chinese new year is a special time. store owners close up shop for an entire week and hundreds of millions of people embark on the journey home that sometimes takes several days. there is nothing like it… walking out on the usually unbearably crowded streets and finding them deserted. then out of nowhere, the silence is cracked by the sound of exploding firecrackers coming from all directions. it’s absolutely surreal.

on new year’s eve, audrey and i embarked on the 9-hour train ride to zhengzhou, the capital of henan, to spend a traditional holiday with kat’s family. and what an unforgettable experience it was… you don’t know hospitality until you’ve been hosted by a chinese family. your every need is taken care of from the moment you arrive at the train station, and it is truly a fact that chinese culture is centered around the dinner table. we were essentially force-fed all kinds of delicious food and new year’s candy from the time we woke up until the time we slept. days were spent coming and going to different relatives’ homes to exchange gifts and eat, eat, eat. audrey and i were treated like family to the point where it was almost embarrassing, even having to accept gifts and hong bao from people we had just met.  i was blown away by their kindness and generosity. the bond of a chinese family is truly remarkable. kat, your family is just lovely :)

morning after; the remnants of firecrackers litter the ground

making jiao zi (dumplings) is a new year’s eve tradition. here, kat’s grandma is teaching audrey and me how to wrap them properly. i loved this moment of multi-generational bonding as we sat around the table with kat’s mom and grandma :) by the end, audrey and i were dumpling wrapping machines!! we could open up our own shop, i’m not even kidding. we made hundreds.

kat’s grandma also made homemade red bean bao zi… so good.

visiting the relatives on new year’s day

kat’s little cousin was the. CUTEST. ever.

the feng family <3

up next: day trip to kaifeng and shaolin temple… a preview:

my floor to ceiling windows were my favorite thing about my apartment. that, and living in a high-rise with a lovely view.

saturday mornings were spent with a cup of tea and a lounge chair pulled up to the window. i would stare down at the taxis driving back and forth and the ant-sized people walking about, and feel an incredible calm being hundreds of feet above them. i was away from schedules and appointments and things that needed to be done. it was my moment to be still.

and even more, i loved the nights. i would turn out all the lights and pull the curtains wide open and let the light pour in from the buildings across the street. on nights i couldn’t sleep, i’d stare at the flickering amber and blue squares and wonder what was happening in them. young chinese families or single foreign businessmen, i debated. were they happy? in love? searching for something? maybe they watched so much tv because they were lonely. maybe they were just bored.

i know they watched a ton of tv because one night i stared really hard to see what i could make out. tv, tv, tv. some at their computers by the window, like me. a woman watering plants and a couple having a somewhat physical fight. that was frightening. and one guy was standing at his window too, seemingly doing nothing but staring. i felt an odd camaraderie with him.

i went back to bed and drifted in and out of sleep, watching the lights disappear one by one as the hours passed. a handful of them would always remain, though. i suppose that way, i never really had to feel alone.

i’ll miss that.

yay for holiday cheer…

trying to make our little corner of beijing a little festive

hope your holidays were amazing <3

beautiful lanterns light up the manmade river (a stream, really) that cuts through downtown seoul

people wrote wishes on these

we had dessert at a really swanky patisserie..

seoul is packed with cafes, cafes, cafes! this one was adorably decorated with a travel theme.

walking around hongdae at night, we ran into a group jamming in the middle of a square… they were incredible!

headed to a jazz bar to round up the night…

until next time, korea! :)