For the first time in 37 years, I was not with my aunts, uncle, cousins, parents, and sisters for Christmas dinner. Nevertheless, I was able to speak with them during a frenetic Skype call and to enjoy turkey, beef, potatoes, and a lot of wonderful rum balls with several of my colleagues and foreign friends in Changchun.
My day began with breakfast at a little hole in the wall that serves
baozi. I go here all the time and get a tray like the one pictured for about eighty US cents or five yuan.
In the morning, I went to visit an orphanage. I expected it would be a miserable place, but found a state-of-the-art facility that was extremely tidy. The girls dormitory rooms, where we were shown, all had pink sheets. The girls were in Japanese schoolgirl-style uniforms. I taught them all "We Wish You A Merry Christmas" and one of my colleagues told a story. For most of the time, I and a Chinese teacher from my school were with three fourteen year-old girls. They were sweet and full of questions about America. I introduced myself with my Chinese name. We sang a couple songs and played a game with chopsticks and lollipops that was coordinated by some students from Shi Da Fu Zhong, who helped plan this adventure. Apparently, my picture was in the newspaper yesterday.
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They played some fun games and listened to a story. |
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We had an Asian student Santa Claus (aka Saint Nicholas) by the name of Jack. |
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These girls were 13-14 years old. The one all the way to the left was in my small group. |
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Beneath the beds were several pairs of Crocs for each girl and several basins for laundry, cold feet, etc. |
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They each have a little area for drying laundry, which did my heart good! The clothes freeze almost instantly at this time of year. |
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There was an abundance of over-sized stuffed animals, which is a society-wide phenomena. I am missing the gene that allows me to understand the Chinese affiliation for stuffed animals. |
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