Clark Diaries

26th Jan, 2009

Obama is in office! & Happy Chinese New Year!

Cheers, Obama is in office! Tuesday Jan 20th, was certainly one of the most memorable days in the American history: the inauguration day for Barack Obama, the first African American president. I was in the cafeteria around 12 pm watching the inaugural ceremony. The cafe has never been this quiet when Obama started his oath, everyone staring at the big screen, some with mouth open and some with forks in their hands. One of my suitemate went to Washington D.C to see the inauguration and she was really excited. She said she woke up at 5am in the morning in order to get a good spot. It is said that there were 1.5 million people at the National Mall, which is more than the population of Vermont. Obama said, “On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord”, which I thought was really inspiring even though I am not an American citizen. I am looking forward to seeing how he really makes a difference and if he can save the country in the midst of the crisis.

Cheers, it is Chinese New Year today! It is a time when all the Asians celebrate the Lunar New Year. This also indicates the advent of the spring, so another name for it is Spring Festival. There was a big celebration in Dana commons organized by the intercultural office. We had great food–Chinese spring rolls, Vietnamese summer rolls, Japanese sushi, boba tea, fruit and jelly drink, and of course the traditional new year dish dumplings. The Chinese classes played a drama and sang two songs. I was really proud since many of the performers were my students– I am the Chinese Teaching Assistant for Chinese 101/102. There were also DDR, Wii, Karaoke and Mah Jong that people can play. I had a great time hanging out with my friends and celebrating Chinese New Year with students from over all the world.