Firecrackers and a family meal

The entire day was filled with the sound of firecrackers. Thousands of them exploding in the streets, but also in front of my accommodation. After I managed to purchase my warm jacket, where I was gifted a piece of cake, I tried to take a taxi to head back to my place. After waiting for 30min in the cold, I resignated and decided to walk the 35min to my place.

Chinese New Year (they call it Spring Festival herr) is like a mix of western style Christmas (where everyone spends time with family and there is a big focus on sharing good food and exchanging gifts) and New Years (where the focus is on celebration and fireworks).

When I got back to my homestay, totally out of breath from the hike up the hill, I noticed that my host had invited his entire family for a gigantic dinner celebration. I didn't mean to intrude, but he spotted me and insisted I join them at the table. He gave up his own seat for me and pulled up a stool for himself. I was told to dig in and eat anything I like from the 20 dishes on the table in front of me, was given wine to cheer with the others, and told to have a merry good time.

Keep in mind, none of them spoke a word of English, this all happened through gestures alone. Every few minutes someone would stand up, mention the name of someone else at the table, speak a toast to them, and cheer with them.

It was an absolute feast, and there were a lot of dishes I had never seen before in my life. Fortunately, whenever I was unsure of how to eat something, my hosts son jumped up and eagerly demonstrated. I mostly needed help to eat some little bug/crab thingie with a lot of shell. No clue what kind of food that was 😅

I didn't dare to touch the chicken feet yet, as I felt that trying something so new and strange to me should better be done in a more private setting, not at a feast with 11 participants 👀Read more