a week holiday, and goes home.

Beijing is like San Diego or San Francisco. Nobody that lives here is actually FROM there.

All the maids, contruction workers, and everybody else that is in Beijing, aren't actually from Beijing. They came to the "big city" to earn money. Once a year they get to go home to their rural provinces and visit their wives, husbands, and kids. That's right. Many of the people only see their immediate family for 7 days a year. And that time is right now.


The week long holiday is a pretty good idea actually. I don't know if the whole thing is government sanctioned, or "just the way it is". I do find something nice about the fact that the entire country recognizes the fact that "you gotta see family". And, you get a week to do it, rather than just a day or two.

One whole week might be a bow to reality though... From what I gather, most people go home by train. Because there are so many people going home at the same time, tickets can be hard to get. Standing Room Only tickets, for 12 hour rides, are scalped for 4 times the regular price. Sometimes you just cannot get a train ticket, and you have to take the bus instead. (I haven't figured out why this is bad. Bus trips seem to be shorter - 11 hours vs 14 hours, etc. But, the natives seem to want the train, so I'll trust them.)

7 days off. 2 days to travel. 5 days at home. Not a bad concept.

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I'll admit that I'm kind of torn. Being here right now (as in today and this week), is kinda cool. The fireworks... Seeing everyone prepare for the family get together... It's a good deal. But, I'm thinking about next year.

Would anyone really want to see me in the middle of February 2007? (Thats when Lunar New Year is next year.) After all, I expect to be in the US for Thanksgiving 2006. And, the way I see it, I could do 1 day in the US, or 49 days. And, I'm pretty sure, they'll want me back no matter how long my vacation is. (The school promotes "me". And therefore, I think they want/need "me".)

Tell you the truth... I live on Chinese wages... I probably coulnd't afford 49 days in the US. Much less flying to the US twice in 3 months.

In case you missed it, in my mind, its pretty much a given that I will come back for another year. And probably another year after that. (Can you say Olympics?)

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What can I say? I love what I do, and where I do it.

I like my job. My job seems to like me. I love the kids. The kids seem to like me. The city is dirty and smelly. I'm dirty and smelly!

I would leave.. Why?

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BTW...

Happy New Year Everyone!!!


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At this point, I stopped typing and went outside to watch fireworks.

Part 2 of this post deals with when I tried to go back home.

Yes, I said "tried".

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