Hello 2011!

Happy 2011 NYAFC readers. I hope you all have had a wonderful, restful holiday season and a great start to 2011. My holiday – ok, more like the last three months – have been wonderful but not so restful. After a weeklong holiday in Hungary over Thanksgiving and a two-week trip home during Christmas (my first trip home in more than 16 months), I’m really excited to be back in Shanghai.

I was sad to say goodbye to 2010; it was a good year. But I think 2011 is going to be a even better – I’m rejuvenated and excited for a new of working, improving my Chinese and blogging.

I do have one worry, a very Chinesey worry, actually. So my birthday falls almost directly in between the new year on the Chinese lunar calendar (even though the actual date of the new year changes from year to year). Some say I am a tiger (the year we’re about to finish up) and some say I’m a rabbit. Contrary to what you might think, the year of whatever animal you are is not supposed to be good. It’s actually supposed to be pretty rough The year of the tiger, as mentioned, was good for yours truly and I’m anxious for what the year of the rabbit has in store. If it’s bad then I’ll know what animal I really am; if its good then I’ll know I’m just a lucky tigget.

Then again, there are still four weeks left in the year of the tiger, so I guess I’m worrying a little too early.