Bo Bing party!

Mid-Autumn Festival is upon us here in China which means it's time to celebrate in a uniquely Xiamen manner. I'm not sure exactly when "mid-autumn" falls, but it seems that any time during this two week period is good for a party. The festival is celebrated throughout China as one of the Golden Weeks of the year, meaning a week off school and work! Like some American holidays, I think people tend to forget exactly what we're supposed to be commemorating and just enjoy the time off! The way to celebrate in Xiamen is to have a "bo bing" party with friends,coworkers, neighbors, anyone at all. In fact, I've seen the bowls set up in stores and we even saw someone win a big bottle of cooking oil at the bank yesterday, but we don't know how to ask if we can play along so we just smile and nod as we do to most everything! Bo Bing is a game in which six dice are tossed into a large china bowl, in hopes that you will roll a four or combination of fours. The host of the party will have purchased many prizes, 63 to be exact! A roll of one four gets one of the 32 smallest prizes, two fours one of 16 prizes, three fours one of 8 prizes, four of a kind (not fours) gets one of four prizes, a full straight gets the second prize and four fours gets the grand prize. Clear as mud? Basically, the prizes start off quite small and build in value up to the grand prize. The history of this game has something to do with a general wanting to keep his troops from growing bored and restless while waiting for the next battle so he created a game to stimulate their brains . The prize levels are intended to represent the different levels of ancient scholars. Apparently smarter people roll more fours?! Also, traditionally moon cakes in varying sizes were the prizes. The word "cake" means different things to different people, mind you, and these cakes can be tasty but are certainly not like the type of cake we'd have at home. Now on with the party.
We hosted Gene's department from work as we were told that team-building within a work department is very important and also we like these young ladies and like any excuse to have a party! We took them to a small Chinese restaurant near our home for enough food to feed twenty people--it's just the way things are done here. We tried to explain that it would be seen as very wasteful in America to leave so much food on the table when we were finished but I guess that's just one of the many cultural differences. How a country with such a large population and relatively small proportion of arable land came to behave this way is beyond me. Though I'm quite sure this custom is just for eating out and food is not wasted so much in the home. We feasted on spicy tofu, marinated cucumber, sauteed eggplant in sauce, scrambled egg with tomato, sauteed green peppers, bok choi soup, spicy slivered potatoes, Kung Po chicken (chicken in sauce with peanuts) and some huge fish and cabbage dish. Oh, yeah, and rice! We shared orange juice, big bottles of beer and tea. All this food totalled around 22 USD!
I had purchased a Bo Bing set several weeks ago in anticipation of taking this tradition home with us to Michigan when this term is over and it's been waiting for the maiden party. I was glad to find a very traditional red and gold bowl (even though it cost more than I thought it should, it looked a lot better than the white one with bulls on it that I found later!). Turns out it's okay to use any old china bowl, but I liked the official set. Here the ladies, Jenny, Ivy and Annie are studying the rules/dice combinations that are printed along the side. Much harder to lose the game directions when they're right on the side of the bowl! In preparation for this evening along with buying the stacks of prizes and fretting mightily over them, I got a reusable shopping bag for each of the ladies so they could easily haul home their goodies. I had really hoped that they would win the bulk of the prizes and had purposefully gotten girlie type prizes: small tissue packets with cute designs on them, scented soap, toothpaste (nongender specific!), Pantene shampoo/hair care sets, and the famous red envelopes--more on this later. One of my mistakes (I'm unfortunately getting accustomed to making lots of them) was to get three different patterns of bags, one brown with swirls, one green with blue globes and one hot pink with purple globes (my girls both got blue with penguins). Apparently bright colors are good luck and everyone wanted the pink bag. There was some good-natured kidding about who got this bag and Ivy ended up with it. Part of the local lore about this game is that first-time players are lucky. Ivy is approaching the one year mark of her life in Xiamen and we had the privilege of hosting her first Bo Bing experience (ours too, of course, but we're not quite as superstitious!). .
So we took turns tossing the dice and not eating the little cupcakes I had purchased for dessert (guess I should've served some of the moon cakes we've gotten as gifts?! Actually, Jenny had told me weeks earlier that she didn't like moon cakes so I didn't want her to feel obligated to eat any). Round and round we went with Amanda acting as the prize getter. Gene was the least lucky and didn't end up with much but that's the way it should be since he is their boss and the evening's host. Jenny ended up with most of the soap and Liz got most of the toothpaste! We were told that there is a special rule about stealing prizes: the number two and three prizes can be stolen if the same roll is made after the prizes have been claimed up until the grand prize is won--then all stealing stops. Well, lucky Miss Ivy was the first to win a red envelope as second prize. We were advised to get gift certificates for the top two prizes but I just couldn't manage that without enough language skills so we put cash inside. The top prize was 300 rmb (about 45 dollars) with the two second prizes containing 150 rmb each. Many rolls and many packets of tissues later, Annie won the other second prize. We were glad since she hadn't been winning much. Along the way Gene won and lost the shampoo set and I won and lost another (also very glad for this as I wanted the ladies to get the best prizes!) Then super lucky Ivy rolled another second prize and was able to steal from Annie! I thought for sure she'd refuse but that's my Western thinking (Christian thinking? Keep the peace at all costs thinking?) So now just some toothpaste and the grand prize were left. One guess as to who won it...Ivy! Amanda chimed in "Ivy won all the money!" and we all laughed. She tucked it carefully into the coveted pink bag and was very happy! I joked that in the US we'd all say that she had to buy lunch tomorrow. Again, I had hoped each lady would win a red envelope but I guess that just wasn't meant to be. Gene said that amount of money is pretty significant (heck, I'd be glad to win $100 too!) and that it would be sort of like us winning $1,000. I think I might head back to the cute gift shop I found yesterday and stock up on hot pink shopping bags!
Here is Amanda with her two sets of hair care items, tube of toothpaste, seven tissue packets, penguin bag and the cute stuffed animals the ladies brought for our girls. The gift-giving culture over here is going to kill us, if not financially then mentally for sure as we try to sort out the when, who and how much of the custom!
Gene's paltry two tissue, one soap winnings!
The lucky winner!! (as an aside, the design on the red envelopes is usually reserved for weddings--another mistake I was sure I was making in the store, but had no way of really knowing!) All in all it was a fun night and we look forward to more parties at our home here and also to future Bo Bing parties when we return home...but don't expect lavish gifts since our home parties won't be subsidized by the company! PS--we will attend the work Bo Bing party on Saturday morning and then head right home to our apartment complex party! I won't feel guilty winning prizes at these parties...so cross your fingers for me!!

Random observations

It is so hard to get pictures of all the strange and interesting things we see here, so I'll try to describe a few without pictures. This country has as much income disparity as at home and it can be startling at times. Today as I walked to the bus stop I noticed a fancy-looking car parked on our street. I noticed a "B" logo but wasn't quite sure what that meant so I looked closer. Turns out it was a Bently! I thought those only came in drive-the-Queen-around-London, tall, sedan type car but this one was low and sleek and reminded me a bit of the newer Jaguars. Mind you this car was parked less than a ten minute walk from where we observed people literally living underneath a bridge in concrete bunkers not fit for a stray dog. I realize this happens all over the world, but it doesn't mean I have to like it! Some other interesting things we've observed include a young mother holding her toddler child over a garbage can in the middle of the supermarket so the child could "eliminate;" foldable drying racks set out on public sidewalks, loaded down with bras and underwear; little doggies who have been so well-trained (or are so afraid of being eaten...) that they just follow their people down busy city sidewalks without the benefit of collar or leash; children covered with burn scars begging on the street; women of all ages lugging heavy fruit-filled baskets on poles, beast-of-burden style; all kinds of fruit being sold out of the back of mini pick-up trucks; pizza with egg as a topping; an obviously wealthy lady whose child goes to school with our girls who gave birth in Hong Kong in order to get a foreign passport for her child who drives a convertable Mercedes and only wears each article of clothing three times before passing it along. It's actually pretty amazing that we have become immune to many of the strange sites so quickly. We have a week and a half off work and school starting October 1 (this is National Day, the 60th anniversary of the Communist Party). Because of the lunar calendar, National Day is followed quickly by Mid-Autumn Festival which is one of the Golden Weeks. Seems odd to be preparing to celebrate mid-autumn when it's still 90-some degrees out, but we're looking forward to it anyway. We did not make any travel plans so we hope to be able to explore our city and maybe some outlying areas during this break. We'll have to fight the crowds, I'm afraid, but we will try to get lots of pictures of the night parade, Bo Bing parties and whatever else turns up.

White water rafting

I have no pictures of this wild adventure and you'll understand why if you continue reading...I have been blessed with the friendship of a number of expatriate women; the benefits, if you will, are numerous. First off, friends who can communicate easily in English are invaluable in this foreign land. Gene was very worried that while he was at work and the girls were at school I would be left home alone to wallow in my loneliness. Thankfully, this has not been the case. Our internet, blog-writing friend, Tina, has introduced me to a bunch of women whom I've gotten to know over the past few weeks. Some of the ladies live in my neighborhood so we are able to meet for short outings, like coffee and conversation, foot massages, lunch, shopping, etc. They come from all over the world: the Philippines, Norway, Canada, El Salvador, England, Australia, Italy, the US, China ("overseas Chinese" mostly) so it is very interesting to spend time with them and share in our common experiences. Many of them also have children at the same international school that my girls attend. A few days ago, when I was terribly shaken and reduced to tears over bug situation, I sent a pleading group email and was almost immediately comforted by words of encouragement, offers of information and, the next day when we met for a luncheon of the official expats' club, gifts of repellent. I can only hope to be half as helpful to them and to others in the future.
Several of these ladies have drivers with minivans so we are able to carpool for "Wednesday Adventures." How wonderful they are to share with all of us! (Two weeks ago we went to see an ancient bridge and a traditional housing village--I have pictures of those so will write about that once the pics are downloaded.) Yesterday we planned to meet after taking our kids to the bus stop but I was not sure the trip would come to pass since it was raining. We went ahead with our plans and the rain stopped not long after we left. One of the brains of the operation, Pam, had researched a place that is about 40 minutes away from here that offers many so-called "tourist projects." I was initially under the impression that we would be kayaking, which to me is a slow and calm type of activity. Not so...we were actually headed for some white-water rafting, Chinese-style. Most of us grew increasingly nervous as we waited for the bus to take us "up the mountain," as this would appear to indicate that we'd be rafting back down the mountain. We were told that we would become wet "from head to toe" and should leave cameras, phones, everything but the clothes on our backs and the shoes on our feet in the care of the faithful drivers. Luckily, we had come prepared with a change of clothes, but we had no idea how wet we'd actually become. We rode the bus, along with about a dozen Chinese tourists, to the drop station. Along the way, a young woman spoke at the speed of light over the bus intercom, presumably about safety instructions, etc. Again, we sort of laughed along and made up our own translations like "try not to get killed 'cause we're not responsible" and other not-so-funny things. At the top, we were each outfitted with lovely yellow helmets, complete with scratchy chin straps, and thin, orange life vests. We were also told to take one long bamboo pole per boat. That's right, not an actual paddle that might offer some way to control one's own destiny to some extent, but just a big stick! Another round of instructions, basically, we were to have two passengers per rubber boat and were to face each other since the boat would be spinning around as we barreled down the river. Ummm, okay. I paired up with Olivia, a young woman from Australia whose husband teaches at XIS. We were about the last boat to shove off...thought we'd get a good look at this thing before taking the plunge!
We were shoved into a narrow channel and were off! Turns out there is a dam at the top of all this so that the water can be controlled somewhat. We haven't had much rain so the dam had been opened before we got there. About three minutes into the ride we descended down a rapids and were splashed to the point of filling our boat with six inches of water! Sitting cross-legged in a tiny rubber boat in questionable river water with two and a half hours of river-riding ahead of us was pretty daunting. The next fifteen minutes or so were pretty harrowing as we tried to figure out how to use the bamboo pole and remember which way to lean so as not to capsize the boat. When we reached a calm spot we tried to relax and enjoy the scenery and soon became more adept at working our equipment. Of course, we took on water every few minutes and were soon completely soaked. We were usually the last boat in the procession and we're pretty sure the river guide who was at the very back of the pack thought we were complete idiots! We got him to help us dump the excess water several times and were very glad for this since there was always another rapids up ahead to replenish the supply. Luckily we did not fall off the slippery rocks or fall headlong into the water. Still further along on our ride, we started to be able to notice when the barely-submerged rocks were upon us, though not after we each "found" them with our behinds. We started to yell to each other "lift up" when we saw one coming. (Olivia texted me later in the day to report a big bruise where she collided with a rock). By the time we neared the end of this journey, we were hot and tired and my hip joints ached from sitting cross-legged for so long, but reflected upon our success and the fun we had. We even saw some water buffalo toward the end of the river (remember the part about the questionable water?!). Another ride in the bus brought us back to the visitors' center where we were surprised and thrilled to find showers, complete with privacy curtains, warm water and shampoo! We also had the opportunity to purchase action photos taken from the shore and, unlike tourist spots in the US, they didn't cost a fortune. Just 10 kuai (about $1.45) bought two 5 x 7 copies! Too bad I don't know how to use our scanner...maybe some day you'll get the chance to see how lovely we actually looked bouncing down the rapids! If you feel so inclined, you may Google "fjdyp" and click "translate this page" on the google listing. Here you will see pictures of the rafting along with multiple other activities offered at and near this site. Plan your trips soon!

the beach

Since Xiamen is a coastal city, it has a long beach along the east (south east?) side. Liz had spent the day at the beach to celebrate a friend's birthday. This beach is a short walk from our church and her friends also attend the church. We asked for a driver for the evening pick-up and he waited for us while we went to find Liz. Like most parks around here, the "playground equipment" is meant more for real exercise for adults and children, rather than children's leisure play (or thinly veiled large-motor skill enhancement tools!). We watched in awe as this very fit, gray-haired man did numerous large sweeping push-ups, for lack of a better term. He had to have been a gymnast in his younger days, but clearly still had much strength and stamina. And I was sweating just standing still!
Amanda took her turn on a structure that is meant for leg-lifts, as far as we could tell. Perhaps Michigan should integrate some of these "machines" into our state and county beach parks instead of the greasy food stands. Might do us all some good, if only we'd use them!
There is a long a lovely boardwalk (we've read that it is incredibly long and rivals boardwalks around the world in length and possibly beauty) along the beach that we will explore further once the weather cools a bit. We would've liked to walk along the sand bare-footed to look for Liz and her friends but the sand was not so clean and we did not want to risk stepping on glass, sharp can tabs, cigarettes or anything else. Never know what you might see on the beach, especially since there seemed to be quite a few naked children of various ages running around. Apparently, you either just go naked if you're under the age of 12 or swim in regular clothing--bathing suits are optional. I've seen this swim-in-your-clothing thing happen in Michigan, too, usually by very young children who've escaped their parents or people speaking a foreign language.
Along with the exercisers and naked swimmers, there were brides and grooms. Of course I wanted to get a closer look and watched as the photographers helped adjust the dresses and pose the brides, and the grooms stood around waiting to be told what to do; a familiar scene.
I was amazed that many of the brides sat right in the dirty and wet sand in their wedding gowns! Was this before or after the actual wedding, what is happening to their shoes, how will they ever get all that sand and dirt out...the questions flooded my mind. We were told later that these are rented gowns, but some questions still lingered. I have to think that these are just staged photos and the actual wedding was some other time, but that's just a guess. Interesting that the grooms also wore white. This is a recent, Western-influenced trend since white is traditionally for funerals and mourning in China. So, this whole bride thing captured my attention and seemed a bit idyllic until I started counting the brides...
I counted more than twenty! It was hard to keep up since six or seven piled out of a van as we left the beach to cross back over the road! I can't imagine what that place must look like on a sunny day! I'm very curious how the pictures turned out since it was so overcast and hazy.

When we finally found Liz and her friends, in a little drink and ice cream shop across the street, we found out that they had moved further down the beach to a cleaner swimming spot. It's nice to have friends who know the lay of the land, otherwise we would not have wanted her to swim! She had a nice time and the water must not be too bad since she didn't get sick or develop a rash. We all lived to see another day in Xiamen.

Outside gates of our apartment

This is the front gate to our apartment complex (our place is in the middle of the building on the right, way at the top and not visible in this photo). I've never seen the big gates open and I'm not sure what kind of occasion would call for them to be opened, so I guess they just stay closed most of the time. This is not a drive-up type of place; the tiled part in the foreground is beyond the sidewalk. Luckily, there is a spot along the road right in front of this front walk that is kept free of parked cars so taxis can pull up easily. There is an underground parking garage (-1 on the elevator keypad) that we have no business using. Some days Gene longs for a little car to call our own, but I'm not so sure that's a good idea given the lack of orderly driving around here. I'm a by-the-book type of driver so I spend a lot of time looking out the side windows, ignoring the chaos and near-misses whenever I ride in a car!
This is the pedestrian doorway, to the right of the large gate. There's a small desk to the right and a guard's room next to it. There are always several blue-shirted guards milling around or sitting on folding chairs. One night we came back from dinner at 9 p.m. or so and were told that we had to sign some sort of log book with our name, apartment number and phone number. We had only been here for a few days and didn't have our home phone number memorized yet (okay, it's been three weeks and I still have to look it up every time, but Gene knows all his numbers!). We just shrugged and did the best we could. That has only happened once so we have no idea what it was all about. The small blue square above the black handle (actually a flat plate that we push to open the gate) is a sensor. We have small, plastic things about the size of a quarter on our key rings that we wave in front of that square to open the door when it's locked.
This is the view of the front gate from our balcony. Some mornings I stand out here and watch Gene and the girls walk to the bus stop which is out the gate and down the street to the right. Notice our shared "lawn." The pathway is tiled and the green band running down the middle is made up of open tiles with grass. Looks kind of cool but is a nice way to twist an ankle if one is not paying close attention! Not sure how the grass is trimmed...
Here's the back gate, it is directly opposite the front gate (our place is to the left from this direction). We go out this way when we are going to our little convenience store for ice cream cones, beer, jugs of water, tape, batteries, mop, garbage bags, screw driver, etc. Will post a picture of this tiny, eclectic store soon! We've given them quite a bit of business already since they're so close and easy to use.
The door to our section of the building, three steps up but also has a ramp to the left that we used to drag our suitcases when we first got here. This door is security coded--the small silver thing on the left door is the keypad. We punch in the code, which opens the door on the first try on our lucky days. We sometimes have to put in the code three times, usually when I'm juggling three bags of groceries! The key pad may also be used to call up to an individual apartment to be "buzzed in." We have phones in the apartment for this purpose--I had Amanda stay downstairs to experiment so we would know how to buzz it open from inside. Everything must be decoded! I kept pushing buttons on the phone until the gate opened for her! From here we enter a small hallway that contains the mailboxes and, usually, several bikes. The bikes are always right in front of our mailbox, but we rarely have anything to retrieve so it's not a big deal. Why the owners can't put the bikes on the other side of the hallway is beyond me. This is also where numerous notes have recently been posted. Obviously I have no idea what any of them say, but have noticed that some have specific apartment numbers listed. I scan carefully each day, hoping that our number isn't listed. I can imagine lots of things that they might say, mostly unpleasant like: your water will be turned off at a certain time or we'll be spraying noxious chemicals to ward off bugs tomorrow at noon so be sure to evacuate. Ignorance is bliss? We should be very blissful these days, then! So, a few long strides down the hallway, we turn right to get to the elevator. There is a sensor for the overhead lights but we often find ourselves standing in the dark since it doesn't stay on for very long. This is especially true right outside our apartment since we are on the 15th floor and must wait for the elevator to get up to us from the first floor each time. We feel fortunate that there are only fourteen apartments that share this elevator and haven't had to wait for it for more than a few moments. We have adapted quite quickly to apartment living and don't really mind not having a yard to tend! Next up, photos from inside the apartment (after I tidy up, that is. Funny how even with a paltry amount of possessions we manage to look messy much of the time!)

transportation

Ah, the many and varied modes of transportation we see every day in China...while I'm mostly walking and riding in taxis, the rest of the population is finding lots of ways to get around. In the three weeks that we've been here, I've already grown immune to sights that made me shiver the first few times I saw them. Take, for example, this little girl riding on the motorcycle. This is an everyday observance for us and actually a bit rare in that there are only two people on the bike, not more! I won't even consider getting on a motorbike of any kind myself, let alone allow my children to ride (and without helmets!).
Upon closer inspection, the little girl has a death grip on the flimsy little bars that hold the mirrors--not so sure this would do her much good in a collision. The guy in the background with a proper helmet is quite a rare site!
This is a more typical use of a motorcycle (or motorized bikes, as those are very popular too). The more, the merrier, I guess, but notice that no one bothers to hold on except for the driver and they sometimes don't either!
This curious photo (cut off a little by the edge of the car window) is what happens when you are peddling along on your bike on a very hot day and you catch site of a friend on a swifter-moving motorcycle. Not wanting to continue your own sweaty pursuit, you jump on the gas-powered machine in your straw hat, leave the helmet dangling from the handlebar and roll your bike alongside, all at 50 miles per hour! At least that's my take on the situation...perhaps he had a flat tire or something!
This is not a perfect photo, as it was also snapped from the back seat of a minivan, but I think it captures the umbrella built for two I mentioned earlier. Seems to be used for a sunshade as well as rain shield by some. I believe this is a motorcycle taxi, though that's just a guess. I saw these fellows while traveling along a highway--notice the driver's hair blowing in the wind. That's one sturdy umbrella!
Here's my favorite of the bunch, taken along the path to the two grocery stores I sometimes use. This is a motorized bike--they are all over the place, can be pedaled or helped along by electrical charge (I think!) and are very quiet. They've snuck up on me and made me jump many times! They are but one of the many wheeled vehicles to dodge each day. This guy was taking a break and watching the cars and buses go past from his spot along the buffer zone between the sidewalk and the road. It's quite a nice walk, with the lake along the left side and the garden-bordered road on the right. At the end of the block I have to navigate several large intersections, but they have traffic lights with walking count-downs that actually leave enough time to cross the road before traffic starts zooming past again.
I have yet to snap a good picture of a lady riding side-saddle on any one of the aformentioned contraptions, though we see this every day. Such balance! Will post one as soon as I can; it's a site to behold.