Chinese New Year Away From Home
My fourth chinese new year away from home. :(
The first CNY away from home- I was the chef. I cooked dinner for 10+ people, including a couple of uninvited guests. I had 3 friends to help me with the preparation. After cooking, I was knackered. I didn't have any appetite at all. The girls watched movies and the guys played cards. We stayed up till pretty late. It was no fun.
Second CNY away from home- the worst CNY ever!!! I had a paper to sit for on the first day of CNY! How sucky can that be! I was extremely home sick then. That was when I started missing the reunion dinner. I had a mini reunion dinner at home with my friends but that wasn't fun at all. Post exams stress (if there's such thing) , perhaps.
Third CNY away from home- I went out for horrible chinese with my housemate- just the both of us. CNY= just another day.
Forth CNY away from home- I'm actually looking forward to it. A few friends are coming to London. The tentative plan is to have dinner at a chinese restaurant (Duh! Of course-lah Chinese) on Saturday night and go to China Town on the first day of CNY. My classmates and I are also planning for another dinner on Tuesday. Makan makan makan!
If I'm rajin, I might bake peanut cookies. That's the easiest! I haven't been baking for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Rusty already!
I wish I were home for this CNY. I miss family reunion dinners. I miss helping Mommy with the preparation. She normally cooks for the whole family- I mean extended family! 4 years ago, there were 20+ of us. I miss having open house on the first day of CNY. Many years ago, we had open house every other CNY but recently, the open house was every year. Mommy used to complain to me- 'Your daddy la, wants to have open house. Say only mini open house but when he came up with the guestlist, 200+ people!' We never catered. Mom always cooks with the help of her children, her siblings and the maid. Tiring, but fun!
How can I not miss collecting ang pows? Since I came over, my ang pow money has significantly reduced. Hmphhhh!!! Mine is always few hundred ringgit lesser than my siblings because the guests 'forget about me/don't know my mom has another daughter'. Or maybe... my sister or brother took my ang pows!!!! When we had open house, Daddy always had a mission for me- When the guests gave me ang pow, I had to see how much they gave then went up to Daddy to whisper the amount. He would then give the children the right amount. Win-win situation. ;)
This year, the reunion dinner is at my uncle's house. Daddy says he wants a quiet CNY i.e. no open house. We shall see....
I want to go home for CNY! I want to see my family members and say hello to my nieces and nephews whom I have yet to meet! I want to see the 4 little nieces who will hug me and kiss me and call me 'Aunty Eileen' in their sweetest voices!
... but I can't... cos I'm stuck here. :(
The first CNY away from home- I was the chef. I cooked dinner for 10+ people, including a couple of uninvited guests. I had 3 friends to help me with the preparation. After cooking, I was knackered. I didn't have any appetite at all. The girls watched movies and the guys played cards. We stayed up till pretty late. It was no fun.
Second CNY away from home- the worst CNY ever!!! I had a paper to sit for on the first day of CNY! How sucky can that be! I was extremely home sick then. That was when I started missing the reunion dinner. I had a mini reunion dinner at home with my friends but that wasn't fun at all. Post exams stress (if there's such thing) , perhaps.
Third CNY away from home- I went out for horrible chinese with my housemate- just the both of us. CNY= just another day.
Forth CNY away from home- I'm actually looking forward to it. A few friends are coming to London. The tentative plan is to have dinner at a chinese restaurant (Duh! Of course-lah Chinese) on Saturday night and go to China Town on the first day of CNY. My classmates and I are also planning for another dinner on Tuesday. Makan makan makan!
If I'm rajin, I might bake peanut cookies. That's the easiest! I haven't been baking for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong time. Rusty already!
I wish I were home for this CNY. I miss family reunion dinners. I miss helping Mommy with the preparation. She normally cooks for the whole family- I mean extended family! 4 years ago, there were 20+ of us. I miss having open house on the first day of CNY. Many years ago, we had open house every other CNY but recently, the open house was every year. Mommy used to complain to me- 'Your daddy la, wants to have open house. Say only mini open house but when he came up with the guestlist, 200+ people!' We never catered. Mom always cooks with the help of her children, her siblings and the maid. Tiring, but fun!
How can I not miss collecting ang pows? Since I came over, my ang pow money has significantly reduced. Hmphhhh!!! Mine is always few hundred ringgit lesser than my siblings because the guests 'forget about me/don't know my mom has another daughter'. Or maybe... my sister or brother took my ang pows!!!! When we had open house, Daddy always had a mission for me- When the guests gave me ang pow, I had to see how much they gave then went up to Daddy to whisper the amount. He would then give the children the right amount. Win-win situation. ;)
This year, the reunion dinner is at my uncle's house. Daddy says he wants a quiet CNY i.e. no open house. We shall see....
I want to go home for CNY! I want to see my family members and say hello to my nieces and nephews whom I have yet to meet! I want to see the 4 little nieces who will hug me and kiss me and call me 'Aunty Eileen' in their sweetest voices!
... but I can't... cos I'm stuck here. :(
