Gung Hay Fat Choy 4710

Friday, January 27, the Fifth Day called Poo Woo; HICAP celebrated the Year of the Dragon. Our dining table was adorned with:

• A Pineapple Centerpiece surrounded with fragrant Tangerines & festive colored candy adornment
• Fruit Salad positioned at each end and a Veggie Salad consisting of Carrots, Broccoli, Celery, Cherry Tomato Platter in the middle
• Platters with Homemade Chinese Noodles & Dumplings were quickly devoured
• A Homemade Chinese Cake of gelatin with coconut bits also displayed
• We sipped Apple Juice and my experimental Chai Tea--a big hit; absolutely delicious & invigorating!

Mr. Wu is going to school to learn English. Because I cannot leave my empoly until 5 p.m., the students are in class before I arrive. Mr. Morrison picked me up from work to assist me with carrying goodies. When I walked in the class, Mr. Wu had created two signs in English for me and wrote at top in Chinese--"Year of the Teacher". It doesn't get much better than this.

A fter consuming several cups of tea and filling our plates two or three times with the delicious delights, we opened our discussion by honoring the Cao & Wu families. I thanked Yan Cao for assisting in the cultural authenication of our celebration. And, I read about each day of the Chinese New Year, what it signifies, how it is observed, who each day honors and the foods to be consumed that day. After reading about the last day, I yelled, 'Gung Hay Fat Choy!' and released a confetti popper to everyone's amused amazement.