[Tim_Lou]

well, happy chinese new year to me...
tomorrow is 1/1 according to the "old Chinese calendar" (dont know what to call it)
cheers!

anyway, i still have to go to school tomorrow...whereas the people in China probably have been on vacation for a week...

[Fishteacher73]

And today is Mardi Gras....Last day to get down and party before you have to give it up for god for 40 days....At least it is an excuse to over indulge and see naked people, there are definately worse things...

[Buffy]

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

and

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez!

Cheers,
Buffy

[IrishEyes]

Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez

And today is Mardi Gras....Last day to get down and party before you have to give it up for god for 40 days

I spoke with my brother this morning. He's a bartender in N'awlins... Besides telling me that his car was totalled, he also told me that my niece is out of school ALL WEEK. She goes to a private Catholic school (a totally different subject, especially considering my brother is decidely atheistic!), and they are closed in observance of Mardi Gras. Well, it's actually partly for Ash Wednesday, and because basically the whole city shuts down for most of the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Interestingly enough to me, this very Catholic school is only closed for two days in observance of Easter. Hmmm. Just not sure what that says, but I'm sure someone can tell us.
He is, of course, very upset about the school closing, as tuition is outrageous regardless of how many days they close.

[IrishEyes]

Oh yeah

Happy Chinese New Year, Tim!!!

[Tim_Lou]

Originally Posted by Buffy

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Buffy

nice one

change "Fat" to "Fart", it sounds more accurate...

[TINNY]

people here spell it Gong Xi Fa Chai.
anyway, happy new year to you Tim!

got some mandarine oranges?

[Buffy]

Originally Posted by Tim_Lou

change "Fat" to "Fart", it sounds more accurate...

As you may be aware, we have a *very* large Chinese population here in California. As a result, we've all heard the "correct" pronuciation and chuckled about it, but the Chinese very delicately spell it "Fat" to avoid offending the natives (and now the FCC!).

Cheers!
Buffy

[Fishteacher73]

Originally Posted by IrishEyes

I spoke with my brother this morning. He's a bartender in N'awlins... Besides telling me that his car was totalled, he also told me that my niece is out of school ALL WEEK. She goes to a private Catholic school (a totally different subject, especially considering my brother is decidely atheistic!), and they are closed in observance of Mardi Gras. Well, it's actually partly for Ash Wednesday, and because basically the whole city shuts down for most of the weeks leading up to Fat Tuesday. Interestingly enough to me, this very Catholic school is only closed for two days in observance of Easter. Hmmm. Just not sure what that says, but I'm sure someone can tell us.
He is, of course, very upset about the school closing, as tuition is outrageous regardless of how many days they close.

When I was young I lived in N.O., If you have never been there durring Mardi Gras, it cand be quite crazy. Many schools close down for purly logistic reasons (The huge influx of tourists makes transportation a nightmare). I also think I remember that this is the "Spring Break" and we did not have a longer break around Easter. One of the bonuses of the heavy Catholic population was that the schools usually served red beans and rice on friday (No meat).

As for private schools; In N.O., the public schools are pathetic. It was commonly said that if you want your child to be able to read, go to private school.