Opinion | How the Spring Festival expanded this American’s notion of family

Having celebrated Christmas in China and Lunar New Year in the US, I’ve come to cherish loved ones on both sides of the Pacific

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A lion dance during Lunar New Year celebrations in New York’s Chinatown on February 19, 2015. Photo: Reuters

Published: 9:30am, 28 Jan 2025Updated: 12:40pm, 28 Jan 2025

Standing on a chair, a can of wasabi peas in one hand and a pair of chopsticks in the other, my Chinese 101 professor made eye contact with me. I was enthralled by her theatrical pedagogy but, like any language learner, terrified of making mistakes. After all, my last gaffe was a class favourite and not something I was particularly proud of, despite my forays into improvisational comedy.

We were learning about the ba structure, an important aspect of Mandarin that helps one describe the modification of objects. I took a reluctant jab at answering her question and, to my surprise, properly described grabbing a pea with chopsticks – a small step in a long journey that would ignite my interest in Chinese culture, language and community.

Also to my surprise, An laoshi (teacher An) saw something in me. She encouraged me to expedite my Mandarin studies in China, which I was dying to visit, in part due to the spellbinding 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics but also because of my uncle’s interest, albeit during the 1960s counterculture.

By 2013, China had undergone profound changes, from its social contradictions that both mirror and run counter to the Global South experience, to its increasing relevance in fighting climate change. I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

I enrolled in Duke University’s study-in-China programme. From breaking bread on a high-speed train with migrant workers to enjoying my favourite mapo tofu every week, to riding bicycles on the walled city in Xian, Shaanxi province, and buying a copy of Plato’s Republic in the city’s Muslim Quarter, I was captivated.

Xian’s Muslim Quarter bustling with street markets in 2018. Photographer: Christian Kober/AWL Images RM

A central theme was food. But I didn’t know the half of it until I met Sun Quan during my second year. Over a shared love of theatre and football, we became close friends. Sun invited me to Ningbo, Zhejiang province, in 2014.