Life seems to be slowly returning to normal in Baoding: the shops are opening, the marketplace next to Zhuguang is full of people again, the old men seem to be finally running out of firecrackers...

Actually, you know what's funny about firecrackers? It's not just the noise and the explosions they cause, but the car alarms they trigger off that makes them annoying. The big *BOOM* is always followed by various *beeeeep, beeeep* and *oooaaaoooaa* noises from any cars within a hundred meters or so from the explosion.

Yesterday we celebrated Griselle's 27th birthday by going out for dinner with some people, and then went to Top One, which is one of the two nightclubs in Baoding. We lasted there for about an hour, during which we ordered expensive coctails that all turned out to be just juice, tried blending in by doing the weird Chinese-type dance to bad eurotrash-techno mixes, observed a male dancer doing some impressive upside-down manouvres on a pole and a psycho guy dancing in front of our table like a boxer on drugs screaming "heellooo" for about five minutes. After all that excitement, we took a taxi to good ol' Nongfu (which, incidentally, means 'farmer' and is thus a most suitable establishement for us agricultural teachers).

I have also experimented with some interesting Chinese medicine, as I've felt that I'm coming down with a cold (I guess I should've stayed away from those chickens, huh?). It basically knocked me out and made me never want to move an inch in my life again. But I guess it did the trick as I'm feeling better now.

Tomorrow morning I'm off to Beijing with Griselle for a few days, so no blogging until I get back. But to entertain you for a while before that, I'll leave you with some customs and beliefs related to the Chinese new year, as told me by my students in class before the holidays. I know I'm a few days late with this, but hey you can always be prepared for next year!

- The firecrackers are used to scare away the evil spirits (the word for the new year, 'nian' also means this scary monster, and people need to make sure he understands that he's not wanted here on earth. Shoo!!). The red paper used in decorations serves the same purpose.
- On the first day of the new year you must not:
*sweep the floor (as good luck might be swept away, too)
*break any dishes
*preferably not use knives or scissors
*open any drawers or boxes before sunrise (which is why people like to get their clothes ready the night before)
* throw out water before noon (or might throw out good luck for the coming year)
- On the first day your hair should be clean, otherwise finances will be bad in the coming year
- You cannot cut your hair during the first month of the new year (not a very good time for hairdressers, I hear...). There's a special day in the beginning of the second month when you are supposed to get your hair cut for the first time in the new year.

So that was a few beliefs. Of course, there are a zillion others, and they are always different according to the town, village, or even the family. And the Chinese can never agree on what is right, although the beliefs might be totally opposite. As far as I see, doing one thing in one place might bring good luck and bad luck in another, so you'd better find out which is which before you go!