The Year of the Rat

Initially, nothing unusual was apparent in Wuhan. Not long ago we just had a New Year's celebration. Chinese people felt very optimistic about this new year for two reasons. One is that the number 2020 in Mandarin sounds like “love you”. The second reason, according to the Calendar this year is the Year of the Rat symbolizing good luck and prosperity. The origin of the Chinese Zodiac is related to animal worship.Each zodiac has rich legends, and from this a system and philosophy of interrelated interpretations of concepts and images ingrained in folk culture. Each animal in the Chinese zodiac has been given corresponding ideological connotations and cultural elements. For instance, there are rats in the house, indicating that there is plenty of food and clothing. We Arabs have a famous proverb, which has similar meaning: Allah, I suspect there are no rats in the house.

I am like other students here, preparing for winter vacation. This holiday covers the Chinese New Year holiday—Spring Festival. It is the most important traditional holiday and event, and also a national holiday,normally lasting one week. The Spring Festival of 2020 is from January 24 to 31. Since the Reform and Opening up, as China's urban economy took off, many rural people started to migrate to cities, and the first choice for migration is a city near home. As the capital city of Hubei Province and the core city of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Wuhan is an important industrial, scientific and educational hub, and the first choice for all Hubei residents to migrate. Due to this, in the past 40 years, its population has increased from less than 6 million in 1980 to more than 10 million today.During the Spring Festival holiday, most residents will return to their hometown. As a result, the whole city suddenly appeared empty, without the hustling and bustling streets of the past.

On January 9, 2020, the winter vacation arrived, most of the students had left the university, while I still hesitated as to whether to return to my country for a holiday for a month and half, or stay in Wuhan to continue my research work in order to complete my PhD dissertation before the end of February.

At first, I booked a ticket to return home on January 21. Later, after serious consideration, I gave up the idea of returning to my home country.Because now Lebanon is experiencing economic, social and political crises, people are taking to the streets and demanding changes to the outdated old system. The society is very unstable. I know that if I return to Lebanon, I will not be able to concentrate on research. Therefore, I formulated an orderly study plan to ensure that my doctoral dissertation would be completed before the start of semester.