Thanksgiving in China

Well it’s the 4th Thursday of November here in China. But it isn't actually thanksgiving in America until tomorrow, and it just feels like another day here. I am doing a thanksgiving lesson in my activity class today however, and I plan to explain to them that I should be sitting on the couch and eating stuffing while watching football. "This is what we like to do in America. We stuff our face with food and watch TV." God bless America. Oh I just realized that I haven’t posted since the election. Between Hong Kong TV and a fast internet connection I was able to watch all the results come in live, it was 12 noon here on November 5th when they called it. Needless to say I was ecstatic, and have never felt more homesick than I did that afternoon. I have this newfound pride in America that I have never felt before. It’s very weird, let me tell you. I think my expectations of Obama are so high that there is no way he will ever live up to them. But really, it doesn’t matter. He hasn’t even taken office yet and I already feel good knowing that on January 20th there will be a President in the White House that is not a moron. (sigh of relief)

But anyways, what is this blog supposed to be about? Oh ya, China! Since my last post I have done a bit of traveling. First was Hong Kong, which is actually very close. With public transportation it only takes about 2 hours from my school in Shenzhen to downtown Hong Kong. The most notable thing about Hong Kong is the number of foreigners there. I can actually walk around and no one stares at me! I'm like, hey come on guys, look at me, I’m American, I’m special! Jeez the least you could do is point at me and call me a foreigner. But in all seriousness, it’s nice to blend in again. Everyone there also speaks English, and the feel is very western.

Later that week I went to Macau. Macau is the self proclaimed Vegas of the East. It is a port city that was occupied by the Portuguese. It is technically part of China but has a high degree of autonomy, at least for the next 40 years or so. Portuguese is one of their official languages, and is written on many signs, but no one speaks it. The main draw of this place for most people, and for me, is the casinos. You can find pretty much any game you want in the city’s assorted casinos, however the minimum bet ranges from about $15 – 75 (US). At this rate, your $750 a month salary doesn’t last long. So after losing all I was prepared to lose on the first night, I had to find other things to do for the rest of the weekend. And it turns out there are a ton of sights in the area - old churches and temples, museums, and great restaurants. Little shops all over the city sell egg tarts, which are mini pies made out of egg custard deliciousness. This city is also very close to Shenzhen, only about an hour or two by boat.

Last weekend I went to Shanghai. My friends Shannon and Owen arrived in Shanghai on Saturday night, so I decided what the heck, Ill head up there for the weekend. I took the 2 hour plane ride up there on Friday morning, and went sightseeing by myself until Saturday evening. There is a lot to see in Shanghai. “The Bund” is a very famous street on the Huangpu River, and my hostel was located about a block from it. There is a lot of cool architecture along the Bund, dating back to the late 1800s and a monument to the people’s heroes of china. Across the river is Pudong, which has skyscrapers that at one point were some of the tallest buildings in China. However, the day that Shannon, Owen and I were there, it was extremely foggy and we figured it was not worth the money to go to the top floor just to see clouds. In the center of downtown Shanghai is people’s square. This area also has large park and a few museums that are pretty sweet. My favorite was the urban planning exhibition hall, which had incredibly intricate models of the entire city, and showed the mapping process for designing a city like Shanghai. Because of its history, Shanghai has a lot more tourists, and most Chinese people are frantically trying to sell you something or trick you into getting outrageously overpriced tea with them. This was quite a shock coming from Shenzhen, where every Chinese person I have met has been very nice and exceedingly generous.

While I enjoyed my trip to Shanghai, I missed the thanksgiving dinner that my program put together for all the foreign teachers last Sunday. So I am missing you all today, and wishing I could hang out in rainy Seattle with family and friends and thanksgiving leftovers for the next couple of days.

But I have an interesting weekend planned nonetheless. Tomorrow, I will be attending a job fair in Shenzhen, which I will be mainly volunteering at as an English speaker. I am not sure exactly what this will entail but I’m sure it will be entertaining. On Saturday, I will be accompanying students from my school to a competition where they will perform an English play that I have helped them rehearse. They got 1st place last weekend while I was in Shanghai, so they are in the finals this weekend. This event, I am also sure, will not disappoint.

That’s all for now. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!