Chinese New Year!

Usually around early December, we all start asking each other “What are you going for Christmas?” or “Are you going home for Christmas?” Well in China, this holiday is Chinese New Year. The Christian holiday isn’t really celebrated (except for the good sales), but in it’s place is the Chinese New Year.

Chinese New Year changes every year according to the lunar calender that a few Asian countries follow. This year it happens to be on Valentine’s Day. In China, it’s a holiday where you spend time with family and friends, eat a lot of food and set off a lot of fireworks. It’s apparently a good time to go shopping too (don’t we love to spend money during the holidays).

It’s been kind of funny, because a lot of Chinese people (who don’t know that many foreigners like Ellen, my Ayi and a few coworkers) have asked me if I’m going home for the Chinese New Year. At first I was surprised. I do not celebrate the Chinese New Year, why would I go home? I only have a week away from work, why would I go home? A plane ticket home is more than my monthly salary, why would I go home? I didn’t actually say this, but my facial expressions reacting to this question said it all. But I do find it humorous that they think I celebrate their holidays the same way they do. You can call it cultural insensitivity if you want.

This year is the year of the Tiger which happens to be my Chinese zodiac animal. Well it depends. My birthday falls very close on the new lunar year so some might say I am a tiger and others may say I’m a rabbit. So let’s go with tigit? Or rabber? It’s actually pretty accurate in my opinion. My brother is a rat; a perfect match for him. Just kidding. And to celebrate the year your year of the Chinese zodiac you are supposed to wear red underwear. So to all my tigers out there you better be wearing some red undies on February 14th, the Chinese New Year - this is convenient considering it's also V-Day.

So instead of going home I’ll be fulfilling a dream of mine to go to Thailand. So there will be a lack of posting the next two weeks - not that I’ve been posting all that much, but it’s been getting better. So look for updates in about 10 days when I will be tanner, blonder and much more relaxed.