Jetlagged for a Week

I'm back, teetering between timezones and realities. I woke up this morning, thinking, hoping, it was a decent hour, but no. It was 4am and I was wide awake.

I sat up in bed and read my laptop like a book pressed up against my chest. I imagined what my family might be doing in the Philippines. Dad is eating breakfast. My cousin is preparing to go to school. Grandma is watching tv.

My time spent abroad was filled with so much love and adventure. Some sadness, too. I came home with a renewed sense of gratitude for everything I have.

I just know that part of me misses Manila already and another part of me is so glad to be home.

HK Airport

A glimpse of the vast HK Airport enroute to Vancouver. My four week holiday's over, but I look forward to working in Vancouver after I shake off this week-long jet lag.

Tikoy - Sweet Sticky Rice

Also a New Year's tradition, sweet sticky rice - this one in form of a pair of fish. It is believed that eating Tikoy brings sweetness that "sticks" throughout the year. On the otherhand, "fish" in Chinese symbolizes being able to save/keep a lot of money. As far as tradition goes, it is both important for people who celebrate the New Year festival to eat tikoy & fish.

Chinese New Year

Chinatown, Manila. A make-shift sidewalk fruit vendor preparing for the Chinese New Year by selling taros, clementines and pineapples amongst many other fruits. Pineapple when translated into Chinese means abundance (of wealth, prosperity). The rich orange color and the shape of clementines symbolize money (think- gold coins; it's all about money and getting rich, isn't it?). I still dont know what taros symbolize, but I'll find out. These fruits are then displayed in the house while most traditional Chinese families burn incense and pray to the gods for prosperity for the coming (lunar) new year.