New Year - Chinese Style

Happy Chinese New Year everyone!

Do you know what year it is? No, it's not 2006... It is year of the dog! Woof! Let me tell you a bit more about the Eastern zodiac, for those who have no clue what I am talking about!

The Chinese zodiac gives us a different perspective on our modern lives, based from the ancient Oriental art of divination and character reading. The zodiac was created by Emperor Huang Ti around 1637 BC. If you believe, it can tell you all about a person’s character, lifestyle... Even a bit about their love life. The roots of this interpretive art are based deeply in the classical philosophy of Confucius. According to Chinese legend, the order of the twelve signs was determined by Buddha, upon celebration of the Chinese New year. Oh, by the way, there is no set date for Chinese New Year - it falls on different dates from mid-January to mid-February. The Buddha invited all the animals in the entire kingdom to a meeting, but only 12 different species attended. The first animal to arrive was the rat, because the rat was aggressive enough to jump on the back of the Ox, to ensure his grand entrance. The Ox, being as serious and hard-working as a real Ox is, was second. The honorable tiger and the elegant rabbit were next. Then came the outspoken dragon, the philosophical snake, the strong horse, and the artistic goat. Pulling up the rear was the spirited monkey, showy rooster, and the loyal dog. The honest pig was the last to arrive. Buddha then gave each animal a year of its own, bestowing the nature and characteristics of each to those born in that animals year.

Want to know which animals’ year you fall under?

Rat: 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996
Ox: 1925, 1937, 1949, 1961, 1973, 1985, 1997
Tiger: 1926, 1938, 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986, 1998
Rabbit: 1927, 1939, 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987, 1999
Dragon: 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, 2000
Snake: 1917, 1929, 1941, 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989, 2001
Horse: 1930, 1942, 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990, 2002
Goat: 1931, 1943, 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991, 2003
Monkey: 1932, 1944, 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992, 2004
Rooster: 1933, 1945, 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993, 2005
Dog: 1934, 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982, 1994, 2006
Pig: 1935, 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983, 1995

I am a rabbit (quite different then the Lion of the Western zodiac). Think this sounds like me?

The well-mannered Rabbit/Cat is diplomatic, easygoing, refined, and a devoted friend. Detached and aloof, the Rabbit flees personal upheaval and disruption. These souls excel in the fine arts, and are highly creative. Well grounded and ever virtuous, Rabbits shun risk and emotional entanglements, choosing security, and quiet stability. Business partners extraordinare, peaceful and contented Rabbits possesses quiet sensuality and the gift of self-preservation. Sensitive and easily hurt, the private Rabbit keeps their own council and is highly sought after for their advice. The ethical Rabbit needs a loving and unselfish partner who makes very little demands on their time and privacy.

As a rabbit, my romance life will pick up in year of the dog. As you can see, it already has! This is my Chinese project leader, Phoebe. We have become quite close over the last 6 and a half months, and now - in the year of the dog - we are embracing the love we have for each other.

How many CWY participants does it take to wrap dumplings?

For lunch, our group got together at a close friends house in order to make dumplings. Can you imagine 20 people cooking in one small kitchen? Well, that was what it was like. If you have ever made dumplings though, you would know how long it takes to make. They weren't the best dumplings known to man-kind... But we had fun making them, and it has been so long since we have had Chinese food. So of course they were good.

After that we all went home to cook some more. Each counterpart pair had to make one Chinese dish to bring to the potluck that night - Hu Song and I made spicy potatoes, and they were awesome. We got together with the Chinese community in Moose Jaw, and had a gigantic feast with karaoke afterwards, and some small gift exchanging. Unfortunately I did end up singing a duet, 'What's up', with Stephanie, much to the dismay of the group. We damaged many ear drums with our screeching rendition. It was a funny night though... Vince, Jordan, Phoebe and Shirley can sing some mean karaoke.

Some of the group members in our ever so fashionable tong jongs

Unfortunately for Song Song, he got a mild case of food poisoning at the end of the night, and we went home a bit early. What a way to celebrate the most important festival of China! He is okay now though, and we still had a good time last night.

Well that's it for now! I hope you all know that the picture of Phoebe and I is *not* real. Happy Chinese New Year and I will see everyone back home soon (30 days...)!

-Joe

Countdown: 36 Days

Hey everyone!

Yes, there are only 36 days left until Joe flies back to Ontario. It seems so soon! I figured I should write another update now while I still can before I am crazy busy saying goodbye to everyone at the end of the program. Hu Song and I had our Educational Activity Day on environment just last week. It went OK - I don't think most of the group appreciated taking a nature walk out in the -20 weather... But they all need some toughening up. We also went to Buffalo Pound Park where we learned all about the Bison. For the Chinese - and even some of the Canadians - it was the first time seeing real Bison, so it was pretty cool. We also made some recycled bird-feeders, had a guest speaker give us a slideshow on all the different birds in Moose Jaw, and we planned for a prairie-wildlife-jeopardy game, but our walking tour through Wakamo valley took longer than expected, and everyone looked too tired at the end to do anymore strenuous activities.

Hu Song and the Bison

I saw something pretty funny the other day. Hu Song and I were in the change room at the spa, and this guy had a big Chinese tattoo on his back. It's not like I learned how to read Chinese characters while I was staying in Yichang, but I know a few basic words. I asked the guy if he knew what it meant, and he said 'Of course I know, it says 'red dragon'". I sort of laughed at him, and he walked away. I was laughing because it definitely does not mean 'red dragon', it is actually the character for the first part in the word 'China'. Heheh. By itself, however, it only means 'central'. Imagine having the word ' central' tattooed across your back in another language? At least no one here will really know what it means... But morale of the story is: Don't get a tattoo in another language if you can't understand it at all. And Tattoo artists don't know everything. Moments like these make me realize just how much I learned on my trip to China.

When I'm not working at the museum, I'm making our groups yearbook, and getting signatures for a petition. The more signatures we get, the bigger chance we have of Parliament enacting legislation or taking other measures to ensure that all the young Canadians who want to volunteer - either nationally or internationally - in programs like CWY or Katimavik will be able to do so. Plus, if we reach our group goal, Jordan will get his legs waxed during the half-time of a Moose Jaw Warriors hockey game. Muahahaha. I went to a youth hangout spot the other night and ended up getting 50 signatures, as well as the phone numbers of three girls. Hey, I didn't ask for them - they gave them to me. I think it is a fun project though, and it is really giving me more confidence with approaching new people.

Well I'll be seeing everybody soon! My flight back home is booked for the 27th. I'm excited to get back and see all my family and friends again, as well as finding a job to save some money before I start school in Guelph. I have to say that I'll be sad to leave my CWY buds too though... But only because some of them have stalked my blog down and are reading it at this very moment... Like that little evil girl from Alberta. Just kidding!

My Dysfunctional Family in the Cruel Winters of Saskatchewan

-Joe