It has been a while since I have posted. Some of the delay is because things here have settled into a routine for me, most of the things I used to see with wonder are now common place. Other reasons are final exams, lack of internet in my residence and a more sedentary life because of the weather. Enough excuses.
I have pictures of Christmas in China and will post them later this week.
I am amazed at the prevelance of Christmas here in China. Most major stores, including SchlockMart, have Christmas displays. It seems that the Chinese believe that all foreigners celebrate Christmas. I do not think they realize the correlation of Christmas with the purported birth of Christ (I will not activate the comments for this entry). I have received numerous boxes of Dove chocolates as Christmas presents and, I have not opened a single one. My new pig out food are peanuts, can't get enough of them.
There are Christmas displays everywhere, most of them bad. Some of the trees are hilarious. And, you have not laughed until you have seen a 130 lb Chinese man dressed as Santa Claus.
The spirit of being nice to others is one of the good benefits of being in China. Everyone seems to be in a better mood. No bad attitudes from shoppers however, I have not been in SchlockMart on a weekend in three weeks. Things may be different in that pit. I will not say I do not go there, they have bottles of Johnnie Walker for about $16.00 US, I am lucky I don't live down the block.
Things may change for me. I have job offers to go to other schools, one of them would double my salary. Until this afternoon I was not giving them serious consideration, today they changed the way I am reimbursed for expenses. I can afford them now but, they change the rules in the middle of the game: Why should I show loyalty and honor the remainder of my contract?
I have to cut this short. Some students want to meet me and give me a Christmas present; I hope it is not more Dove chocolate. A huge Snickers bar would be GREAT.
Hope everyone has/had a good Christmas. If you do not get a call from know that I am thinking of all my friends.
Terry
