在哪儿？: 2011

Hanging couplets 贴对联儿

Just a quick post to say, "Happy New Year!" to everybody. We spent the 3 days of festivities in 孟州, 河南 in a country village with the headmaster of Jiaozuo Teacher's College and his family. It was very relaxing and 热闹 at the same time, and we got to experience very traditional Spring Festival activities.

Making dumplings 包饺子

Eating dumplings 吃饺子

Our New Year's Eve dinner

Where we celebrated New Year, very beautiful courtyard with grape trellis, bamboo grove

Visiting relatives, making rabbits

Always time for some 麻将

Traditional dance for New Year's. Kim and I danced with them, but we will spare you the video clips of two of the world's worst white dancers

This was a small portion of the fireworks. Got some great videos of everyone celebrating, lighting fireworks (and running the hell away). I lit some also, but Kim declined, preferring to not risk losing a hand

The last day that we celebrated with the 张 family, lunch

It finally snowed in Jiaozuo, after we returned from New Year's celebrations! Thanks, Beijing :D

Jenny and Kim, as we walked around Jiaozuo enjoying the snow. Jenny's first time seeing snow, ever.

After we returned from celebrating New Year's, with invitations to join them next year, we arrived to a week without internet. The school's network had an electricity problem, something about not being able to hold the current. . . so we went through intrawebs withdrawal, where I sat in front of the computer trying to connect every 2 mins or so. It wouldn't have been so difficult if it wasn't Spring Festival here. Everything is closed, people are at home celebrating with family, and there is nothing to do. So we actually lesson planned (well, Kim is always working on lesson plans, I tend to be the slacker -- surprise, surprise -- so I should say that I actually also worked on lesson planning).

We still have another week of Winter Break left, and hopefully will post some pictures from our trip to Beijing later. We are going to a friend's hometown (a village a couple hours from here) next week to celebrate the last day of Spring Festival, Lantern Festival. In the meantime, here are some pictures of us now.....sporting Chinese fashion, new haircuts, and contacts!