I will perspirate prosperity in 2005!

GEEZ! If I am not prosperous this year it will certainly not be because I did not do all I needed to do and more. I have NEVER done so many things in my life to call for prosperity, good health, fortune, good luck, love and more prosperity, and more prosperity. (In fact I have never done anything of the like, despite throwing some 10 cts coins into an empty well in Stirling, Scotland. USELESS, I tell you. Completely USELESS. But it is the naive belief in these things what drives you, right? or the doubt: "Dude, what if it is true!?'

In the name of CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING, and of course having in mind one of my favourite AIESEC values, LIVING DIVERSITY:
- I wore red to a Chinese New Year party
- I have given tangerines to every single married person that crossed my path (some gave me money back and all!)
- My desk looks like a fruit stand, full of mandarin oranges (some getting all moldy: eeeew!)
- I went to see the big fat tall fortune dude monument by the shore of Singapore (I did not collect the golden confetti that he spreads in the air because I DID think that was too much)
- And today, the pinnacle of my "desperate calling for prosperity": a very traditional Singaporean Lo Hei

We had a department lunch: all the HR department of my company went out for a nice team lunch in the seventh day of the lunar calendar. Under Chinese tradition today is EVERYBODYS BIRTHDAY (Thanks God it does not add one more year to the Caucasian year and therefore you are as old as your traditional birthday!) You are supposed to eat this sort of salad with seven ingredients.

The salad is ok lah, but the ceremony is very cute. As the pictures show:

1. There is this lady that comes and put all the ingredients in a plate and starts packing them up with condiments, lemmon and stuff. She does not stop wishing good luck, peace, prosperity, love, good health and stuff too the ones around the plate awaiting to eat. (She started in Chinese and then she realized that half of us were giving her the typical look 'HELLO!?-we-have-no-idea-what-the-hell-you-are-saying' and she switched to English. Xie Xie!)

2. When she finishes preparing the Lo Hai it looks like picture 2. Quite a figurative-painting like and, why not, scary too!

3. All the individuals sitting at the table get their chopsticks and start tossing the ingredients of the salad into the air as high as they can. The higher the MORE prosperous your year will be (and the more possible it is for you to get stops of oil or vinegar on your brand new shirt. Oh wait! That is just me)

4. Then you help people serve in their mini plates and eat. Eat. Eat.

Very interesting. I was particularly amazed by the look in the faces of the locals while repeting the good wishes and tossing the salad. It reminded me of the expression on the faces of kids when they see the candy store, Santa Claus or Tom & Jerry (OH Wait again. That is just me) :)

Again, if I am not prosperous this year I will totally lose faith in Chinese Culture. ZERO CREDIBILITY.

For the time being: Gong Xi Fa Cai para todos!.