Bears aren't the only ones who hibernate during Jan Term

I want to personally apologize for the lack of blog posts all January. It seemed only fitting I would write one on the last day of the month. For those of you that don't know, I have been in the San Francisco Bay Area all month, enjoying the California winter (aka "rainy season") while Spokane accumulates snow for the rest of the Pacific Northwest. It's nice -- I've already got tan lines. But rather than making you all super jealous, I want to send out a quick post highlighting all the things to look forward to next week, after Jan Term Break ends (I know, you don't want to think about that; but really, Jan Term is pretty much a whole month of vacation and you know it).

First: The Chinese New Year! It is February 10th this year, which marks the beginning of the Year of the Snake. For those of you who don't know much about the New Year, it is an awesome weeks-long celebration in Asia that involves a whole lot of food, ang bao (red packets of money given to children and newlyweds), good fortune, community, and fun traditions! I was lucky to celebrate Chinese New Year 2012 in Malaysia with the International Business study abroad trip with Assistant Professor Todd Friends, and we got to experience the *real thing* Here are some pictures from my Facebook of us in Melaka with the CNY decorations up: 

Photo credit: Todd Friends, Whitworth University

Photo credit: Todd Friends, Whitworth University

One of my own pictures, walking back to the hotel in Melaka

It was a great time. I can only imagine what it's like now. There were some great traditions I learned about while I was there. For instance, one tradition has women put their phone numbers on mandarins who then float them in the river, and the guys pick the oranges out of the water, eat them, and if the fruit was sweet they should call the girl's number because it represents the sweet love that could happen between them. Another tradition is eating a certain noodle dish with chopsticks, and everyone throws the noodles up into the air while saying "Happy new year!" the night before 2013 begins. 

There's just so much to talk about when it comes to Chinese New Year! Which brings me to my original point: 

You can learn more about Chinese New Year and join Whitworthians in bringing in the new year on February 8th in the HUB from 5pm to 5:30pm. There will be a Lion Dance (see an awesome video of one here; it gets pretty cool at 2:13 and the "lion" starts jumping on roughly 15ft poles at 3:40), for one, and a whole lot of fun experiences just waiting for you! Plus, who can say no to a reason for another party? 

Second: the Internship Information Fair is also happening Friday, February 8th, from 11am to 1pm in the HUB. Basically, it's a *free* opportunity to find a job. Internships can be paid or unpaid, and there are a whole bunch of great organizations in the Spokane area that offer such an opportunity, though there will also be representatives from firms and organizations outside of Spokane, if that's something that interests you. I highly recommend it. AND, if you're interested in interning on campus, Esther Louie and the Intercultural Affairs gang are looking for my replacement in this position. If you like being on Facebook and blogging and getting to call it "work," I highly recommend you apply for the position. Esther has more details about the position. You can find her contact information in the "Meet the ISC Staff" tab at the top of this page! 

I'll keep you posted about more events going on. In the meantime, I hope you're enjoying the last of your Jan Term Break. Leave a comment and tell me what you're up to! Or better yet, post a pic on our Facebook page.

Cheers!

Rosie