Blood is Thicker Than Water - 血浓于水

Up until this year, I can honestly say I have never made a legitimate effort to celebrate Chinese New Year. However, A few weeks ago, I got to partake of some new year festivities, as I had my first Chinese dance performance at the 2017 Atlanta Chinese Lunar New Year Festival. As there were several different types of performances throughout the rest of the day, almost all of the performers were given the opportunity to be a spectator. So, after our dance performance, we were released to enjoy the festival activities. The highlights for me were the dragon dance (which took place outdoors), visiting the different booths with friends, and most of all, the FOOD! The majority of the food vendors were set up along the walls in the same room as the stage, which meant performance-viewers and consumers alike were packed together in a tight, cheerful mass. My friends and I got separated several times as we squeezed through the crowd to try the wide array of foods. There was everything fr...

          There is actually a funny story connected to as to how I got this book.( This is the part you skip if you only want the book review)  Our family does not keep many traditions in general, and Christmas is not an exception. In fact, as the years have gone by, our holiday traditions have decreased. As it happened this year, I was feeling a little down and out of the whole 'Christmas Spirit' thing because I hadn't gotten the chance to engage in the scanty holiday traditions we do keep. I had missed out on the Christmas tree 'pick-out and pick-up', the laying out of Christmas decorations, the tree decorating, and the stocking hanging (actually, I don't think we hung our stockings at all!).      I expressed this dilemma of a lack of Christmas Spirit to my mother, and she thoughtfully offered to let me wrap my sister's gifts in her bedroom. It was then that I looked down at one of the gifts I was wrapping and realized it was a book ab...