Servathon - Hannah's Adventure (October 25, 2015)

A great service project

This past month I had a great opportunity. I was able to serve the community while raising money for the events that the junior class (my grade) puts on. I also had some fun while serving the local community.

Every year, the junior class puts on events for the senior class, to honour their time at Dalat and the leadership roles that many of them serve in. One of the major fundraisers that each of the classes put on every year is a servathon. A servathon is when the whole class takes a day off from school and chooses a project that they want to complete that would serve the local community. The student then ask friends and family to donate to the class as they serve the local community.

Usually classes choose to do something on the mainland because that is often where serving is needed; there are lots of orphanages on the mainland. We chose to continue a current service project that Dalat already does. Every month some of the teachers along with some high school Dalat students go to a nearby local school, called SKTT, and teach the students English. Therefore, wanting to serve somewhere familiar, hoping that it would continue the relationships built with students and teachers at the school, the junior class leadership decided to paint the classrooms at SKTT for the servathon.

So, on the scheduled day of the servathon, my whole grade came to school wearing paint clothes. We all squished into school vans and were driven the short drive to the local school. We met as a class on the bottom floor of the school, prayed, and were assigned groups of 12-15 for painting. I was assigned to paint one of the upstairs classrooms with some of my friends. It seemed like it would not be too complicated, but when we got to the classroom, my group and I were surprised to see how dirty the walls were. We quickly got to work, scrubbing and scraping dirt, stickers and other things off the walls. With teamwork we got it done quickly and were ready to paint.

We went down for a quick snack that was provided by the cafeteria. Then we excitedly went up the stairs again to paint. I prepared the paint and my teammates (the only other girls in the group) picked the wall nearest the hallway and got to work. I had the roller, since I was the least artsy out of the three of my teammates, and they followed behind with a brush. We got the wall, with two coats, done faster than anticipated and were able to go to lunch earlier than most groups. Right before I went to lunch, I glanced around the room, pleased that my group got the walls done, and pleased that it looked so much nicer than when we arrived.

For lunch, I quickly grabbed McDonalds at the shopping center across the street, then hurried back to clean up the room that we had painted. We cleaned quickly, telling each other riddles as we scrubbed small paint splatters off the floor. Suddenly, one of the class sponsors ran into the room and told us to look outside. Outside, in the middle of the road, was a truck that was tipped over and heavily smoking. We noticed that next to the shopping center the people that had gone to lunch later were trapped, not wanting to cross the street when the truck was tipped over in the road. After awhile the truck stopped smoking, the other students crossed the road safely, and we finished cleaning.

But other people weren't so lucky to get everything done as fast as our group did, so my group and I quickly made ourselves useful, painting a mosaic in one of the hallways. Painting the mosaic was more challenging then painting a wall, but it turned out to be fun and relaxing as me and other students worked along the hallway doing a second coat on different colored squares. I got to know some people better while painstakingly painting the squares. Finally, after giving tons of squares a second coat, it was time for me to go at 3:30, because I had a soccer game against the JV boys that evening. We lost that game quite badly (but that is another story).

If you would like, you can still sponsor the workday I did for servathon and donate to the junior class for the events we will put on for the seniors, and for our senior trip. The entire junior class plans the prom/banquet we put on for the high school. We have a site where you can further check out the servathon and ways you can donate. So clip this link to find out more: Servathon Webpage

Cameron Highlands - Hannah's Trip (October 25, 2015)

This week for fall break, I went to the Cameron Highlands with my friends.  The Cameron Highlands are south of Ipoh, and in the state of Pahang.  The particular town where I stayed was at an altitude of 1,440 meters above sea level.  As a result, it is a lot cooler than Penang.  The average temperature in the Cameron Highlands is 18 degrees Celsius, whereas in Penang the average temperature is 28 degrees Celsius.

On Monday, we met at 10:30 and drove up to the Cameron Highlands.  It was about a 4 hour drive and we stopped along the way to get food. As we were driving up to the Cameron Highlands, it was raining quite hard and we came across a mudslide.  When the rain stopped though, we unhappily noticed that the haze was back.  We got to our hotel which was about two kilometers outside of the city and we rested for a little while.  Then we went to a large Indian restaurant for dinner.  After dinner we bought cute hats, looked around the city, and then went back to the hotel.  When we got back to the guesthouse, we watched Pride and Prejudice.

The next day we went for brunch at 11:00 or 12:00.  We noticed, as soon as we woke up, that the haze was really bad.  We went to a wonderful small Christian cafe that was in the center of Tanah Rata.  After eating at the cafe we went to a butterfly farm.  The butterfly farm was really cute because we were able to hold and look at not only butterflies, but chameleons, snakes, centipedes and even scorpions.  (I did not hold a scorpion, but some of my friends did; I was too scared.)  After going to the butterfly farm we went back to the hotel to get ready for tea time.  In the Cameron Highlands, there is an old restaurant called the Old Smokehouse that was opened in the 1920s.  It is a really wonderful restaurant with old furniture and outside are beautiful gardens.  We all got dressed up to go have tea at the Old Smokehouse and for senior pictures.

After taking pictures we decided to drive to Brinchang so we could grab some snacks to eat. My friends got some Chinese food and we headed back to the hotel. We watched The Ideal Husband, then we went to bed, having yet another late night.

On the last full day, we had another late morning, going to brunch at 12:00. We went to get crepes from a deaf couple that serves them in the middle of Tanah Rata. After eating a wonderful breakfast, we went around looking at different guesthouses on our way. Some of the guesthouses are in the middle of the jungle, only accessible by a narrow, dangerous road. We went to one of the famous strawberry farms in the Highlands.  We had to climb a small narrow road to get there, but it was really nice to be able to see all the strawberries. I thought it was really fun to be able to see the way strawberries were grown. After going to the strawberry farm we went to the Boh Tea Plantation. It is a large plantation that grows a lot of the tea sold in Malaysia. I really enjoyed being able to look over the plantation from the lookout. I was able to even buy tea from the store at the plantation.

The plantation was lovely, but I needed some dinner. So for the last supper in the Cameron Highlands my friends and I went to a really good Indian place for a nice dinner. The dinner was great. After dinner, we went back to the hotel, put henna on our hands, and then watched the Pirates of the Carribean. Finally, at like 2:00 in the morning, we were all asleep.

The next morning we were scheduled to leave. We went to have breakfast at the place where we got crepes the day before. The couple that ran the stall were both deaf. And the food was very good. We went back to the hotel, got our stuff, and packed in the car. I was sad to leave the Cameron Highlands. But at least I got a bunch of strawberries on the side of the highway while leaving the Highlands.

Kate's Birthday Party, by Kate (October 25, 2015)

My party happened a few weeks ago on a day off from school, on September 16.  It was a day off because it was Merdeka Day which is a Malaysian national holiday.

First, all my guests arrived and we did a scavenger hunt. Aimee planned it and hid all the different clues.  For the first activity we were “locked” in a room and had to get out.  We had to find different letters hidden all around the room and arrange them in a word.  Then we told the jailer, Aimee, the word and she would let us out depending on whether the word was correct.  Next, we had the main part of the scavenger hunt which was to look around the house for clues.  It was fun because we had to stick our hands in different things such as new shavings and newspaper pieces that were soaked in water.  The clues were put in plastic bags and hidden in the stuff.  The clues were different puzzles or riddles to find out where the next clue was.  Hidden in some of the clues were numbers.  We had to figure out the combination and open a treasure chest to get candy.

After the scavenger hunt we had a quick Pictionary game.  We drew on a white board that mom had got from her classroom.  We played in two teams. 

After, we had a dinner of macaroni and cheese.  My mom baked it in a casserole pan and we all had a helping.  For dessert we had red velvet cake with icing.  I got to blow out the candles.  After that we played Pit (a trading game) and we played Apples to Apples.   

This was the first room we were in. [Mom: spare bedroom upstairs]

Elizabeth is sticking her hand into one of the containers that had the clue hidden inside. [Mom: kitchen]

We are getting ready for Pictionary on the whiteboard.  It is on the left.

We are playing Pit with spoons.

Jasper Our Guinea Pig, by Elizabeth (October 18, 2015)

We have a guinea pig, Jasper. He is really cute. It is fun to research about guinea pigs. We also think our guinea pig is really cute. It is fun to interpret what his sounds are and what they mean, for example, when he chirps it means he likes something, or when he squeals it means he wants food or doesn't like what you're doing. He also does weird things like biting on the bars and eating part of my mom's apple every day. Here are some pictures of him:

Cinta Sayang Resort, by Aimee Buhr (August 7, 2105)

As you may know, the middle school goes on a retreat to Cinta Sayang Resort every year.  The seventh and eighth grades stay overnight at the resort and the sixth and fifth grades come the next day.  Since I am in eighth grade this year, this was my second and last time I stayed at the resort.

The resort is a very big area so there are many types of places you can stay.  You can stay in a bungalow, a house with separate rooms, or you can stay in the high rise apartments.  Both genders are kept separate. This year we got to stay in the nicest accommodations, the high rise apartments.  It was like a suite and had three bedrooms with a common area.  It was very nice.  The only problem was that there were six people in one of the suites and we only had one key card to share.  Also, if you wanted to go on the elevator you had to have your key card.  So I ended up using the stairs a lot.  Staying overnight was a lot of fun though.

The next day I woke up bright and early and the seventh and eighth grades walked to the water park.  We met up with the other half of the middle school.  We had a little bit of a chapel in a big room.  We also signed up for x-blocks (after school clubs).  Then we split up into groups and played a few games such as gorilla walk (a relay where you had to stick balls under your arms and legs and walk to your next teammate).  The games were pretty fun.  After we finished up on the games we had a nice buffet lunch.  We then had free time in the water park.  I went on almost all the slides.  My favorite slide was definitely the Boomerang.  It is where you go down a steep slide with an inner tube and then go up very high.  We had three hours in the water park and then we had to board the bus.  On the bus everyone was super tired and most people were sleeping.  Even though going to the resort was super tiring, it was a great way to start eighth grade.

Middle School, Part 1, by Elizabeth (August 1, 2015)

A few weeks ago we had something called a sneak peek.  It is an event that happens once a year in the elementary school.  For sneak peek we get to see what the next grade is like.  My mom has some grade 1 students come to her classroom for part of the day to see what grade 2 is like.  My class went to see what 5th grade will be like.  We had a power point.  The power point introduced middle school.  Some of the things included in the power point were middle school activities, retreats, lunchtime, and 5 minutes between classes.  Middle school activities happen at the end of the school day every Friday.  Some of the things we do in middle school activities are dodgeball, tag, and gross food eating challenges.  Every school year the Middle School goes on retreats twice.  This year they went to a water park and to a beach called Turtle Beach. I have been to Turtle Beach but I haven't been to the water park.  The thing that is different than elementary school is that we get to go to the library and we get ping pong tables.  I am looking forward to grade 5.

My memories of grade 4:  I have a lot of memories of grade 4.  Halfway through the year we had a party and a lot of hot chocolate.  Another time we had a Valentines party and we had a lot of chocolate bars.

Common Cooking Ingredients (July 25, 2015)

Fine Arts Festival and Year End Activities, by Hannah (June 10, 2015)

This year has been a blast.  Everything I tried this year I genuinely enjoyed.  There was lots of work to be done this year which paid off.  This work that I did in some of my harder classes paid off especially during the year end activities.

The first thing that I really enjoyed was the Fine Arts Festival.  This is a festival event that goes for a week featuring most of the arts students.  The AP Visual Arts students put up a huge display in the theatre of their portfolio.  The younger and less experienced arts students display outside the theatre what they have worked on. On the first night of the festival, all elementary students are featured on stage.  They present what they have learned in music class alongside their esteemed teacher, Ms. Goh.  It is a blast and is certainly enjoyable for all parents, who proudly watch their growing students. The students really enjoy it also, bragging about the confetti at the end.  I was able to watch both Lizzie's show and the other show, definitely enjoying both. My mom was responsble for being a stage manager in both shows, making the first night of the Fine Arts Festival very busy.

 
On the second night, the middle school is featured.  This was the only show I was part of.  As an AP Music Theory student, I had the responsibility of composing a song for the middle school advanced band and conducting it in front of the audiance that night in the Fine Arts Festival.  It was very exhilarating to have my composition, that I had worked very hard on, finally performed on a large stage, for the Dalat community to see.  I was very proud of the composition, and received much positive praise.  The composition itself I had spent many nights doing, during the third quarter, then missed quite a few classes to practice with the advanced band.  I never thought I would be able to conduct but I was able to pull it off, making my composition sound very good.

 
On the last night, the high school was featured in the Fine Arts Festival.  First, we listened to the band as they played the theme from the movie Les Miserables.  It was very well played, with good technique and dynamics.  Next, we listened to the choir, who spontaneously broke into song while getting up onto the stage.  They calmed down and presented for us what they had on the program.  Then finally we listened to the bright jazz brought to us by the jazz band. Lastly, the choir rushed back on stage for a special rendition of a song from High School Musical.

Overall, I really enjoyed the Fine Arts Festival, and the culmination it provided as an end to my year as an AP Music Theory student.

End of School, by Aimee (June 5, 2015)

Many things happen to come towards the ending of school.  For example, we have commencement and baccalaureate.  We also have class parties and award ceremonies.

The first thing that happens to us every year that kind of symbolizes school is ending very soon is that teachers hand out check out forms.  This is a form that you have to hand in with all the stuff that the teachers need back (i.e. textbooks) and then you will get a signature from each teacher when you hand in their stuff.  This always causes stress for me.  On the last day of school you hand it in to one of the middle school staff.

 

Another thing that happens on the last day of school is, of course, we have parties.  This year's party was really fun.  The food was delicious but my favorite food was the brownies that one of the girls in my class made.  After we had a little bit of eating time we played dodgeball (my favorite game).  We first played team dodgeball, but then we played individual dodgeball (my favorite type of dodgeball).  After we played dodgeball we went into one of the classrooms and watched a little bit of Captain America.  We only got to watch a little bit because the award ceremonies was starting.

The award ceremonies always happen on the last day of school.  This year I didn't get any prizes but some of my friends did.  It was still exciting though.  After that we had a little time to say goodbye to the people leaving.  I did not know any of the people leaving though.  After this we go and clean out our lockers and say our last goodbyes.  Then school is over.

Two formal events that happen at the end of the year are baccalaureate and commencement.  I really like both of the events.  Baccalaureate usually happens before commencement and it is more of a church service.  We usually sing hymns and then one of the class sponsors gives a sermon.  We have to dress up really nice.

Commencement is the formal event.  Commencement is basically graduation but much more formal.  Every year the graduates have a funny thing they do when Mr. Steinkamp hands them their diploma.  This year they did selfies.  Some of the graduate's poses for the selfies were really funny.  Another fun thing they did was when all the graduates walked out, they suddenly stopped  and then all of them did a kind of flash mob in the aisle.  They did the dance to Cut Loose [Mom: Footloose].  All in all it was an entertaining graduation.

The school year ended very fast but I am so glad we had some special events in the end to remember.

This is the song they danced to:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhHynAxHURA

Caving, by Eileen (May 17, 2015)

For the third year in a row, I have taken my Grade 2 class to the Gua Tempurung Caves, along with the other Grade 2 teacher and her class.  The caves are about a 2.5 hour bus ride from the school, with about a 2 hour hike in the caves.  It gets a little easier each year though there is still the anxiety about details all going smoothly and that no one gets hurt (no one ever has).  We leave at 7:30 in the morning and we get back about 5:00 and that is keeping things really tight in the schedule.

There is always the unexpected when you teach students and especially so when you take them out of the classroom.  But there is also the unexpected because we live in Malaysia.  Here are some stories about the unexpected happening on the caving field trip.

Last year, we all trooped up to the bus, knowing we had to leave promptly at 7:30, but there was no bus driver.  The bus was there but the bus driver had gone for breakfast somewhere and we couldn't figure out where. It is not as if there are a lot of eateries open around the school.  Garth, who comes on the trip every year, finally tracked him down by going onto the street and asking people walking by if they were the bus driver.

Last year one of my students missed the bus for the field trip.  We waited as long as we could but his driver didn't bring him to school until the usual time.  Either the boy's parents didn't communicate the correct time to the driver or he decided to come at the regular time anyway with the boy and his two siblings.  We were about half an hour into our trip, making good time, when I got a call from the school that the boy had arrived at school and wanted to come on the field trip, but there was nothing I could do at that point.  The driver couldn't speak English and the nanny spoke only very broken English.  I could only suggest that maybe the driver try to catch up to us in his vehicle with the student.  That seemed to be the plan and when we arrived at the caves we waited and waited for this one student but he never showed up.  It turned out the driver had changed his mind.  The boy was, understandably, very upset about missing this Grade 2 tradition.

It really bugs me that at the caves, they charge to use the washrooms - 30 sen for the toilets and 1 RM (100 sen) to use the change rooms after going through the caves.  (Why the difference in price, I have no idea). You have to bring your own toilet paper.  The toilets are disgusting - two regular sit down toilets though one of them did not work this year - and two squatty potties -

- Asian style, raised above the floor on a platform.  There is water and dirt all over the floor and the little girls this year were all plugging their noses as they waited in line.  This is not an actual picture of the squatties at the caves but a close approximate.  Sometimes at head level, there is a chain to pull up that will flush the squatty but other times there will be a big or small bucket like the one shown and you use the ladle to pour water down the squatty to flush it.  You have to use a lot of water and "flush" it fast or it doesn't flush.  I'm a roughing kind of girl but it still intimidates me to use this kind of toilet especially when there is no chain flush.  People who don't have toilet paper use the ladle and water or sometimes there is a kind of garden hose in place of toilet paper to clean yourself.

This is a squatty with a chain

This is a really nice squatty

 
Enough of toilets.  The "showers" that were offered at the caves were really large red buckets (bigger than the ones in the picture above) and you ladle the water over you.  Nobody used the showers.







It is really easy to not get your message across.  This year the only really big snafu for me was that I asked for two English-speaking guides but only one was made available.

My teaching partner, on the other hand, was in charge of getting the receipt for all the admissions.  We paid out of our own pocket for all the admissions which came to about 420 RM for both classes.  This is a somewhat usual thing for teachers to do because you are never 100% sure what the costs will be.

Singapore as a City, by Aimee (May 9, 2015)

Singapore is a really clean and modern city but it was not always like that.  It took a lot of effort to clean up the city.

Singapore started as a swampy, muddy island.  Sir Thomas Raffles was determined to create this swampy island into a British colony.  It soon developed into a major English trading post.  When the Japanese invaded Singapore, the English deserted the island and thousands of the Chinese were killed.  After the English left, the Socialist People's Action Party took over.  They ruled Singapore for a short time but then were kicked out by the Malay who wanted to have Singapore.  The People's Action Party worked hard and made Singapore a better place and it finally became independent.  The people of Singapore took action to clean up the city, for example, they did many things to raise awareness about pollution.  Right now there are 5.74 million people who live in Singapore.

Grade 6, by Kate (May 9, 2015)

These are some things coming up or have happened in Grade 6.  I have been enjoying Grade 6.

On Wednesday, March 25, we had a Passover Seder.  We talked about the meanings of the food and the decorations and why we celebrate Passover.  We celebrate the Passover because we celebrate how God “passed over” the Israelites.  It was a half day so I spent the rest of the day in the library and on the computer.

On March 27, we had a No Uniform Day.  We had to pay 10 RM which is around $3.43.  We then got a ribbon which was our receipt.  The money went to an organization called Care and Share.  They go and take the money and buy things so the places they work with can have more things and then the people can feel blessed.  Every so often on Sunday, my mom and I go with some other families to the Adventist Hospital to bless the children there.  One of the families who goes has a son that does magic tricks.  Some of them are really impressive.  For one of them he can make a coin disappear.  It is really amazing.

Today, March 28, if I get all my jobs done, I might be able to go and watch the movie Cinderella which is in the theaters.  Soon, coming up, I have a play called Simon Says. No, we do not play Simon Says, but it is about how Simon Peter was tried and he went to court.  I have to make a sign in the beginning for a song.  We will act that out.  I cannot wait.  I will play a statistician.  I will have to present research about the prophecies of the Bible.  My mom has a flip chart so I might use it because I have a really long line about the prophecies.  I am also thinking of wearing a wig and then having it fall off.  I cannot wait.  I hope I do not mess up though like I did last time.

These are some of the things that will and have happened in Grade 6.

Greek Myths, by Elizabeth (May 1, 2015)

I like to read books that have to do with Greek myths. I am the expert at Greek myths so I will tell you some information.  First off is the Greek gods:
Zeus - is the king of the gods and the ruler of the sky and god of thunder
Poseidon - the god of the sea, mer people, and sea nymphs
Hades - the god of the underworld and dead people
Those are the most important gods.

Apollo - god of archery, medicine, sun, poetry, and musical stuff
Aphrodite - the goddess of beauty and love
Athena - the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy
Artemis - the goddess of the moon and archery
Hestia - goddess of the hearth
Ares - god of battle and fighting
Dionysus - the god of drinks and theater
Hera - goddess of women, children, and protector of the family
Hephaestus - god of fire and metal
Hermes - god of trickery, stealing, and a messenger
Demeter - god of plants and the harvest

My Friends, by Elizabeth (April 28, 2015)

I have a lot of friends because here at Dalat you usually have a lot of friends.  So I will tell you about my friends.
1. There is Karis. She is nice because she is fair in games. She is 10 and from America.
2. Jeta is nice. She is from America but she is part Albanian. She has a cute little brother named Kai who is in preschool. Jeta has a good sense of humor.
3. Jordan is kind, calm, and smart. She always has good tactics for Capture the Flag and she has a way of figuring things out.
4. Next there is Zoei. She is a lot like Jordan.  She is honest and trustworthy.
5. Lydia has a good sense of humor. She is a fast runner but sometimes she doesn't pay attention because she likes to goof off.
6. Hailey is calm and quiet and she is good at spying sometimes.
7. Beatrice is a bit bossy but she is a very good friend but sometimes she is a bit secretive.  I used to be really good friends with her.
8. Caitlyn is from Canada. She is a good friend but sometimes she can be dishonest.
9. Jasmine is nice and quiet. She is a lot like Zoei. I really like her. She can be very, very calm and she gets a bit more attention then Zoei.
10. Angelia helps with the stuff we play at recess and we always make deals.

MSSPP Track and Field, by Hannah (April 11, 2015)

This year I was given the privilege of competing at States for cross country, competing at Zones for two running events, and competing at the State level track and field meet. For cross country, I placed 11th at States for a 4 kilometer race. After I completed the cross country season with the race at States, I signed up for the 800 meter and the 3000 meter.  I do not enjoy the 3000 meter as it is always much more challenging. I do enjoy the 800 meter more though, as it is less challenging and I can go faster.  I then began to train for track and field. This involves running intervals and also doing timed kilometers during practice as well as running much on my own. This training, though tedious, can be very fun and enjoyable as it prepares me well for the Zone and State meets.

In addition, this year I am in the U18 category, so it is much more scary to compete and train. The first race I did was the 800 meter.  This is a race that I have never done at a State level before, so before my race I was very nervous.  I had a half day of school before the race so I was even more nervous leading up to my race. Even more, during lunch before my race a guy asked me to JSB (more on that later).  So overall, that day was a very crazy day.  Before my race I was nervous.  It was only me, another girl from Dalat, and quite a few local girls, but due to an issue with registration, the other girl from Dalat was only allowed to run for time, not placing.  In addition, I was running against girls that had beat me when I was in the U15 category.  So after the gun went off, I paced myself nicely behind the fastest girl.  After the second lap, I was able to pass her and gain a significant lead.  I was really happy to win the 800 meter for my Zone, especially since I had not run that at Zones before.  For my second race, the 3000 meter, I was not as nervous. I have done that race every year since I came to Dalat.  I knew that it would be extremely intense as always, and it was. That is why I was very glad to do much, much better then I did last year.  I got a much better time and placed much better.  I was happy to get third. So I am very excited to qualify for States in the 800 meter and get a good placing in both.

At States, the following week, I competed in the 800 meter heat.  I had a great time and had a wonderful run after a half day at school. I did not make it to the final because I merged too early in the heat resulting in a disqualification.  I am glad though that I was able to set a PR and prepare for next year in track and field.  I came in at 2:56 for the 800 meter.  This is a time that, before all the training I've put in, I never thought I could run.  It was one of the fastest times out of all the girls competing for state champ. So therefore, the disqualification showed me that I was more capable than I thought I was.  In addition, it taught me that I need to be very careful to listen and pay attention while I am racing and playing sports to do what needs to be done and not break rules.

City Stadium - the stadium I competed at 

Sunrise before my second race

Chinese New Year, by Hannah (March 1, 2015)

Gong Xi Fa Cai! Here in Malaysia, we are welcoming in the year of the goat. This year Chinese New Year started on Thursday, February 19.  In the days prior to Chinese New Year, people clean their houses and put up red lanterns and curtains across their door.  On the eve of Chinese New Year, people set off fireworks and in general make a lot of noise, just as could be expected with a new year in North America. On the first day of Chinese New Year, people visit with their families, give out Ang Pow, and often invite Lion Dances to their homes.  These are supposed to bring good luck and prosperity for the new year.  Traffic can get really bad on the eve of Chinese New Year and on the days afterwards. People are travelling home to their families even if they are on the other side of the country. When the families gather, often for a meal on the first day of Chinese New Year, ang pow is given out to teenagers and children in families.  Ang Pow are packets of money given out to bring prosperity in the new year. 

People will hang red over their doors.

This is what a lion would look like in a lion dance though usually a little smaller.