Sticky and sweet

The past weekend it was time to sweept the dusts from the anchestors' graves. And for that reason Monday was a national holiday. I of course don't have any anchestors here, thus no grave stones to clean, but I welcomed three day weekend warmly.

For it was Qing Ming "festival", according to Shanghai Daily, more than two million people in Shanghai went to the graveyards during the past weekend to pay homage to the anchestors. Took them flowers and fruits. And another 2 million went already the weekend before. Traditionally also (fake) money should be burned at the graves, but at least my colleague told me that it is nowadays strictly forbidden in many places, to prevent bush / forest fires. So people will have to settle burning money elsewhere. Personally I prefer to burn my money shopping. It is really a really safe way to do it.

Chinese have a different snack for every festival. Or at least so it seems to me. For this one, they like to eat little green monsters. That's not relly what they are called, but they are sticky and sweet green slimeballs. Like big green snails.

Actually they are some sort of rice glutein, colored with a type of grass, and they have red bean paste inside. The taste is mild, sweet and indeed "green". Not bad, actually. But the texture feels like something you are not supposed to eat. It is soft and elastic, hard to bite. One of these is more than enough. Really. More than enough.

On a different note: guess who's going to see something else in the theme of Sticky and Sweet in August :o) I think I like that one more.

Spring Festival

Spring Festival, aka Chinese New Year, is just about over. The actual period continues couple of weeks, but holiday is over. Personally, I associate the word "festival" to a... well, festival. People dancing on the streets, music playing, loads of people and things going on all over the place. But nooooo, Chinese spent the spring festival with their families, and Shanghai was, if not dead, at least in a coma for the most important days of the Spring Festival. Most restaurants were closed three or four days and streets were pretty empty. Chinese went to see their families (millions and millions of people living in Shanghai are not Shanghainese) and as I mentioned earlier, most expat flew to some nice, sunny place. Or to their home country. And we stayd here. I am bitter, I am not even saying otherwise.

Everyone has propably heard about Chinese New Year and fire crackers. You can hardly mention the first without the second. Before the festival we got a note that stated it is ILLEGAL to fire a piece of wirework or a firecracker in the city. Now really? Based on the ridiculous amount of those whizzling, banging, fizzing, sputtering thingies flying around, I really doubt anyone was enforcing that piece of legislation.

It was not just one night and it sure as hell (pardon my french) wasn't just firecrackers! It has been SEVEN days and seven nights in a row, and it has been like a war! I kid you not! Of course not as scary, but the noise is amazing!

It started on Sunday week ago (Monday was the first day of the Year of the Ox) and it is still not over after one week. It has been gradually decreasing, though. For example on Thursday night they already started pretty late, around 8 pm, and stopped in about 2 am. Only to start again around 9 am on Friday morning: fire crackers in loooong chains, and constant fire works against the buildings. In the midst of all the buildings the "bangs" and "booms" echo like you wouldn't believe it. The purpose of the fireworks is to evict or drive out the evil spirits. If they have ANY sense, they are long gone by now...

Sorry, there are no good pictures of this madness, but see the video anyway.

Please note the smoke between the buildings. And do put the sounds on: the constant "background noise" is the bombs (firworks, it is) exploding. The loudness does not quite get through via the video...

A chinese wave

I have made some progress in my chinese-ation. (Adapting to China, that is.)



- I can eat with the sticks, no problem.



- I push the door closing button in the elevator like a real Chinese: as soon as people have entered, or preferably already before. And like crazy, that is. If someone else is still trying to come in, you just keep pushing.



- I don't think just because green light is on you can cross a road safely. It only means there are less cars trying to run you over.



- I don't try to dodge if my Chinese teacher (a lady) reaches for my hand to walk arm in arm.



- But one of the things I don't know how to do in a proper way, is to wave. You would not think that is difficult, would you, but it is. And when I have observed Chinese ladies, I think this is really something I should learn. (For men, it is optional, but recommended.) So, I have made instructions to myself how to practice.

1. Bend your arm from the elbow, so that your hand is at your chest level


2. and keep your wrist relaxed


3. and keep your fingers relatively straight, but do not try to extend them.


4. Keep fingers quite close to each other


5. and move your hand, the part from wrist to the tip of your fingers, in a rapid pace.


6. There are two styles: I am not 100% sure about this, but I think if you wave to your friends, it is more common that your fingers point up, and the movement happens sideways.


7. Second is more commonly used to wave for example taxi driver to stop. I personally think this is the truly hardcore one, much more challenging than the previous. In this version your hand bends (towards the object of the wave) in about 45 degree angle from the wrist. You start your fingers pointing up, then bend your hand, and then your fingers point forward. Again and again, and so you wave: up and down, up and down.


8. Which ever version you try, remember this: most important is to keep the wave rapid and relaxed, so that the movement becomes sort of uncontrolled, in a controlled way. You might think that suits well for me, considering I regularly bump into tables, doorways and other furniture, but no. It is really difficult.


9. Now you try!

Sadonkorjuujuhla

Päättynyt viikonloppu oli pitkä, sillä maanantaina vietettiin Mid Autumn Festivalin merkeissä vapaapäivää. Mid Autumn Festival on yksi perinteisistä kiinalaisista juhlapyhistä, jotka on vasta vuosi sitten nostettu takaisin kansallisten vapaapäivien joukkoon. Tarkoitus on, että ihmiset muistaisivat viettää näitä pyhiä, ja perinteet säilyisivät. (Erään maan menneen johtajan aikanahan kaikki tällainen hapatus (tai ylipäätään vanhat asiat) olivat järjestään pahaa.

Kyseessä on jonkinlainen sadonkorjuujuhla, tai siinä ainakin on juhlan tausta. Tärkeää on kuulemma perheen kanssa yhdessä oleminen, ja kuun kunnioittaminen. Kuun pitäisi mollottaa juhlan aikaan komeimmillaan.

Ja kuinka kunnioittaa kuuta, jollei sitten kuukakuilla (Moon Cakeilla). Niitä on mainostettu jo ainakin elokuun alusta alkaen: omat herkulliset kuukakkunsa on niin Starbucksilla ja Haegen-Dazsilla, kuin myös kaikilla isoilla hotelleilla. Ruokakaupassa on ollut tarjolla pienen yksiön kokoinen röykkiö eri merkkisiä ja laatuisia Moon Cakeja jo pitkään. Ilmeisesti niitä on tapana antaa lahjaksi niin yhteistyökumppaneille kuin ystäville, usein kupongin välityksellä. Tässä on lappu, hae itse kakkusi ;o)

Kakut on pakattu hienosti, jokainen erikseen ensin muoviin, sitten pahvirasiaan. Kaikki, yleensä 5- 12 pientä pakettia on sitten pakattu isompaan pahvirasiaan, ja kaupassa tämä rasia pakataan vielä näyttävään paperikassiin. (Tästä voitaisiin siirtyä siihen, kuinka paljon täällä syntyy aivan turhaa pakkausjätettä muustakin kuin näistä kakuista, mutta ei mennä nyt siihen...)

Kakuissa on eri makuja, mutta perinteisesti niihin kuuluvat (sekä tai joko) lootustahna ja seesaminsiementahna. Meidän kakuissamme oli myös ainakin omenaa ja kiiviä. Lisäksi niitä on lihatäytteellä, jollaista pääsin maistamaan kun kiinan opettajani toi tunnille muutaman Moon Caken. Täytettä kuvailisin hyytyneeksi possunpaistin rasvaksi, eli ei ihan meikäläisen makuun.

Kaikki minut tuntevat tietävät että olen hieman perso makealle. Vaan en Moon Cakeille, se tuli huomattua. Makua on vaikea kuvailla, mutta pieni kakku on todellakin täyttä tavaraa. Jo yhtä suupalaa tuntuu olevan vaikea saada alas, niin tuhtia se jotenkin on. Joku väitti, että yhdessä pienessä kakussa voisi olla jopa tuhat kaloria. En tiedä siitä, mutta jos näin on, niin olisi tietysti hyvä että moinen kaloripommi myös maistuisi hyvältä. Ehkä täytyy pistää kakut vähäksi aikaa säästöön, jos vaikka taifuuni Sinlaku sattuu iskemään, niin on sitten varalla ravintoa. Yksi päivässä riittänee, mutta ilman hätätilaa taitavat jäädä syömättä...