On the weekend of January 24-26, ETA Shannon Pinzon partook in Chinese New Year festivities with her Indonesian family.

Malang has a large Chinese-Indonesian population and it was fascinating to see huge parts of the city brightly decorated with beautiful red ornaments and paper lanterns. Shannon even learned a few phrases like gōng xǐ fā cái (wishing you prosperity) and xīn nián kuài lè (happy new year).

The best part of the weekend was being invited to a large family gathering which included traditional music, red attire, and delicious dishes. It was incredible to see extended family members travel from different parts of Indonesia to reunite and celebrate the new lunar year together. It was especially heartwarming to see family members of all ages spend quality time together and it made her think of the few times every couple of years where she shares similar moments with her family that lives in Colombia. Overall, it was a lovely way of welcoming semester #2 and the next four months of her grant experience.

Shannon Pinzón is currently teaching at SMA Laboratorium UM in Malang, East Java.