HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!!



if it's really the Lunar New Year, why do we call it "Chinese New Year?" i never hear people celebrating "Vietnamese New Year" or "Burmese New Year." is it because we are egocentric? even if that's the case, i don't mind being a part of it. i'm not saying Chinese people are any better than other ethnicities of people but i sure do like being Chinese and owning a part of the culture.

why you ask?

1. if i'm at a four way stop and i accidentally (and i indeed mean accidentally. i promise, i'm a decent driver.) go ahead of you even though it's your turn, i just give the "whoops" look and don't feel too terribly bad because i sort of assume that you'll just chalk it up to me being Asian. by default i must be a bad driver, right?

2. if i ever decide to get my Chinese name or something tattooed on me, i won't look too much like a cliche.

3. we have good food and use every type of cooking preparation known to man (except maybe some of that gastronomy stuff).but one of the simplest and most memorable things i've ever eaten is rice with liquid pig lard and soy sauce. it's what the poor village people like my mom and grandparents used to eat in China. it sounds pretty disgusting but it tastes soooo good. if you haven't tried it, don't knock it. and who doesn't like dim sum or wonton noodle soup?

4. i like that you are identified by your last name first. in Chinese i would be considered Choy Regina rather than the vice versa version of that. you are greeted with acknowledgement of your family before yourself. the importance of continuing a family's legacy with generations of a last name emotes an intense sense of pride in your family. i've seen elderly Chinese women meet and realize that they were from the same village or neighboring villages and just by that association they become fast friends.

5. the calligraphy is beautiful.

6. the language is harsh and everybody sounds like they've got a bullhorn strapped to their mouth. i know this one actually seems annoying, but on occasion it's actually comical. even if someone is just asking you to step aside, it seems like they are screaming bloody murder. but they don't mean it, it's just a part of the culture. and again, if i happen to be in a particularly loud mood, i just assume everybody will chalk my screaming up to being Chinese.

since the number 6 is lucky to (some of) the oh so very superstitious Chinese, i'll leave the list at that.

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!! now where are those red envelopes??