happy new year!! (again)

So, we think that we know all about celebrating with firecrackers because we've got the Fourth of July, New Year's, and Christmas, right? Well, I am here to report that our intensity pales in comparison to that of our Chinese friends. I just experienced my first Spring Festival, the Chinese New Year holiday. Now, I'm not sure about in bigger cities, but in this city there was no parade (which I must admit was really disappointing because I really wanted to see one of those awesome dragon floats). There was, however, plenty of fireworks. The day we moved into our apartment we noticed the leftovers of where someone had shot some in the stairwell!! So, a couple days before the actual holiday we began hearing them go off randomly. Then, on new year's eve, they brought out the big guns. These were the most intense firecrackers I've ever heard in my life. Apparantly, here it's not about how pretty they are, it's about how loud they are. And how constant. For hours, all you could hear was this booming. At about midnight Allison & I decided that we should take our opportunity to celebrate, because we may never be here for this again! So, we bundled up & ran outside. The air was full of smoke & that firecracker smell. An apartment building was in our way of seeing the few pretty ones that were actually shot, but the sky behind the building was lighting up like crazy. It felt like we were under some sort of attack, and that planes were heading our way to bomb us or something! We watched and listened for a while and finally went back inside. I layed down in my bed with my mp3 player on to try and sleep. But then, I took my headphones off and just listened. And as I listened, I thought about the people here, and their customs and culture and beliefs. The lack of knowledge about a certain subject which is of the utmost importance to me is unreal. How privileged we are to have grown up knowing. How privileged we are to have the opportunity to pass it on.
Some funny things have happened to Allison and me since I wrote last. One is that while we were exploring some market areas downtown, a young couple approached us and asked if we would take a picture with them. We said ok, so the girl got in the picture with us and put up her peace sign. Then the guy, who was the only one that could speak English, thanked us, and as he turned to leave he said, "Happy Birthday!". We just smiled and said thanks. I'm impressed by the courage of so many of these people to try their English on us. I'm still too embarassed to try much of my limited Chinese! Another day, when we were in line at McDonald's, a little boy turned around and noticed us standing there. His face broke out into this huge smile and he began tugging on his mom's arm saying, "Mei guo rens! Mei guo rens!" which means, "Americans! Americans!" It was so cute. Most of the people here are very curious about us, but it's a sweet curiosity. And I am quite curious in return. I'm excited to make friends with some of these beautiful people!