I didn't realize it was Chinese New Year until this morning when I went for my Reiki session. "Auguri!" Annunziata and Rossella each said as I arrived. They told me it was the "Anno nuovo tibetano" (the Tibetan New Year), so I didn't put it together that it was really the Chinese new year until a French friend of mine wished me the same in an email. After googling the Chinese new year on the web, I realized that it's the year of the rooster (l'anno del gallo). Hey...my last name is Gallo...does this make it my year?
We had to celebrate so we went to a Chinese restaurant downtown. My favorite one (well, the one I've been going to since I first arrived and lived here back in 1997). Even though it was freezing cold out (again), we decided to bear the cold and walk all the way to via Cavour.
At the end of the meal, the woman asked us, "Volete una grappa cinese?" (Do you want a Chinese digestive?). I responded, "No, grazie...aspetta, sì, sì!" (No thanks, wait yes!) What the heck, it's the only way to begin a new year! I hadn't seen her offer this to anyone the entire evening, so I realized that it'd be more polite to accept her offer.
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