It's February 1st, Chinese New Year day and I find myself here in Taiwan wondering what life has in store for me.

This is my first Chinese New Year here and I find that it's the biggest holiday of the year. Most people labor for the entire year to have a few days rest during the Chinese New Year. The anticipation in the air, the preparations, the merry cheer, all like St. Nick is about to come. But it's not Christmas, it's new years. Everything is decked out in red, people are starting to wear more red, all the vendors are selling more red, including red underwear, socks, shoes...everything is red... Okay, there's some gold thrown in too, just to break up the wash of red that is flooding the streets.

People are paying respects to their ancestors and burning paper money and of course, preparing a feast of food appropriate for a prosperous new year.

This is the year of the Sheep. May you all have a Happy New Year. May it be prosperous, filled with good health, good luck and, of course, plenty of good cheer!