Happy New Year!

Warmest (really) wishes for a happy new year...whether you follow the lunar or the Gregorian calendar! We are very aware of the coming Chinese New Year, celebrating the Year of the Ox, as the stores are filled with CNY merchandise--lanterns, door decorations with oxen on them, specially-packaged foods, beautiful cards, etc. It's like Christmas-time in the US for the retail world.

Socially, families are planning get-togethers and, for folks like us, work groups are gathering to remember the previous year and toast to the coming year. We've been told CNY is very similar to Thanksgiving in the US--but it goes on much longer! The whole country can get gridlocked from all of the travelling.

The kids will get one week off from school--which seems crazy to us since they just had 3 weeks off for Christmas. But, alas, that is part of bridging two cultures. Jim plans to skip town during CNY, heading to Chihuahua, Mexico, to visit the Emerson plant there and assist in the training of two new Chinese engineers.

Weatherwise, we keep hearing the reports of a very snowy, cold Midwest...and I can't say I miss that part of American life! Here in Nanjing, it is getting colder each day, it seems, and there are rumors of snow, but I have yet to see any. We are wearing our layers and slippers and wrapping up in fleece blankets. We have heaters in each room (except the bathrooms!) and we are BLESSED to have in-floor heat in the main level of the house. Very nice on the toes.

Many of you have asked how we spent our first Christmas in China...well, we didn't! We got out of town, like most of the ex-pat community. It has been like a ghost town around here. Most of the ex-pats leave the day school lets out and return to their home country, returning the day before school begins. For the Arnebergs, we didn't see the need to return to Minnesota when we are gone for only one year total. While jet-lag and below zero temps and living with relatives sounds inviting, we made the decision to go to a warmer climate for part of our holiday time.

We spent Christmas 2008 in Oahu with Barack. We didn't actually see him, but we knew he was around...and wasn't he in Kenya a while back when we were there (2006)? Very interesting...I wonder how long it will take for him to visit China?

Hawaii was WONDERFUL. It was the right balance of relaxation, activity, sunshine, English, shave ice, and socializing. Our friends, the Thompsons, from Maplewood, joined us for part of our time there and it was a sweet reunion, esp. for Jesse and Weston and Grace and Grace. See the photos!