Feb 4, 2011

Gong Xi Fa Cai


Hello there! Happy New Year! I've had to go to work for three weeks in 2011, and now it's time for another holiday - Chinese New Year! The whole country pretty much shuts down for 5-7 days; we've been advised to get out of the country. So, right now, I am blogging from Boracay Island in the Phillipines. 85 degrees every day. More blogging on that to come.

When we get back, we have to hand out red envelopes to people that wish us Happy New Year. These people include:
- driver and nanny (of course)
- doormen
- the girls that work in the conveinence store in the building
- direct reports/secretaries
- any unmarried people
- children

The amount in the envelope will vary; before we left on vacation, I had the chore of filling about 150 envelopes with various amounts of cash. We bought these envelopes from a department store; some of the envelopes had a acetyl-alcohol kind of smell. I was feeling very much like Susan in "Seinfeld". She dies before the wedding with George because George bought the cheapo-envelopes. I felt I would suffer the same fate with the fumes I was inhaling.

Anyway, I'm so behind on blogging - got a lot to talk about, especially reporting about Taiwan and our 3-day adventure there. But one more item about life in China - we are living in an apartment complex with about 90% Chinese and 10% foreigners. They try to translate all apartment complex notices into English - but it looks like they need help. This is an actual sign posted by the elevator going to our apartment. The general idea is conveyed, I guess.....

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