For many of you this day was filled with chocolate and flowers or possibly the acute awareness of the lack of chocolate and flowers. For us, Febuary 14th - yes I know it's March already, yes, I know this is a little late - was filled with fireworks and car alarms. Also known as Chinese New Year.
As we ride our bikes through our neighborhood we are greeted with the sights and sounds of children playing...with matches and neighbors' greeting one another.. as they shoot fireworks off of their balconies. It starts that afternoon and slowly but surely gains momentum throughout the evening. At about 11:30 the real fun begins when the entire country explodes. Millions and millions of people gather outside their houses (which are very close together) to make their fiery contribution to this grandiose event. We ran through the snowy streets, looking for a good view, dodging cars and people setting up their fireworks, and finally set off our own. We headed home ready to hit the hay after an eventful evening only find our neighbors still celebrating. The fireworks they were shooting off from below were exploding right outside our fourth floor window.
About four days later the whole thing happened all over again when the Chinese people welcomed the god of wealth. We were getting ready for bed when China exploded again. We didn't even see it comin. It would have been funny if it weren't for the 8am meeting the next day.
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