Tis the Season

Merry Christmas to all from China! The last couple of weeks have been the busiest of the semester so I really have not had time to think too much about the fact that this will be my first Christmas away from home. I am also very thankful because my parents will be coming to visit me in just a few weeks! China has definitely taken in the commercial side of Christmas. Our school decorated the hallways with Christmas trees way overdone (let's just say too much tinsel and plastic ornaments can be tacky). We even had a life-size singing and dancing Santa Claus in the courtyard. We were able to teach the reason of the season and share the nativity story with our classes. For some students, it may have been the first time they have heard His name which is an awesome thing to get to be a part of!
Last night we had an English performance of songs, dances, and skits that we have been working very hard on for the past couple of weeks. I have learned that Chinese people are very serious when it comes to performing and they work very hard to make a great show. Acts included Justin Beiber's "Baby", Backstreet Boy's "As Long as You Love Me", and a scene performed from Kung Fu Panda. I will have videos to share when I return to the States if anyone is interested! I was in two of the acts with my 4th graders as a narrator for a scene from the story "Ali Baba" that they have been reading in class, and a song I had taught them this semester "The Respect Song." The Grand Finale was a dance performed by the Chinese English teachers and the foreign teachers, "We're All in this Together" from High School Musical. It was a fun day of helping the students get all done up (they even put stage make up on boys here- it's quite funny) and performing with them.
Today my teammates and I went caroling to our students in the cafeteria, singing "Jingle Bells," "Joy to the World," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." It was awesome to see the smiles and joy on our students faces and to hear them join in singing with us. We will be spending Christmas Eve tonight with one of our Chinese co-teachers and here daughter and I am planning to make Chicken Parmesan :) Tomorrow we will be together as a team at our team leaders apartment, joining with their family's tradition of having a taco lunch, playing games, and watching Christmas movies!

"Very beautiful! Very beautiful indeed!"

Even though Christmas is not celebrated as prominently here, our team is still feeling the holiday rush as there are many end of the semester activities going on. Next week, we will have the opening ceremonies of the first annual English Festival that will last about a week at our school. The students will get to display some of their English writings, art work, and the festival will end with a performance of English songs. The school has asked me and my teammates to be a part of this performance by dancing to "We're All in This Together" from High School Musical. We have two weeks to learn the dance and have rehearsals with the Chinese teachers so we can perform it together! I know the students are going to love it and I will probably feel like a rockstar for a night.
I will be teaching my lessons about Christmas next week. It will be a time we can really share what Christmas is all about so I am excited for the opportunity to share hope with my students. We are going to be putting on a short Christmas play in our class called, "Christmas Around the World." I have looked up different Christmas traditions from different countries and I will be assigning students to different countries. They will become the expert on their country's traditions. We are then going to learn the song "Joy to the World." I am hoping it will be a neat opportunity for them to see He came for people of all nations! We will also be having a Christmas cookie decorating party with our Chinese teachers and hope it is a time of salty conversations and fellowship.
This past week I had two cute moments with students. A girl in one of my classes told me she had a dream about me the night before. Then, one evening when I was walking home from school, a 7 year old boy who is not one of my students said "Hello Teacher!" like all the students normally do when they walk by any teacher, but he continued "Very beautiful! Yes, very beautiful indeed!" What a great way to end my day!