Yeah, I know I'm on holiday again, right now I'm under the sun, my hair still dripping from my afternoon swim, eating my sister-in-law's freshly baked delicious cholocate and cream cheese cookies. I did not use to tan but this time around I tanned on the first afternoon I arrived, thereafter, I am just cautious not to get a sunburn on my nose. It is a very cool holiday, except that because of Chinese New Year all the stalls are closed and I haven't had a chance to eat all the great food I miss so much, next year my in-laws will visit us in England for New Year and we will come at a later time when we can eat anything we like.
I occupy most days playing Pokemon or PS3, here Jacques is teaching me to play Pokemon, I borrowed his cards 'Leaf deck' against Nicolas' 'Fire deck'; it is a surprisingly very clever game.
In the afternoon, we swim, but only for a short while, most of the afternoon is spent playing 'Shark', so Tata (aka me) is the shark and the corners are home and I am supposed to lure and catch the fishes: Jacques, Nicolas, Kitem and Anna. That can go on for a whole hour at a time. 
On CNY's day; Anna 's family celebrate in a traditional manner where the youths and children must serve tea and wish a Happy New Year to their elders and in exchange collect red packets Ang Pows.
Alex and I had a more relaxed New Year, my mom in law cooked a traditional vegetarian dish and spring rolls and the whole family played Nintendo Wii games all day.
Mr Garden and Kitem have started a tradition of inviting once a year the whole family, both Anna's and Alex' parents and sisters for a nice family reunion. Julien worked with my father in law for a short while many years ago, so they are always very eager to catch up.
7 comments:
I think it would be fun to enjoy another culture's holidays - although I suppose for you they are much more familiar.
I like the sound of chocolate cream cheese cookies, spring rolls etc. yum
and swimming
I hate it when people say that Pokemon is bad for kids! Z acquired a lot of math skills playing Pokemon when he was younger. Card trading taught him some useful negotiation lessons too.
My best friend in 7th grade was Chinese. We remained friends throughout most of high school, except in our Senior years, I moved to Texas and he moved to St Louis and we lost contact.
He'd always bring me something on Chinese New Years. They'd go to downtown San Francisco and have a blast. Funny looking back at it, I found out later that he was in his 20s when he was in high school.
He came here via Vietnam and had no birth certificate, so he wanted to take advantage of our free education system. He and his cousins got almost straight As, took school seriously, and eventually became Americans.
I wish I had gone to one of the Chinese New Years celebrations with him. He invited me but I was too busy chasing girls.
About Pokemon - my wife stopped Junior from selling his Pokemon cards. She said he'd regret it. I think he secretly sold them though and they're gone. It's a shame. He had a pretty good collection.
Looks like a really nice time. glad you got to enjoy it with them.
Sounds like a great holiday and the best way to see family. Glad to hear you are having a great time catching up. Have fun and dont get to much sun.
Sounds fabulous! I'll be heading out for Taiwan this time next month to visit Richard's oldest son and his wife...looking forward to it greatly, since it's still snowy and c-c-cold here in western Canada.
Don't burn, and enjoy the rest of your holidays!
You are the world's traveller aren't you now? Looks like a nice way to spend holidays with family.
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