My First Time Teaching in China: Chinese New Year

These pictures below show the section of our trip from Suzhou to Shanghai (again) until just before leaving for Guilin. The most interesting aspect of this section of our journey lies in the circumstance that we were there during Chinese New Year, and we were able to stay at Catherine's Father's apartment. It was so comical how when we arrived he implored us to help him consume the large stocks of alcohol he had received as gifts from other business cohorts of his, but we don't even drink that much. We did, however, end up polishing off a bottle of red wine on New Year's eve (as you will see documented below). The city was so alive but so dead at the same time when the New Year finally came, because so many people travel back to their home towns to be with their families at this time but the ones who stay follow the custom of setting off ear-ringing firecrackers near their front doors to scare off bad spirits. That night, we watched in awe as the sky all around us came to life with fireworks and firecrackers.

Downtown Suzhou.

Wonky looking lights and buildings in Suzhou's premier shopping district.

Crossing what were apparently at times rigid neighbourhood borders, we noticed this gate, when closed, was fortified with shards of glass on the top to keep intruders out.

This picture tells a pretty funny story (although you might have had to have been there to really appreciate it as much as we do). After traveling for so long together, it became pretty clear which of us were better at doing some tasks than others. For example, Ilya was really good at figuring a city out according to maps (due to his recognition of Chinese Characters) but I was also good at this in a different way because I have a good sense of direction. I was the one who would often book our hostels for our next destination, but Ilya would often book train tickets. Anyway, we found ourselves in Suzhou and feeling pretty bored one day without really much of a plan other than to just see more of the city. After getting a bite to eat, Ilya pulls out a map of the city, and I, expecting him to come up with something innovative, was surprised when he looks up from the map with the expression you see in that picture and says "I have no idea where we are." We laughed about that for a while.