Today was a pretty relaxing day. Although we woke up early for class, most people went back to their rooms to take a nap right afterwards. Today is Duan Wu Jie, an important holiday in China, where food, family and celebration consumes the lives of the Chinese for the day.
The story behind this day comes from the death of a poet. This man was also a high official who worked for the emperor. The emperor did not have much favor for him, which, one day drove him to end his own life by jumping into the river. On his death anniversary every year, people will eat zongzi, or rice wrapped in banana leaves. This tradition started because when the poet died in the body of water, people would throw zongzi into the water for the fish to eat so they won’t eat away his body. Another custom on this day is dragon boat racing, which is done to commemorate by representing the race to find the body of the dead poet.
Today our group had free time after noon and groups separated to enjoy this day off in different ways. After a much needed nap, I went to “Bird Flu Alley” with my roommate and some friends to eat zongzi and baozi (meat, vegetables or red beans in buns)…and fried chicken. It was rather chilly outside today, compared to the last couple of days. Afterwards, we just walked around and bought some fruits to being back to the hotel/dorm. I am coughing a little bit today, so the day was rather uneventful. Tomorrow, we’ll be back to the old class/internship/language partner routine. This starts our last weekend in Nanjing before we leave for Shanghai this weekend; the time has passed so fast.
- Silvia L.
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