OR DO YOU NOT THINK SO FAR AHEAD

It’s almost mid-March! Can you believe it?! Time goes by soooo fast! Just a month ago, we were ushering in the Lunar year of the Horse and now, I doubt you’ll still find new year decorations. Two years in the little red dot, I have come to learn that Chinese New Year is a very serious matter. It’s like how we Filipinos go all out on Christmas – food, reunions, gifts (red packets), decor, superstitions, etc. However, since I’m neither Chinese nor Singaporean, I’ve always looked at CNY as a time for travel (long weekend!). This year though, I stayed in the city and for the first time in my whole life, I actually celebrated it. Needless to say, I had a blast. 😉

Days prior to the new year, my coaches (aka colleagues) were already drilling me on my new year script. “Gong xi fa cai, hong bao yi ke lai, xin nian kuai lei!” Although hong bao yi ke lai isn’t really something you tell people coz it basically means give me my red packet but it was fun teasing my colleagues as it’s customary to give unmarried folks hong baos. I got my oranges ready and my red dress prepared, coz yes, I was a little bit of the eager beaver. I spent the actual weekend with my boyfriend and his lovely family wherein I got to try some hakka dishes and join in on my favourite part of CNY – the lo hei. The festivities did not end in that 3-day weekend though! As long as there’s lo hei, it’s still considered new year. Thus, in those 15 days, I couldn’t refuse the second or even third serving coz I knew I had to wait another year to have it again. Aside from the lo hei, I really like the sense of togetherness and the sense of tradition Singapore displays during this time. It really puts you in a cheery holiday mood – even if you’re not Chinese.

xx