-A time of reunion, celebration, and good wishes for the future.

To anyone who has attempted to study abroad, it can be tough at the start. My planning was not any different– it involved endless meeting and paperwork, but, at long last, I am almost on my way to Limuru Kenya for a medical internship!!! Just one more week!!!

I am very excited because on my journey to reaching Africa, I have gotten the opportunity to learn more about my own culture and experience other cultures. You see, my mom is from Singapore, but I have lived in the mountains my entire life. This year, because of my study abroad program starting later, I get to join my family for Chinese New Year for the first time since 2005. This is a time of reunion, celebration, and good wishes for the future.

Yesterday, we had the Chinese New Year reunion, and I participated in lo hei. Although I had little idea what was going on or what to say, it was really neat to be a part of it. From what I gather, different foods are put on the plate and each item represents different good fortunes.

Today was the first day of Chinese New Year. Traditionally, those who are married give Ang Bao to those that are not married: these are little red packets containing money.

It also happened to be my Great Aunt’s birthday both on the English and Chinese calender. A concept that I learned about on this trip–it seems quite complex, so I won’t attempt to explain it:) We sang Happy Birthday in both English and Chinese (I think…).

But, let’s rewind a bit for an embarrassing story. Before reaching Singapore, my family and I had a long layover in Germany. Like any tourists would, we decided to explore Germany. Now, understand that I have no knowledge of the German nor of their culture, and I was searching for the bathroom in a restaurant in Germany. Unfortunately, I became lost, as I could not understand the signs. I ended up making my way to what I thought was the bathroom, but turned out to be the freezer in the storage room… Not exactly what I had intended. But I have learned that some things you just can’t prepare for, although knowing a little German would have probably helped…

That’s all for now, but tomorrow brings new stories!

Happy adventuring,

Gabrianne