Ordinary Gweilo

This should be positively the last mention of Chinese New Year here (until next year). Promise.

This week I have managed to attend two company post-CNY lunches and witnessed the giving and receiving of Lai See packets on a fairly large scale. The amount of enjoyment that people get out of this ritual is quite something, even though the sums of money are really quite small. If you compare this with the amount of hassle (and frequent disappointments) that are involved in giving presents, this system does have a lot going for it.

People genuinely enjoy both giving and receiving Lai See, and it makes starting work after CNY a real pleasure! I previously worked in a small office with a mixture of different nationalities, but in a larger office where everyone (apart from me) is Chinese, there are a lot more people to give and receive Lai See. It’s also amusing to hear the arguments about whether people are single or not, and the pretend reluctance of some people to give Lai See to people who they believe may not really be single.

Incidentally, I get the impression that a lot of people are still on holiday. I know they say that it’s unlucky to go back to work on the 4th or 5th day, but today is the 7th day. What’s up with people?