The sound of firecrackers continued from night to day and day to night. It circulated endlessly as if it was chasing the newcomer in this foreign land. Since it was Chinese New Year, bright fireworks were everywhere in the city. They spread loud sounds and luminous lights which filled the whole city. Every time I tried to sleep, I couldn't erase the beauty of its echoing sound and sparkling lights. After few days, the sound of firecracker which I wasn't used to became very familiar to me like a mother’s unending lullaby. And somewhere around my body, I finally understood that fireworks were welcoming me.

I was eleven when my family moved to China. Nanning was a city where locals called it, “The city of green.” But before my arrival, it had already lost its beautiful color of nature and became yellow as rough sand dust. Unlike beautiful, harmonizing fireworks, it was hard to find beauty in the grey streets with trashes full of eaten leftovers and cigarettes. But it was dirty and ugly things that made Chinese culture more beautiful. Beauty was even in dark places.

The dark green river beside our house harmonized very beautiful with the white bridge over it. Even though its water seemed very dirty to me, lots of edible fishes inhabited in the water. My fishing techniques were not very good, but I still enjoyed the long, slow moment of waiting the fish to catch my bait. It was the first time I learned how to fish even though I caught nothing. Once, my brother and I caught a live turtle beside the river. I never knew that a turtle can actually live in river. It was not only big, but also heavy. My father put it in the bag and gave it to our Chinese friend. But fishing was not enough to fill my joy, what I needed were the firecrackers.

When winter came, my house started to become freezing cold unlike the hot sweaty summer even though just few Celsius went down. The tile floor made my feet cold every time I moved around the house. It was then when I understood why most of my Chinese friend wore slippers on the tile floor. In China, there were no actual celebrations for Christmas, but we always had fun time during Christmas with our friends lightening the fireworks through the dark Chinese sky. Day by day, I started to learn tons of new things. And just like other kids, I learned to do pranks and I often ended up into a trouble maker. I lightened the small fireworks everywhere around the apartment. From mailbox to trashcan all of them had black burn marks and holes. When there were lots of us moving as a team, the sound of the firecrackers filled the whole village.

China gave me opportunity to hang out with friends with its different environment compared to Korea. In Korea, kids were limited with a lot of things. Their playtime was short and their studying time was always too long. But in China, where I experienced many new cultures, I enjoyed Chinese cultures rather than playing video games. I liked the firecrackers better than eating any other salty crackers with funny munching sounds. Even though it was a poor, low environment, it was enough to give me precious memories into my life.