Days 116-118: The Days Before Christmas

Well, it's getting closer to Christmas here, but it really doesn't feel a whole lot like Christmas. We are not getting cards or presents, and we just have our silly little Charlie Brown tree up on the dresser: much less extravagant than last year. It also sort of feels that people in the states have forgotten about us; I’m really not hearing from anyone. So it feels kind of lonely. And Monday I will have to work on Christmas day for the first time ever. I am trying not to let myself get down about that. However, in the meantime, I have work that I need to do: "....promises to keep / And miles to go before I sleep."

Friday we did two major things: we actually attended the SISU Chinese class for the first time in awhile. Not a lot of folks were there: just me, Kerry, Guillermo, Carlo, Navin, and the Japanese professor (whose name I forget). The class today focused a lot on directions: left, right, up, down, stop, north, south, east, west. It’s a lot of writing down of vocabulary. Near the end, we were playing a game where we were counting off to six—shouting out numbers--and then naming the favorite fruits of others who shouted out the same time as us. It was silly but somewhat interesting and effective. Afterwards, Kerry and I carried on our typical Ciao Café tradition: me with my tuna panini, him with his Ciao sandwich. Soon after, I went on to the SISU International Party. I wish I could say that I loved this party, but I didn’t. Perhaps I was just in a bad mood because of my ear and because of my depression. First we had to listen to about 30 minutes of speeches. Then we got some food, which was okay but had limited protein options.  (Still, I could tell that they tried.) And I didn’t win any raffle prizes, even though there were over 30 of them. It was nice to socialize with some folks: Carol, Peter, Alex, Richard, Tomasz, Raymond were all there. I met a woman named Judith, born in Lebanon who lived her life in Bahrain, who seemed nice. A woman to my left, like Judith, was also in the School of Education; however, I forgot her name. (One problem I have with Chinese folks is that it’s difficult for me to remember their names unless they give me their cards.) She was quite pleasant, though. After eating, there was some “entertainment,” which mostly consisted of bad singing and even worse poetry that most people tuned out. I did get to see my video “Happy New Year” wish that I did, along with many others—this segment went on a bit long, though. One guy, Greg, did a good job singing a song in Chinese, and playing his guitar: something about him bothers me, though—maybe I am just jealous of younger people who are too perfect. Steve Kulich from the Intercultural Center led a good round of “Silent Night” in German, English, and Chinese. And then Betty Barr, one of the first professors at SISU (she’s very nice—84 years old, with Scottish roots) and her husband led us all in “Auld Land Syne” to conclude the evening. (Prior to this, her husband went on and on about how much he loved SISU and his wife, etc.) I made a quick exit after this, and went on to the surprisingly uncrowded 745 bus, rode it, then walked home. Overall, the evening passed time, but I was hoping for a bit more. As I said, I wasn’t in the best mood, so perhaps that affected my impressions a bit. I just wasn’t in the mood to socialize, really.

Some pictures from the party:

Before the party.

Navin gives a speech. He also win the big raffle prize!

Rania, the Greek instructor!

Richard, Alex English, Steve K. and a few others sing "Silent Night."

Betty Barr and her husband lead us in "Auld Lang Syne."

Saturday not much went on—mostly graded and did prep for the Short Novels class—and took a nap. I actually got all my response papers graded! We had pork chops and potatoes for dinner, and Kerry made a tomato and cucumber salad; he’s getting a bit creative with his cooking lately.

Christmas Eve Day: Most of today was spent at Morton’s in Shanghai. And, fortunately for us, it was a good time! We both had a crab cake appetizer; Kerry had tomato bisque soup while I had a wedge salad (with the lettuce chopped up, though; and then we each had a steak for dinner, along with some spinach and mushrooms as well as some scrumptious mashed potatoes. It was really a splendid meal: the wait staff spoke English, catered to our needs, and it wasn’t even that crowded. We spent three hours there, savoring the time. We decided to take the subway home, and we even walked home from the subway station. Even though the air was crisp, it felt more like a fall Minnesota day than Christmas Eve. I saw a lot of Santa hats and heard a lot of Christmas music. But still Christmas has nowhere near as much of a presence here as it does in the USA. However, as of this writing, I feel pretty good. My ear feels a bit better, and I’m getting some work done while Kerry’s taking a nap.

Some Morton's pictures:

Crab cake appetizer.

Wedge salad.

Steak with mashed potatoes, pate de foie gras.

Kerry's chocolate cake.

I sense that tomorrow—Christmas Day—will be weird and difficult—but hopefully my work will keep me distracted. We shall see. It is so very strange to be so disconnected from all the Christmas goings-on. However, we did have a nice day today and I’m glad we got out of the house to celebrate in our own way.