Goodbye 2009, welcome 2010

A very exciting year for me is over. In the Chinese calendar, 26 January 2009 - 14 February 2010 is the Year of the Ox, and I'm an Ox person. I completed 3 cycles of 12 years. My granny who was born in 1913 has done 8 such cycles: she's an Ox too, as I just realized.

I was blessed with a fantastic travel to a far away country I've never been before, Australia. I plunged myself into the unknown and put my life skills to the test. I saw a thousand picturesque places, marvels of Nature, fascinating animals. And above all, I met and befriended wonderful people. Thank you, Universe.

The four children here are Sternsinger who visited our house this afternoon (Jan 2nd). This is a custom in Germany in the days before and around Epiphany. The kids are dressed up as the Three Magi and one of them carries a star on a pole. They sing a song, say a rhymed blessing and collect donations for charity. And they write the traditional blessing formula with chalk above your door: 20 * C + M + B * 10.

In English they are called "Star boys", but in this case that would be a misnomer as all four were girls. :)