Which, of course, meant that she got to do exactly that. Plan a party for the Winter Solstice. And since she was Chinese, why not take the liberty to have it for Dong Zhi Jie, like back home? Barring the fact that her mandarin was terrible and she'd tried to get out of any and all family gatherings... Hey. If it was an opportunity to eat food and drink dessert soups, then she was all for it. And it was cold outside, and warm room! Warm face! Warm hands!
But it still didn't ease the strain on the teacher.
An ended up roping Henghai and Reen into the whole planning shindig. Henghai, being staff nurse and smart guy, was in charge of most of the food items. Reen could do security and get the other foods -- the foods catering to Manta Carlos' more carnivorous-inclined inhabitants. An was going to focus on making tang yuan -- and lots of it.
As it was, An spent three whole days just rolling the tang yuans. She stored them in her fridge, wrapped in cling wrap so they didn't dry out. She'd prepped three flavours -- peanut, black sesame, and plain balls. The fillings were surrounded by a thin layer of glutinous rice flour dough; for the gluten-intolerant people, An had scrounged around on the internet for a suitable replacement. It felt just like home, making the desserts with her family, except now she was alone and prepping for an estimated... over five people. Ten people? Twenty? Who knew??
When the day arrived she made sure to reach the City Hall early. An set up chairs and tables. She hung lanterns from the ceiling. She put up red banners on the walls and wasn’t there supposed to be a photobooth somewhere? On each table were six glass pots of tang yuan -- one for each flavour and dough type. Each pot had a generous serving of balls and sweet ginger soup. The peanut ones were pink, the black sesame white, and the plain ones orange. She knew Reen and Henghai would be arriving soon, so when An had done all there was to do on her side, she just... kinda stood around checking and hoping she really had accounted for everything.
@Lotharingia @Keen and anyone else who wants in! You can say An asked your character to help out with this event (just mention in your post and what you're contributing — doesn't have to be food) if you wanna help. If you wanna just participate, that's good too! This is open to all characters regardless of race!
Things your character can potentially be asked to help with: decorations, food, photobooth, set up and tear down, maintainance, security, social interaction, explaining the significance of festival/food, and others if you can think of them!
Setting: 21 December 2018, just before sunset.
please join i am awkward