Wish Good Luck and Good Fortune

Next week China will be celebrating the New Year!
In the meantime, families are gathering and preparing for the feast. Supermarkets are packed with people and (what looks like) special holiday treats. Red lanterns are hanging all over. When I got home from school today, a cute little bunny picture was taped to our door! They're all over!
The color red is supposed to bring good luck and happiness!

The only problem in all this is that we're a french school (in China) so everyone is else is on vacation and we aren't (until friday.) And as we live in a University District, let's just say it feels like we're the only ones here! Stores and restaurants are closing. The streets are empty. The construction sites aren't as noisy.... it's kinda weird!

For lunch, a few friends and I went to one of the only places that is still open... I wouldn't really call the place a restaurant though. It's more like a small room with people cooking in the back where people walk in, shout out what they want and leave a few minutes later with a take away bag of food.
Well... needless to say shouting out in Chinese isn't something I'm good at. We pointed, made sounds, pointed again... waved to get attention... made some more sounds... eventually paid... waited... waited... waited... wondered... waited... oh and 40 minutes later, after about 15 chinese people had come and gone with their food, our order was ready. This is China. I think I had what I ordered. Then again, who know's what that was! All I know is that there was rice and other unidentified ingredients, no meat... and it was good! I've learned to just accept things how they are without understanding WHY or HOW they are. They just are and that's good enough!

... my fortune wish: to be able to order food without pointing!