Chinese New Year

The year of the dog!

29 January 2006 was the beginning of the Chinese Spring Festival. Since this is the Year of Dog, any one who was born in the Year of Dog is now either 0 or 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72, 84 or 96 years old. So how is the new year determined? In one sentence, the Chinese New Year is the second New Moon after the winter solstice. It is based strictly on astronomical observations, and has nothing to do with the Pope, emperors, animals or myths. People born in the Year of the Dog possess the best traits of human nature. They have a deep sense of loyalty, are honest, and inspire other people¡¦s confidence because they know how to keep secrets. But Dog People are somewhat selfish, terribly stubborn, and eccentric. They care little for wealth, yet somehow always seem to have money. They can be cold emotionally and sometimes distant at parties. They can find fault with many things and are noted for their sharp tongues. Dog people make good leaders. They are compatible with those born in the Years of the Horse, Tiger, and Rabbit.

During the New Year celebration, there is a tradition where parents, grand parents and superiors at work give un married young adults and the staff that work for them. The parents, etc give the children, etc "Hong Bao" (red packets) filled with new crisp money. However the children initiate the gift giving by saying "Kung He Fat Choi" which means Happy New Year or May Prosperity Be With You. Remember you can not be married to get the "Red Packet". Sorry Brig and Amy :(

There is another tradition in the business world where partners / vendors take their customers out to dinner. I was invited to attend such an event and had a very good time and an interesting meal. A few of the items on the menu were:

Shark Fin Soup
Pig's Tongue
Braised Shark Fin
Black Hair Vegetable

Just to name a few of the delicasies! Mom, Do you believe it!



Well enough writing. I'll just show you some pictures.








































Well all who visit have a wonderful New Year "Kung Hei Fat Choi"!

First Weekend in Macau

I thought I should write and share some of the experiences Terry and I have had in Macau. I will to try and describe Macau in a couple of words……Hot & Humid. Just walking outside to get a cab you begin to sweat. Temperature is around 90 – 95 degrees with 90% humidity. When I walk the job site for a couple of hours I have to go to the hotel and shower before going back to office. It is starting to cool off though. This morning it was about 80 with 60% humidity. The picture to the right is from the top of a mountain overlooking the Pearl Delta River and you can see the humidity in the air.

Typically Terry and I take cabs where ever we go because they are so cheap. The most I have spent for a cab ride is $53MOP (Pataca’s) which equals $7.79USD and that was from the airport to hotel which is about 15 miles. The cab drivers are CRAZY. They drive super fast so they can drop you to get their next fare. They do not take tips so they make money by the # of fares they get. One thing about driving in Macau is that they drive on the opposite side of the road than we do. When I cross the street I sometimes get confused and look the wrong way. That is dangerous because even though we use cross walks, the cars don’t stop unless you walk out and hold up your hand. One guy who works for the construction company on WM got hit by a motor scooter (1000’s of scooters in Macau) and broke his leg in 6 places.

On first Saturday in Macau, Terry and I went on a journey to find Lou Lim Loc garden. After finding the garden tried to find the church which was supposed to be down down the street. We walked about 50 yards and found the church then went inside. Once inside we started talking to a set of missionaries for 20 minutes. We found out the times of the English speaking meetings and also found out there was a baptism scheduled for 2:00PM on Sunday for 10 people that lived in mainland China. Terry and I were shocked. The missionaries told us they get baptized in Macau then go back to teach their families in China. Those family members then come to China to have the missionary discussions and get baptized. The branch they were referring to is the Macau 1^st Branch and have had 31 baptisms in 35 days. The missionaries told us that on one occasion there were people from China who came into Macau, were taught all of the discussions then baptized before they went home; all in the same day!


After talking to the missionaries we went into the Chinese Garden. It was very, very relaxing. We saw water turtles, lily pads, old trees, etc. To the left you will see the entrance into the gardem. I tried to take a picture of an older man sitting talking to his friends in a wife beater t-shirt. He got really upset when I pointed the camera at him so apologized and walked away. I am not sure why ho got upset, probably becuase my picture would take away his spirit. Below are some additional pictures we took @ the garden.



If you look real close you should see a water turtle sunning itself on a lilly pad. It seems that Terry and I had just missed the blooming of the lilly pads as the blossums were all dried up.













The Chinese kids are so cute.....aren't they? There were alot of families at the garden that day. They were feeding the many Koi fish in the pond.



We left the garden and went to an outdoor mall called Sedano Square. It was packed with people as October 1st is Chinese National Day which is like our 4th of July. There had to have been 1,000,000 people from China, Hong Kong and Macau. It was CRAZY! As Terry and I were walking around we went down a side street and into a market. When we stepped through the door there was an immediate foul odor but did know why. We looked at flowers and bought some grapes then saw what was causing the smell!



The next day being Sunday, Terry and I wanted to drive around the two islands of Macau which are Taipa and Coloane. At first we thought of taking a cab and having him drive slow however the concierge suggested we hire a driver as a tour guide. We walked down the street to Avis Car Rental and were able to get a car (BMW 5 series) and driver for two hours. One of our stops was a white jade statue of A Ma who is Goddess of the fishermen and Macau is named after her. We drove up a winding road which was wide enough for 1 ½ cars then parked about 100 yards from the top the mountain where the statue was.





To the right you will see Terry standing in front of the new Ama Temple. Even though it was interesting and very ornate, it does not compare to the Las Vegas Temple or any other LDS temple. I have more pictures however I do not have access to them. Once i do I will re-post.

Macau Cultural Center

Today I visited the Macau Cultural Center to see 'A Voyage in Time - Photography Exhibition of Macau in Days Past by Ou Ping'. During the sixties and seventies, Ou Ping captured a precious selection of historical photographs reflecting popular culture in Macau. Here are a few of the pictures displayed in the exhibit.