Christmas is not an official holiday in China but this does not stop the Chinese getting into the Christmas spirit. Department stores are decorated with Christmas trees and play horrendously catchy festive muzak. Isetan (perhaps the Selfridges of Tianjin) even had Santa Claus running around the store being chased by a group of Chinese girls in elf costumes. Quite a sight but unfortunately not one that we caught on camera.
We decided to give our students as much a taste of Christmas as possible and so we:
- sang Christmas songs
- watched Raymond Briggs' Father Christmas
- watched Mr Bean's Christmas
- talked about what we are going to ask Santa for this year (Sarah = a puppy, me = an iPad)
- designed Christmas cards (see Spider-Man riding Rudolph below)
- showed the students some Christmas decorations
- took a class Christmas photo
The students absolutely LOVE Mr Bean. We'll almost certainly see his beautiful face again in class next year. This despite the fact that he offers absolutely nothing to students who are trying to learn English . . .
Christmas is all about being with the people you love and so I'm really really going to miss being with my family at home. Mum's amazing food, dad's incredible decorations, Amber's ridiculous over excitement. Then there's the rest of the family coming over and drinking/eating too much. It's an absolute nightmare but it's my favourite time of the year and I will miss you all very much!
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| Christmas 2010 in Somerset. I'll miss you all, you little douche bags. |
But don't worry, I won't be crying into my noodles this Christmas. The ELAs of Tianjin and Beijing are coming together to celebrate the festive period, Chinese style. The plan is to head to Beijing tomorrow (Christmas Eve), take over a hostel near Tiananmen Square and eat, drink and be merry. Secret Santa, mulled wine, Christmas films and party games are all on the agenda so it should be brilliant. I'll write about what we got up to next week.
So the only thing left to say is Merry Christmas to you all! I hope you have a lovely time.
Lots of Christmas love,
Jake
x x x
