The Significance of Peanuts

Hopefully the next time that I post, it will be from an internet cafe in Chengdu. We're still in Guyuan, but more on our travel plans in a bit.

On Wednesday, Matt and I went to a wedding for one of the Senior School English teachers Matt works with. It was quite interesting to watch. First, we wondered what was going to happen because it was all taking place on a Wednesday afternoon (at noon). We met some of the other English teachers and took a car out to a new restaurant/hotel in town (it officially opened a little earlier in the week).

We went to one of the little banquet rooms and sat there with a few of the English teachers and had some snacks. Eventually, we were told that it was time to go to the ceremony. So, we walked up to the next floor of the building to a larger room where there was a stage at the head of the room and a bunch of chairs and sofas set up, lining the sides.

The couple walked into an instrumental version on "Here Comes the Bride" and went up onto the little stage with the MC for the ceremony. The MC was one of the English teachers from the Senior School. The bride was wearing a white wedding dress - Western looking, and the groom was wearing a suit. While they walked down the aisle, one of the guests sprayed them with that squirt string stuff and threw a bunch of confetti at them.

On the stage, the MC was apparently telling some really funny stories about the couple as the guests were laughing quite a lot and the couple looked a little embarrassed at times. The bride had to climb a chair and untie two little corsages that were pinned up high on the wall. Everyone seemed to get a kick out of watching them try to get them (the couple is rather short). After that there was some more talking, more silly string squirting and a lot more laughing.

Then there was a presentation of their new ID's (?), marriage books (?) - I don't know what they were, but the couple each got a new little red book with their picture in it. Then some firecrackers were lit - we were able to enjoy the cracking noise both from the live action fireworks outside as well as the pre-recorded sound of them being fired off from inside. Then the couple was presented with Chinese silk by members of their families - the people would come up and wrap the couple with the fabric.

After that, the parents of the couple came up and the bride fed each of them a small candy before both of them bowed three times to their parents. We were told afterward that it isn't traditional for the bride's parents to come to the wedding, just the groom's. Then, all of a sudden everyone just got up and started to walk out - bride and groom lost in the crowd.

We were then escorted to a banquet room with all of the school administration folks (I would have preferred to sit with the English teachers as they can communicate with us) and had a lunch. The fathers of the bride and groom came around and poured baijou for all of the guests - two shots of the nasty stuff for each guest (two is supposed to be lucky). For me, they made an exception and I got cola - our waiban told me that while pouring the cola, the man told her that he was really nervous and was sweating because he had never poured cola before (he was from the country side). Then the bride and groom came and did the same with all of the guests.

Our waiban said that their wedding was not very traditional, that there were many modern elements to the ceremony. She also told us about how the bride's parents are not usually present, about some of the meanings of the ceremony, and that drinking two shots of the alcohol is lucky. Also, told us about how it is customary for the bride to change clothing three times during the day. Ms. Wang also told us that it was traditional at weddings to serve the guests peanuts because they represent the womb and two children. So, eating peanuts is to symbolize blessing the union with many children. But because of the one child policy, she said now the meaning is meaningless. This then launched a bit of a discussion about the one child policy - which I'm sure was interesting, but we couldn't understand.

We found out that people who are Han (largest ethnic group in China) are only allowed to have one child. But, if you live in the country side and are Han, you are allowed 2 or 3 children (to help with the work on the farm). If you are an ethnic minority you can have 3 or 4 children. If a Han marries a non-Han, they can have 2 children. If a Han has more than one child, they will have to pay a large fine to the government.

Shortly before 2 PM the headmaster did a finishing toast and we all left because everyone had to return to work. So, from start to finish, the whole shebang took about 2 hours - very short by Chinese banquet and American wedding standards. But, hey, we're not complaining.

Anyhow, we feel very fortunate to be included in the celebration for one of the teachers we work with. It was definitely an interesting event to witness and be a part of. The hotel manager even managed to take a picture of Matt to hang on the wall - "Look, the foreigner likes to eat here!"

So, we have officially started our winter vacation! Still in Guyuan, but we are looking to leave for Chengdu on Sunday. We are a little delayed as we didn't realize that the train tickets would be so scarce - each train station is allotted a certain number of seats on a train, because our train station is so small, for the train that we need to go to Chengdu, they are only allotted 3 seats. Arrrgh! The ticketing lady was not helpful at all, we wound up going to our waiban and she hooked us up for Sunday!

Anyhow, the trip out to Chengdu will be about a full day on the train, but once there, we are hoping to get in some panda goodness and spicy food - pandas are sooo cute, but, how are they not extinct yet? Seriously? I have been reading about them, and they are just not fit for this world. Also, Matt wants to challenge his taste buds to some of the spicy Sichuan cuisine as nothing that he has had in Asian so far has been that spicy. While in Sichuan we also hope to get out to Leshan to see the giant Buddha.

After Sichuan, we hop another train for another full day ride out to Kunming in Yunnan Province. Here, our volunteer organization, VIA will have a conference. We will spend the Chinese New Year here (they call it "Spring Festival"), so that will be very interesting to experience. After the conference, we hope to travel around that province a little bit, go to Dali and what not. Then, off on another train (yes, another full day train trip) to Chongqing. In Chongqing, we are looking to take a boat trip down the Yangtze river to see the Three Gorges dam area. That will be a little cold, but, hey, we've got that hearty Mid-Western blood! Then, back to Guyuan via Xi'an (if time, we might chill there for a few days and get our fill of pizza) to finish up the rest of the year.

Anyhow, that's what we have planned in our heads as what we want to do, but, being that we can't make any reservations for anything here, plans can quickly change. So, no new pictures until mid-February, but hopefully I will be able to post a little along the way!