Anne Ruisi (from the United States)

1. What's your favorite food for Spring Festival?

Dumplings! My late father's family is Italian, so I was raised on ravioli. When I had my first dumpling, I thought, 'What a wonderful twist on ravioli!' A few years ago at a Spring Festival dinner where I was a guest, we made our own dumplings and it was so much fun! I love cooking and that was a treat. My favorite dumpling is steamed pork with cilantro but I also like fried beef dumplings.

2. What would you like to do most during the Spring Festival?

Get some rest! I am working through most of Spring Festival, including New Year's Eve, so I will be in Beijing. But, I really hope I can attend one of the temple fairs. I love seeing families enjoy the games and performances. Strolling through the vendor area is fun and I usually end up buying several mementos and playing some of the games. During the Year of the Horse I won a couple of stuffed animals.

3. What was the biggest change in your life during the past year?

My beloved mother died in October. She had been ill for about two years after breaking her hip and was suffering from the early stages of dementia. I last spoke to her about a week before she died and she was fairly cognizant. My sisters called me the day before she died to tell me to come home immediately, but I didn't get there in time. It's been difficult sometimes to live so far from my family and I felt terrible I was still on the plane when she passed away. But my family said that when they told her, 'Anne is coming home,' she smiled.