Christmas is a happy time of year, when friends and families gather around a tree and pass out gifts and love to each other. That is Christmas in every other country except for China. Do you know how hard it is to shop for people who you have only known for 3-months. Not only that after you find out what to get them, then you actually have to find them, in China. It is nigh impossible. Then to make matters worse they expect you to be able to tell them what you want for Christmas. Oh and it all has to be under the 25 RMB limit, that is less than 5 USD. I might as well try and run like 5 miles, up hill, with Adam Holley on my back. I spent like 2 hours walking the streets of China trying to figure out what to get for people. I literally walked into every shop in Shiyan, and then walked out of everyone empty-handed. I was finally able to secure gifts for 9 out of 10 people on my list, and I am still in the process of trying to find a gift for the last person. I didn't even know that Christmas is like 5 days, till somebody pointed it out to me today. What a pain.
Earlier this week I experienced what it is like to be a Chinese man for the first time. On Thursday night two of my students, both girls, came over to my house and made me dinner. So I sat in my front room, with my feet up on the coffee table watching TV, while two ladies slaved away in my kitchen making me a delicious homemade dinner. Apparently I own a rice cooker, it has been sitting in my kitchen for the last 3 months. Until the girls came over to make me dinner I had never seen it nor used it. So they cooked me up some rice and then 3 different dishes to go on top of the rice, egg and tomato, tofu (dofu is the Chinese name) and peppers, and cabbage with a butter sauce. It was quite delicious and when dinner was over I went back to my seat and the girls cleaned up. As Mel Brooks would say, "It's good to be the King."
I have some really funny stories about KTV and a place called Congress (not the United States Legislative branch), however I am trying to write a final exam right now and I was just wasting time writing a story. I will be back later this week with a bigger badder Christmas edition.
