happy new year!

The day they arrived,
a few teachers in my department welcomed Ty and Stu
with a formal banquet, and a culture lesson

Ty and Stu came at the end of December, in time for Chongqing new years eve.  I have never been so happy in my life to see them arrive here!  Wow, have I missed them!  They are working on a film project, so with camera and stuff, we headed out to see the extreme sides of the city.

It's an odd juxtaposition that the oldest surviving area of Chongqing is within a 5 minute walk of the newest, most modern area.

The oldest area survived WWII bombing by the Japanese, and still has an old world street market and feel.  It definitely takes nerve and a strong stomach to venture into this area of chaos and sensory overload.

at the head of the table, our host, the department party sec.

The newest area is Jiefangbei, around liberation monument, with exclusive, high end stores of any major city, creating a very different sensory overload.  I stopped for a familiar Starbucks that cost more than our entire lunch down in the old part.

to an old part of Chongqing for some filming
and a look at a gritty life

street side dentistry,
with drilling and who knows what else

into the fray

spices, we bought some cinnamon bark

people always stop to check out the filming

hole in the wall for lunch

a shocking jolt from old street market
to new, exclusive Jiefangbei

filming at liberation monument

on the subway, I always feel the way Stu looks

a new year's toast, on the tram over the river,
open containers are ok, no drinking age

ironically, the film makers were filmed and interviewed
 for some "documentary"

gathering with some PCVs for "dry pot"

liberation monument at night

more night filming

light-up horns or bows and balloons are the rage

during their stay, Ty and Stu answered questions from my students