Xin Nian Kuai Le, 新年快乐, Happy New Year! Part 1

Hello Friends and Family,

I promised I would write again and it has proven to be more difficult than I thought. I have found that my life and my schedule are not my own. When I plan to do something at a particular time, I will almost always fail. So here goes nothing....

Chinese New Year is unlike anything I have ever experienced. So much so, that it WILL take two blog posts to really give you the full experience. In the Chinese schools in our area, they get about 3 weeks off for Chinese New Year. Most international schools get off one week. With this being said, it was very hard to pinpoint when exactly everyone was celebrating. As soon as the children get off from school, the mass purchase of fireworks and gifts commences. The stores are incredibly packed, like "Black Friday" but everyday!
 

People purchasing pounds of candy

Waiting in line to get down the aisle of the store

Along with the purchase of fireworks comes another of my "I never expected..." I never expected  that I would wake up having dreams that I was under attack. The first time I woke up at 5:30 a.m. to the sound of fireworks, I really thought the world was ending. Then, I realized someone was just outside our front window shooting off fireworks.

The last day of work before everyone took off for the New Year. I had an interview for a preschool teacher position. That morning, when I woke up, I was greeted by the start of a snow storm. I was so excited to be enjoying snow in the place that I live for the first time. After the interview, I had a tutoring session and got to enjoy seeing the snow start to cover the ground.

As part of the New Year's celebration, we got to visit with our friends here and have many delicious dinners. The night before "New Year's Eve" we went over to Rob and Joy's house for a little celebration. Got to spend some time with these cool people. 

Kenneth being cute!

Rob wrestling with Jonathan

Beili and I

Jonathan being a rock star!

Beili doing her own rock star pose!

And, yes, Justin, John, Megan, and Joy were there too. Some people just really like to pose for pictures ;) Stay tuned for part two of our New Year adventure...