Merry Christmas

---

Some people celebrate Christmas on the 25th December. In other calendars, the 7th January. Some celebrate it in the snow and others the hot sun.
But in China, Santa Claus and festive music will still be with you in late March with the blossom and warm afternoons. Now I'm aware of the arguments over His birth. Shepherds watched their flock that night which is something they'd do during the lambing season in Spring. But there is no such logic or foundation behind China wishing to continue the holiday past Dec/Jan. For them, Christmas is a recent discovery with irresistible gaudiness. So they tie it in with Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) and now even a month later, I walk down the street in a tshirt and see images of Santa smiling back at me from shop windows as 'Jack Frost nipping at your toes' drifts past.

My routine is starting to take shape now. I teach on Friday nights and all day Saturday and Sunday, dragging myself home coughing up chalk on Sunday nights. I drink a lot of water on Sunday nights lest dehydration wakes me up before midday on the Monday. Tuesdays I study Chinese with my tutor and Wednesdays I take Chinese classes with friends. Wednesday night is Yoga and the point in the week when I have to think seriously about lesson planning... but there's always another dvd night or restaurant to enjoy! The weeks are flying in. Friday (the eve of my working week) comes around all too fast and the weekends are so full of teaching that I barely have time to sit down before its all over and I can drink a litre of water and wake up Monday lunchtime.

Clare x

---