The madness is escalating here in China as everyone prepares for the Chinese New Year holidays. Shops are crowded, the gym has cancelled all its classes, people are fighting over taxis, crowds of people clamber aboard the trains, laden down with gifts for their family. It truly is chaotic! Threats of snow and terrible traffic conditions aren't helping at all. Many of the students have already left for their home countries and a lot of the Chinese staff have left for their home towns.
2009 - Year of the OxYou show characteristics of the ox if you were born in any of these years - 1913, 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997.
"People born in the Year of the Ox are patient, speak little, and inspire confidence in others. They tend, however, to be eccentric, and bigoted, and they anger easily. They have fierce tempers and although they speak little, when they do they are quite eloquent. Ox people are mentally and physically alert. Generally easy-going, they can be remarkably stubborn, and they hate to fail or be opposed. They are most compatible with Snake, Rooster, and Rat people." (thanks Google!)
Just a little reminder that spring is just around the corner (a very big corner though...)So, what does a laowai do during the time of the Chinese New Year? Get out of China of course! Most people I know here are leaving Wuxi for exotic (mostly hot!) destinations such as Thailand, Malaysia, New Zealand and the Phillipines. Gunnar and I however have decided to stick with the cold and head to Japan for a week of skiing. We fly out tonight (hopefully the snow holds off) for Tokyo where we have a few days before catching a bullet train to Hakuba (site of the 1998 Winter Olympics) to play around on the 'idiot slopes' as Gunnar so tactfully described them. Am really looking forward to the skiing, sightseeing and the hot springs at the end of each day!
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