When I say that I don't celebrate Christmas, all of my students gasp in wonderment. An American who doesn't celebrate Christmas? Then I have to explain what Christianity is and why I'm not Christian and why I also don't celebrate Easter. I'm sure these holidays are relevant in China only because the Chinese understand that they are significant in the US. A lot of my students related Thanksgiving to the Chinese mid-Autumn moon festival; a time when you get together with friends and family, but they had no idea as to what Thanksgiving was really about; historically and culturally, at least.
On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, I went with some other foreigners to eat huoguo, Chinese hotpot; essentially a simmering bowl of hot oil in which you cook various dishes in before eating. I hear hot pot is more popular in Sichuan province than it is in some of the other areas, which may be because of the Sichuan propensity to spicy foods. It was as close to a Thanksgiving dinner as one could actually get in Nanchong.
In my writing class last week, I taught about how to write thesis statements. As an example, I had students come up with a list of facts about a topic, come up with a few thesis statements about the topic, and then underline the facts that support that statement. As a demonstration, the class made facts about the school dining hall which is apparently a den of rank and inedible filth that no one likes. Everyone was negative about the dining hall, and supplied facts like, "The food quality is poor", "The service is slow", and "The chopsticks smell bad". Then one of my students said that, "The peanuts taste good", and I thought it was one of the funniest things I've ever heard. I've started using it to describe other situations in the way that you might use the phrase, "Well at least you have your health". For example, my apartment is cold, the floor is dirty, and I need to take the trash out.. But at least the peanuts are good".
After waiting several weeks and many trips to the old campus, I've also finally got my saxophone from home. I'm not sure where it was during the week in which I know it arrived and the time I picked it up, but at least it is here and with me. I inqu
ired at the music department about finding some other people, a bass player or a piano player, to help make a little jazz group. Chu Longfei, a very nice guy and a saxophone student at the school, said he knew some people and would ask around. It sounds promising.Last Friday I went to Chengdu to buy a new camera and visit Pierce, another PCV who was in Chengdu for some health exams after being injured in an altercation coming out of a bar at his site in Lanzhou, Gansu province. It was good to see him and we and another PCV Matt went to a Western restaurant called "Pete's". Nothing like a break from Chinese cuisine. I got a Reuben sandwich and Key Lime pie. So good.
I took the bus down to Chengdu in the morning, but because the busses stop at around 6:30, I was forced to take the 9:30 train back which
takes another hour. The train has assigned seats and when I went to my seat, I found it was taken by a Chinese construction worker talking with his friends. I found a seat nearby as to not disturb the man, but eventually someone told me I was in his seat and I had to move. I apprehensively went up to my real seat and showed the worker my ticket. He apologized and I sat there uncomfortably for a few minutes until I whipped out the pack of cards I had in my pocket and asked the workers if they wanted how to play "Dou Di Zhu" a game similar to "Asshole". It literally means "Kill the landlord" and everyone knows how to play it here. People usually play for money (about five kuai a hand), but I am reluctant to ever do that. Everyone crowded around to see the laowai playing cards. It was a great time. I asked them some questions and then took a nap. I woke up to find everyone else around me also passed out. It was the first time being on a Chinese train, but certainly not the last.
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