Autumn, Spring I want to stop the forward progress of these diaries and hit rewind, back to spring, to when the brown tree limbs were blurred by new Cezanne-green growth, that eventually elongated into spear point leaf blades—not in a burst as they do in Alaska during its brief but explosive summer, but gradually, drawn out like a well told tale, drooping from the predominant willow trees that line the boulevards in Lanzhou, blocking out the chalk dusty Soviet era six to eight storey apartment blocks in their dizzying redundancy. Back to spring when I wandered the along the banks of the Yellow River, when the anchored riverboats serving as floating taverns/restaurants were opening for business, work crews sweeping and cleaning and painting away the last remnants of winter, and I sat drinking hot tea or lukewarm beer (China does not like cold beer) as the river swept by carrying my spontaneous haiku downstream where they would bother no one. I loved these riverboats, and had my favorites, where I mildly flirted with the waitresses (to the extent that I could actually communicate flirtation), ate new mostly unidentifiable things, watched the night lights turn the mocha Yellow River into blazing multicolored streaks of purple, yellow, blue, and red neon, met new people, learned Chinese drinking games, sang songs to the river, sank my wishes and prayers like rocks, and opened myself enough to let the river flow through me. Though it didn’t rain much in Lanzhou, it did everywhere else in Asia, and the Yellow River rose as a result, and swelled its banks, till soon it flooded the walkways and stairways and approaches to the riverboats, and stayed that way for most of the summer, coating everything with a thick, silty brown mud. Tennis courts and playgrounds and public exercise machines were buried and the only thing that dried up was the riverboat merriment. But just last week, I discovered the riverboats are open, and though the temperature is dropping, I can once again float my wishes starward from aboard their gently rocking decks. Also in the spring, I met Matti, a most interesting lad from Belgium who was biking his way through China. For a few days we explored Lanzhou, seeking out the ragged, the odd, the unusual, the decadent, decent beer, strange food and other Chinese curiosities, and although we found some but not all, at one point we both developed a craving for pizza. We ended up at a place that was family oriented, and that didn’t serve beer, but we were tired and hungry and so submitted, entertaining ourselves with the glossy menu and its attempt to explain its offerings in English. It listed such things as Italy hand throwing pizza, Riches and honour the squid pizza, Salad for optimal choosing, Bake the pig rice, and our favorite: Italianstyle Whole Bowelseses. The more we wondered what Whole Bowelseses was, the sillier we became, and thumbed through the menu discovering other outrageous offerings and laughing until our food arrived, including Matti’s Whole Bowelseses pizza. Though for China it was pretty good pizza, the Whole Bowelseses thing was a letdown, appearing to be nothing more than common sausage. Still, all around, it was a pretty entertaining day. Fast forward to summer. While most of the students at our private, part time school were taking advantage of their time off from their regular school, a small group of students signed up for a field trip to a restaurant to learn how to make pizza. It wasn’t required for me, but I tagged along just for kicks. When we pulled up at the restaurant I laughed out loud. While pizza is not hugely popular in Lanzhou, there are a number of places serving it, including numerous Pizza Sluts, I’m sorry—Huts. What were the odds that we would end up at the same place Matti and I ate at? Small world, getting smaller. I walked up the familiar stairs with the clowns and the balloons, smiled a greeting, waited until we gathered our slowly arriving force and then commandeered a section of the restaurant. Yep, same menu. I had a Chinese teacher explain my request and I got an English speaking person who worked there (maybe the manager?) to sit with me as I explained what was wrong with the translated menu, and though it was hard to convey exactly what was the problem was, I established trust so that she listened to my suggestions. Italian Whole Bowelseses turned out to be Italian sausage. Salad for optimal choosing turned out to be a veggie salad. Riches and honour the squid pizza I changed to Squid Pizza. Bake the pig rice I changed to Pork Rice. And while I did pass on my corrections for the menu, I left in for the delight of future foreign diners such gems as drinks called ‘The Fruit is Riotous’ and ‘Dream Iraqis.’ Then the Chef came and introduced himself. The children were given cool chef hats to wear and plastic gloves. At a long table, the Chef explained how to make pizza and the children were given their own dough in a pan and were allowed to prepare their own personal pizza, using sauce and a multitude of ingredients arrayed in plastic receptacles.
Then we posed for pictures and I was allowed to go back into the kitchen and make my own pizza, which would have made the Italian members of my family proud; abbondanza, baby, and don’t forget the cannoli. Then the baked pizza came out and everyone bent to it. For more photos, click on Making Pizza in Lanzhou. And like a magician lifting a veil, the summer is now past. This week, China is celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, and China's National Day. During this time, it is tradition for the people to purchase and gift Moon Cakes. According to Wikipedia, “The festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October.” Activities include: · Eating mooncakes, traditionally made with lotus bean paste. · Drinking tea. · Matchmaking: Dances are held for young men and women to find partners. The young women throw their handkerchiefs into the crowd and the young man who catches and returns the handkerchief may become a match. · Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns. · Burning incense in respect for deities including Chang'e · Attending Fire Dragon Dances. · Solving riddles, or miyu in Mandarin Chinese, usually written on slips of paper and pasted on the lanterns. But mostly, they travel. It is estimated that 660 million residents have taken advantage of time off and government mandated toll free highways during major holidays to visit family and tour popular sites around the country. And so it is autumn, the time for harvest, the time for remembering. I remember you . . . and you . . . and you. I see your moon the night before. This Mooncake's for you.
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