Madness In The Middle Kingdom

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