It's Beginning to Look a lot Like Christmas (trees)...

One question I was asked repeatedly while back in the states was, "Do they celebrate Christmas in China?" The answer is yes... sort of. Christmas decorations are going up all over town: trees, Santas, tinsel, lights. It is hard to tell if this is just pure marketing, a desire to be more "Western", a true celebration or a mix of all three.

Christmas is not an official holiday recognized by the government. I have asked many of my students if they celebrate Christmas. Most say no, but a few say yes, meaning they give presents on Christmas. It is clear that many don't realize what they are celebrating. When they have asked me why we celebrate it, most have been surprised to learn that there is a meaning beyond presents and trees. At the same time, there are quite a few Christians in China who celebrate the holiday for its religious significance. Just walk into any registered Chinese church on Sunday and see if you can get a seat; you probably won't unless you get there an hour early. The one thing I haven't seen: a nativity. I guess I will have to wait until this Sunday at Congregation of the Good Shepherd where the children are reenacting a nativity as part of this week's liturgy.

Seeing all the decorations of Christmas here without their meaning attached reminds me of the speech the Grinch gives after he steals all the superficial symbols of Christmas but the people still celebrate. It is kind of opposite of here where we have all the superficial symbols but not the "little bit more" that the Grinch reminds us of:

And the Grinch, with his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,

Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How could it be so?"

"It came with out ribbons! It came without tags!"

"It came without packages, boxes or bags!"

And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.

Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store."

"Maybe Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!"

Here are some pictures to liven your Christmas spirit:

A sort of sad and puny tree at my favorite pizza joint: Pyro Pizza in Wudaukou

From my apartment lobby

A smaller tree from my apartment lobby

A small tree at an ice cream stand- Charlie Brown would be so proud!

A Rockefeller Center style tree outisde my office building

Lordy, Lordy, Look Who's Turning 3030...

On my first day back at EF, the monthly birthday party was planned. Celebrating birthdays this month was myself, Laurie (my boss), fellow teacher Serena, and several ladies who work as study advisors and front desk.

The Birthday People

My present- An EF mug

"Is this available to the general public?"

"No"

"Then I will cherish it"

(Peggy Hill from King of the Hill)

Laurie and I ceremonially cutting the cakes. They weren't exactly Paula Deen quality but still good. Chinese cakes have lots of fruit in them and on top of them. There were three cakes: vanilla, chocolate, and green tea!

Back in America...

On Monday the 24th of November, I landed back in Memphis, TN at around 5:00 PM. At this point I had lived through Monday twice in a row due to time changes. After arrival in Memphis, me and my parents headed back to Bruce for dinner at Pizza Palace, Bruce's longest running restaurant, owned by longtime Bruce resident and Greek immigrant Bill Kakales. I had the spaghetti and meatsauce with a side of corn nuggets. It was then time to head back home to meet the dogs for the first time in six months. Chloe took a little time to warm up to me; Clark knew me immediately.

Tuesday, me and mom headed out to Oxford, MS for some Wal-Mart shopping and then decided to drive up to Panola County for a drive through the Mississippi Delta. We saw Marks, Lambert, (site of my first college summer job), Sledge (home of Charley Pride), as well as some no name places. We ended up at celebrity chef Paula Deen's new restaurant at the Harrah's resort in Tunica for dinner. This place has forever set the standard for what beef brisket should be!

Wednesday was a lazy day, visiting with extended family and taking them souveneirs from China. My little cousin Jonathan got me hooked on Guitar Hero and I am proud to say I am returning to China with the Nintendo DS version.

Thanskgiving started the usual way: waking up to the smells of good food while the sounds of Broadway played in the background from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City. After loading up the dishes in the car it was off to Nelda and Lala's (Lonnie's) house (That is my aunt and uncle.) We ate too much, me and Jonathan played more guitar hero, and then we ate more. Afterwards I visited with my Aunt Till and Uncle Ken and cousin Pat at their home in Calhoun City, MS and then returned home to find my Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Annie over for a visit. It was a great day getting caught up with family.

On Friday, after lunch at Pizza Palace, Priscilla Melton and her son Christopher came by for a visit. Priscilla has been fighting a battle with cancer over the past months and it appears she has won! Growing up, Christopher was my Nintendo playing buddy. No telling how many hours we logged on that old 8 bit system saving Princesses from dragons. Christopher is now a college student at Ole Miss and doing quite well. Later that evening I got to open my Christmas presents, lots of good new clothes and some DVDS to take back to Beijing and even a little money!

On Saturday, I headed to Corinth to spend some time with friends there. Myself, Allen Millican, Cody Butler, and Chase Claburn went to see the new Twilight movie: this is NOT a vampire movie, at least one guy got his head ripped off though.

Sunday morning, I attended church at St. Paul's Church in Corinth and since hardly anyone showed up for Sunday School I ended up just answering questions about China and getting caught up with friends at the church. Sunday night was the reuninion with my Crosswind family. Crosswind is a Christian social needs ministry, similar to the Salvation Army. I attended the evening service and got to see a lot of friends that I have worked alongside in ministry in Corinth. Afterwards, Cody and Allen went with me for a meal at Mi Toro mexican restaurant.

Monday was a whirlwind of a day. I headed to Oxford to meet up with my friend Sebastian Clark. Sebastian and I have been to 4 Cornerstone Festivals in Bushnell, IL together. Gabriel Stanley also joined us, Gabe has been at 3 of those 4 festivals. We spent most of the time at a coffee house sipping coffee and cider. One highlight of the afternoon was when the young blond lady stopped by our table to talk to us and it turned out she was Joey Lauren Adams who most people will know from the Adam Sandler movie Big Daddy, very down to earth nice girl. She apparently hangs out in this coffee house quite a bit. She has also been in many other films, such as Kevin Smith's, Chasing Amy. Later me and Sebastian went over to Faulkner's home and walked the grounds. It was cool to imagine the man himself spending time among those trees plotting his next novel. After a quick run by Oxford T Shirt Co. to meet Sebastian's girlfriend, I headed up to Memphis for the International Brotherhood of Magicians Memphis chapter's annual holiday banquet. I performed one trick as an outgoing officer and then walked away with a good book from the gift swap: The Complete Idiot's Guide to Street Magic. This will give me some extra resources to pull from for my EF magic club.

Coffee With Sebastian and Gabe

Tuesday morning I spoke at Calhoun Academy to the third-sixth grade classes and showed them pictures from China. They were all very curious.

I landed in Beijing lastnight around 6 pm and stepped out of the plane into 21 degree farenheit air and wind. It was strange how normal it seemed to be landing in China. 6 months ago that didn't seem so normal. After clearing customs and an hourlong cab ride to my apartment, I was ready for sleep. Now I am back at work. I hear there is a birthday party planned later in the day for me and Laurie, my boss. We were born in the same year just 2 days apart. I will update later with pictures from that party.

You Know You've Been In China Too Long When...

With my U.S. trip just 8 days away, I thought it good to reflect on the craziness of this place. Here are excerpts from a Jeff Foxworthy style list I found as well as some of my own observations. Mine are marked with TP.

You know you've been in China too long when...

You buy a round trip air ticket in China.

You start calling other foreigners Lao Wai.

You think singing Karaoke on Friday nights is fun.

You consider McDonalds a treat.

Chinese fashion starts looking hip.

Your idea of a larger home is an extra 10 square meters.

You ask fellow foreigners the all-important question “How long have you been here?” in order to be able to properly categorize them.

Pollution, what pollution?

You stop enjoying telling newcomers to China ‘all about China’.

You think that you can impress foreigners by drinking Budweiser.(Dr. Pepper)

You have run out of snappy comebacks to compliments about your chopstick skills.

Someone doesn’t stare at you and you wonder why.

Forks feel funny.

Other foreigners give you a funny look when you tell them how long you’ve been here.

The Lunar Calendar ALWAYS takes precedence.

You can make elevators go faster by boarding first and taking over the controls.

Drilling on the walls in the wee small hours in the morning is considered acceptable behaviour.

You get offended when people admire your chopsticks skills.

You speak enough Chinese to make your colleagues laugh their heads off (attempts with anyone else still only draw blank stares).

TP:
Bootleg DVDs are no longer fun.

Sleeping in a hooded sweatshirt because the heat hasn't been turned on yet is normal behavior.

You think Colonel Sanders looks like a communist with all that red surrounding his picture that you see everywhere.

You call yourself an expat.

Buying a baked sweet potato on the side of the road off of some lady's bicycle does sound like a good idea.

The lady selling baked sweet potatos looks for you to come out of your office every night because she knows you will buy one.

You've eaten at the local Western style restaurant so many times that they bring the Dr. Pepper to your table before you even sit down.

Countdown Clock

So good you wanna....

With my upcoming US trip arriving in 2 weeks, I needed to finish up some Christmas shopping. I headed over to the Silk Market, one of the larger marketplaces in Beijing.

Along with some gifts and a new winter coat for myself, which according to the saleslady I look handsome in, I purchased a simple magic trick from a magic shop in the market. I won't say the name of the prop I bought on here so I don't reveal the secret but for my magic buddies it was a product commonly sold in U.S. magic shops that comes in a variety of textures, colors, and sizes and is made by Vernet. These weren't Vernet quality(try dollar tree quality), but since I didn't have one, I decided to haggle for it. He started his price at 85 (discount since I said I was a magician ). This is about 13 dollars. I offered him much lower and in his shock, he made a crucial mistake. He said "Sir you are magician, you know quality of this product." To which I responded, "Yes I do, and I know this one is not worth what you are asking." I got it for 40, still a little high but it came with a silk so I can't complain.

Now on to the real reason for my visit: FOOD. With this being a touristy area, I figured there would be some good western restaurants around. I walked around a bit in search of a place and amidst calls from street vendors to buy socks and dvds and one offer from a Chinese pimp to find sex for me, I found the restaurants. Mexican, no. Steak, no (even though according to the sign this place had "The best steak in town, probably." And then there it was: Tim's Texas Barbecue. I stepped in the place feeling like I had stepped into a King of the Hill episode. There were a couple of tables occupied, all foreigners (including one loud table of annoying Texan tourists debating Obama and Bush, why are tourists such dweebs?) I immediately sat down and ordered the brisket (the true measure of any place claiming to sell Texas bbq.) It didnt' dissappoint. The onion rings were the best I have ever had, the pinto beans and cornbread divine, and the meat tender and smokey tasting, and the spanish rice a unique side item for a bbq place. Now only if my mama had been there for me to slap her...

The Political Post...

Americans spoke yesterday; Barack Obama will become the 44th President of the United States. What does this mean for America? I don't know, but here are some things I do know:

We should pray for the president, whether we consider him to be worthy of the job or not.

The George Bush years are over! This can only be a good thing for the country and the world.

Barack Obama holds some ideals that I don't agree with (abortion and gay marriage).

Barack Obama holds some ideals that I do agree with (helping others and stronger healthcare)

How will those ideals play out? I hope they play out in a good way that truly unites our country. But in the end, its not about Barack, or me or you; It is about one man: Jesus Christ.
What I am sure of is that true change will only come when and only when people unite behind God:

2 Chronicles 7:14- my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.