Thanksgiving in Xi'an

We have enjoyed a most interesting Thanksgiving week in Xi'an and are glad to have a chance to say hello, to wish you well, and to tell you we are grateful for YOU.

Each time an American holiday rolls around I like to share it with my oral students and Thanksgiving was a very special time to be able to do so. I prepared a power point presentation to teach them about our traditions. Then to get them talking I passed out popcorn and raisins (in memory of corn and dried fruit that the Pilgrims may have eaten) and had each student stand in turn and talk about what they value, what they were grateful for and what they wished for in the coming year, before they could eat their popcorn and fruit.

The rules I set up required that they could not repeat what someone else said and they had to explain WHY they valued, were grateful, or wished for what they shared by telling of an experience or a story that illustrated those things. It was a very successful week and in the process I was filled with gratitude for all my blessings.

Certainly at the top of my list are family relationships. Whether we are near or far, they are treasures in our hearts. I am very grateful for the opportunities we have been blessed with and wish for the Lord’s choicest blessings to be with us all and that through His grace we can learn the things we are supposed to learn while we are on this beautiful earth, in whatever place we find ourselves.

We have had a glorious week of perfect autumn weather. Crisp and cold but nothing demanding the long underwear the Chinese wear every day from October until April. They even have furry lined long underwear that is amazing. If temperatures drop significantly we may follow their lead, but for now we are savoring the season and are not feeling sad about having missed Utah's bitter cold and stormy skies of this week.

Our week included our first Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday night at our friends, Dave and Julie Monson's apartment. I made "pumpkin" pie from Chinese squash, which we balanced on a bus without mishap.

Our branch then had a Thanksgiving dinner at the Tang Dynasty restaurant with our members as well as a number of guests--foreign passport holders from Germany, France, Mongolia, Armenia, and the USA. Most of them are teachers at one or another of our various universities. It was fun to reach out to others to join with us. The Algerian/French fellow, who brought his fiance, a beautiful Mongolian/Korean girl named Bulgan, made the comment to Julie Monson, that this was the first time anyone had invited him to anything since he came to China 18 months ago. It was fun to enjoy their company, sitting as they were across from us on the long, long dining table. It was a nice evening.

Friday was another big teaching day for both of us, though particularly for John, who had his usual eight-hour marathon, but with a twist. He had a ball with his students teaching process writing by distributing ziploc baggies of kiddie legos to groups of his students. They were asked to design a puzzle toy and to write a description of each step to assemble their creation. Once that was completed they disassembled their puzzles and passed their bags with their written instructions to another group to try to assemble it. The students loved the class. (They may look like they are 15, but these are serious, and very bright, graduate students!)

Friday night John and I spend our traditional day-after-Thanksgiving by decorating our Christmas tree. I had been shopping at Kung Fu Lu--an amazing assemblage of tiny stores where you can find just about everything Light Industry doesn't have, including a couple of little holes in the wall that had pint-sized Christmas trees. I had bought one for 30 kuai (about $4.50) only to then find one that was taller for Julie that was only 10 kuai ($1.50)! I think I was taken advantage of. But whatever, we laughed our way through shop after shop and I came home with an odd assortment of this and that. John then decorated the tree while I looked on. He said it was sure easy this year. He could pick up the tree and wind the lights all in one step. The various little lights and lighted fruits we put on are pretty amazing. They have a little box attached to the strand that allows you to click a button to change the pattern of the way the lights work: blinking in different colors, fading in and dimming out, holding steady, etc. etc. There are eight variations in all. All worth a laugh. Anyway, we hope the beginning of your Christmas holiday season is a happy one.