Today I learned a little bit more about my Japanese culture. This New Years we started a few new family traditions. My grandfather put this thing up by our door, and I was wondering what the heck it was. He said it was for good luck during the new years. Later at Nacos I discovered it was called Shimenawa, and its an old Japanese tradition to bring good fortune to its users. My mom and my sister also cooked zenzai, which turned out to actually be pretty tasty. Now that it is a New Year, there will be more challenges, more laughs, and more sadness. I hope the best for 2008.