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Published: December 27th 2010
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As I write this, it is currently 3:20 p.m. on Monday, December 26th. I should be at school enduring my 5th class of the day but not anymore! I dunno what I did in my past life but it must have been something good because as of today I am officially done with my semester of teaching (knock on wood)! My semester was supposed to end January 14th but I guess my school actually gets out January 7th and after the 3rd week in December they take one week to prepare for exams and the next week taking them. I was definitely a little sad to say bye to the kids but I made sure to snap a lot of photos and videos of them so I wouldn’t forget them. On the other hand, 6 classes a day/5 days a week is something that I will definitely not miss!
What the coolest part about all this is, is that I am being paid for not having any more work left! The company pays us on a month by month basis so even though I only worked one week out of the four I will still get paid for all four! To
be honest, I have been so busy these past 4 months between school, learning Chinese, and forming a company that now I do not know what to do with myself! I guess ill devote more time to this so you can live vicariously through me haha. Anyone got any suggestions for me?
Anyways, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
This was the second time I have experienced Christmas in a foreign country (Ireland 2008) and the first time away from my family. It would have been nice to be home and celebrate it with them but I think I got the next best thing celebrating it with my friends who have practically become family through this whole experience.
As I mentioned briefly in my last post, the most amazing thing about Christmas in China is that there IS Christmas in China! What I mean by that is that everywhere I went for the past month, I would see Christmas trees lit up, store clerks wearing Santa hats, people saying Merry Christmas to each other, etc. Being in a country where the official religion is atheist and the majority of people who are religious are Buddhist I would have assumed
there would be no trace of Christmas spirit here.
Now granted they don’t celebrate it for the same reasons a good catholic boy like me does but they celebrate it none the less. China’s affinity for anything western is clearly evident in their idea of Christmas. They know that this holiday is celebrated in the western world and are totally fascinated by the idea of a man on a sleigh with flying reindeer who passes out presents and wears a goofy hat. They have absolutely no idea about the religious aspects of Christmas and I wasn’t going to be the one to tell them for fear I would be thrown in jail by the government haha. Just kidding but seriously.
I started off Christmas eve by spending my morning teaching my final four classes at the school and saying my good byes to the kids. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I wasn’t coming back next semester (I found a job with the same pay and only half the hours). On my way out I even got to watch their “Merry Christmas” talent show which included a fashion show, a dance competition, and a performance of Michael Jackson’s
‘Just Beat It,’ moonwalk and vulgar thrusting of the hips included.
The fellas and I decided to a Secret Santa gift exchange between the 6 of us so after school I took the metro down to get some shopping down for Sean, who I pulled for my secret Santa. He had been eyeing this Nike jacket all week so when he was busy at class I went and picked it up. On Christmas day he had no idea! After shopping, I had to make a quick stop at the company to pick up my gift that was sent by parents! Thanks mom and dad the presents were great! I waited to Christmas morning to open it so I would have something to look forward to in the morning. In the box was a fresh pair of Nikes-had to have them send some over cuz no stores in China have me size, life time supply of protein bars-no source of protein over here what so ever, slam magazines, Dumb and Dumber, a guardian angel, and an Irish cross!
Later that night I met up with the guys to go grab something to eat before heading to mass. We first tried Pizza
Hut which in China, is considered a high end dining experience but after the hostess told us that it was a 45 minute wait we decided to pass. A few more restraints later we were still walking around with empty stomachs, it was extremely busy because everyone was out celebrating Christmas haha. We decided to bag the dinner and head to Church early to get good seats.
The mass started at 930 and we pulled up around 815 and I kid you not, the line to get into the church was 3-4 blocks long. I couldn’t believe it. It was actually kind of frustrating because the Chinese people were waiting in line with Santa Hats on and reindeer antlers on. They wanted to go to church on Christmas Eve because that’s what westerners do. They were going to church as an attraction, it was actually a little frustrating to tell you the truth. Since there was no shot we were getting in we decided to scrap it and go get a burger and a beer at the ‘Tavern’ the expat bar in Guangzhou.
On Christmas day we all met up at Tim and Marks spot to celebrate. After we were
all done skyping with our parents, we made a few holiday cocktails, turned on the Christmas music, and did our secret Santa gift exchange. Thanks to Tim, I came up on two pairs of Kobe shorts. Thanks Tim!
After relaxing and enjoying Christmas together we met up with a few other friends and had a big Christmas dinner at ‘Hooleys’ Irish Pub. Potatoes, lamb, ham, gravy, and stuffing. It was all you can eat so I was not going to take it easy. It was so nice to be able to use a fork and knife again and enjoy a Christmas meal.
After that, we all went to this Chinese dance club where we were the only foreigners there and once the club shut down we were ushered up to a KTV (karaoke) where we shared a few more drinks and sang some songs with our new Chinese friends to the early hours of the morning. If you told me what I would have been doing on Christmas a year ago I woulda told you you were crazy. Man what an experience it was, it turned out to be a Christmas that I can easily say, I will never forget!
I got some photos of the various Christmas decorations around the city and a few of us on Christmas. Once I get the other guys to send me some of their pictures I will upload those too. Stay tuned for my next post about my teaching trials and tribulations complete with pictures of the cute Chinese kids!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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Mary McGrath
non-member comment
Merry Christmas
Hi Ronan, Thanks for sharing your Chinese Christmas with us. It is all the same depending on what is in your heart no matter where you are. It sounds like you made the most of the day. Bryan Gumport came by last night. He is home visiting from Taiwan where he is teaching for another 2-3 months. I told him that you were on the same plan so maybe you will find a way to connect. Lots of love and wishes for continued great adventures and a Happy New Year, Mary