Madness In The Middle Kingdom

For those who have had a chance to peruse The Engleson Files you may have seen Craig’s effort to make a Crokinole board over the past several weeks. For those not “in the know” Crokinole is a board game that basically combines shuffleboard and curling on a 26″ diameter board looking something like this

The basic play is contestants shoot or “flick” small discs toward the center of the board and the main idea is to have your discs closer to the center than your opponents to score points. Any disc landing in the recessed area in the center score twenties which is obviously 20 points. There are other complexities to the scoring and play but this is a good basic summary.

Tonight Craig lent me a DVD entitled “Crokinole - The Movie” which chronicles the 2005 Crokinole World Championship held in Tavistock, Ontario.

The movie itself seems more like a mockumentary (like Best in Show) rather than an actual documentary but the folks in the movie are real and quirky as can be. In doing a bit of Google searching I found the The World Crokinole Championships website and was particularly amused at a portion of Rule #6 governing the positioning of the board and the contestants. It reads - “When a player is shooting, at least one portion of the posterior (the “one cheek rule” ) must be in contact with his/her chair.” This should give you an idea of the “flavour” of the movie.

I can’t wait until the board is finally finished and we can begin holding the China Regional Championships. Today Dalian, Tomorrow Tavistock!

After 5 glorious weeks of vacation and living the high life in Northern China it is time to go back and actually earn the paycheque I receive. Yes it’s “Back to School” time in China - the New Year’s festivities have drawn to a close and it’s time to hit those books.

It has been a great time to hang with family and connect better with my boys and of course with Alice. When school starts I am usually fairly busy most nights and don’t have the time to just watch Carter and Nathan grow and develop and do things that only their parents find cool but feel necessary to tell everyone else anyway. An example you ask - yesterday I was making French Toast and Carter went to touch the hot grill and we both screamed at him (in two languages) “Don’t touch it it’s hot!!” Averting that crisis we turned our attention to Nathan eating something hazardous from the floor only to see Carter going for the pan again but this time he had put on the oven mitts. I am not saying he is Einstein but you gotta admire his creativity.

Well .. Happy Chinese New Year to you all. Guo Nian Hao! Remember to eat lots as it is “The Year of the Pig”.

Some “action” from the Chinese New Year’s Eve - Nathan kickin’ it with Mama and Carter hangin’ with Rong Rong.

This is a follow up post to the earlier one on the Jin Yuan Bao or the golden figures the Chinese make to burn as currency for the departed to use in the afterlife. I just love the interaction of Carter and his Lao Lao even though I can’t always follow what is being said due to my deficiencies with the Chinese language. Look for a cameo by Nathan as well.

This one’s especially for Amma.

When queried whether he was happy to be home Nathan’s only reply was to say “bwabwabwa” which we take to mean he was happy.

We capped off a great two weeks in Jixi with a not so great train ride home. The shot above is from the internet and not our train although it basically looked the same. With two kids in tow snapping photos is the last thought I had.

We left Jixi by car for a two hour drive to the train station in MuDanJiang where we boarded a train at 10 AM and got off the next morning at 4:50 AM. The kids were as good as could be expected but there were definite low times. To give you a sense - Chinese trains are interesting but often very very hot. Imagine the hottest day of the year with a fireplace going. They also tend to be very smoky. Although the men go in the area between the cars to smoke they don’t close the doors behind them so it really is only a symbolic gesture. Add to that mixture about 60 or 70 sweaty bodies and all manner of exoticly spiced meats, chicken feet and various other delicacies being eaten and you got yourself a stink potpourri. Despite all of that it is a funky adventure and we have a few photos of the boys enjoying their time.

Nathan and Dad in happier times

Carter took the meaning of instant noodles to heart

Look for a few more posts from our time in Jixi as I will now be able to upload some video.

Cheers

On Chinese New Year’s Eve there are 3 big meals: 1) Breakfast at the usual time, 2) Lunch/Dinner at about 3:30 pm or so and 3) Late Dinner 10 pm or so. Alice’s Ma outdid herself with a great selection of dishes.

As good as the presentation is the taste is even better. Below is a shot of our 2nd meal of the day. Breakfast looked similar but with a few less dishes.

Notice that central in the table is a fish which is traditional to have for the New Year’s feast. They have a saying that equates with prosperity “Nian nian you yu”
which basically means “Every Year may you have abundance in your life” The last character “yu” which means surplus or abundance has exactly the same pronunciation as the word for “fish” ergo you eat fish at New Year.

And the last shot is of us eating the late night dinner. We moved the table into the living room because Nathan was sleeping in a room next to the dining area and also we could watch the New Year’s Eve show on CCTV. Well .. they could watch it.

This meal was basically all the leftovers from previous meals with plates of hot steaming jiaozi (dumplings) added to the mix. There were three coins wrapped somewhere in the jiaozi which spell good fortune for those that get them (provided you don’t lose teeth biting the coin). The lucky winners were Alice’s sister-in-law, Alice’s niece and Alice. Yeah the menfolk were shut out this year.

Ok .. I am not sure what the translation is exactly but it is a ritual done at Chinese New Year to honour the dead. In this instance the person being honoured is Alice’s father who passed away a few years ago. I have been with Alice to burn paper money (fake money) that he is to use in the afterlife at various times throughout the year. During Chinese New Year you are to make Jin Yuan Bao - golden figures that represent gold to be used as money in the afterlife. After making the Jin Yuan Bao you are to go outside and burn them.

The photo below shows Carter trying to help his Lao Lao make Jin Yuan Bao but she said he was more of a hindrance than a help. He told me he was making a puzzle. They had a great time with lots of laughs although she kept threatening to fire him from his assistant’s job.

On Feb 15th we showed our appreciation for Alice’s family and extended family by taking them out for a great dinner at a placed called Wang Fu. The restaurant was huge and looked at first glance like a palace. On 3 levels they can serve 900 to 1000 people at a time. I have never seen anything quite like it. At the start of the dinner I had to make a small speech in Chinese which I was told went well but I personally think Carter could have done better. The food was great and the company even better.

Below is a shot of the table setting. I couldn’t get a shot that did it justice but the place was lavish. Incidentally all of the backdrops for the photos in this blog are from the room we reserved and not the lobby of the restaurant.

Alice’s mother has 4 sisters and one surviving brother (3 have passed on). In the photo below the sisters and brother are in the front row (Alice’s Mom is 2nd from the left) and the husbands are in the back row. Alice (and I by extension) refer to them as Aunt #1, Aunt #2 etc in order of their age. This is not laziness or even impersonalness but rather Chinese etiquette dictates that we refer to them as such. Each member of a family has a specific title you address them by depending on who you are. As an example your maternal grandmother is Lao Lao while your paternal grandmother is Nai Nai. After 7 years of being here I have only memorized a fraction of the terms.

Below is a photo of (most) of the entire clan from Alice’s mother’s generation on down to Nathan - the latest addition.

Here we see Alice’s brother’s family. They have been very helpful to us whenever we come to Jixi and we really appreciate all they have done.

Below is Alice’s bro and a couple of her male cousins having a good time with Bai Jiu (white alcohol) fueling the mix.

Our happy little family. Carter really just wanted to get down and play cars so it took some cajoling to get that disinterested look out of him.

Alice with her closest cousin Hong Yu and their baby boys.

Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve (Feb 17th) and I am really getting a sense from the family and the city that a special event is coming. Let the feasting begin!

Cheers

As mentioned in a previous post this girl below is Carter and Nathan’s cousin - her Chinese Name is Ma Ling Wei (way) but she is called Rong Rong by everyone unless she is in trouble then she gets the “full name treatment”. She has chosen the English name Angel which is a very common one for Chinese girls to adopt and I feel that she should have something a little more unique. My challenge to you my dear readers is to post a comment giving her an English name based on the photo below.

In case you didn’t know my Chinese name is Dalong whose two characters (- da and - long) mean simply Big Dragon. Yeah .. laugh it up! In China it is common to have animal names as your family names or given names in fact my wife’s family name is Ma which means horse (if said in the 3rd tone). I was given this name not long after I arrived in August 2000 by a computer salesman whose English name is Tom. Tom is of course Chinese and when he tried to pronounce my name Darren he had difficulty getting the r sound correct and my name came out as Da Len. He then decided it would be easier for me if I had a Chinese name and he though the best and closest match was Da Long which is actually somewhat common here. Unlike traditional Chinese names I have not taken a surname and thus remain in the land of one name people (such as Elvis, Cher, Prince et al.). Below is a picture of the characters of my name if they were written in traditional script (like they use in Taiwan, Hong Kong and overseas like in Vancouver). The characters given above are the simplified script which is used in mainland China (notice da is the same but the simplified long is much easier to write).

I am writing this post in Jixi and not being at my home computer means I haven’t a photo of John and his beautiful wife Dhalie to put up but will do so in a week or so when I arrive home.

So what is my purpose for writing this post? Well .. to tell you a little bit about one of the greatest guys I know - my friend John Wolford. John just sent me an email with link to his blog which you can find by clicking HERE. Read a bit more of this post before taking a look at his blog if you please. This is a bit long but please read until the end.

I met John at UBC while doing my B.Ed (teaching) degree in 1998-1999. We were both in the Secondary Math Integrated Project (SMIP) and it was quite literally one of the best years of my life due to the people in the program not the least of which was John. We were an odd couple to be sure as he does not drink (not that I am a booze hound but I do like a good drink), he is a vegetarian, he has a positive outlook with a (mostly) calm rational approach to most problems and he meditates. In fact one might almost guess we were complete opposites but we got along pretty well. I think mainly it was because John overlooked my boozing, carnivorous self destructive ways (using poetic license here for humorous effect). The two things we shared in common were 1) a zest for fitness but when you meet him it is clear he takes it to a whole other level than I do and 2) a sense of humour. In order for a person to be my friend they have to like to laugh and take a good ribbing.

While in school together John and I could often be found arguing over some useless academic issue like an old married couple often starting our counterarguments with phrases like “dude you are insane - that is totally not how it works.” I have some very good memories from when were doing our teaching practicums when we would meet at night to do prepping or marking often at the Bread Garden near 4th and Burrard. I learned more about educational theory and practice in my discussions with John that I have in 7 years in a classroom. He has an enthusiasm for everything he does and it is infectious .. although he couldn’t get me to stop eating meat. In our first year of teaching we would often meet at a diner in Coquitlam on Austin street for a cheap 3 buck breakie served by a fast talking robotic Chinese guy who would finish your sentences before you had finished them.

John: “I’ll have the brow ..”
Waiter: “Brown toast ok”
John; “n toast without ..”
Waiter “no butter ok”
John: “butter”

Since coming to China I see less and less of John and Dhalie although Alice and I have had a few occasions to visit and they have been very cherished visits indeed. They have met our first son Carter and we hope that this summer they can meet our second son Nathan.

John has a brain tumour. He was diagnosed with it several years ago. The story of what it is and how it is developing/has developed is not something I can (nor should I) explain here. For that information I encourage those of you interested to check his blog simply titled John Wolford.

I just wanted to take this time to let you know a little bit about my friend John Wolford.

We love you John.

Well … 4 days in and 10 more to go in Jixi (or something like that .. still making return plans). Alice is having a wonderful time visiting family and finally got to play Mahjongg (or Ma Jiang) which she has been dying to do for a loooong time. She won 18 RMB last night (about $3.00 Cdn) so I am thinking about retiring early. Carter and Nathan have been having adjustment issues (nice way to put it eh?) about sleeping and napping and as the fireworks leading up to Chinese New Year are bound to get louder and louder I don’t see any relief in the near future. I spend my days lounging around in long underwear (trust me it is what the Chinese wear around the house and it is liberating I tell ya) and dreaming up ways to entertain myself and the boys. My most immediate project is to learn how to make fresh noodles and also to make mantou (a steamed bun that is fairly plain but tasty with a cup of coffee).

Two nights ago many of Alice’s relatives dropped by to give cash to the boys as a present for Chinese New Year’s and it was reminiscent of a scene out of Goodfellas when a mobster gets married and each person that comes by kisses the groom and bride and drops a wad o’ cash in their hand. They don’t have the kind of money that gangsters do but they were all very generous.

The weather has been unseasonably warm but today the snow fell and the temperature dropped to a not too bad - 12 Celsius. Carter, his cousin Rong Rong and I took the opportunity to head outside and tromp around in the snow. The forecast is calling for -18 or lower by the end of the week.

Well to add some spice to this otherwise boring post .. some photos from the last few days.

Alice with some of the womenfolk.

Me pretending I understand.

Carter and Nathan’s cousin Ma Ling Wei more affectionately known as Rong Rong

Nathan (8 months) and his second cousin (10 months).
Moments later Nathan open hand slapped him in the face.

Carter and Rong Rong. Bob the Builder ginch baby! Check ‘em out!

Rubber Ducky you’re the one. You make bath time so much fun!

2 photos of our snow day romp

We are in Jixi and I am finding my way around an all chinese computer well enough to do some posting but it is a steep learning curve.

We arrived yesterday and it was an epic journey but the kids did ok … except when the lights went out on the train. Little Nathan was exercising his vocal and staying power and Carter was very restless as well. It has taken 2 days but we have all caught up on our sleep for the most part.

This post is to highlight one of my highlights when visiting alice’s mom and that is a dish of noodles that is darn tasty indeed. It doesn’t sound like much (shredded meat, cucumber and scrambled eggs) but the sauce cannot be described. Carter loved it as well and he gobbled down faster than anyone.

The boys are really enjoying their stay thus far. Carter just ran right in without a Ni Hao to anyone and started playing toys with his cousin Rong Rong (she is a girl and so he calls her big sister or Rong Rong Jie Jie). Nathan still freaks a bit when Mom goes out of sight but he is settling down nicely and getting used to his Lao Lao (maternal grandmother).

On the down side of things none of the skating places are up and running because it is too warm. It gets below zero at night (maybe -5 or so) but gets above zero in the day. They could make ice but figure with the warm temperatures why bother. Just as well .. my skates didn’t make the final cut on the packing list although for the life of me I cannot figure out how a small (think big bread machine) washing machine made it on the list.

From Jixi - adieu

In lieu of the hot sunny beaches of Thailand we have decided to make this winter vacation due to the Chinese New Year a family affair. Today we are heading up to Alice’s hometown of Jixi whose two characters when read separately are Chicken West. If you look at China on a map it does look like a chicken but unfortunately for Jixi it is misnamed because it is in the east (dong) rather than the west (xi). For those unaware (or unawares as they say in the Cariboo there) Jixi is a coal mining town but not a lot of mining has been taking place recently and I am not sure what sustains the economic development.

Leg #1 of the journey has us on the train from Dalian to Changchun (as mentioned in the Asian Winter Games posts) and then onto MuDanJiang. We get on the train at noon and arrive in MuDanJiang the next morning at 7 AM. Leg #2 is the train from MuDanJiang to Jixi which is about 3 hours in length. We are bringing a stroller, baby backpack carrier, skates, books and even a small washing machine .. yup .. you read it correctly .. a small washing machine. It should be quite an adventure.

If you like .. you can right click on the map below to save it and when really really bored you can see where Jixi is and where we will be for the next few weeks.

Cheers

As promised in the earlier posts here are some videos of the hockey action and crowd action in the China v Korea men’s game. I didn’t capture it but they did play the “Good Old Hockey Game” by Stompin Tom during the breaks in action which is pretty surprising.

Now that I have a free moment (hard to come by even on holidays for some strange reason). I have organized some of the photos of the weekend action. Video will be to follow when I get time to upload some to YouTube (service here in gool ol’ China is still quite slow).

Curling Action - China vs. Korea Women and China vs. Japan Men

Hockey Action - Kazakhstan vs Japan Men’s Hockey

The Proud Kazaks and Their Flag

The Japanese on the Attack

The Scrum

Hockey Action - China vs Korea Men’s Hockey

ZhongGuo Dui Jia You (literally Chinese Team Add Gas)

Face-Off in Northern Asia

“Let’s kick the KimChee out of them!”

Just arrived back from Changchun from the 2007 Asian Winter Games and it was a fantastic time. Saw lots of ice hockey action, some curling and long track speed skating. I wanted to see the short track speed skating but it was done when I got there so I was out of luck. I will post more photos of the event once I get them organized and uploaded but that will be in a day or so.