Yumiko's World: Day 9- Mid-Autumn Festival @ Wuhan

Day 9

I got a shock when I stepped out of the dormitory building this morning! The change in weather was so sudden that most of us were not prepared for it. It was drizzling and when the wind blew, it was almost freezing!! The last time I checked the weather forecast website, it stated that the temperature range today is 16 to 21 degrees. Oh my god! Meanwhile, the locals had all also changed their clothes. All t-shirts and shorts were replaced by long-sleeved shirts/sweaters and long pants/jeans! Just in 1 day and everything changed.

Me in hoodie:) It was drizzling!

Today is the day for our first Physiology module assessment: Presentation on Homeostasis. We started off with lecture 4 on muscular system before proceeding with the group presentation. Compared with the rest of the groups, ours was short and simple, not sure if it was okay. Anyway, class ended super early today. Actually we were supposed to have Physiology lectures for the whole day but Dr. Lau sort of like cancel the one in the afternoon as he does not want to ‘overload’ us so we ended at 12pm. Yipee! We had the whole day to ourselves!

Anyway, I realized that we are really a group of “complaint kings and queens”. When the weather is hot, we complain. And when it is cold, we also complain. Sigh. We are too pampered, I guess. At 12.30pm, we went to the nearby street to have lunch. Some of them packet back to dormitory room to eat while others ate at the shops. Geena, Jas Min and I ate at this soup shop and I ordered 花生排骨汤.Under this cold weather, eating this soup warmed me up and I think this is the healthiest and the best food I have ever eaten since arrival!! This reminds me of my grandma who likes to eat this kind of food. How I miss my family members and my home!

The soup shop J

My lunch: 花生排骨汤

We actually wanted to go to the shopping mall at 江汉路 but then we wanted to get 8 people so that we can save money (4 people to a cab). However, there were 6 of us so Jas Min and I decided not to go and had a walk at the nearby streets. Several moments later, Geena called to say that the trip was cancelled as there is a quiz tomorrow and it was drizzling too.

After which, the 3 of us went to the nearby shopping centre (more like Singapore’s Takashimaya to me as the items sold are expensive despite all the discounts.)It was super crowded. Did I mention before? Today is Mid-Autumn Festival and is a public holiday of China. No wonder it was so crowded, even the supermarket as well.

After grocery shopping, we went back to our dormitory room. On the way, we decided to eat this chicken stick (like satay in Singapore) except that this chicken stick is long! And it only cost RMB 2.50! It was yummy! Especially when you are eating at the weather like today’s as it is spicy and will definitely warm you up J As we walked, the rain started to pour. By the time we returned back to our room, it was almost 4pm! How time flies J

The chicken stick J Yum!

Reflections:

Today is Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节). This is the first time that I spent it overseas and not with my family but with my friends. I kind of missed celebrating with my family, as in eating different types of mooncake and chatting together. Maybe I should tell the story on how it came about. There are actually a few versions of how Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) came about (I did my homework, okayJ) so I will tell you the one that I heard and know since young.

A long time ago…

There were 10 suns on Earth and this caused crops to die and many villagers to suffer. A hero called Hou Yi (后羿) pitied these people and shot down 9 suns using an arrow. As a result, many villagers respected him highly. He then later married a beautiful wife called Chang E (嫦娥). Other than teaching martial arts, Hou Yi spent most of his time with his wife and many people were envious of the couple.

One day, Hou Yi went to the Kunlun Mountain and by chance, he met the Queen Mother (王母娘娘) and obtained a parcel of elixir. If the person swallowed this elixir, he/she can become immortal instantly. As he could not bear to leave his wife behind, he gave the elixir to his wife as a treasure. Chang E put it in a treasure box and it was seen by a guy called Peng Meng and he wanted to be immortal.

3 days later, Hou Yi was out hunting and Peng Meng pretended to be sick and stayed behind instead of going out hunting. Few moments later, Peng Meng barged into the inner chamber where Chang E was with a sword, forcing Chang E to hand over the elixir. She knew that she was not Peng Meng’s opponent and so she swallowed the elixir. The moment she swallowed, her body floated off the ground and she flew towards the heaven. As she missed her husband, she flew to the moon nearest to the Earth and became an immortal.

When Hou Yi returned, the maid told him what happened and he was shocked and angry. He then went to kill Peng Meng but Peng Meng had fled. Overcome with grief, he looked up at the night sky and called his beloved wife’s name. To his surprise, he found that the moon was extraordinary bright and there was a swaying figure which looked like his wife. When he tried to catch up with the moon, the moon moved backwards. When he moved backwards, the moon moved forwards. No matter how much he tried to catch up with the moon, it was to no avail.

Since he could do nothing about it and missed his wife dearly, he sent someone to his wife’s favourite garden to set up an incense table and put her favourite fruits on the table. When the villagers knew about this, they all set up incense tables under the moon and prayed for fortune and peace from the kind Chang E.

Since then, the people celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival every year on the 15^th August in the Lunar Calendar and today is 15^th August.

Reference: http://www.china.com.cn/ch-jieri/zhongqiu/2.htm

Photo of the day:

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival J (The mooncake that I am going to eat later)