Hey Hey and a Big G'Day toya,

Do you want to know what I reckon?
I reckon the New & Old Shaowu Crew is a double handful of fun!

I left Xiapu Sunday and took a three hour bus journey to Fuzhou as Yan was in town visiting some of the old Crew that were living in Shaowu the last time I taught there. I was only going to stay one night and then move on to Putian Monday but we had such a wonderful time Sunday night that we decided to get together again the following night.

Needless to say we had such a wonderful time we gathered again the nights following.
So do you want to know what I reckon?

I reckon that the last many nights have been right up there with some of the most awesome nights I’ve had since arriving in China. After arriving in Fuzhou from Xiapu life has become very much like that in Salems Lot (Yangshuo) as I sleep the cold and rainy day light hours away and then meet up with the Shaowu Crew around five. We then head to the nights chosen destination for our Beers & Seafood Adventure and then move onto a live and vibrant bar and live happily ever after.

As each morning brings the same windy, wet and cold weather I am once again in Fuzhou City many festive nights later and will hopefully catch the one thirty bus back to Shaowu tomorrow. The weather man promises the same for the near future so I’ve decided to put off my visit to Putian as I’ve always dreamed of visiting Putian city and Meizhou Island with a beautiful blue sky above me with the sun also in town.

That is just not going to happen any time prior to Monday.

As Yan headed back to Shaowu yesterday I am sure there will be a big dinner organised prior to us both beginning next terms classes on Monday. The 2011 Winter 'Beers & Noodles Adventure’ will come to an end as my bus arrives in my lovely little Min Jiang (the Min River) town and without question as tomorrow is what is known as The Lantern Festival it will be pointless even bothering to try to listen to music as the skies will be filled with colourful flashes and the sonic booms from the endless fireworks will leave the air thick with the sour taste and smell of gun powder.

I also reckon that I need to make an appointment with my washing machine.

Do you know what I also reckon?

As I sit in the Fuzhou bus stations Mc Donald’s restaurant;
I reckon that little girl over there has super squinty Chinese eyes.

Like at the end of the 2007 Summer 'Beers N Noodles’ Adventure when I sat in this same seat writing my last blog for that adventure, there is a birthday party going on here in Mc Donald's and her cardboard hat is squashing her eyes together making them Super Chinese and I reckon that's really super cute!

I reckon the above reminds me of when I am in class and when one of the MANY students who needs glasses puts their fingers at the end of their eyes and lifts the skin,

I reckon this makes them look Super Chinese just like the little girl over there.
I reckon if we did that anywhere in Australia we would be taken to court.

I also continue to believe that Mc Donald’s can't cook a chicken wrap and I still reckon even if they hired KFC workers something would go wrong and it would still taste like cardboard so I reckon I might as well be eating the Super Chinese Eyes girl’s party hat.

I reckon it's really cool that the McDonald’s staff gets to wear low cut jeans.
I reckon that's really great for both them and me!

I reckon the Mc Donald's girl was a little silly giving me three sugars and three milks as I didn’t want the milk and reckon that if I wanted three sugars I would have asked for thre sugars as normally I would give the milk back and ask for a second sugar.

I reckon it's really cool that all foreigners look the same to Chinese people, so much so that someone has once again confused me for 007 or Austin Powers and is sending me secret messages on my hotel phone. Every few minutes it rings a different amount of times and then stops so I reckon that makes me an International Man of Mystery!

I reckon it's crazy that just like in 2007 in my room in the same hotel has a bath but the plug hole has a steel rod coming out of it so no one can put a plug in it so I reckon that being in China, if anyone does step on the steel rod they can't sue for compensation.

I reckon that's crazy!

I reckon the girl over there with the laptop just wants to look cool because as she sits there, she just looks around and shakes her hair every now and then.   I reckon she does look kind of cool though as her lap top is a Sony so I reckon she's got money!

I reckon it feels like I'm sitting in Mc Donald’s in Melbourne.
There are just as many Chinese people in it.

I reckon if the girl with the lap top shakes her hair one more time dandruff will fill the keyboard and it won't work anymore. I reckon that's the reason she hasn't typed anything for the entire time I've been here so I reckon the keyboard is already full of dandruff!

I reckon you want to know what I really really REALLY reckon!
I reckon that's it mate, the 2011 ‘Winter Beers N Noodles Adventure’ is at its end.

I reckon I had a great time and visited some awesome places full of so much beauty and history. I reckon I met several beautiful girls and great people all whom helped me a lot and with whom I shared some great moments. I reckon most importantly, I drank some tasty beers and ate some delicious seafood and noodles!

I reckon more importantly than 'most importantly';
Is the fact that I survived all my bus rides!
I reckon 'Life Huh!'
'Go Figure!'

Now for a bit on The Lantern Festival

Falling on the 15th day of the first month of the Lunar Year, the Lantern Festival takes place under a full moon, and marks the end of Chinese New Year festivities. The Lantern Festival dates back to shrouded legends of the Han Dynasty over two thousand years ago.

Legend of the Lantern Festival's Origin

In one such legend, the Jade Emperor in Heaven was so angered at a town for killing his favorite goose that he decided to destroy it with a storm of fire. However, a good-hearted fairy heard of this act of vengeance, and warned the people of the town to light lanterns throughout the town on the appointed day. The townsfolk did as they were told, and from the Heavens, it looked as if the village was ablaze. Satisfied that his goose had already been avenged, the Jade Emperor decided not to destroy the town. From that day on, people celebrated the anniversary of their deliverance by carried lanterns of different shapes and colors through the streets on the first full moon of the year, providing a spectacular backdrop for lion dances, dragon dances, and fireworks.

The Modern Lantern Festival

While the Lantern Festival has changed very little over the last two millennia, technological advances have made the celebration moreand more complex and visually stimulating. Indeed, the festival as celebrated in some places (such as Taipei, Taiwan) can put even the most garish American Christmas decorations to shame. They often sport unique displays of light that leave the viewer in awe.

 Master craftsman will construct multicolored paper lanterns in the likeness of butterflies, dragons, birds, dragonflies, and many other animals; these accentuate the more common, red, spherical lanterns. Brilliantly-lit floats and mechanically driven light displays draw the attention of the young and old alike. Sometimes, entire streets are blocked off, with lanterns mounted above and to the sides, creating a hallway of lamps. Some cities in North China even make lanterns from blocks of ice! And just as in days gone by, the billion-watt background sets the scene for dragon and lion dances, parades, and other festivities.

Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan

Yuan Xiao and Tang Yuan are balls of glutinous rice, sometimes rolled around a filling of sesame, peanuts, vegetable, or meat. Tang Yuan are often cooked in red-bean or other kinds of soup.

Beers N Noodles toya…..shane
___________________________________________________________

The soundtrack to this entry was by Lindsay Buckland.
The album was ‘Eclipse of Common Sense’
____________________________________________________________