Chinese New Year 2009

Before Chinese New Year, I was so eager to fly back. As a Chinese, Chinese New Year is a very important festival to me throughout the year. I wanted a good rest and a serene time with my family. I started my countdown a week before. Seven days, six days, five days… However, the closer the Chinese New Year break, the busier I got. I had a lot of homework to do. Besides, I also received a lot of angpau in the form of homework from my lecturers.

Here is my homework list:

a. Physic- 35 questions in Cutnell

b. English- a book review for collage and a two-page essay outline

c. Chemistry- a table of s,p,d, arrangement for the 11st to 20th elements in the periodic table

d. App. Mathematics- a few questions in study guide

e. Economics- six short questions

Extra workload:

a. A list of questions for survey and interviews

b. Research in the topic

“Miss, I need to enjoy my Chinese New Year. Don’t be so cruel, please,”

“You want to fly to New Zealand or not?”

Speechless. Silence.

On 22 January 2009, I travelled for hours and hours to reach my hometown. If you follow my previous post, you will know what had happened. Although I was exhausted, I still felt glad to be with my family. Other than homework, the other thing that I dislike before Chinese New Year is the housework waiting for me. I ought to clean, tidy and decorate the house, help my mother to make some cookies, cakes and delicacies, and fry the prawn and fish crackers. All these hard work paid off during Chinese New Year. This year, my father made the whole family a steamboat for the reunion dinner and I liked it very much. The difference between the reunion dinner in Sarawak and that in Peninsula Malaysia is that we do not have the custom of “lou sang”. Another thing is that we can play fire crackers freely during Chinese New Year. At 12am sharp, people would play fire crackers for half an hour to an hour plus. It would be a heavy haze in the town but everyone was overjoyed with it.

Wake up before seven at the first day of the celebration, we ate “mee sua” together. Then, the happiest moment came. It was the delivery of angpau from my parents. I reserved my first day for my family. I would spend my time together at home with them, eating and watching television. When the second day was concerned, it always turned out as the reunion of classmates and friends. We would start a marathon for the whole day for the open house. This year, we started it at 8am and I reached home at 7pm. Since all of us are separated to pursue for tertiary education, we would have many stories to share with each other. Laughter all the way. Then, I visited my friends’ houses other than my classmates randomly each day until the fifth day of Chinese New Year.

I flew back on the sixth day of Chinese New Year. I ate the Chinese New Year delicacies ceaselessly and recklessly the day before flying. The journey was as usual. Nothing special happened. I reached hostel at 8pm.

The other hectic event came. I need to clean up my room before sleeping. Lousy. I was very tired already after a two- hour flight and an hour bus trip from the airport.

Oh no! I suddenly realized that I didn’t even open a single page of my textbooks for homework. I had to burn the midnight oil again before the class resumed. Oh no again! I have to lose weight because I gained quite a lot of them during Chinese New Year. I always experience these two traumas after Chinese New Year.

Despite all that, I still enjoyed Chinese New Year since it is the time the whole family and all the friends get together and visit each other. Last but not least, please share your Chinese New Year with me.