<-gattomatto->

Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Back HK ;-)

Back HK, Back to my blog life.
Actually, a lot of things have happened during these days, good things as well as bad things. I will take time and write them down.
OK, just a quite greeting to show I am back.
Here I attach partial things I have written in Shanghai: ...
"Now I am in Shanghai, and outside it is 37 degree. It is sooooo hot!!! The reporter is saying today is the first summer red hot warning in Shanghai. Apart some must-do issues, which I am forced to get out and bear the sunburn, gladly I am hiding at home to make my daughter’s duty- accompany parents as much as possible before my next departure.
I am making quite a full stay as I mentioned in my last article.
11th, duanwu festival, father has prepared zhongzi for the festival. Really good, I have to admit, better than anyone they are selling in HK :D
I went with parents to see the V8 Car race in Shanghai car race center. New experience, but the noise is horrible, I felt headache after a while.
14th: An’s arrival in Shanghai
18th: 14 adult relatives plus three little girls from Jiangxi arrived for sister’s wedding, including father’s brothers/sister-in-laws and mother’s brother/ sister-in-law, and three their granddaughters. We have to take three rooms (10 beds) in the nearby hotel to be sure that the home’s toilet will get the time to breathe.
I accompanied sister to make her last preparation before her big day.
19th: Sister’s wedding day!! Waked up at 7am, rushed back with borrowed Audi A4 as the wedding car. 8am, went with An to the flowery store to pick all the fresh flowers and decorate the car. 10:00am, kaiping ( sister’s husband) arrived home to pick up sister. Meanwhile, my home has already packed with all the Jiangxi relatives. As to the customs, all the unmarried girlfriends of sister, which also include me have to block the door and trouble him. I did trouble my brother-in-law, but sisiter’s other friends were hiding aside. So I was the only one with my both arms around the waist keeping him out. At the end, I realized I might show a bad image in the video- who likes girl troubling people with both arms around the waist??? I decided to return as a fine lady, so I let kaiping enter. Then they have to offer tea to my parents, and parents gave them back red envelopes. And then, dessert time, mother has cooked with dates, peanuts, kinda Chinese leechi, and lotus seed and other things (connect these four foods in Chinese Zaoshengguizi, means to have a baby soon); followed by our loudly question “ tian bu tian” and “ sheng bu sheng” in Chinese – “ sweet or not” “ take birth or not/ uncooked or not” ; Both sister and kaiping have to answer loudly “tian” and “ Sheng”; then they two became the main stage prop to take photos with all the relatives.
And then we departed for the big lunch. An played an important role as well, the driver for the wedding car, I suppose sister was feeling very good about the service provided by a “ laowai”; the wedding car was decorated really pink, basically with pink roses and lilies, which is the most favorite color of sister currently. Packed inside with An, sister and kaiping, the best man ( kaiping’s friend) and me (bridesmaid), followed by two 11-seat iveco taxies, we arrived the main ceremony place – meilingge, a famous Shanghainese restaurant.
Sister had several good friends to help her in decorating the room (totally they booked 5 tables in a separate room) and to do receptionists. They really did a great help in her wedding, especially Anni. I would like to ask for her help in my future wedding as well. Hehe
Then typical procedures: the bride and bridegroom entered the room, and the host (another sister’s friend) announced the start of the wedding ceremony. Then My mum’s speech, kaiping’s mum’s speech and an union speech made by sister and kaiping. Kaiping’s mother was very boring… luckily she is not my mother-in-law.;-) Her speech lasted around 15 minutes with hardly understanding Hunan accent mandarin and I think everyone lost his attention after the first 5 minutes. Instead, sister and Kaiping had a cute 4-sentence poem made by them, also inserting both their name as the initial word of every sentence. Moreover, they pulled the champagne tower and cut the 3-store-cake.
I accompanied sister for changing from wedding dress to night dressing. And they started their routine of toast to every guest. Both the best man and I have to assist the new couple for the toast, and in case of request, we have to drink on behalf of the new couple. Basically, the friends and relatives invited were not so much drinkers. We did our part of job easily.
Around three thirty, the ceremony is finished.
Then I got another big thing to cerebrate- 19th is also An’s birthday. Happy Birthday to mio orso once again. Xixi

20th: my new career as tour guild for the Jiangxi expedition
Parents have asked both sister and I to take care of our Jiangxi expedition at least one day each in their total 7-day-stay. Considering I planed to leave for Beijing on 21st , I decided to arrange the first day. My father, somehow, is too much willing to show everything to them, which later came out to be not appreciated by everyone. The routine started from Zhongshan park, their first-time ride of Metro and walked down all the Nanjing pedestrian Road, and then the bund up to Yuyuan garden as requested by father. I wondered it might be a too long walking path, but he answered that they were from Countryside, and most thing they were able to do is walking. But father was wrong this time. It came out at the end of the day they were completely destoried. After back home happily they praised me in front of parents, cause I am a "city girl" but didn't mistreat them. I wasn't knowing that they were afraid I might act as an real Shanghainese. But anyway, I know I am not, and never tried to be.

21st: 18:00 train to Beijing, arrived 22nd morning 7:00AM. No special issues. My room mates in the train were three middle-aged Shanghainese knowing each other. So I kept quite enjoying my books.

22nd~24th: in the Office. Clearing issues.

25th: late for my flight ( 5 minutes left for the check-in deadline) and there were too long queues for the check-in ( In Beijing airport they mixed every airlines check-in together, was a mess). So I was forced to ask the premission to make a short-cut of the line. Refused by the first guy, but I tried again and boarded on my plane in time.
Then I met nuonuo and started immediately to accompany her to take the wedding clothes and so on. Nuonuo was quite nervous. Easily dismayed by problems which is so understandble as she is a bride-to-be. Gladly to see I am helping her to calm down. That's where friends stand for, glad that I was helpful.
Then I started my interpreter job. Acutally it was a funny family they are going to compose, Brain speaks Japanese, so he can communicate with Nuonuo's father easily in Japanese; his parents, speak only English; Nuonuo's mother speaks some daily English as she was majoy in German and she is studying English at the moment. But it was quite a mess, a big relative group from Nuonuo's family, and there were so many things to be taken care. So I have been assigned to accompany Brain's parents only. Haha, long time no working and finding I am still very good at it ;-)
Evening, we all had a Mexican buffee in the hotel. And I got to know the best man, a Japanese. Here we are once again mixed with English, Chinese and Japanese. Goosh, even I couldn't pick up any more Japanese, apart Simimasha/domoaliado, I enjoyed.

26th: big day for Nuonuo. I was the last one who waked up in the family, while Nuonuo was already well-awake. Then the big part of marking up. I had a full bowl of Jiaozhi, knowing that later I might not get any time to eat. And then, Brain arrived with flowers in his hands to picking up his princess. But he was blocked by girls at the gate. Knowing this was my last chance being bridesmaid, I did make a big effort to trouble Brain. It was lot of fun. Then Nuonuo and Brain ate Jiaozhi, photos with everybody at home.