Blue Christmas

Ill have a Blue Christmas without you.... That is the holiday theme song for this year I have decided. Christmas is not the same without my family around. Nothing is the same about Christmas this year. The children in China don't even care that Santa Claus is coming. To them its like oh ya Christmas.  China for Christmas blows. Lets just be honest here. The lights and decorations they have here are interesting to say the least. Like what is this... I don't even know.

I saw a Chinese Santa Claus today on the way to work. He literally was super skinny and you could tell the beard was fake. Disappointing. Santa is coming to work tomorrow so hopefully this will be a good Santa. (I know it will be).

That holiday spirit is just not there. Usually this time of year people are saying Merry Christmas and have good cheer. Everyone is usually in a chipper mood. I really haven't seen that here. I have had one parent tell me Merry Christmas. And as for holiday cheer..my learning partners fighting in Chinese three days before Christmas really lightens the mood. To top it off I don't hear nearly enough Christmas music. At home you overwhelmed with it. Here not so much.

I realize I have a lot to be thankful for. And I am. I am thankful for this job at Disney. I am thankful that I have loving friends and family. I am thankful that I am healthy and alive. I am thankful I am able to have this experience in China. So yes does being in China for Christmas suck. Yes it does. But in the long run it will be an experience I won't forget. And it makes me grateful for all my silly family Christmas antics. I miss walking down the stairs in my pjs oldest to youngest at 645 in the morning with traditional Christmas music in the background.

When in doubt....

I find myself embracing the culture more and more the longer that I live here. Embracing the culture might be a bit of strong word..... I am doing things that I would never do at home simply because I am in China.  The things I do are not weird to Chinese people in fact its quite normal. I am starting to blend in. (minus my white skin...)

When I go outside now I wear a face mask because its cold. I should wear a face mask for protection because the air pollution is so bad but I wear one to keep warm. They sell masks everywhere its a fashion statement. They have masks with all kinds of designs. But the main purpose of these mask is to keep you warm. I need a mask that does both protects from the pollution and keeps the warmth. (Especially since my chest is hurting tonight...)
 

I am also now a proud owner of Reindeer hat with a big fuzzy ball on top.  Now I don't know if Reindeer print is in style in the States but it is in style in Beijing. People wear Reindeer hats, scarfs, sweaters, leggings and gloves. I personally now want to buy said Reindeer outfits because frankly I think they are adorable! (And who cares I am in China I can wear what I want everyone stares at me anyway!)

I like drinking hot water now. I would never just drink plain hot water. To me that is disgusting. In fact when I first got here I was like why would anyone drink hot water. I Find myself being ok with the fact they give me hot water and actually enjoying it. There are several reasons for this. One being it is super cold here. Two I know the water has been boiled so therefore it is most certainly safe to drink. Three it warms me up and Four we all know its the cure for everything! (last part is said with sarcasm)

And lastly today I went to McDonalds. McDonalds here is not quite the same as back home. They have two beef selections Double  Cheeseburger and the Big Mac that's its. But it tastes exactly the same. The rest is chicken all kinds of interesting chicken. They also have pineapple pie and taro root pie. And the shell is flaky. They don't have salad there but they have corn and chicken legs. So when I went to McDonalds today I decided to get chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce (just like home) and corn. The corn was actually really good! I was shocked! 

So yes I am embracing China slowly. I will never fully embrace it. I won't ever spit in the streets, push people onto the subway, or fully understand the language. But its ok I like the weird things I have picked up in China. I like reindeer hats, masks, corn and hot water....

Cold Days

When they said Beijing was cold I thought they were exaggerating. I thought oh I am from Pittsburgh its cold in Pittsburgh. Nothing really prepared me for what I experienced today......

They decided today would be a good day to close my subway line down to get it ready for the extending of the subway line. I knew that getting to work and from work was going to be tricky. Getting to work was a piece of cake, hopped into a cab and got there. Coming home from work was a different story. I got off of work at 530. Before I left  I could see out the window that the traffic was really backed up and there was a ton of people outside. But I bravely thought oh I can get a taxi no problem! I bundled up my four layers of tops and just jeans (mistake always wear two pants) and my down coat. I thought ok I am warm and ready to go.

Getting outside I realized that it wasn't just 20 degrees, the wind was howling like nuts. Making it feel like 0 degrees outside. So cold..... I walk around trying to get a taxi. The traffic was backed up and the taxi's were not stopping for me. Other people got in taxi's but when I tried to call a taxi they zoomed right passed me. After 45 minutes I walk back to work in disgust and in tears. I was so cold I couldn't feel my fingers or my legs anymore. Luckily my friend called me and she had a friend that helped me get on a bus to get home. I didn't get home until around 800.

So moral of this story...Beijing is cold. Really cold. It is nothing like Pittsburgh, the wind is horrible. SO I will no longer make fun of those people from the warmer climates when they say Beijing is so cold. It is cold.  And I am going to move somewhere warm when this is all said and done. As much as I love my new winter coat, I really really really hate being cold..... 

No Place like Beijing....

Christmas in Beijing is interesting. I find myself listening to Christmas music more willingly on my Iphone then I would ever do back home. My favorite is the song that goes There is no place like home for the holidays....well I can't go home for the holidays. I have to work Christmas Eve! Lucky for me my day off falls on actual Christmas. A lot of people are not so lucky. But working in China means you don't get Western holidays. So not that big of a deal. (I mean I wont complain because I actually don't work on Christmas haha)

There are decorations everywhere in this city. Nothing like back home but there are decorations. I find myself seeking out decorations to see a bit of normalcy. I am taking pictures of Christmas displays and Christmas lights because I am so excited to see them! My friends and I went around yesterday exploring the city looking for a Christmas display! (We found it!)  They have trees in the malls, lights up in some places and Christmas decor in the stores. Some of the Christmas displays don't read Christmas like the heart tree in front of the mall near my apartment but I will take it. It makes it feel a little bit more like home.

At work we decorated our classroom for Christmas. I had the children draw Christmas trees. They decorated the trees so beautifully. All the trees looked like something out of a catalog. (Which is probably all they see). Back in the states a four year old draw a tree it will have some round circles on it and maybe a star. The trees they draw are the kind you see in the department stores. I asked my assistant if the Santa comes to their house and leaves presents for the children and she said I don't know what you mean by that. So obviously they don't celebrate it the same as we do. But they do have a name for santa Claus. Shan dan lao gogo. So they know who is it but don't celebrate Christmas. Very interesting concept. A lot of the girls at work don't understand the Christmas story. So my suggestion....Watch Santa Claus is Coming to Town!  (That has all the answers!)