Chinese New Year!

A few weeks ago Julian and I went to the Chinese New Year celebration in Chinatown. It was packed there, with tons of people excited to see dragon dances, chinese drumming and 5 story fireworks! Unfortunately, the fireworks weren't set off because the fire department detected a gas leak-- the crowd was very disappointed because you had to wait 1.5 hours after the parade had ended before they were supposed to go off. But, the parade was entertaining and it was fun to see everyone dressed up and celebrating!

First Day of Work!

I've now been working for 1 month! I'm getting used to the schedule, and feel more confident about everything that goes on at work. We have a ton of professional development, which is great because the atmosphere is one of constant learning and growth for everyone. I still don't have a desk yet, due to a few communication mishaps, but it should come this week so I'm very excited to finally get organized. I've been using a kiddie table to work at, which is ok but a desk for an adult will be much better :)

I took the following pictures of myself on my first day. I also got hives that day from the sweater I was wearing, which has 10% wool in it. Wool usually bothers me, but never that much, especially for a wool blend.... I haven't been able to wear it since :(

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a terrific celebration for our first married Valentine's Day!

First we saw Peruvian Scissor Dancers and an exhibition on the power of chocolate in the afternoon. I didn't realize that the dancers would actually be holding a pair of scissors-- they use them as percussion instruments, kind of like playing spoons.

*Scissor dancer-- you can see the scissors in his right hand (photo by Jeff Malet)*

*video 1*



*video 2*

*scissor dancers*

*My lovely Valentine*

Later, we had dinner at my favorite restaurant (Sweetwater) and then went dancing! It was a great day!

*at the balloon-filled restaurant*

*happy valentine's day!*