The Mynah bird says "NiHao" (Hello) [First published June 10, 2014] Dragon boats have really caught on in the West. My smallish home town even has dragon Boat teams and hosts dragon boat races on Okanagan Lake.
China's Dragon Boat Festival commemorates a poet and public official who committed suicide more than 2,000 years ago. This year, the festival fell at the beginning of June and we had a long weekend. A Chinese colleague kindly invited me along on a family outing with his wife and cute little daughter. Zhangdian District, where we live, doesn't have a large enough body of water for dragon boat races, so we went to a nearby man-made lake, site of a very posh residential development, to see dragon boats and to try our hand at making zonghzi, the glutinous rice treat traditionally associated with this festival.
China's Dragon Boat Festival commemorates a poet and public official who committed suicide more than 2,000 years ago. This year, the festival fell at the beginning of June and we had a long weekend. A Chinese colleague kindly invited me along on a family outing with his wife and cute little daughter. Zhangdian District, where we live, doesn't have a large enough body of water for dragon boat races, so we went to a nearby man-made lake, site of a very posh residential development, to see dragon boats and to try our hand at making zonghzi, the glutinous rice treat traditionally associated with this festival.
Ignore the accusing eyes -- this is lunch! After the festivities, we traveled to a seafood restaurant located at a fish farm. What a peaceful setting. The little girls scampered about, each playing with a tiny crab they were given by the restaurant proprietor. Being girls, they didn't hold crab races, they attempted to "play house" with them; that is, they would set the crabs down on top of a little table or the seat of a chair and try to act out domestic scenes. The youngest girl carefully stroked the back of the littlest crab's shell as though lulling it to sleep. Who knows what the crabs thought about it but their compatriots joined us shortly thereafter glistening with oil and garlic on a platter, so perhaps these crabs were better off playing "Father Knows Best" with the girls.
Another resident of the fish farm is a Mynah bird in a cage, who greeted us by cawing "Ni Hao." Just for a split-second I was startled that the bird said "Hello" in a foreign language -- how amazing is that(!).... oh, right.
I thought of my hubby Ross as I watched some men fishing from the bank -- I hope he'll have opportunities to pursue his favorite pastime when he joins me in China. I think he'd like this spot -- so relaxing -- at least for those of us at the top of the food chain. In addition to the fish in the water, there were chickens and roosters scuttling about in the underbrush, right next to the kitchen. The kitchen was a tiny little shack separate from the main building, out of which at regular intervals the staff would emerge with platter after platter of fresh goodies.
We ate a delicious lunch on the patio, featuring fish, chicken, tiny crabs, green beans, and dumplings. What a privilege to experience life in China in this way, with happy families enjoying time together on a long weekend.
Another resident of the fish farm is a Mynah bird in a cage, who greeted us by cawing "Ni Hao." Just for a split-second I was startled that the bird said "Hello" in a foreign language -- how amazing is that(!).... oh, right.
I thought of my hubby Ross as I watched some men fishing from the bank -- I hope he'll have opportunities to pursue his favorite pastime when he joins me in China. I think he'd like this spot -- so relaxing -- at least for those of us at the top of the food chain. In addition to the fish in the water, there were chickens and roosters scuttling about in the underbrush, right next to the kitchen. The kitchen was a tiny little shack separate from the main building, out of which at regular intervals the staff would emerge with platter after platter of fresh goodies.
We ate a delicious lunch on the patio, featuring fish, chicken, tiny crabs, green beans, and dumplings. What a privilege to experience life in China in this way, with happy families enjoying time together on a long weekend.
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