An English Teacher in China: February 2013

A Chinese Tea Set

The winter holiday here in China has afforded me two benefits: 1) to rest from school and 2) to travel. These past two weeks I have had the privilege of traveling to the south of China to visit the village of Putian in the Fujian province. Putian is a city of poor farmers, rich medical barons, tall buildings, fresh seafood, tall hills, green trees, an abundance of fresh coconut milk, and more firework displays then you can count! I was invited to the village by my good friend, Gideon, to spend the Chinese New Year with his family.

Traveling to Putian was quite an ordeal. First, Gideon and I had to catch the fast train to Beijing, where we would then transfer to the long distance train at the west hub. One dilemma with Beijing is that not all of the train stations are connected. It's easy enough to transfer from the east and south railway stations via the subway system, but the west railway station is completely isolated from the others. So we had to first take the subway, then a bus, and finally walk for about twenty minutes to get to our destination. I believe that there is a much easier way to get to the west railway station but we couldn’t find it. At least we made it to the train on time.

The long distance train took a total of nineteen hours to reach our final destination. It was a pretty good trip. Gideon and I had sleeper beds and we were able to lie down and sleep most of the journey. There are four ways to ride the long distance trains in China: 1) standing, 2) sitting, 3) sleeping in hard beds, and 4) sleeping in soft beds. Gideon and I choose option three. The beds are pretty hard but being able to lie down makes traveling long distances much more bearable. I was happy that the beds were just long enough to accommodate my height so I didn’t have to scrunch up and I could lie down comfortably. Each cabin on the train houses six beds that are stacked like bunk-beds. I ended up on the top row. It's about ten-feet in the air to the top row of the cabin… So don’t roll out of bed!

We took the train on the 9^th of February, which is New Year's Eve in China. We were able to find some seats by a window and watch dozens of firework displays throughout the countryside as our train rushed past. Our celebration may have been on the train but it was still alright. We celebrated by playing several games of Uno.

Finally we arrived in Fujian and then we had to take another train out to Gideon's village. We got off the last train and we were greeted with lush green trees and warmer weather. There were quite a few days of overcast but it was mostly good weather. Gideon's Uncle was supposed to pick us up from the train station but he wasn't unable to drive due to a bit too much celebrating. We tried to take a taxi but none would take us at a reasonable price. Thus we had to resort to a transport motorcycle. Try to imagine three men on a motorbike: one driver and two passengers, who trying to hold backpacks and suitcases off of the ground as we rush along at 40 km/h. I am quite happy to report that our luggage and our persons made it safely to Gideon's home.

Gideon's family lives in the poorer countryside of Putian. They have a pig farm with around six hundred pigs and a small field for growing vegetables. Gideon's father used to be a painter but he decided to transition to being a pig farmer. I think it suits him well. He seems to really enjoy the simple life of a farmer. He and Gideon’s mom are good homegrown people. They may live simply, but they are very happy.

Putian is full of farms that skirt up and down the seaside. There are a number of high mountains in the region and one that even reaches nearly three thousand feet high. Near the pinnacle of this mighty peak lies a great big Taoist/Buddhist shrine that sits directly underneath a television tower. It's an interesting picture of the old world and the new world sitting right next to each other in harmony. Smoke can be seen rising almost constantly from the temple as sacrifices to ancient deities continue throughout the day. At the same time, the bleeping lights on the television tower let all below know that they won’t miss their soaps tonight!

Putian is a hodgepodge of religious bodies. There are a number of Buddhist shrines, Taoist temples, and Christian churches scattered throughout the city. There really isn't a religious majority as all three are equally represented. Small one-room shrines are commonly hidden among the many twisting corners of the city streets and alleyways. The more impressive shrines and cathedrals can be found in Putian's richer district alongside the plethora of enormous ten story mansions.

I was informed that people in Putian can get rich overnight. The city itself serves as a monument of this philosophy. Putian is home to some of the largest and most extravagant houses I've ever seen in my life. A single family home can be as large as an apartment building. Wealth and respect are measured in this city by the number of stories you can build on your house so there is a constant contest to build the tallest tower. The odd part about this race is that the majority of these houses are completely empty on the inside. Most of the families live on the bottom floor with sparse furniture and decorations. The bare concrete floors and exposed brick walls with dangling electrical wires are the norm when it comes to the skeletal frame of these massive towers. This city is in desperate needs of some interior decorators!

The best part of Putian comes from its proximity to the sea. Putian is a seaside town with ports and beaches. It's fairly cold right now so swimming is out of the question. But the seafood is amazing. I've eaten clams, oysters, fish, and squid almost every day! A normal meal consists of fresh vegetables, rice or noodles, fresh fruit, and some kind of seafood. Everything is either grown or caught locally. Furthermore, the tea is also grown locally and it superb. It's easy to find your fill of fresh oranges and tea in every household.

It is Gideon's duty during the spring festival to go about and meet with all of his family members. Gideon has a rather large family with nearly 400 distant relatives. So there are a lot of people to visit. A normal family visit consists of: 1) being seated, 2) being served fresh fruits and nuts, and 3) being served tea. I've learned a lot about Chinese hospitality from Gideon's relatives. The biggest and most important part of hoisting is making sure that a guest’s tea cup is never empty. This is a rather tiresome task as the tea cups are rather small. A standard Chinese tea cup can barely hold ¼ cup of liquid. So it's easy to drink it all in one gulp. The host has a busy job of constantly filling everyone's tea cup as soon as they’ve become the slightest bit empty. But there is more to the art of serving tea then just making sure the cups are full; as the tea ritual itself beings with the boiling of water. It's important to let the boiled water sit for a bit so that it isn't too hot for the tea leaves. Once cooled a slight bit, the hot water is then poured over the tea leaves into a small tea kettle or cup. The round lid on the cup is then used to press the tea leaves into the water. Another important fact is that the first filling of the tea kettle is not to be used for drinking. This first filling is used for washing out the cups. The kettle is poured out into the tea cups so that the tea overflows each cup. The cups sit in a special grated basin that catches the access tea in a shallow well. The first pouring is then emptied from the cups into the well and the cups are now prepared for drinking. A second filling takes place in the kettle and once again the lid is used to compress the leaves in a circular motion. This second filling is then used to fill the cups and this time it is right for drinking. It may seem strange like a strange idea for western conservationist but overflowing the kettle and the cups is a requirement when serving Chinese tea. A person is considered stingy if they do not overfill the cups. Truly, my cup overflowed in Putian.

One dilemma that I faced in Putian is that the people speak in a regional dialect. I've been spending the past six months studying Chinese and I've gotten somewhat good at the basics. I'm still a slow speaker but at least I can guess at the meaning of things being said. Putian Chinese is very different. Nothing is the same and I've been completely lost. I've been painfully reminded of my first week in China when I knew nothing of the language. But most of the people were very nice and there were even a few who would switch to common Mandarin when speaking with me so that I could understand.

This vacation has been really restful. I spent most of my days lounging about on the family's second floor balcony in the warm sun. You could find me their either reading or writing. Then Gideon and I would take to the streets in the evening where we find his old buddies for a game of billiards or basketball. Some days Gideon and I would spend the afternoon on the breakers overlooking the ocean. The rest of my time was spent either eating or visiting with Gideon's family. It's amazing that I haven't gained any weight because I ate all the time! You can't leave a family visit without eating something. I recommend munching on the roasted sunflower seeds as they are the most time consuming to shell and it takes a lot longer to get full.

One of the biggest highlights during my time in Putian was being a witness at Gideon's sister's engagement party. The spring festival is the time for young lovers to express their true feelings and many couples will become engaged during this period. However, a Putian style engagement is very different from a western style engagement. First, the two families have a secret meeting to discuss the price of the girl. The groom-to-be's family proposes a certain price for the desired daughter. The bride-to-be's family either rejects or accepts the price. Ideally a settlement is reached and the deal is done. Within a day or two, the bride-to-be's family will host a special engagement party. This is where they will have a big feast for family and friends. At the end of the feast the boy will give the money to the girl and the deal will be made. The boy will have successfully bought his finance and much celebration is to be had. (I am unsure if this tradition of bartering for a bride is common throughout all of China. I only know that it's common here in Putian.)

One word of warning about China during the spring festival: "there are a lot fireworks and firecrackers." There are firecrackers and fireworks going off all the time... and I mean "all the time!" It's not uncommon to have at least ten or more local firework displays that start early in the evening and go to early in the morning. People set off large snake like chains of firecrackers that sound like a machine gun going off in the city streets. China is filled with almost constant explosions during this time of year. I was even witness to two young boys dropping a lit firecracker into someone's outside bathroom. That's one way to cure constipation!

All good things must come to and end. My two weeks in Putian is finally over and sadly I must leave the warm weather behind. Gideon and I said goodbye to his family and hopped on our train to head back. We were not so lucky as to score direct tickets to Beijing so we ended up on the slow train. Thus we spent 37-hours traveling before we made it back to Beijing. But we made friends with our bunk-mates and spent the time reading and playing games. If found two bunk-mates that could speak English and asked them to join us for a game of cards. A sassy eleven-year-old also joined us and I ended up teaching them how to play Uno. In return they taught me a Chinese card game called "斗地主" [Dòu Dìzhǔ] (Fight the Landlord). We shared food, told stories, and I even got a few Chinese lessons. Train travel is great for making new friends!

It's been a good trip and I'm thankful to have gone. Gideon's family was very hospitable and very kind to me. They've been a most gracious hosts. I've learned a lot during my time about the people of Putian and their culture. Gideon’s family even gave me a tea set so I could host my own guests in a proper Chinese fashion. I will make sure to keep their cups overflowing.