I don’t know if I’ve seen anything much funnier than a wharf full of tipsy Asian people ringing in the new year in a writhing dissonant mass to “Gangnam Style.” Punctuated by a rhythm challenged Italian family and the tallest, most beautiful African woman, most of the people fell short of her shoulder since she was taller than Tony, they rode their horses out of 2012 and into 2013 with gusto, while we collapsed in piles of laughter.

The children ordered Coke floats and carefully sipped around their enormous balls of ice cream.

Of course they’d expected vanilla, but no one was really surprised when the tall fluted glasses were delivered over flowing with bubbles and an enormous dollop of deep lavender ice cream bobbed in the center: Yam. They’ve come to like yam ice cream, but it’s unanimous that it does not belong in a Coke float.

I don’t know when the boys have had more fun.

It brought them great joy to watch Hannah suffer through the set of top ten pop music, which she hates, while grumbling about the musical decay of society. They crowed especially loud when “Baby,” by Justin Bieber, came whining through the speakers and the DJ, in his stilted English announced, “Dis one very special request, for Hannah…. my daughter!” I thought Coke float might come right out someone’s nose. Hannah dropped her head into her hands and sighed. It is an understatement to say that she is not a Bieber fan.

We hollered the countdown into the warm tropical night and it echoed back out over the South China Sea and into the new year…. 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… !!!… HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! and then the crowd erupted in Gangham Style.

For my mother and the five other people on the planet who don’t know what Gangnam Style is, here ya go:

Click here for the Gangnam Style Video (I couldn’t embed this, sorry, our internet is the worst we have EVER had)

We danced three more songs, Ezra being dragged into the center to reluctantly do the Macarena (which almost no one in the crowd actually knew!) while Orion twinkled and moon walked his way across a velvet sky set with disco ball stars, into next year.

Who knows what the next year will hold for us all? It is my sincere hope, for your family and ours, that it is filled with Love, Peace, and Joy in the journey. 

Happy New Year!