Sheng Dan Kuai Le!!! *Merry Christmas*

Monday, December 19th—Today when I entered the room to teach my "Small 1" class, they were in the middle of a birthday party, so I had fun eating cake, wishing the best to the birthday girl, and trying to talk with the kiddies instead of teaching :) I am also proud to say that I have been the Computer Hero of our teachers two weeks in a row now: last week, a guy in the office couldn't understand the error message on his screen, so I grabbed my laptop and used Google Translate to help him understand, then this week a lady in my office couldn't read the error message on her computer, so I read it and pressed "F1" for her. Wow, impressive, right? :) Stanley, aren't you impressed? I had an awful bus ride home tonight...well over an hour and a half due to a massive traffic jam, leading to a crabby and culture-shocked Julie :( Study was nice though, and some not-so-regular attendees from last year joined us, which was encouraging!

Chang Qing "Hospifal," very close to my school.

Tuesday, December 20th—This morning, continuing my bus frustrations, the first city bus that came to our stop was TOO PACKED with people, so I had to wait at our stop about ten minutes for another one. Oy. My boss gave me a very "un-catchy" song to teach my students, spur of the moment...it didn't go over too well, but thankfully one of the children knew it and help me fake my way through :p I meet up with Andrea and Aaron for dinner tonight; we had beef, delicious clams, and a couple beers, watched a little "Friends" and started to plan our upcoming vacation travels. Having stayed pretty late, I took a cheap taxi home. The driver was friendly and we spoke the whole way home (mostly in Chinese, though he knew more English than most) and he told me he was impressed that I, as a foreigner in Wuhan, could communicate with him so well. Good thing it was a short ride, or he would've probably changed his mind ;) My heart stopped when he dropped me off though--I didn't have enough small bills to pay him, only 100 RMB ones, too big for him to break. I apologized profusely, looked through my purse and rummaged together about 4 RMB (the ride was cheap, about 7 RMB) and he said it was enough and not to worry about it. But thankfully I had a couple American dollars in my wallet-- I gave him one and he was excited and thanked me. One American dollar is worth about 6 RMB, so hopefully that, and it being a kind of nice keepsake, made up for my silliness!

Laughing and enjoying caramel drinks with Kelsey (and a bit of Aaron) at Escape Cafe.

Wednesday, December 21st—Andrea invited me to go shopping at Wuhan's Chr*stian Bookstore today after school. It's an extension of Wuhan's g*vernment-run s*minary, and a nice place to visit, browse, and buy gifts. Afterwards we did a bit of shopping in the nearby area and took a taxi back to Hankou, and had a fun dinner with "Team Wuhan" (Brian, Kelsey, Aaron, Andrea and myself) before joining Kevin (my recruiter) and his friend for coffee at "Escape," a new nearby coffee shop. Kevin's aunt opened the cafe, and they hope to use it as a place for Chinese people to connect with foreigners, practice English, etc. Hopefully next semester we'll work out some kind of a schedule, and perhaps drop in there more regularly to make friends, but tonight we just enjoyed the warm atmosphere and caramel milk teas :)

Fierce and hilarious battle (that took place after a kid dressed in a HUGE Santa costume paraded around giving piggyback rides, and before they all sang "Santa Claus is coming to town.")

Thursday, December 22nd—Last night, one of my old students texted and invited me to their "Chr*stmas Party" today. Several had mentioned it to me, but this was the first official invite, which I gladly accepted! On the bus ride there, my student Laura texted me again: "So Miss Cox: Will you come or not? Many of our classmates hope you could come." 

Lots of the lovely ballerinas are my former students.

When I showed up, I was treated to the usual excited squeals, some hugs, a lot of quick catch-up conversations (sometimes awkward, but always sweet), and sat down with a bunch of students to watch the show. When a school in China says they're throwing a "Chr*stmas Party" or "New Year's Party," it most likely means a huge performance, not the buffet/ Secret Santa/ playing games kind of Chr*stmas party that most Americans might think of.

The "Class 3 Band" did a rock version of Canon in D.

 There was lots of singing, dancing, some hilarious skits (and some boring ones), a couple bands, and a lot more. After over two hours, I was ready to go ;) But it was enjoyable, fun to sit with many of the goofy boys I'd taught last year, and awesome getting to exchange numbers with more of my old little friends.

"Which of us three girls is the most beautiful?" 

I met up with Sophia afterwards very briefly, but then headed home to CLEAN (I've been going non-stop for the past week or so, busy every night, and the dishes and such had really piled up), go shopping with Kelsey (I helped her barter for a scarf she was buying as a gift), and watch "White Chr*stmas" together. It was my first time to see it actually, but it made me long for America in the holiday season, that's for sure!

It's a treat to see my "goofy" students transformed into serious musicians when their orchestra performs.

Friday, December 23rd—After school I went shopping for Kelsey (stocking stuffers and roomie treats) and Nicole (my FoC "Secret Santa"), made a new friend at the store, and took a nap...I think I'd counted about 10 nights in a row now of having plans, and it had WORN me out...and I knew there'd be more tonight, so the quick rest helped! 

Jenney, Sylvia, Yao Yao and Luan.

I met my fashion design student friend Luan, and her friend Yao Yao (another sweet and beautiful girl, but sadly she can't speak a ton of English) at the light rail bus stop, made a simple supper of dumplings for them with my dear friend Sylvia's assistance, and we got to baking! It was the first time for all of them to make Chr*stmas cookies, and it was a fun night! We had lots of good girl talk, and halfway through, my friend Jenney (a university student in Hanyang) finally made it through all the traffic and joined in the festivities. I'd set out some B*ble materials, hoping to get the chance to Share a little of the True Meaning of the holiday with the girls, but an opportunity never really presented itself, or it would've seemed too awkward or forced. I don't know if I should've tried harder or not, but when I was alone with Jenney, I did get to tell her a bit about the First Chr*stmas and how I b*lieve in it, thanks to her question about the candy cane-shaped cookie (THANKS FOR THE COOKIE CUTTERS, MOM AND DAD)! Angela came towards the end of the night and we had more fun gabbing and finishing decorating, and eating-- but not cleaning :p 

The fashion design major and drawing teacher understandably did a pretty great job decorating cookies :)

I got this text from Jenney the next day:
Oh Julie, thank you very much for your inviting! It is the first time for me to make Chr*stmas cookies. I do think it would leave me with deep impression! I really enjoy the time with you. You are so kind. I distribute the cookies to many of my boy and girl friends. They all enjoy the cookies. They said to me: "How delicious, could you give more to me?" But I have to say no, because I want to share them with more friends. Hehe, thank you Julie, Wish you happy everyday!

Poor guy just couldn't survive the Wuhan winter!

Saturday, December 24th—We had to wake up TOO early on this Chr*stmas Eve morning, but 'twas for a good cause...'twas the day before Chr*stmas, and we were off to meet the rest of our FoC team for a morning w*rship service. After a long bus ride across the city, we joined our team, sitting nice and snugly in the crowded apartment, for a lessons & carols-style service. We then took the obligatory group photos and did our gift exchange. I stood up to deliver my gift first, and Nicole immediately called out, "I'm right here Julie!" I replied, dumbfounded, "How did you know?!" and gave her her gift. Turns out she was totally joking, and really had no idea that I really was her Secret Santa, so we were both shocked :) The rest of the exchange was festive and cute--my favorite moment was when Jess gave Andy "Root Beer" in the form of ginger taped on top of a can of cheap beer, haha. We braved the crowds and had a big-group lunch at "Golden Hans," a "German" restaurant that brings around tons of meat to sample, and serves good quality beer...but also has a more Chinese-style buffet. We feasted on some good meats (bacon, chicken wings), some strange (chicken heart and cow tongue), I got some sushi and dessert from the buffet, and then we boarded the bus back to Hankou. As expected, traffic was atrocious...it's usually bad on Saturdays, but on Chr*stmas Eve, China observes "Silent Night," which is the biggest misnomer I've ever heard--a huge chunk of the population goes out shopping this day, with materialism being the focus for the holiday, tons of sales and long lines. The bus ride was long and awful, but once we got back home, Andrea and I had a chill afternoon of watching movies and napping (well, me at least). We ordered McDonald's delivery for dinner (oops, I've now eaten the Golden Arches on Thanksgiving AND Chr*stmas Eve in China), and my daily highlight was talking to Stanley Chan on the phone! Welcome back to China, brother! See you soon :)

Lookin' good team Wuhan! Also, please note our matching sweaters, purchased for 29 RMB each (about 5 bucks) at a shop near my apartment.

Sunday, December 25th—I'd be lying if I said Chr*stmas in China was an easy day...I think everyone naturally gets homesick, longs for the comfort, warmth and traditions of the holiday back at home, and wishes schools gave Chr*stmas vacations here like they do in the U.S. Nonetheless, today was memorable for me because my friend from school, Joy, came to ch*rch with me. It was her first time ever to attend a service, and she was a bit nervous, but said it was wonderful! On our walk to ch*rch, I told her the basics of what our group b*lieves, reviewed the Chr*stmas story (she knows a bit of His Word from a course she took in college), and told her what our meetings are all about. She got to hear me sing a solo in a choir Darin had put together, which was fun, and she enjoyed getting introduced to new American and Chinese friends between services also...I was happy she was willing to stay for hours, and she asked if she should bring anything the "next time" she comes. So please pr@y that there IS a "next time" :)

So, the picture doesn't do justice as to how massive this cake was...probably twice the size of your average birthday cake. If you use stuff laying on the table as reference points, maybe you can get a better idea as to its girth. Anyway, the coolest part was the L*rd's Pr@yer that was iced on :)

We were treated to a lunch of hors'doeuvres, cooked by Eunice, a member and mom to a mischievous boy, Bill, who attends kids' Study. She cooked up a storm of jiaozi (dumplings), chicken wings, and bacon (stuffed with cheese and tomato) for our group of 20+ people, and there was more than enough to go around. It was nice talking with Joy, and Andrea's two friends who were also there for the first time! We ate slices of the HUGE cake brought to ch*rch by a member, and headed back home. 

Love this pic! So Dong Bu Dong!

After coming back home, I cleaned like crazy (man, I feel like I've been typing that in blogs a lot lately, but maybe it's just been an extra-messy and busy time of the year). I was largely cleaning up after decorating Chr*stmas cookies...2 days earlier :p Afterwards, Kelsey and I emptied the stockings we'd stuffed for each other and had a bit of roomie-bonding time. We met up with Andrea, Brian, Peter, and Darin for dinner at Papa John's, and then hit up KTV for an hour-long partay...when it's just a small group of crazy foreigners in the room, song selection generally includes lot of old school jams, and there's usually lots of dancing ;)