Chinese New Year Part 2

Chinese New Year is always a special period. After all, it is a time to get together, meet up with relatives, and catch up with what's going on in the extended family. And of course, the giving of ang baos to the unmarried relatives.

It is a time when I have to work hard so as to make sure my wife does not feel left out during the family gatherings, especially when her understanding of Mandarin is limited, and Teochew is totally out of her league. And of course, it doesn't help when my extended family (grandmothers, aunties and uncles) simply love to speak in Teochew.

Couple this with the fact that we aren't really that close to the extended family, and we don't play cards or mahjong really well (something that the rest seems to enjoy during this festive period), and you can understand why Chinese New Year can be a trying period. Not to mention that we have to keep watching out for relatives asking about when we are going to have kids. It doesn't help when one of my younger uncles just had a daughter (new cousin!) and my cousin is now pregnant.

Yes, Chinese New Year is always a special period.