Off to the Dragon Boat Races
Although Dragon Boat Festival was officially June 18 (which was very convenient for our anniversary) the races were on June 2 and 3, and we would have missed them had a thoughtful Chinese not informed us of the date. I guess the date is never quite set in stone and can quickly be moved and society adjusts. Being an organized, time-driven, calendar-driven person, I have found this cultural tendency to be more than a little annoying. The reason the date changed this year was that the original date conflicted with the GaoKao (the college entrance exam). Now, the GaoKao is an event in China. Every high school student takes the test, and the scores from the test determine if students can go to university, the quality of university they can attend, and the possible majors they can select. So, this test has more than a slight impact on millions of students' futures, and the country is vested in making them successful. There are are even public service announcements about the timing of ...