Chinese New Year

I spent Chinese New Year here in Taipei, and was graciously invited to my co-teacher Mandy's house for Chinese New Year's Eve dinner. The dinner was attended by Mandy's husband's family, which included lots of uncles, aunts, and cousins. We ate traditional Chinese food for dinner, where I was seated first-because I was the guest of honor-along with the elders. I sampled some of the food, but there were just some dishes that I couldn't stomach. Mandy's father-in-law gave me a lucky red envelope, which contained a couple of lottery tickets. The elders give children lucky envelopes with money it during Chinese New Year. Unfortunately, the tickets weren't winners, but I had a wonderful time celebrating the New Year. Here are some pictures from the dinner:

I also traveled down to Kaohsiung to meet up with my friend Deb and her family. Kaohsiung was setting up their Love River and Pier for the Lantern Festival and it was so neat to see all of the lights. It was really neat to see all of the lanterns and decorations!