Christmas and New Year's in China


I wrote this a few months back but forgot to post it; better late than never!

Before I move on to my Chinese New Year break, first there’s the Western holidays. Fortunately we had Friday, December 25th off for Christmas, so Steve, the history teacher who is in his third year here, invited a group over to his place. Each of us brought a dish – Trevor mashed potatoes, Ralph soup, Joanna and Justin the turkey, Tom dessert – and Steve supplied the alcohol.

Opening gifts at Steve's apartment

Good friends know that I’m useless in the kitchen, not so much due to lack of skill as lack of experience. Back in Italy I ran into this problem when we invited the host families for dinner and every summer camp teacher cooked a dish. I do have one trick up my sleeve; my mom makes asparagus wrapped in ham, and I’ve watched / helped enough times to pull it off.

Back home we put cream cheese on the ham so it sticks to the asparagus. I found cream cheese in Italy, and although the ham wasn’t the same, the Italian proscuitto turned out even better. The Spanish ham I got here in China didn’t blend as well with the cream cheese, and the asparagus had seen better days. It wasn’t my finest achievement – I haven’t been triumphant much in the kitchen – but along with the brussel sprouts at least I made my contribution!

This is what my dish was supposed to look like!

At school we also had a Christmas party, ugly sweaters and all. Joanna, Ralph, and Virginia (the dance teacher) devoted hours to the planning, and it was a clear-cut success. We divided up into stations, and with the help of student volunteers, played twister, pin the nose on the reindeer, and sang karaoke, among other activities. I got a sweater from H&M with a Christmas tree and bells that ring when you move. Although most students didn’t dress in the spirit of the holidays (there were exceptions) they enjoyed the afternoon; it’s definitely better than class, right?

With students at the Christmas party (they enjoyed giving me new facial hair).
Decorating Christmas cookies
Steve with his wife and son

As for the New Year’s performance the following week, well, that’s a different story. The foreign teachers divided into two groups and had to plan a short show for the main campus. Our group was responsible for a song and dance. Now I could take the blame here since I was the “director,” but that would be unfair. I’m not a creative type, and my song suggestions (Mambo No. 5, or ABC by the Jackson 5) didn’t stack up. Joanna suggested Barbie Girl – not my or any of the guys first choice. But I’d rather let someone else be the creative one!

We selected the song a day in advance and put together a cheesy dance routine the morning of the performance. Virginia and I would keep the singing alive while Justin and Robbie (the econ teacher) pretended to unwrap Joanna (our Barbie). She’d do a few robotic moves and we’d all finish the coreograph together.

Practice makes perfect, and we didn’t have much. On stage we putzed through the routine, barely able to remember the words, which we printed out in giant font and laid out on stage. I can’t remember a longer 3 minutes! By the end of the song (we didn’t even sing the whole thing) we said a quick thanks and rushed offstage. Joanna, Justin, Ralph, Trevor, and I were headed to Shanghai that afternoon and were cutting it close on time. Great reason to get the hell out of there asap!

That evening we celebrated New Year’s in Shanghai. I sure forgot about the performance that afternoon. The Boxing Cat, a brew-pub, was holding an all you can drink event that night. After pre-gaming I didn’t even need it – I actually asked if I could forego paying for a drink bracelet – but it was part of the entry price. “Oh well, gotta drink…I’m paying for it!” I later stabilized and got my money’s worth. Well the night wasn’t exactly stable; I didn’t end up back at the hotel room until 8 am!

Despite the late night (or morning), I managed to get out and see a bit of Shanghai before the sun went down. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant, drinking margaritas, and were at it again; it was Friday after all! We only had two nights in town so we had to make the most of it.

On Friday after dinner we went go-karting in Shanghai; mine broke
down part way though, so I missed the podium!
Trevor and Ralph sharing gold.
On Friday afternoon in Shanghai; yes, we did manage
to do a bit of sightseeing too!

Needless to say when I got back home on Saturday evening I was due for a rest. New Year’s Eve was a fun night and overdue break from Hangzhou. I enjoyed Shanghai enough to visit again two weeks later. That weekend wasn’t as eventful, although fun nonetheless. It was good to change up the normal weekend routine and tide me over until my trip to the Philippines!

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