Chinese New Year!
CELEBRATED WITH TWO SNOW DAYS OFF! An awesome surprise from a University notorious for letting finals continue in ten feet high snow.
We celebrated Chinese New Year with a dinner today. I made steak teriyaki; since we didn't have sake, I used Katie's Australian pinot grigio instead. I was quite happy with how it turned out. Ling made egg drop corn soup, meat stuffed fried gluten, and stir-fried vegetables; Katie stir fried soybeans and tofu; Ken made sweet and sour fish. We actually had six dishes an a soup! Quite a nice meal, I must say--I'm still really full. Cooking was a lot of fun; Ling was so interested when I started grilling the steak. Ling is such a cheerful person in general, it's amusing. She also has this awesome 2 thousand dollar Nikon camera...I wish I ha that kind of money to spend for photograph.
*sigh* I think I'll miss this apartment next year.
DAILY PAGE 26
Tradition is such an interesting exercise. Here we were, three ABC undergrads and a Masters student from Shanghai stranded all day in a snow-locked apartment [not really all day for me, since I woke up a little after 3 pm], perhaps depressing if not for the fortune of Chinese New Year Eve landing on this date. Isn't it so amazing, how thousands of years of history can be encapsulated in this small gesture, in the very same manner that someone's birthday is celebrated? What draws the line between a private celebration and a public tradition?
Katie was so intent on everything being Chinese today, it was kind of hilarious; she refused to use the marinated salmon in the freezer she had because it was too Western, and wanted Chinese music to be played:
"Wow, so much anti-Americanism today, Katie"
"I hate Americaaa!"
Ah, c'est la vie.
We celebrated Chinese New Year with a dinner today. I made steak teriyaki; since we didn't have sake, I used Katie's Australian pinot grigio instead. I was quite happy with how it turned out. Ling made egg drop corn soup, meat stuffed fried gluten, and stir-fried vegetables; Katie stir fried soybeans and tofu; Ken made sweet and sour fish. We actually had six dishes an a soup! Quite a nice meal, I must say--I'm still really full. Cooking was a lot of fun; Ling was so interested when I started grilling the steak. Ling is such a cheerful person in general, it's amusing. She also has this awesome 2 thousand dollar Nikon camera...I wish I ha that kind of money to spend for photograph.
*sigh* I think I'll miss this apartment next year.
DAILY PAGE 26
Tradition is such an interesting exercise. Here we were, three ABC undergrads and a Masters student from Shanghai stranded all day in a snow-locked apartment [not really all day for me, since I woke up a little after 3 pm], perhaps depressing if not for the fortune of Chinese New Year Eve landing on this date. Isn't it so amazing, how thousands of years of history can be encapsulated in this small gesture, in the very same manner that someone's birthday is celebrated? What draws the line between a private celebration and a public tradition?
Katie was so intent on everything being Chinese today, it was kind of hilarious; she refused to use the marinated salmon in the freezer she had because it was too Western, and wanted Chinese music to be played:
"Wow, so much anti-Americanism today, Katie"
"I hate Americaaa!"
Ah, c'est la vie.