Chinese/Vietnamese New Year's and family

the cousins playing in yard after dinner

On the beach with Jill's Family

Went to a celebration last evening for Chinese/Vietnamese New Year's, which is quite large here due to the large Vietnamese community (I believe there are about 70,000 here). We had a great dinner, which was organized by 3 staff members who are Vietnamese. Besides them, it was myself, my principal Meredith (who I keep calling Marilyn for some strange reason...very embarrassing) and the wife of one of the teachers. We had an amazing dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant that is near the school and which had won an award last year for having some of the best V. dishes in the city(I had been lounging in Ann and Jeff's pool earlier in the day).

The dish was a combination of 7 different preparations of beef. We cooked the majority of it on a flame which had a metal surface on it. I use the "we" lightly as all of the beef cooking was done by those who knew what they were doing, and that did not include me!! Not being Vietnamese, we weren't allowed to pay for our meals and we had to be "full"at the end of the meal to ensure a year ahead that would be prosperous and one in which we would not go hungry! It was an extremely enjoyable and educational experience for me!

After the amazing meal, we went to the ceremonies in a nearby parkland, where all the politicians were around for photo ops, as the election is kicking off here in four weeks time. It was quite something. We also watched a Vietnamese fashion show, which was an eye-opener and something not to be missed if you ever get the chance. The only thing I can tell you, really, is that "world peace" never came up as an issue that any of them were worried about when asked!!!! Quite entertaining....very beautiful women/girls as well, but as we all know, beauty is only skin-deep, and that came out clearly in the answers!! One girl, when asked how she would give back to the Vietnamese community if she won, answered with " I would volunteer to help the girls in next years show, by showing them how to apply makeup and do their nails, hair, and so on, so that they can feel good about themselves!!!!" She actually made it into the top 5 of the evening, out of close to 20!! I was ready to write a letter to the editor if she won!!

Tonight I had Jill's family for a BBQ at "my house". Elly-anne and Neil's daughters have the most amazingly beautiful red hair! They really stand out in a crowd being so fair and red-headed.

We started at the beach and ended here with the children (5 of them all together) playing on the trampoline and playing a game outside while we sipped on wine and chatted. It was a lovely, warm evening and we ate outdoors. I even got the lawn cut for me by Neil, Jill's brother, and Jeff, Jill's brother in law did the BBQ ing and the meat was perfect!! A very enjoyable evening. Jill has a lovely family and I feel very fortunate that they have taken me on as an extension!!

Well, that is all for now. I have some marking and planning to do, so must log off. I know you all think all I do is socialize, but I actually do a fair amount of work to make up for my off days, believe it or not!!

Cheers mates,

Kelly the Canuck