Xiexie Day

It's Thanksgiving Day in America, and I'm doing everything I can to keep from conjuring up images of KTA's roasted turkey and Aunty Judy's pumkin pie. My mouth is watering not only because I really wish I could be at home for this holiday, but because I am seriously hungry.

For the past couple of days, I haven't been able to hold down my food, thanks to some kind of bug that has made me feel quite seasick. I felt so queasy yesterday that I left my class early to celebrate the rest of Thanksgiving by wallowing in misery in the comfort of my bed. You know how misery is - it makes you forget the many things you should be thankful for.

After sleeping all afternoon, I got a call from one of my students. Our conversation went something like this,

"Where are you?" she demanded.
"Um, hi.. I am in bed."
"Yes, I hear you are sick. I will see you at 5 o'clock!"
"Huh? Okay, see you."

I fell asleep again and was awakened by tiny fists raising havoc on my door. I rushed over in my fleece pajamas and hot pink house boots, not giving a damn that I looked more like a ten year old than a teacher. I opened the door and in rushed two of my students. They brought with them a bowl of hot noodles, a bag of apples and pears, and their dinners.

"We have come to celebrate with you!"
They ordered me to eat the bowl of noodles, saying that it would make me feel much better. Obediently, I carefully slurped down the salty noodles as they downed their bowls of spicy dumplings. Who knows, perhaps sickness is partly a state of mind, for by the end of the evening, I actually did feel a little better - while I wasn't able to hold down those noodles, I was reminded of how thankful I am to have such sweet students.

So while my Thanksgiving was not as gloriously festive as it usually is (although, I admit, I am guilty of romanticizing it), the holiday still did everything it was supposed to: it prompted me to give thanks. :)

Halloween Party II

The party went well. It really wouldn't have been possible if not for my committee of students, the Magnificent 7, as well as a few of their friends who helped set up and clean up. The Mag 7 did everything from helping me run the games, work the computer, bribe the room cleaners for an extra hour of electricity, and serve popcorn to the 200 guests.

When most of the students arrived, Kathy welcomed everyone and told them she had a special guest: Barack Obama. I walked in with my Obama mask, and the crowd went wild. Believe me, I am plenty vain enough to have thoroughly enjoyed that brief moment of superstar status. And I definitely did stand and wave for a full minute before delivering my presidential message.

After I was done basking in Obama's glory, we started the games. They were a mess, as the contestants either did not understand the directions, or chose to ignore them. I doubt the former, for I'm sure Kathy did a great job translating my instructions into Chinese. Regardless, the games were fun and the crowd seemed to enjoy them. During one of the balloon popping relay games, in which the point was to blow up a balloon and then pop it by sitting on it, one of the plastic stools broke, sending a contested hurtling onto the floor. The audience sure loved that, and luckily the girl was unhurt.

Once the games were through, we passed out popcorn to everyone. Yes, all of the 200 guests got popcorn. I bought a ton the day before in Fuling and spent a good part of the afternoon popping them, so you can imagine how thrilled I was that there were enough people to eat it all. Then I showed "Twilight," mostly because Edward is hot, and also because there were supposed to be Chinese subtitles. But as always happens in my classes, the computer system failed me and I could only get the English subtitles to work. So in the end, I lost about half of my guests. The ones who were stayed were those of my students most dedicated to mastering English, and I have a feeling that they stayed only because they didn't want to hurt my feelings by leaving. Or because Edward is really hot. :P

All in all, I would say the party was a success, but I am so, so glad that it's over with. Organizing an event is stressful when you lack guanxi and the ability to communicate directly with key people. In time, though, I'm sure it'll get easier.

Here's some pics: