Of festivals, medicine and grandparents
Hi everyone, this is Owen and this is my podcast for Friday 17th July. I hope you are all well and welcome to my last podcast before the summer holiday. Last week the rain arrived here in Kunming, so I'm happy I'm going on holiday for a month. Hopefully I'll avoid [1] the whole rainy season. China has been in the news for all the wrong reasons again. You might have heard about the dog meat festival that took place in southern China a couple of weeks ago. As crazy as it is, I must point out that few Chinese eat dog meat. I have never been offered dog meat for example. However, you might remember that I told you about a marathon I was hired to take part in. That marathon took place in the same province as the dog meat festival. The day before the marathon I was exploring the town a little bit. To my surprise there were a lot of dog meat restaurants. In Kunming, on the other hand, I have never seen a restaurant that serves dog meat. But there are a lot of pet dogs. And there is another funny thing you see in the summer that I didn't mention last time. When it gets hot some people shave their dogs. They don't shave the heads, necks or tails though, so the dogs end up looking like little lions with big manes [2] and skinny bodies. Today, I'll be talking about a recent festival - don't worry, not the dog meat festival! -, getting sick in China and another story about grandmothers.
A couple weeks ago we had a one day holiday. The holiday was to celebrate Dragon Boat Festival. It falls on the fifth day of the fifth month according to the lunar calendar. So each year it is on a different day. The festival is celebrated in honour of [3] Qu Yuan. Qu Yuan was a poet and minister. He lived from 340 to 278 BC during a period called the Warring States. At that time there were seven states which were fighting for control. Qu Yuan was a minister in one of the states. He suggested to his emperor that an alliance be formed in order to protect themselves from the threat posed by another state. His emperor disagreed with him. As a punishment Qu Yuan lost his job and was exiled. Years later the warning he had given his emperor became reality. When he heard that his state had been taken by the other state he committed suicide by jumping into a river. Legend has it that Qu Yuan then became a water spirit or water ghost [4] after his death. And to keep his ghost happy, people had to feed him. They started by throwing rice into the water, but the rice was always eaten by the fish. Qu Yuan reappeared to tell the people that they must wrap the rice in bamboo leaves to stop the fish from eating it. So in honour of him people traditionally eat ‘Zong zi' on Dragon Boat Day. ‘Zong zi' are made with sticky rice, a filling and bamboo leaves. The filling can be either sweet or savoury, such as red beans, pork or dates. You make little parcels using the bamboo leaves with the rice and filling inside. To cook them most people steam them. Very tasty indeed!
I was sick recently. I had some problems with my stomach. It happens quite frequently and not just to me. For a time I thought my stomach was becoming more resistant. But now it seems to be the opposite. When you get sick here, you have two choices: Western medicine or traditional Chinese medicine. I have tried both. I'm quite interested in Chinese medicine and if I need to take anything then I usually opt for [5] Chinese medicine. For example when I had a problem with my skin. I had a rash [6] on my face and I went to a big hospital in Beijing where they have both Western and Chinese medicine. The dermatologist offered me both. She warned me though that the Chinese medicine might taste a little bitter. I nonetheless chose a ten day course of Chinese medicine. She made a prescription of numerous ingredients. I then went to the pharmacy where they mixed all the ingredients for me. I was given 30 packets, 3 per day for ten days. They told me to mix a packet with a little warm water and then drink it. So I went home and prepared the first packet. Even though the doctor had warned me that it might not taste nice, I didn't think it would be that bad. What can I say? It was by far the most horrible thing I have ever tasted. It wasn't just bitter, it tasted and looked like mud [7]. It was almost undrinkable. I had to force myself to drink it. And I couldn't help but think that it might make my skin better, but that it would surely make me sick. In the end, I managed three days of it. I threw away the remaining seven days worth of mud or medicine or whatever it was. However, my skin did get better. Was it actually medicine? I don't know. There was another time when I was a little more seriously ill. I had just returned from a holiday in Bangladesh and I thought I had malaria. I quickly found a hospital in Beijing which has a department for tropical diseases. When I got there I was feeling really ill but I didn't have to wait long to see a doctor. The doctor walked in and before I had said anything to her, she looked at me and said: “You need to drink more warm water.” And that generally is the advice they give you in China – to drink more water. Whenever you aren't feeling well, they'll tell you to drink a glass of warm water. At first I didn't think much of the doctor. But when it turned out that I didn't have malaria, I changed my mind. Best doctor I have ever met!
I was telling a Chinese friend that I'm going home to visit my family this summer. It's been two years since I was home last, so I'm very excited to see everyone. I'm especially looking forward to seeing my grandmother. I then explained to my Chinese friend that my 97 year old grandmother lives on her own, she still drives everywhere and she does all her own shopping and cooking. Naturally my Chinese friend was very surprised and shocked. Grandparents don't tend to live on their own in China. Once a child gets married and has a child of their own, the grandparents will move in with [8] them. Family and family ties are paramount [9] in China. There is also a very practical reason for three generations to live together. It is so the grandparents can look after the child while both the parents work. I've met a lot of young Chinese who were raised by their grandparents because their parents were busy working. Anyway, I then told my Chinese friend that my grandmother recently got a new driver's licence. I pointed out that she has now been driving for exactly 80 years. My Chinese friend looked at me and asked: “Is she rich?” I replied: “Well… I have my fingers crossed [10] but I don't think so. Why?” At first I didn't understand why my friend would ask me something like that. I have been here long enough though to know that it's an acceptable question to ask, so it didn't bother [11] me. There is no taboo in China when it comes to talking or asking about money. In fact I would go as far as to say that in modern China people have a rather unhealthy obsession with money. Especially for a self-proclaimed [12] socialist country! My friend explained by saying: “Well, she's been driving for 80 years, that would mean she got her driver's licence in the 1930s. Did she have a car in the 1930s?” It's a good question. I actually don't know if she had her own car back then nor have I ever really thought about it. But of course for a Chinese person to have had a car in the 1930s would mean that they were very very rich at the time.
As I mentioned already I will be going to Europe on holiday for a month. I wish you all a very beautiful and relaxing summer. Don't forget that you can listen to the podcast by downloading our app or by visiting our website www.podclub.ch where you can also find all the information about upcoming episodes. I'll be back on 11th September. Until then, have a great time! And, as always, thank you very much for listening. Goodbye!
Glossaire: Owen in China [1] to avoid: here: to miss on purpose
[2] mane: the long hair on the neck of a lion or horse
[3] in honour of: in order to show respect to someone
[4] water spirit or water ghost: a mythical creature that lives in the water
[5] to opt for: to choose
[6] rash: red skin caused by illness or an allergic reaction
[7] mud: soft wet earth
[8] to move in with: to start living in the same place as someone
[9] paramount: more important than anything else
[10] to cross your fingers: to wish for good luck
[11] to bother: to annoy or upset
[12] self-proclaimed: what something or someone describes itself as
