Rat. Ox. Tiger.

No, it’s not a strange sort of zoo, it’s the first three signs of the Chinese zodiac.

Unlike the western astrological chart, which changes monthly through the year, the Chinese signs change just once a year at the beginning of Chinese New Year.

The Chinese zodiac consists of a 12-year cycle, and each year is named after a different animal that imparts certain characteristics to its year. Many Chinese believe that the year of a person’s birth is the primary factor in determining that person’s personality traits, and physical and mental attributes.

Feb. 5, 2000 marks the beginning of a new year, the year of the dragon. This is made even more special in that it is also the beginning of spring, according to the Li-Chun website at chinapage.com. Unlike the other animals of the Chinese zodiac, the dragon is a mythical creature, and the sign of good luck and vital health. Dragon years are traditionally filled with pageantry, festivals, and elaborate celebrations: "a year of potential extravagance, grandiose ambitions and enterprises," according to Li-Chun.

The essence of dragon years is unpredictability, and the culminating point in this dragon year will be Autumn. This dragon year is also particularly good for business matters.

To find out more about your own personal sign, scan the list below for your birth year. Be careful, though, because Chinese New Year can occur as early as mid-January or late February. So, if you were born in either January or February, your actual sign may be from the year before. These descriptions were provided by Sabrina’s Chinese Astrology website.

• The Restless Rat (1996, 1984, 1972, 1960, 1948, 1936): A sign of charm and aggressiveness, those born under the rat are expressive and sometimes talkative. Although rats tend to be narrow-minded and overly critical, they are also very generous and loyally devoted to those they love.

• The Diligent Ox (1997, 1985, 1973, 1961, 1949, 1937): Ox people are hard working and persistent. They are very observant, with remarkable memories, but also stubborn and dogmatic. Responsible and loyal, they are also very family-oriented, conservative, and faithful.

• The Powerful Tiger (1998, 1986, 1974, 1962, 1950, 1938): Tigers are born leaders with magnetic characters that are hard to resist. They are tempestuous, yet calm, warm-hearted yet fearsome. Tigers are capable of great love, but also tend to be stubborn about what they think is right.

• The Delicate Rabbit (1999, 1987, 1975, 1963, 1951, 1939): Rabbits are usually kind, sweet, and well liked by people. But even though they are popular and loved by their family and friends, rabbits are also pessimistic. They are conservative and insecure, so they don’t like changes. Rabbits don’t like to argue and enjoy quiet, peaceful lives. They are also sentimental and compassionate.

• The Celestial Dragon (2000, 1988, 1976, 1964, 1952, 1940): Dragons are also natural leaders; they get things started and keep them moving. Full of life and enthusiasm, dragons are generous and intelligent. However, they can also be irritable and stubborn, and often lose their tempers easily.

• The Diplomatic Snake (2001, 1989, 1977, 1965, 1953, 1941): Snakes are wise, romantic, and charming—natural seducers. Snakes are deep thinkers, but they also tend to procrastinate and can be stingy about money.

• The Productive Horse (2002, 1990, 1978, 1966, 1954, 1942): Horse people are active and energetic. They are very hard working and independent. Intelligent and friendly, they can sometimes be a bit selfish. Horses are adept at handling money and make good financiers.

• The Gentle Goat (2003, 1991, 1979, 1967, 1955, 1943): Also known as the Ram, these people are elegant, charming, artistic, and fond of nature. Goats are also insecure; they need to feel loves and protected. Although they are dreamers who enjoy material comforts, and they can sometimes be pessimistic and over-anxious worriers.

• The Merry Monkey (2004, 1992, 1980, 1968, 1956, 1944): Monkeys are fun and loving people who are always cheerful and energetic. They are also clever at problem solving and good with their hands. Those born under the monkey usually have a great thirst for knowledge, but they have few scruples and can be unreasonable sometimes.

• The Enthusiastic Rooster (2005, 1993, 1981, 1969, 1957, 1945): Rooster people are very observant and are usually very accurate and precise with their observations. The rooster likes to be noticed and flattered, but his mind is cautious and skeptical, so he is not easily fooled.

• The Dutiful Dog (2006, 1994, 1982, 1970, 1958, 1946): Dog people are honest, faithful, and sincere. They respect tradition, value honor, and enjoy helping people. The dog has the most profound sense of duty and takes everything seriously. Dogs also tend to worry too much and find fault with others.

When I was little, I used to go to picnics at amusement parks that were organized by my school. Those were the days when moms would roll Korean sushi, called kimbop, for their children. Unlike Japanese sushi, there is no fish in kimbop. For the picnic, our moms would make four rolls of kimbop for each of their children, two for us and two for our teachers.

At the picnic, we used to share each others’ kimbop because it would taste different depending on what recipe was used. Each home had a different and unique taste of its own. We would comment on each others’ kimbop or brag about our moms’ good kimbop-making-skills.

Kimbop is got-to-have food when there is a picnic. In fact, many Korean people have an emotional attachment to the word "kimbop" because we think of it when we think of picnics.

"Kim" means seaweed and "bop" means rice. Kimbop is rice and vegetables wrapped in seaweed. It originated from rice balls, which developed during the 1950s’ Korean war. Refugees from the fighting had to prepare convenient food to eat on the run. Since then, Koreans continue to wrap seaweed around mixtures of marinated vegetables and meat with rice.

Kimbop is nutritious and low in calories. Anyone concerned about being over weight might want to try kimbop for lunch. Some people even claim that you can eat as much kimbop as you like and lose weight.

Yo! What’s Up? Hey Y’all! Howzit! Howdie!

These are different ways a person could say hello in English but they are not common to every local. Every community has its own slang. A person who understands Southern Califorina slang won’t necessarily understand Hawaiian pidgin, even though Hawaiian locals might understand some S.C. slang because they watch TV. The relationship between slang and pidgin can be seen by comparing a trip to Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park told in three different ways: Grammatically correct English, pidgin, and slang.

Grammatically correct English

Yesterday my friends and I went to the new water park called Hawaiian Waters. We got there at 9:45 a.m. and left at 4 p.m. The park was small and crowded, but we still enjoyed ourselves. We all got on the scarest ride The Cliffhanger.

The Cliffhanger is the tallest water slide that they have. It goes straight down. This ride was so high that at the top you could see the freeway, and when we were on the freeway we could see the ride.

The park has other slides that where also fun. My favorite was the Wahine Coaster which offers a choice of four slides each of which has a lot of twists and turns. Two of the slides are tunnels, which made them more exciting because we couldn’t see where we were going. It was scary because we didn’t know when a curve was coming up. When we finally came out of the tunnel, we flipped out of our two-seat tube into a pool. We were laughing so hard, our friend told me that we had been screaming in the tunnel. And she said that we were the only ones who fell out of the in tube

We got on another ride called the Flyin’ Hawaiian. with a closed and an open slide that end three feet short of a 12 foot deep pool. When my friends and I got on this ride, I went to lay down on the slide and slipped and fell all the way. But it was fun. Then we all went to sit under a nice waterfall and just relaxed. We stayed at the waterfall for about an hour and then we left the park to get some food at Zippy’s in Pearl City and recap our day. When we were all finished with our food, we all went home to sleep.

A Local Person speaking pidgin tells the same story

"Da ada day, me and my friends wen go to da Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. We wen get dthere at 9:45 in da mornig and we nevha leave um til was almost dak. Wen get choke people ho, but was good fun. Anyways, first we wen go on da cliffhanger ride, buh da bugga go straight down one side of a suckin mountain. Unreal cuz den we wen go on da uta ones dat get twists and turns.

Ho, da best one was da one widt the closed tunnel twist slide called Wahine Coaster. Me and my friends who wen go on um together had choke fun cuz wen we was goin down da slide it was dak and ho cuz we nevah see nuttin. Da reason was choke fun was cuz we nevah see da next turn, and wen we came out of da tunnel, we wen fal out of da tube into da watha. My outa friend said she could tell it was us cause our big mout’s and all da noise we was making.

I wen go on da Flyin Hawaiian was good fun, even though wen I went fo go lay down, I slipped and wen fall down da slide into a twelv foot deep pool. Was choke fun.

Me and all my friends wen have a good time. We go ta kick em in da watha fall area to relax fo about one hour, and den we all left and wen go grind at Zippy’s in Pearl City. We wen wala au (talk story), den we wen drive da rest of da way home and wen moi moi (sleep)."

This story told by a Person from Southern California in street slang

"Check dis out. Yesterday me and my homies went to um this Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park. It was off the hook. We got ther bout 9:45 and didn’t leave til bout four. Man, it was small and packed, but we still did our thang. We got on all da ridez. We got on dis on called Cliffhanger, and it is tight. You go straight down dis long dropp, and it was mad fun.

It was dis otha ride called um Wahine Coaster, and it was so phat. Da ride had a bunch of twist and turns and stuff; it was off the meat rack. Me and my girl went on it, and we had mad fun cuz we couldn’t see nothin, and we fell out of the tube in da water when we came out of the tunnel. Man my otha homie was talk all this head bout how loud and ghetto we are. We was like whateva; we was having fun.

Oh yeah we got on dis otha ride called the Flyin Hawaiian and that was tight too. When I went on dat ride, I slipped down the slide into dis 12-foot pool, and I tried to play it off but I was laughing and stuff and it was fun.

Me and my girlz went ova to dis small waterfall and chilled there fo bout an hour, and then we shook the spot cuz we wanted some food. So we rolled ova to Zippy’s and got some food, and we was just talkin about what we did, and then we bounce and went home and to sleep."

Hawaiian pidgin and S.C. slang are both forms of pidgin. S.C. slang evolved from Black English, a mixture of English and the native languages of the first African-Americans spoke. Today it is also known as Creole pidgin and is the basis of modern American slang.