Happy Thanksgiving from China!

Wednesday, November 23^rd

Happy early Thanksgiving!  I never used to get so excited about a holiday as I am this year.  I want to share this unique part of our culture with others and we get to because Bill and Caroline ordered a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 people!  There are only 4 of us in the dorm, so we’ve invited a few other teachers, principals, etc.  It will be quite a party – our first since being in Beijing.  We’re excited.  I’ve also decided that I am only going to play games and do crafts related to Thanksgiving… if you all aren’t working, why should I?!? 

Last Sunday we had a gift bazaar at church and I heard a saleswoman speaking French so I went to her booth.  There was another girl there speaking French as well, but I could tell she had an accent.  When we walked away, I asked her where she was from, she told me Vancouver B.C.  So close to us!  Then she told me she lived in France, in Strasbourg, about an hour from where we lived at BFA.  And now we are both here… small world.  I was excited to make a new friend who I have a lot in common with; now more than ever I treasure connections with people with common backgrounds – it is quite rare around these parts since most people are Chinese.    

It is officially not warm anymore.  It is, in fact, freezing.  There is a wind that comes from who knows where and it cuts through to your bones and man do you ever feel like your face just got frozen off.  Our clothes are not nearly warm enough for this weather, we’re going to have to invest in some serious down coats. 

I got sick (again) this last week.  A co-worker described the viruses here as never hitting you full on, like you never get a full on cold but your energy is totally zapped.  Can’t get off the couch zapped.  I’m doing better with the help of some Chinese medicine – I think I will start an import business for that stuff when I get back to the States, it is that good.  Chris didn’t get sick, which is totally unfair but since nobody asked me what’s fair in the world of immune systems, I don’t have much of a say in the matter. 

Hans and Howard, two men from our organization (Teach Beyond) came to visit us last week.  It was so great to have people here from BFA (my high school, Hans is my old principal).  We got to introduce our world to them and they brought a bit of past with them as well.  When they left it felt kind of lonely and reminded me how isolated we are from things and people we know.  Sigh.  We are making the best of being here even though it doesn’t feel like home yet.  We are very familiar with the McDonalds around the corner (hey, gotta do whatacha gotta do to get comfort food!), on Saturday we explored our neighborhood more and found a bookstore and a clothing market nearby.  We went to church on Sunday which felt like a breath of fresh air and we have things to look forward to, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, a trip to Taiwan (we bought the tickets, yey!), and warm coats.  Very very warm coats. 

Since I’ve done all the talking, here is Chris. 

Hm, well then. First off, my take on the cold is a bit less severe than Grace’s. It is certainly cold, but nothing we wouldn’t experience back home in Washington; it’s probably in the 40s during the day. I still walk around campus with my sleeves rolled up. The thing that does get me though is that the school leaves all the windows and doors open, making it 40 degrees in the cafeteria and all the hallways, too. I don’t mind feeling cold when I’m outside in November — I expect that — but I expect to escape from the cold as soon as I step inside. Supposedly the doors stay open to let in “fresh air.”

Second, I must announce that I’ve found myself a guitar. It’s nice. That is all.

Ok, it’s Grace again.  I just have to say, that Chris is the ONLY person on campus that walks around with his sleeves rolled up.  I don’t know what’s wrong with his heating system, but it seems to be on overdrive. 

Chris’ words: guess I’m just hot.  Lucky you. 

Grace’s:  ….  

Okay, we should let you all go.  Hope this was a good glimpse into our lives in China.  Thanks for reading, and your thoughts, and encouraging emails – we love it all (even though we’re terrible at responding, it’s not you!).  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Happy Saturday morning to all. We are siting at Bill and Carolyn's, with worship music in the background, 2 of their boys having a nerf war, warm wonderful cups of coffee, and Bill getting into an argument about morality with Chris. It is great to be out of school, no dorm, no kids yelling outside our window and good food. You'll notice that so much of what I talk about is food, and as I think about it, a bad day is always made better by good food and a good day only made better by good food. Right now, I seek comfort food. I found scones at Starbucks last Sunday, and while Chris and Veronica (our floormate) went hunting for food, I sat and enjoyed my scone and green tea latte. We had just been to church where no one introduced themselves to us, people barely even smiled at us and I left with a chill down my spine. Therefore, scones and tea were a good comfort for the lack of human contact. I mean, you'd think that in a country where people are so unfriendly to foreigners (at times), that foreigners would stick together. Nope.