CNY

Chinese New Year is an awesome holiday.

Tonnes of fun decorations and glitter and banners and little orange trees and giant radishes in pots. It is all very festive.

I love walking around New Years Eve and New Years Day (Wednesday and Thursday) and seeing all the closed shops. I love that everything is less crowded and that the hard working people I see busting their butts every day making dumplings and cold noodle salads and sushi 10 hours a day 6 days a week are out with their families. ChunJie JiaQi! (Spring Festival Break!)

I love that fireworks have been blowing off intermittently for more than 24 hours. You might think that fireworks in the middle of the night are annoying but to me it is a reminder of this crazy culture I live in, my home far far away from home.

CNY is the real prep time for the long haul of school. Christmas is good, we do a practice lap or two after Christmas break and then CNY is the get back to the bench and get ready for the big game; the final 13 weeks. I've got my imaginary coach behind me, rubbing my shoulders, get my laces tied, gloves on, (hmm, why boxing? That's weird, I don't think I am much of a boxer...anyway)