The Year of the Dog

At dinner, Pacy marvels at the food: a whole fried fish, dumplings, vegetables, steamed buns, shrimp, and pork. As they sit, her dad explains that all of it represents wealth. As they joke about the fried dumplings representing gold coins and suggest that money could be made by selling them, Pacy’s grandfather calls to wish them a happy new year. They talk about how rich he is, and Pacy’s mom tells the story of how their grandfather earned his money.

When their grandfather finished medical school, he opened a clinic in his neighborhood but had no patients because people were hesitant to go to a new, young doctor. One night, as he sat alone in his clinic, a street vendor who had been robbed and injured came looking for help. Without hesitation, their grandfather worked through the night to save the man. When the man seemed well enough, their grandfather went home, telling the man that he would return in the morning. However, when he arrived, the man was gone because he could not afford medical services. Word spread in the village about their grandfather’s compassion, and soon, he had many patients who were able to pay for his services.

After dinner, Pacy’s parents give the girls hong bao, red envelopes containing money. As Pacy’s mother helps the girls prepare for bed, she reveals that, typically, children are supposed to stay awake as long as possible on this night because the longer they remain awake, the longer their parents will live. However, because it is a school night, Pacy’s mom insists that they go to bed. Once her mother leaves, Pacy worries and wonders how long each wakeful minute will add to her parents’ lives. Pacy and Lissy turn on their lights and discuss their future careers. Lissy wants to be a doctor, but Pacy is unsure what she wants to be, so Lissy advises her sister to find a talent. Although she is worried about this daunting task, Pacy realizes that she has a whole year to find herself.

The next morning, Pacy is exhausted. When her mom teases her for being lazy, Pacy asks if school will help her find her talent. Her mother confirms this and tells Pacy about her own experience in a school in Taiwan. At an assembly in the courtyard, during which the students had to stand at attention and stay silent, Pacy’s mom fell asleep standing up because the speaker’s voice was so soft and quiet. When she woke, she was alone except for a teacher standing angrily in front of her. Pacy marvels that her mother could sleep while standing up, and her mom jokes that she is talented.

As Lissy and Pacy walk to the bus stop, Pacy notes that next year, Lissy will be in junior high, so Pacy will be the only Chinese student in the elementary school. This makes Pacy think about how she is Taiwanese, not Chinese, even though some people believe that Taiwan is part of China. Confused, Pacy once asked her mother what she should tell people about her heritage. Her mother responded, “You tell them that you’re American” (19). Pacy notes that no one calls her any of these things. Instead, they call her Grace, her American name.

At school, Pacy’s friend Becky asks about the Year of the Dog, so Pacy explains that there is a different animal assigned to each year. Intrigued, Becky wants to know about the year of the unicorn. When Becky is disappointed that there is no such thing, Pacy pretends that there is a unicorn day every leap year. The bell rings for lunch, but when the girls get in line for food, the lunch lady refuses to serve Pacy, claiming that she has already served the girl. Puzzled, Pacy is adamant that she has not eaten. It is only when Becky comes to her defense that the lunch lady gives food to Pacy. Sitting down, the girls see a new student, another Chinese girl, and they realize that the lunch lady thought that she and Pacy were the same person. Despite this microaggression, Pacy is excited to meet the new girl.

When Pacy and Becky sit with the new student, Melody, the girl knows Pacy’s name because their mothers have already met. Becky insists that Pacy’s name is Grace, which confuses Melody. Pacy explains that she has two names and that Grace is her American name. She and Melody discover that they have a lot in common. When they begin talking about Chinese New Year, Becky expresses her excitement about the Day of the Unicorn. When Melody looks confused, Pacy turns red with embarrassment at her earlier lie. However, Melody pretends to know what it is and smiles at Pacy. The two girls are instant friends.

When Pacy arrives home that day, she learns from her mom that Melody’s family is also Taiwanese American. Pacy goes to Melody’s house that afternoon and has fun meeting Melody’s brothers and drawing animals together. Everyone soon gets hungry and migrates to the kitchen. Unable to find any delicious snacks, they end up eating a jar of vitamins. When Melody’s mom finds them, she is upset and agrees to make them dinner.

Then, Pacy shares the story of how she came to be called Grace at school. On her first day, the teacher insisted that she be called Grace because that was the name listed on her roster. On the bus that day, Pacy asked Lissy about it, and Lissy told her that they each have a Chinese name and an American name. (Lissy explained that she was called Beatrice at school because the name is easier.) Lissy insisted that the different names did not matter, because Pacy was always the same person no matter what she was called. When Pacy finishes this story, she tells Melody that she can call her by either name.

When they sit down to dinner at Melody’s house, Pacy notices that the Chinese food looks different; everything is extra healthy, with brown rice, no sauces, and nothing fried. Pacy tries to eat the food but cannot, and Melody’s mom believes that she must be sick from eating too many vitamins. When Pacy’s mom picks her up, Pacy asks if Melody can come to her house for dinner next time.