Prosperity and Purity, Red and Snow

Firstly, I would like to apologise for not making a special post for the blog. Just doing a post for my own blog took me more than an hour. So, forgive me for extracting it and putting it here. At least there will be something new to see right? =) I hope you guys are doing well. The blog seems to have died, which is quite sad. If you have any ideas on how to revive it, do contact me. Till then, take care!

*from jeremynyh.blogspot.com

In just about an hour's time, the long minute hand of the clock will strike 12. With the omnious twelve chimes, the day will be over, and it will be Tuesday. More importantly, the 15 days of 2009 Chinese New Year will have come to an end. The ushering of the year of the Ox will be done, and our daily lives will go on as we prepare to face another year of trials and tribulations. To me, the 15 previous days and days to come is very significant.

Anyways, before i bore you to death, let me describe my first CNY celebrations away from home. Truly a different experience, being away from family and celebrating in a country where such celebrations are barely noticeable, to say the least. In London, most people do not celebrate Chinese New Year, other than the chinese of course(duh). China town is exceptionally packed and decorated with lanterns. Word of lion dance perfomances and fireworks near Leicester square is all i know of the celebrations.

In Passfield, my hall of residence, we decorated our hall with red packets in shapes of lanterns etc etc. It was a new experience for me, as we never really decorated the house before back home. It was really fun staying up and making all the decor. Here are a few pics to show, i know my hair is freaking weird. =\




That was the saturday night where we were all busy decorating the place. The following day, we woke up and started cleaning our rooms; the traditional spring cleaning. After that, the arrival of the master chefs, for we were planning a big 'reunion' dinner! Despite being 13 hours away from home, we will prevail, and strive to produce the best we can. The following is the Chinese New Year menu for the day. Price of GBP 5.50 per person, with a disclaimer stating we will not be liable as well.

Braised Chicken and Mushroom
Steam Mackerel and Bream
Steam Chicken
Mapo Tofu
Kai Lan , Choi Sum & Pak Choi Vegetables
Tian Tang Dessert
*
Rice
*
Chinese Tea, Cocktail & Wine

The 5 of us toiled and endured nearly 4 hours of cooking to produce a magnificent feast! We started cooking at about 5.30 - 6 and we finished at about 9.40. Dinner started at 10pm! woohooo! Behold!





It was a really good feast, and at a charge of GBP 5.50 per person, i must say that it is quite a good worthy meal. With this session, our cooking skills have leveled up by tenfold.

Sadly, the next day was Monday, a school day. Imagine the First Day of CNY is to wake up at 9am and attend a 10am lecture. -sigh- However, we must strive to do the best in whatever situation we may be in. Anyways, the following Monday, the amazing miracle happenned.

SNOW!

It first started snowing the night before, which is a sunday night. Stayed up late till about 5am to create a snowman! First time snowman maker, it was a difficult chore. By no means as easy as seen on tv. We weren't sure how to roll the snow into a ball as it kept breaking up. And it was so dam cold and tiring! Still, it was a great experience. The next morning is when we heard that school was closed due to the heavy snow! Such a fortune! We were able to play snowball fights and run around in the beautiful blanketed city. It was truly like in a fairy tale....















the last 3 superb quality pictures are thanks to Titus! Hehe.. Well, even though CNY has ended, i would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year! May you have a great year ahead of you! All the best!!!