Christmas started early for us. As our classes were ending and our final exams would be during Christmas week, we had to start early. We both organized pollyannas in our classes. The students loved the idea, and the cleverness and thoughtfulness of their gifts, which were to be no more then 7RMB (1 dollar), was amazing. The exchange of the gifts was a fun day for everyone. We told them that they had to be American for the day. When you give a gift to a Chinese person, she/he sets it aside and opens it later. One student explained to me (Renee) that if I give someone a gift, that person knows it is wonderful because I gave it. Besides, the friendship is more important than the gift. I explained to my classes that half the fun of gift giving in America is watching the person enjoy opening the gift. So we opened the gifts one by one to many ooohs and aaahs. In my (Rich) classes the students sang Christmas songs, and we joined with Renee's classes to sing some carols together. We even tackled "The Twelve Days of Christmas," which turns out to be a great oral English exercise. Some of Renee's classes planned a Christmas party, which included games that often were creative and challenging. Maybe Renee will become a game player.
One of the party highlights for me (Renee) was a nativity pageant. I guess the students remembered that I said in America we always had a nativity pageant in our church to remind us of the story. Well, this one included a pregnant Mary, sound effect of knocking at the door of the in and a baby's cries, and an adorable angel of the Lord. It was wonderful. Another prelude to Christmas was two of my (Rich) students -two Chongqing men (men from Chongqing men are famous for being good cooks) - came to cook us a meal. They and we enjoyed the evening. On the Tuesday before Christmas the department also gave us a dinner to make the season bright.
Christmas eve was a special time. We had been asked by the Evangelical church in town if we would sing. Of course, we would. We try not to turn down any offers or requests. We prepared to sing in English and Chinese "What Child Is This." The show at the church is a party where this evening 17 groups danced or sang for the congregation. (For some reason it reminded me of Amahl and the Night Visitors when the shepherds entertained the Three Kings.) We were number 15 on the program. We were only there by grace because we missed the rehersal since all the announcements were in Chinese. But we did it, enjoyed it, and were well received. After this we went to a Club. One of my former students had invited us to come. She sings there every night. We enjoyed a little Christmas music, colorful lights, and an appreciative Chinese audience.
Christmas day brought a morning of classes. After class two of my students took us to lunch. Then we went back to our apartment where students visited us the rest of the afternoon. Many of them brought apples which is the standard Christmas gift (Apple is Ping guo - ping means safety, peace) Some of them stayed and talked and we enjoyed the afternoon We ushered them out around 5:00 because the 5 American foreign teachers were going to go out to dinner together. Dinner wasn't so great but the company was, and most of us wore Santa hats to add to our image as crazy waiguoren. (foreigners) The proprietor asked us to sing a Christmas song, and we obliged with We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
Between Christmas and New Year there were some major events. Saturday brought an English event on the public square. Renee and I sang "When Christmas Comes to Town." If you don't know it, look it up. It's from The Polar Express and the Chinese know it. But the highlight of the day was Renee's play, a version of "A Christmas Carol." That play was several months in the making. We (Renee) had auditions, singing and dancing, a cast of 40plus and headaches like you wouldn't believe. I was hoping to include non-English majors, which happened, but it also meant that scheduling rehearsals was a nightmare, since very few things are scheduled in China. It's all sort of "spontaneous." Amyway, after obstacles too numerous to mention, we finally had a chance to perform. The conditions were less than ideal, and the result was a little less than ideal, but the Chinese are fond of saying that the process is more important than the product. And Scrooge "peaked" at just the right time. That evening ended with salsa. cheese dip, and tortillas tasting better with a homemade Harvey's Bristol Creme -- all courtesy of Ron, a native of Arizona.
Between Christmas and New Year there were some major events. Saturday brought an English event on the public square. Renee and I sang "When Christmas Comes to Town." If you don't know it, look it up. It's from The Polar Express and the Chinese know it. But the highlight of the day was Renee's play, a version of "A Christmas Carol." That play was several months in the making. We (Renee) had auditions, singing and dancing, a cast of 40plus and headaches like you wouldn't believe. I was hoping to include non-English majors, which happened, but it also meant that scheduling rehearsals was a nightmare, since very few things are scheduled in China. It's all sort of "spontaneous." Amyway, after obstacles too numerous to mention, we finally had a chance to perform. The conditions were less than ideal, and the result was a little less than ideal, but the Chinese are fond of saying that the process is more important than the product. And Scrooge "peaked" at just the right time. That evening ended with salsa. cheese dip, and tortillas tasting better with a homemade Harvey's Bristol Creme -- all courtesy of Ron, a native of Arizona.
Sunday we spent seven hours outside in very cold weather. (No wonder I have a cold). Students from City College and the local Family Church took us to a village where they put on a Christmas show for the townsfolk. It was fun to see the back courtyard of a farmhouse transformed into a stage. Great to see the countryside and those who work in it. Wonderful to see the students give themselves so freely to the gathered crowd. In return for all of this we received a lunch. Simple, but tasty food. We were told they slughtered a pig for us.
Tuesday brought another dinner to celebrate the coming New Year. Thursday was my debut as a wedding official. One of the men at the gym where I study Tai Chi asked me if I would take part in his wedding. They gave me a script and for a week I practiced each day. The wedding must have had about 500 people, but I knew only a handful. I gave it my best Chinese which people say they could understand; Renee's tutor,who had written the script for me, said it exceeded her greatest expectations. I felt good about it too.New Year's eve we went to a masked ball at the school. It was only the third dance of the entire school year because most activities have been canceled ostensibly because of the threat of flu. The dance was just like all the others, but because we had not had one for awhile we were glad to take part. After this 6 of the 8 foreign teachers - this time the Russians joined us - went to the Club to hear some music and to usher in the New Year. To our surprise it was almost empty. The band, though, and my friend the singer entertained us. About 10 minutes to midnight, they had the countdown. (We think they were trying to think of some polite way to get rid of us. After all, it is not their holiday and they wanted to go home and to bed.) and we celebrated. The westerners sang Auld Lang Syne and the Chinese appreciated. We took over the stage and sang some more songs. By the time we left, we had to wake the gatekeeper up so we could get back into the school. A memorable New Year.
There are more stories and events, and people but too many to tell. One of them will surely be told later. It was a very festive time for us, unlike last year, which was very quiet. Next year in America:)
