Alan and I had a bit of trouble
thinking of what to talk about for our final conversation. I think that both of us were feeling stressed
and distracted by the end of the semester, and the whirlwind of work that comes
with it. We talked a little bit about
summer break, and it seemed lie Alan does the same things with his friends at
home that most people here do: hang out, listen to music, go see movies, etc.
We were both at something of a
loss after that, until he asked whether he’d told me about Festival. I was confused at first, so I asked what
festival he meant. He explained that he
was talking about Spring Festival. I
still had no idea what he was talking about.
After a bit of confusion, I realized that Spring Festival is the
celebration for the Chinese New Year.
Alan told me that they get a
break for Spring Festival instead of for Christmas. This made sense to me, since Christianity is
far from the majority religion in China.
That said, it’s difficult for me to imagine going through school without
a winter break. I also found it odd that
it’s called Spring Festival, when it takes place anywhere from late January to
mid-February. To me, that time of the
year is definitely winter. But I suppose
that the definition of seasons can be cultural as well. Or perhaps it’s just a name and I’m
overthinking.
People in China celebrate this
holiday by eating special foods, cleaning the house to remove bad luck, and by
decorating their doors with couplets printed on red paper. One similarity to New Year’s celebrations
here is that they ring in the new year with firecrackers.
Parting with Alan was an odd
feeling, with him going back to China for the summer while I go back to
Midland. It’s pretty certain that, even
though we’ll both still be at TCU, we won’t talk and may not even see each
other anymore. This assignment has been
an interesting one, and it’s been fun to learn a little bit about a country
that I previously knew very little about.
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