We'll begin with Zhenze, the village that my mom's family comes from and where I spent the first three years of my life. Although, it's not really fair to call it a village anymore: we now have traffic lights and a public transportation system! And I'm not just talking about rickshaws, I'm talking about autobuses that stop at several locations before driving to the next village! Perhaps even more shocking was when I turned on my computer and realized that one of our neighbors now has a wireless router. Wireless internet in Zhenze!? THE FUTURE IS HERE!!
The village hasn't just modernized; it's also revamped the old residence for tourist purposes. My childhood home has been restored to its original Qing Dynasty glory. Of course, our family only occupied the kitchen and one sitting room, which had been requartered into one housing unit. The rest of the complex housed dozens of other families. Now, it has been reunified and looks so much more beautiful...
Between my last visit and this visit, my uncle decided to stop selling rice and start a restaurant (Asian stereotypes FTW!), following in my Dia Dia's culinary footsteps. I can't say I'm very upset with his decision; I had many a delicious meal at his riverside eatery.
Food is always one of my favorite parts about visiting China. But even I can only take so much. With four meals a day (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and ye xiao, the Chinese equivalent of the midnight meal), it actually came to the point where eating was no longer a joy but a labor. It would offend my family if I turned down their food, so I had no choice but to do the respectful thing and swallow another bite, even if my stomach was at full distention. Then, whenever I would go pay my respects to family friends (Asian stereotypes FTW, again!), I would have to eat with them as well. But one dish that I'll never get tired of? Snails. So freaking good!
The only really touristy thing I did while I was in the South was visit the China Pavilion, which is all that remains from last year's Shanghai World Expo. It was fun, but not as fun as later that night when I tried to go home. The aforementioned public transportation had stopped running and I had no way to get back from the city of Wujiang to my village, but luckily, my uncle and cousin had been invited to a wedding in the same city that night. And that's how I ended up crashing a Chinese wedding ceremony. ZOMG, I was so tempted to take pictures, but my conscience told me I shouldn't since I didn't know the bride or the groom. It was a tough decision, especially when the MC of the reception started yelling out Asian Poses for the newlyweds to imitate (Asian stereotypes FTW, again!).
Of course, the best part of my stay in Zhenze was getting to see my family, especially my Dia Dia. A close second would be still being recognized as Peiling's son when I walked by the market. When it's been 22 years since you've moved away and people still recognize you, you know you're truly from a small village. You know you're truly at home.
3 comments:
Nice pictures, especially the last one. Way to represent UVA all the way in Zhenze :)
I love your stories of being in China! The food at your uncle's restaurant looks *amazing.* I wish I had a homeland with real family ties still there. [white American mutt sadface]
Sam Zhao, Caroline's mom here. She told me during Christmas vacation that I should read your blog and see what you wrote about your Grandmother, so I did as ordered. I also read some of your other posts. Soooo, I am here having laughed and cried ridiculously over what you have shared. Why do so many doctors lack personality? You are going to make a great one!! And, do NOT play Chopin on a Casio keyboard ever again!
Post a Comment