ang pao

“Wah your ah boy in secondary school already ah? Heard he score very well leh. Aiyo your ah boy so smart!” “No lah no lah, he very lazy one.” For many of the larger families in Singapore, the Lunar New Year is a time of compulsory gatherings, discussed and arranged in the usual clandestine manner that middle-aged folks communicate in (i.e. hours of whispering between aunties over a landline). Planning the gathering, however, is nothing compared to being at the actual gathering. Amidst the slightly awkward dialogues and faltering false starts lie the true terror: finding a conversation starter with people you…