In December, we were also Chinese for the New Year!

 First Italy, now China
For New Year’s Eve, we transformed the kitchen into China…

 
 
…dressed in ‘traditional’ Chinese attire, and went on our second country date, this time to China.

 

Jac looked the part with his a long black braid and Manchu mustache:

 

And I borrowed Cindy’s robe and threw some chopsticks in my hair.  And just like that, we were all set!

 

Activity #1:
Truth or Dare. 🙂 We had some Chinese New Year money envelopes [you can
see them on the table in the brown box], but rather than give each
other cash, which is the usual Chinese New Year tradition (that’d be
weird), I stuffed them with different truth or dare questions. What
resulted was kinda goofy, kinda embarrassing, and a lot of fun.  Here’s
Jac doing one of a dares he picked — to dance to a ‘How to Dance’
YouTube video set to Dua Lipa’s Levitating:

After truth or dare, we moved on to activity #2:
prepping our authentic Chinese meal. Jac taught me how to make two
different kinds of pot stickers, and while I prepared those, he cooked a
delicious and healthy soup.



The resulting meal was delicious, with lots of leftovers as usual. (Bonus!)

For activity #3, we watched a movie set in China: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. 
This was a hugely popular movie in its day, and we had both seen it
decades ago, so tried it again. This time around: NOPE!  Jack fell
asleep, and I kinda wished I had.  

After
enduring the whole movie, we turned on our “fireworks” for New Years
Eve and enjoyed the spectacle before heading to bed before 11. (When
you’re over 50, you no longer have to stay up until midnight. That’s the
rules, we don’t make ‘um up.)

 
 
More ideas for ‘visiting’ China.  Since this was just a one night visit, we definitely just scratched the surface of all the fun things we can do in China. Next time, we’ll devote a whole month to China, and maybe do some of the following:
  • watch some good films set in China, like: Not One Less, The Farewell, The Road Home, or Sun
  • do something with the Great Wall of China (3D puzzle, contest…)
  • do something with pandas (art project or go see them at Hogle Zoo)
  • learn to play mah jong (this could be come a new backgammon for us!)
  • make a Ming dynasty style vase or plate (DIY saved on my phone)
  • take a Tai Chi class at Monkwise in SLC
  • make Peking Duck!
  • watch a Kung Fu competition
  • hold our own version of Hong Kong’s Bun Festival 
  • go to Grain Rain tea house in Provo to sample different teas and Chinese desserts
  • do something related to the amazing Harbin Ice Festival
  • go get an acupuncture session 
  • learn about taoism and wu wei