What is a day like in the life of a Chinese person? Well, much like America, it depends on whose shoes you are wearing. Take for instance our bike guard downstairs who is probably in his late seventies. He wakes up early, opens his front door (the bike shed), starts a fire in a can with scrap wood and cardboard, lights his foot and half long pipe and sits down. He pretty much stays in this position until nightfall when the fire may get moved inside the shed. He is usually joined by friends and the gate guard who all huddle around the fire on stools 6 inches high, talking, knitting and smoking. He goes to bed around10pm and locks the door. If you come in after that and want to put your bike away, he has to get out of bed to let you in. He is friendly and loves it when we give him our cardboard boxes. Since we figured out that we have to pay to keep Frank's bike there, he smiles at us every morning. Or, take the girls and boys who work at the plethora of restaurants on our street. At about 9 am, they are squatting on the side walk, peeling garlic, rinsing vegetables, cutting chilies, salting meat and cleaning windows. After that is all done, they may play badminton or jump rope until customers start arriving. After the lunch rush, they will squat outside again, doing dishes and prepping more veggies for the dinner crowd. They work very hard for very little but usually they are smiling. There are more types of work than I can mention here. Many are food related. Food stands abound and people of all ages work them. They sell fresh pineapple halves, baked potatoes from a metal drum oven, roasted chestnuts, meat on a stick, stinky tofu, noodles, fried potatoes, fried "hotdogs", etc.
Parents and grandparents are seen early in the morning taking kids to school on the back of their bikes, scooters, or just their backs. Many older ones use the morning hours to excercise on gym equipment that in the states would be a child's playground. Some dance or do TaiChi in the courtyards of their apartments and spend the day playing mahjong, cards or knitting. The weekends are the best, especially if you visit the local parks. People young and old come to dance, sing and play music. They are a very hard working people and are willing to do whatever puts food on the table. I have seen street sweeping women run in front of oncoming traffic to pick up a piece of trash; young, slightly built women hauling sand, bricks, huge chunks of concrete; elderly men and women collecting plastic and cardboard from wherever it can be found. There are people who shine shoes sitting next to fortune tellers who sit next to a little old lady selling delicately knitted baby shoes. The list goes on and on. Their diligence and humility is an amazing thing to behold... and perhaps, to imitate.
mandy
"As long as man labors for a physical existence, though an act of necessity almost, he is yet natural; it is life, though that of this world, for which he instinctively works.”
Jones Very
"As long as man labors for a physical existence, though an act of necessity almost, he is yet natural; it is life, though that of this world, for which he instinctively works.”
Jones Very
You are getting two reports of the festivities here, one from each of us. Things are crazy here right now. I think any evil spirits they thought were about have all been chased away by the fireworks last night, this morning and now, noon. Earplugs are a must have this time of year. Last night it was impossible to sleep since it was the first day of ChunJie. We decided to brave the cold and walk around outside for a little while. Armed with earplugs, ear muffs and a hat that covered them, we set out. I was immediately grateful for the mufflers as the noise was so loud, it made the ground beneath our feet rumble and our stomachs quiver. From our apartment, we could feel the vibrations too, as if our city were under attack, but not like this! There were officers standing nearby but only to make sure that certain types of fireworks were placed in a box before lit, since they danced and sent sparks everywhere. They did not however, keep little children from standing amongst the lit pipes. One child was hitting the ones that had been set off already. I had to turn my head so I would not witness him losing a finger or two. Where were his parents? Nothing happened to him thankfully and finally a lady told him to get away. There were little unsupervised pyros everywhere. The bouquets of colors that exploded right over our heads were beautiful and frightening at the same time. All that firepower, how do more people not get injured? I know, I sound like my mother. But one man who spoke pretty good English told us that some people go blind on this night and even die. Am I the only one who sees a problem with this? There were many fireworks used that I know would be illegal in the US. We got tired of the noise and decided to sit in McDonalds for awhile with a cup of coffee. There were more people there than I had ever seen! Staying open on this night was a genius financial decision. We warmed up and decided to head back to our apartment when the whole building began trembling. Everyone ran outside to see what was happening. The government had set up their own display in the park across the road. Wow! It was like the finales of all US fireworks displays put together, and then some. It must have lasted an hour. It ended as we reached the first floor balcony of our apartment building. Traffic was backed up as people just parked in the road and stood and watched. Why do we have such a fascination with fireworks? Is it the noise or is it the amazing ability to create stunning artwork in the sky with the light of a match? Whatever the reason, I wonder how fascinated we will be after the next week and a half? The noise continued all morning and our apartment often smells like the building is on fire since our neighbors light the loud popping ones right in the hallway. Welcome to China! 
