Merry Christmas!I hope that each of you had the opportunity to rejoice and share in the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season. If we had any hopes that our holidays would be less busy here in China, they quickly melted like this morning’s snowfall! Even so, it was a wonderful and memorable Christmas.
Last week was a quieter week for me. I spent the week giving exams, and meeting various people for lunch dates. Brad completed classes in some instances and gave exams in others. On Friday, Brad and I departed for Beijing on a 2:00pm train to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. We spent two nights at the Chongwenmen Hotel, where we enjoyed Western-style accommodations, treadmills in the exercise room, and the one English Channel (CCTV-9) on the television. For dinner we ate at a local Pizza buffet, and enjoyed the long-lost flavors of Hawaiian Pizza and Soft-serve Ice Cream.
Saturday was spent roaming the subways and shopping districts of Beijing. We bought lunch at a grocery store, and then headed for the Silk Market. We found a few Christmas gifts there, and then headed for the Clothing Market. On the way, we walked by the Worker’s Gymnasium and Worker’s Stadium and stopped for photos. We laughed when we saw an Outback Steakhouse, and then a Hooter’s restaurant here in Beijing. Who would have thought? We ended up eating a delicious dinner at the Outback before heading home. Sunday was spent much the same, as we snacked on our mantou (steamed bread), and walked around the Pearl Market to finish our Christmas shopping. After visiting Starbucks, we were on our way back home to our more Chinese-style of life in Langfang. It was a very relaxing weekend in all, and a great time to reconnect with one another, sharing long uninterrupted conversations over meals.
Monday was a hectic day, as we ran around finishing errands, buying groceries, purchasing gifts, wrapping gifts, and preparing food for Christmas. At 7:30pm we participated in the Christmas Program hosted by the English Department on campus. The students put on a fabulous talent show, full of music, theatre, dance, acrobatics, poetry, and humor. Over 1,000 students filled the auditorium, and many more stood in the back, the aisle, and in the lobby trying to glimpse the action on-stage. The foreign teachers were in three acts. Peter sang a song in Chinese, Shannon sang “O Holy Night” while playing her guitar, and Newt, Brad, and I sang our own version of “The 12 Days of Christmas,” which included “12 toilets flushing, 11 mantou steaming (bread), 10 plates of dumplings (jaozi), 9 popcorn popping, 8 Christmas apples, 7 chopsticks (kuazi) chopping, 6 bowls of rice (mifan), 5 laowai (foreigners), 4 chicken eggs, 3 knife-cut noodles, 2 bars of soap, and a pretty lady sitting on my knee.” We had a great time, and by the time we were done, the stage was a mess, and the audience was clapping and laughing as they sang along with us.
After the program, we headed back to our apartment for a candlelight Christmas Eve meeting. Newt led, and we all enjoyed the time of thinking about the true meaning of Christmas, and about our families and friends at home.
Christmas Day was probably one of the busiest Christmases I have ever celebrated. That is probably because I was involved in the food preparation for the first time! On Monday night I was up late preparing for breakfast, and on Tuesday it seemed I rarely left the kitchen. It was a good day though. We began with breakfast a 9:00am in Newt’s apartment. Tony, Lily, and Michelle joined Peter, Shannon, Newt, Brad, and me for the morning’s festivities. We ate egg casserole, apple muffins, orange slices, scrambled eggs, and cinnamon buns. Newt spoke about the true meaning of Christmas and then we exchanged gifts. We each bought a small gift for everyone, and a large gift for one person. It was fun to see what everyone received, and even more fun to play with the gifts! We took lots of photos of our China family, and of our festive Christmas tree.
I took a nap after breakfast, and then prepared for dinner. For dinner we had duck, chicken, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, raw vegetables with ranch dressing, broccoli casserole, jello topped with apples, and homemade biscuits. We ate dinner by candlelight, and talked about the joys of the day. After dinner, we washed up and prepared for dessert, and then Tony and Brad watched “The Prestige” on the television. For dessert we went to Shannon’s apartment for pumpkin pies, mint brownies, Christmas cake, and no-bake cookies. Then we used Skype to talk to our friends in Qinhuangdao and wish them a merry Christmas. It was funny to hear how they had celebrated their holiday here in China, and how they’d figured out how to make homemade egg-nog! The evening ended back in our own apartments as we all called family and friends back home. It was good to hear their voices on this special day.
The days since Christmas have been very quiet by comparison, and I think we were all content to get some rest afterward! The apartment is clean now, the gifts put away, and most of the leftovers eaten. We continue to receive packages from home each day (3 packages in 3 days!) with fun Christmas gifts inside. This morning I had the wonderful opportunity to give two seminars about Christmas in the United States, including its origins and traditions. So it was a great opportunity to share about the reason for the season. Tonight, I also have the opportunity to share another favorite story with our Chinese friends, as I show “It’s A Wonderful Life” to my students. I enjoy these times of sharing with my students, and hope that you will be thinking of them and the conversations that may stem from these times.
As we close out the year 2007, thank you again for all of your support and encouragement. You are our greatest blessings at Christmas time, and our lives and work her would not be possible without you. Thank you and Merry Christmas!
Love,
Jessie and Brad
