Xīn nián kuài lè

Happy New Year and welcome to the year of the snake! At first, I thought Chinese New Year was going to be my new favorite holiday. Because you're pretty much required to eat dumplings and set off fireworks. For the equivalent of $20 USD we purchased some exploding bombs that I was terrified would blow off our fingers.

And for the first few hours, it was my new favorite holiday. But the fireworks didn't end at midnight. Or 3am. Or even 6am. I've been listening to fireworks burst for the past 12 hours and both the cat and I have fried nerves. So while I enjoyed the first few hours of Chinese New Year, I think I'll be booking a flight to somewhere tropical next year.