My first lunar new year in Taiwan was three weeks after I arrived, and only a few days after I moved into my apartment. I was far from lonely, but I was technically alone.
Since then, a lot changed during the Year of the Rabbit.
Now, as I enter the Year of the Dragon, my life couldn’t be richer.
For my first 12 months in Taiwan, I said “yes” to almost every social opportunity. It feels sinister to say I was strategic about building friendships—perhaps more open than my introverted tendencies usually allow is a better way to put it—and it’s paid off.
A year ago, I knew no one in Taiwan. Now, I have friends in Kaohsiung and across the country. (Many are technically ‘acquaintances’, but I choose to round up.)
Join friends’ New Year’s Eve family dinners (家族聚餐) in Kaohsiung and Pingtung
Shop for decorations at Sanfengzhong Street (三鳳中街)
Play mahjong (麻將) and the scratch card lottery (刮刮樂)
Exchange red envelopes (紅包)
Eat more and more delicious food
Prevously, I understood lunar new year was special but I didn’t feel it.
Now, I get it, 100%.
These ducks aren’t a normal feature of the new year. Which is a good thing, as I couldn’t handle this much yellow on an annual basis.
If you want to learn more about the standard, duck-free lunar new year—including why it came nearly three weeks later this time—I recommend reading Happy Year of the Dragon! by Taiwan-based writer John Groot.
And may you, too, have good fortune in the Year of the Duck Dragon!