Dear beloved friends, family & followers.
If you have forgotten about me, I completely understand and I take full responsibility. I apologize for my lack of blogging – It’s been surprisingly tricky to determine what to write about (and when to write about it).
So, quick update: I am doing great! I am still enjoying Hangzhou and I am really enjoying my job. Though I’ve been getting homesick (especially now that the holiday season has begun), the fact that I am on this great adventure makes up for what I’m missing.
This week has been a little more difficult than others, however, because it was the first Thanksgiving I have spent away from my family. And, to make it worse, Thursdays are my long days (I teach morning classes, afternoon classes AND a night class – I am literally on campus for 12 hours straight!). So, I had no time to even celebrate a mock Thanksgiving on actual Thanksgiving Day.
Fortunately, I have some really thoughtful students who helped make my Thanksgiving Day a little brighter. On Thursday afternoon, I teach a class from 1:30 to 3:00. These students are sophomore English majors and there are roughly 25 of them in my class. They have always been one of my stronger classes and I really enjoy teaching them.
So, on Thanksgiving, I am walking towards the classroom and one of my students (Sasha) pulls me away from the classroom and outside. She begins to tell me that she and her boyfriend have just broken up, and she is very upset, and so on. I had a feeling something was going on though, since she told me all this with a smile on her face. Once she finished telling me of her woes, she told me to close my eyes and she led me to the classroom. When I opened them, I was surrounded by my students standing in a circle and singing a lovely song in Chinese. They even printed out the lyrics and translated them for me so I could follow along. They had also decorated the chalk board with pictures of turkey, pie, the Macy’s Parade, and tons of balloons, all of which surrounded the words “Happy Thanksgiving Day!” I was so surprised that I nearly cried! After they finished their song, they went around the circle saying what they were thankful for, and after everyone finished, they all said in unison that they were thankful for having me as a teacher. Then, they presented me with a gift – a heating pad with a precious teddy bear embroidered on the top (heating pads are really popular over here since the heating systems don’t work well/don’t exist). I was so touched, I could not stop smiling. Finally, they gave me a poster which said “Happy Thanksgiving Olivia.” Framing the words were colorful post-it notes on which each student wrote why they are thankful to have me as a teacher. Reading those notes after class actually made my eyes water (and I am not generally an openly emotional person, so this was big!) I still can’t believe the effort my students took to make my Thanksgiving so special. I feel so fortunate that I have students like these. It’s the experiences like this that remind me how lucky I am to be experiencing this adventure.
So, on Thanksgiving, I am walking towards the classroom and one of my students (Sasha) pulls me away from the classroom and outside. She begins to tell me that she and her boyfriend have just broken up, and she is very upset, and so on. I had a feeling something was going on though, since she told me all this with a smile on her face. Once she finished telling me of her woes, she told me to close my eyes and she led me to the classroom. When I opened them, I was surrounded by my students standing in a circle and singing a lovely song in Chinese. They even printed out the lyrics and translated them for me so I could follow along. They had also decorated the chalk board with pictures of turkey, pie, the Macy’s Parade, and tons of balloons, all of which surrounded the words “Happy Thanksgiving Day!” I was so surprised that I nearly cried! After they finished their song, they went around the circle saying what they were thankful for, and after everyone finished, they all said in unison that they were thankful for having me as a teacher. Then, they presented me with a gift – a heating pad with a precious teddy bear embroidered on the top (heating pads are really popular over here since the heating systems don’t work well/don’t exist). I was so touched, I could not stop smiling. Finally, they gave me a poster which said “Happy Thanksgiving Olivia.” Framing the words were colorful post-it notes on which each student wrote why they are thankful to have me as a teacher. Reading those notes after class actually made my eyes water (and I am not generally an openly emotional person, so this was big!) I still can’t believe the effort my students took to make my Thanksgiving so special. I feel so fortunate that I have students like these. It’s the experiences like this that remind me how lucky I am to be experiencing this adventure.
So, I’m sure you’re wondering whether I actually had a Thanksgiving feast and I am happy to say, yes! Yes, I did! On Sunday, a group of American teachers all pitched in for a lovely, makeshift Thanksgiving feast. We had chicken (no turkey in China), stuffing, corn, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, chili, and plenty more. And for dessert, we had sweet potato pie (which is a lot like pumpkin pie), apple pie, chocolate chip cookies, no-bake cookies, fudge brownies, marble cake, and cheesecake. It was by far one of the best meals I’ve had since I’ve been here. Not only was the food good, but it was a great opportunity to appreciate all the friends I’ve made since I’ve come to China and thank them for all their help and support. There were 9 of us overall (Me, Rachel – NY, Dave – CA, Theresa – WA, Pat & Justin – MI, Phyllis – CA, Alex – NJ and Jared – WI) and there was enough food for about 18. So, on Monday we had round two and nearly finished most of the food and dessert.
So, even though this Thanksgiving has been relatively unconventional and I really missed spending time with my family, I think it has probably been the most thankful Thanksgiving I have ever had. I hope that all of you reading this had lovely Thanksgivings and excellent Black Fridays (as my sister pointed out, every day is Black Friday in China – it’s so inexpensive!) and I hope that the rest of your holiday seasons can be stress-free and enjoyable.
Sorry again for the HUGE delay, I’ll try to get better.
感恩节快乐! (Gǎn'ēn jié kuàilè - Happy Thanksgiving)
Olivia
