My New Year Day

My New Year’s Eve was pretty uneventful… spent the day at the yard and went out for dinner with my steel inspectors…their English is very broken and my Chinese nil so it makes for a quiet dinner… I entertained myself with a bottle of “Great Wall” red wine…Back at the hotel by 2100 hrs, nights out by 2200 hrs (thanks to the wine). Got a call from Dubai at 00:20 and had another drowsy conversation with my dad… (he is in the habit of calling while I’m asleep!) In any event, its always nice to hear from family and friends…

New Year’s Day, up at 06:00, in the yard at 08:30 and invited on-board one of the vessels currently in dry-dock for lunch ( and got a “happy new year” call from my Ginette in Mtl!). The crew on-board the vessel is Filipino, and the officers are Greek. You must know that the vessels are stocked-up with foreign food and drink. Needless to say, I pigged-out on bread, cheese, o-l-i-v-e-s (miam-miam) and washed it all down with wine. The most enjoyable meal in months! Literally! The Greeks got a big kick out of my binging…

After lunch, I’m back at work with fussy hard hat keeping my head warm climbing over steel assemblies and watching workers weld and grind…I’m not in a mood to be in at the yard any longer (would rather eat more olives!) so I arrange to leave the yard at 16hrs…

My phone rings while I’m being driven to the hotel and it’s Michelle – la tour guide wishing me a Happy N-Y. She invites me over to her auntie’s for a family dinner and I accept… My 1^st invitation to spend time with locals!!

As one could expect, many people are there… and half of them are busy cooking in the mini kitchen (more on that later) Of course, nobody speaks any English so Michelle is the interpreter all evening… I am quickly adopted by all of the aunties… They compliment me on my nose. They like my nose! Jajaja…

In an attempt to be accepted by the uncles, I join them for a shot of local liqueur…it’s of course made of rice… I had pictured something like a strong sake but this stuff was outrageously most hideous – It made me gag. It wasn’t that the alcohol content was 60% - that I can handle… it was more the aftertaste that made me cringe at every sip… like drinking moldy, rotted potato… It was so gross that I did a cul sec (here, it’s called campéy!) and there were all quite impressed and wanted to give me more! I objected – because I am a lady and ladies don’t drink! Jajaja…yeah right…

Then I wanted to change the taste in my mouth and I had a sip of what I thought was milk.. I almost spit that right out on the table! It’s a mix of fruit juice and milk…sweet… Not that it’s all that bad, but not what I was expecting… I’ll steer away from that stuff too…

At the table, there was a mix of varied dishes… most with some pieces of meat… so when I found something I liked, I stuck with that. Michelle was being given instructions by her mother to feed me. So she would pick stuff and place it into my bowl. No matter how many times I told her that I didn’t want her assistance, she would still put stuff back in my bowl… She is quite obedient… The only really exotic dish was the birds feet – they were prepared and eaten like buffalo wings back home – but with claws…

So here is what I learned: it’s ok to spit out fish remains such as skin and bones onto the table (not discreetly in a separate dish). And it’s ok to speak louder than your neighbor. Because I could not understand what was being said, everything sounded like a ‘cacophonie’…a bit dizzying…

After the meal, they get out the tea and fresh fruit. I realize that the Chinese are BIG fruit eaters; you can order a plate of cut fruit at a coffee shop and even at the bar (more on that later) So I munch down on a newly discovered fruit that is similar in appearance to grapefruit but similar to grenadine in texture… un goût à développer…

I drink green tea in a juice glass and dig-into the sunflower seeds that are in front of me… The chinese have mastered shelling the seeds in their mouth and spitting the shells either on the table or on the floor… Since I don’t trust where these seeds have been before reaching me, I open them all by hand, one by one…

By this time, the men are playing their favorite game called Great Wall ( – and the women bombard me with questions: my love life, my salary, and other questions that Michelle refuses to translate as she is uncomfortable asking as she thinks that it’s too personal… As expected, the Chinese have the wrong impression of the “All Great American life” – like in the Movies…

So it’s getting late (2000hrs) and I thank my new adoptive family who have been very generous et acueillant .

- I have arrived at the Yard now… will write part two of my NY day some other time