Christmas Time

Christmas is coming up - on Wednesday to be exact. But Christmas isn't a big deal here like it is at home. There are no tv commercials - well, I guess I can't say that for sure. I haven't even turned my tv on. People don't go out of their minds with Christmas shopping or gift giving. Most of the students I teach at school only celebrate Christmas because of the school. In fact, Christmas for me will be a regular work day. I have to teach three classes and go in early for more training.

And in a way, I think it will be better for my state of mind. I will be busy so I won't have as much time to dwell on the fact that I'm half-way around the world this year for the holidays. No presents, no tree, no family to get together with. Work will help to keep my mind off it all. No, what I'm really worried about is the day after Christmas which is my day off and it will be Christmas at home. To skype or not to skype - that is the question.

A few of the other foreign teachers and I went out tonight for something that I guess we can consider our Christmas dinner. We went to nice place and spent a little more on our meal than we normally do. It was difficult though as none of us really speak Chinese to any degree. We did manage to order some food eventually, but it was a struggle. It was fun to see how all the other people in the restaurant tried to jump in to help us foreigners figure out. They all had, what I believe were, helpful suggestions (again, the language barrier keeps me from knowing for sure) and we had a good meal in the end.

We spent an hour and a half sitting, eating and drinking and talking about our classes. It seems a little odd that we would relax that way, but for us, it seemed to be almost the only common point between all of us. It was also a way to vent a little about all are conceived slights against us. We can't really talk about the Chinese teachers where they could hear us, now could we? We had a very lively chat about teaching techniques and problem behavior and how to deal with said behavior. It was very enlightening to see how different we each are.

We even drew the attention of a few Chinese men who were sitting at a table behind us. They had a short conversation with the teacher who spoke the most Chinese. They managed to convey, through the translation and broken English, that they thought I was beautiful. I don't think strangers have ever made me blush like that before. I don't get compliments from random strangers like that very often, so you have to believe that made my day. 

Well, it's getting late and it seems like my work is never done, so until next time!