Julia's Trip to China (cont.)

Shanxi, the home province of my Dad

Anyways, it was a...well...interesting experience seeing my relatives again. Actually, I really like them all. It was awkward at first because they knew we were from America and to them, that is really unusual. So all our cousins pretty much just stared at us the whole time. And my sister and I were rather shy because we can't speak Chinese very well, especially this dialect!! I had thought that the Sichuan dialect was hard, even though it is quite close to Mandarin. My dad said that some of the dialects in Shanxi (there's more than one!!) even he can't understand. So here we are, again, with the language barrier. But eventually, Elisha and I became good friends with everyone. (See picture at left) The "bed" we are sitting on isn't really a bed. In Chinese, "bed" is "chuang." This thing is called a "kang," and is made of brick. In the winter, the fire that is used for cooking also transfers heat to the "kang" so the bed is really warm!! During our stay, Dad, Elisha, and I slept on beds, but the beds were very hard and uncomfortable. On our very last night there, I opted to sleep on the "kang." It was much more comfortable because they pad the surface with many layers of blankets.

Eventually, we figured out how each person is related to us and what we're supposed to call them. It's different in China because you don't call someone "Aunt Jane." You have to specify their ranking in the family and you don't call them by their names (I remember in 9th grade when my English teacher asked for the names of our grandparents. I was a little embarrassed that I didn't know their names because I just call them Grandma and Grandpa!!). My dad is the oldest in his family, and all his younger brothers and sisters are then ranked according to age. So we have a 2nd uncle, 3rd uncle, and 4th uncle. Then their wives (who would just be "Aunt" in English) are called 2nd mother, 3rd mother, and 4th mother. My dad's sisters are Big Aunt and 2nd Aunt, while their husbands are called Big Aunt's Husband and 2nd Aunt's Husband. Good thing my dad has no older siblings because then it would get even more confusing as aunts and uncles are called differently if they are older than your parents!!

As I've said before, I've only seen these people once before in my lifetime. I was 8, and Elisha was 3. I can't remember anything from that visit except the chickens and the donkeys. This time, I got to meet everyone!! Most of the people related to us came to see us. Everytime, we learn how they are related to us, what we are supposed to call them, and give them some chocolate. My dad said that about one third of the population of the village have the last name of Ma, which is about 100 people. But only the ones that are more closely related came to visit.

Now, knowing what to call people is a complicated process. First, you figure out what side of the family they are on (obviously, these people are all related through me by my dad). Then you go back in history to figure out when their ancestor was a sibling to your ancestor. Then you count forward the generations to figure out if you're on the same generation. If they are, you just call them Brother or Sister (or by name if they are younger than you). If they are on the same generation as your dad, you call them Uncle or Aunt, and some number of ranking. If they are on the same generation as what your children would be, THEY call you Uncle or Aunt. So here I am, lost in the family trees. I have a "brother" who is older than my dad, an "uncle" who is the same age as my grandfather, and some "nieces" who are my sister's age!! Crazy!!

It's cool to learn a different culture. Well, not so different from Chengdu because everyone is Chinese. But their way of thinking is just different. For example, when a child is born, they are automatically 1 years old. They don't really celebrate birthdays. Everyone becomes one year older when the new year comes. So if a child is born Dec. 31, they could be "2 years old" when they are only 2 days old!!

My dad told me that last time he came, he brought them cherry tomato seeds. My grandparents planted them, but when they grew, they didn't think they were big enough!! (imagine, cherry tomatoes that aren't big enough...). They also did not like planting brussel sprouts for the same reason. Every morning for breakfast, we get rice porridge with Hello. Actually, hello is my English translation of a squash they call "he lo." I thought it was entertaining to get breakfast with Hello!! Anyways, just my sense of humor again, or lack thereof... One of the best things in Shanxi is the vinegar. Every time we have noodles, the vinegar gets passed around to everyone. Most of the food also has vinegar. This is rice vinegar, the dark colored stuff, not the white vinegar. Actually, my sister and I love it because my dad has always used it. So spicy food from my mom, vinegar from my dad, we are able to eat practically anything!!

Shanxi, as opposed to Sichuan, is dry. There is dust everywhere. My grandma daily splashes water on the floor to keep the dust and dirt down. Since there aren't many toys, the kids have to make up their own. Chasing chickens with slingshots (my aim got pretty good), drawing pictures in the dirt, playing Chinese chess or Chinese checkers, or just climbing the mountains. We played one game where it required you to run, then stand on one leg while people behind you try to knock you over. I don't know what happened, but my sister and I both woke up the next day quite sore in our legs!!

Most of the people here have never seen a CD player. They were fascinated by the CD's and how you could listen to music. We always bring a lot of candy and munchies for them to eat because they don't get a lot of sweets. My littlest cousin, son of 3rd uncle, loves the chocolate. He will continually ask for more. At least they have a TV, although it only gets a few channels.

I'm not going to write about the toilets here. They are much different from the bathrooms in Chengdu. I don't think they should even be called "toilets" or "bathrooms", more like "a place to do your thing when Mother Nature calls." I don't think you could handle the description. Seriously, it's funny, but also rather disgusting (well, they're toilets, what do you expect??). Please, if you've just eaten, spare yourself. In fact, don't read unless you don't plan on eating anything for a loooonnnnnggggg time. Ok, now that I've warned you, if you really want to know, good luck. Click here.

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