The sun
is like a huge fireball hanging in the blue bright sky. It’s really hot
and my tank top gets all wet. My older sister keeps drinking water without stopping.
Several people are around the river and I can smell human’s perspiring.
The race will start at 12 noon. We bring a telescope and stay on the Thon Zi
Bridge, over the Thon Zi River. I can’t wait to see the dragon boat race
and I start to get nervous. My heart suddenly beats very fast. Boom boom (the
gun sound) “I hear it, I hear it, “I say out loud. It’s the
sound of a gun shot, the race started! And people say, “They are coming,
” in a loud, joyful voice. And people start thinking about which dragon
boat will win. The prize for the race is only an award.
The dragon boats are red and gold and also have other colors too; the most beautiful is the gold one. The dragon boats are awesome when they’re under the bright sunshine. They look just like real dragons. The front of the boat is a dragon’s head and the end is the dragon tail. The dragon must be about 5 meters long and it can hold 20 people. I don’t see any women on the boat. The people who row the boat are men and they are bared-chest. My sister explains, ”A long time ago the people thought women were weak, because most women stayed home and did chores. Today the government thinks dragon boat racing is a kind of sport, so the government agreed that women could do the dragon boat race too. I notice that the last person at the end of the boat is a Chinese drum player, and he tries to use the drum sounds to cheer up his teammates. I’m imagining all the dragons are swimming on the river just like a picture in my old Chinese Story Book. I will not forget this moment in my life.
My sister
takes me home. I notice there is a big basket of delicious tzungzi on the table.
All my relatives come here and celebrate the double fifth day with us. At first
we can't eat tzungzi; we have to let the Buddha eat it first. Then we eat. My
mom puts a steamed chicken, fruits, dumpling, and roast meat on the table. Everyone
takes offerings to burn for the Buddha.
After the offering we start to eat the tzungzi and it is so good. It is soft and chewy. I saw my cousin take a big bite of the tzungzi, and I can hear the sound of my cousin swallowing the tzungzi. It makes my mouth watery, even though I just finished my tzungzi. I’m full now and I can’t eat anymore tzungzi. I think one tzungzi is equal to a meal. Ttzungzi is made with several of ingredients: sticky rice, Chinese sausage, egg yoke, onion, peanut, red bean/green bean, and pork. Tzungzi has other flavors too. The other kind is sweet; it is only made with sticky rice, sugar, and red bean pastes.
The celebration
came to an end, it was ten o’clock in the evening. My grandpa pats on
my head and give me a wonderful smile. And then all my relatives went home.
I treasured this evening with my family forever!!!
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