Happy New Year (Take 3)

We had our third new of 2008 this week (Jan 1, Islamic, and Lunar/Chinese). We went to a local mall for some festivities. Its not our favorite mall but has an Ace Hardware and a Thai restaurant that we REALLY like.

One problem with our language is that the focus in school is on "formal" language like you'd use in business or as a college student speaking to his dean, something like that. Well, as is the case everywhere no one speaks formally. They speak "sehari-hari" or everyday language. The differences aren't huge but when you don't have much in the way of language skill, it matters.

Imagine at Wal-Mart, you see a person you know from Little League and you say, "Hey howsitgoin? Ya'll playin at Red Cross?" Or you see someone you know who is new to the country and say, "Hello. How are you? Will your son be playing baseball this summer?" The enunciation is different, you use a few different words. Maybe a "Hello, how are you?" As opposed to "Wuzgoinon?"

In-between is where miscommunication lies and where we live. We understand and can say lots of things like, "Good afternoon, sir." Just try to remember the last time someone greeted you with that one. I understand the strange looks I get from people when they say, "How are you?" and I respond, "Fantastic. How 'bout you?"

At any rate, what all that means is that when it was time for the Chinese Dragon thing---THE thing we came to see we didn't know where it was. We heard the DJ on the stage say something about the floor out back but things like "floor" and "out back" can be very fluid (as can things like "yesterday" and "cousin"). So we had no idea where to find the Dragon. We did see half the Dragon walk by and determined to follow him but then we ran into a friend who wanted us to watch with them.

We went from floor one (which of course is the "ground floor" and below floor #1) up to floor 3 (which is #2). There our friend asked a man crowded at the rail if this is where we could see the Dragon. "I don't know," he responded. Leaving me wondering why he was standing in a crowd by the rail.

But ALAS! you couldn't see the Dragon from there so we went back down to the GF where we were about 10 people deep from the show and completely unable to see. And THEN people started to crowd in and it got a little ... um ... cramped even by local standards. So we gave up. I did go and ask if it would be in the same spot next time but found out it would be moving around.

We did grab a glimpse of it on the GF while were were up on 2 or 3 (which, of course is 3 or 4). Here is what we saw:


Angie took this one at our first viewing attempt. Thankfully we are taller than all but the tallest folks here. And if you know how short we are that is saying something!!


This is what we looked like to the people across the mall from us. Except we are white and were yelling at our kids!


See the Dragon in this crowd? That gives you some feel of what the crowd was like and how overwhelming it can be in the midst of it!!


When you are inside there and loud music is playing I think even the nationals ask, "What did he just say?" That makes us feel a bit better. May your New Year be TRULY prosperous and not just a financial windfall!!