Gosh Dang, Yichang!: December 2013

Christmas came to Yichang in the form of silly cardboard Santa cutouts on every door, the absolute worst children's carols playing in Walmart, and glitzy trees in the display windows of shops all around town. Other than the commercial benefits of this sacred holiday, Christmas doesn't really mean too much to most Chinese people unless they're Christian. Yichang does have about 3 churches though so there's got to be some kind of Christian population in this place.. Anyway, it really didn't come as a surprise that this city wasn't making all that big of a deal about Christmas, but I definitely wasn't prepared for some of the particular ways this holiday would end up being different here in China.

Lets start with the decorations...

First of all, skinny Santa. Wut? Stop it.

you can see the Christmas decorations right up next to the Chinese New Years decorations at Walmart

Really giant christmas tree decoration made out of string lights.
I was impressed!

Christmas tree display in Walmart

Traditions

The Chinese have a cool tradition of giving each other apples on Christmas Eve. This is because the words for Christmas Eve (Ping’ānyè) supposedly sounds similar to the words for apple (píng guŏ). To me, they sound nothing alike, but I'm obviously no authority on the Chinese language, and I'm not about to go complaining about people giving me apples.. Walking Street, which is the most popular nightlife area in Yichang, was totally hopping on Christmas Eve. I find it funny that the words for Christmas Eve--ping’ānyè-- translate to directly to "silent night," when the truth is that this night is far from silent here in China! Instead, it can be labeled more accurately as a carnival night of sorts. People walking around the streets wearing glittery masks, glowing devil horns and giant Minnie Mouse ears; the bars and KTVs overflowing with drunken youths happy for an excuse to party on a weeknight; and the street vendors out in full force selling balloons and various light-up toys. Once I got over the various Christmas blasphemies I was witnessing, I was able to shrug it off and enjoy Christmastime Chinese-style with my friends. I started out the night with my wonderful foreign teacher friends at a bar called Happy Hometown. Lindsey and I slipped off briefly to get some hot chocolate from McDonalds to have with our Bailey's, and along the way a jolly group of Chinese guys selling various glowy things flagged us down, wished us Merry Christmas, and handed us each an apple wrapped up in the cutest little Merry Christmas gift boxes.

Happy laowai at Happy Hometown :)

My university friends and I also had a Christmas party at my friend Sam's apartment.. although I have to say the only Christmas-y thing about it was the White Elephant gift exchange. I got a poop-shaped piggy bank, which I have to say I'm pretty dang psyched about. I actually did need something to put my spare change in! I use cash for almost everything here because most shops don't have a bank card swiper machine thing, so I have quite the coin collection going on over here!

Lindsey had the brilliant idea of bringing men's USA underwear for her white elephant gift. A definite crowd-pleaser.

On Christmas Day, our good friends invited Lindsey and I to their family Christmas dinner. I can't even begin to describe how comforting this was after the least-Christmasy Christmas that I had ever experienced. We ate so well that night, thanks to master chef Darren and his lovely wife Tao! They made turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and chili. I brought over some roasted carrots. After dinner we played Uno and ate strawberry shortcake. So thankful for this wonderful family! <3

I guest-taught for a Christmas Party at an English training center where one of my Chinese friends works! In this pic I am teaching the kids how to sing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas."

And last but certainly not least.. the Jin Dongfang Christmas party!

...and I HAD to get a picture with the principal Mr. Shi dressed up as Santa!

I remember at the orientation for my teaching agency, one of the instructors jokingly told us that whatever seems normal to us in any situation, just expect the opposite here in China. While this statement is obviously a bit of a hyperbole, it has actually turned out to be true in some instances during my stay here in Yichang. For example, I would think that come payday, we all just slip into the secretary office, collect our pimp-wads (yes we get paid in cash, yes Chinese bills only go up to 100 yuan, and yes that means one giant stack of cash) and go back to teaching our classes for the day. But instead, everyone piles into the office,crowding around the secretary's desk and while we're waiting, and two of my colleagues just straight up ask me how much I make in a month. And when it is my turn to go collect my spoils, I have multiple teachers blatantly craning and stretching to steal a look at the amount on the receipt I'm signing. And salary is just the tip of the iceberg in regards to unexpected appropriate small-talk topics. I've learned not to be surprised if someone I've just met asks or comments about my weight, acne, parents income, and marital status. While most Chinese people I know are very uncomfortable talking about sex, they are quite comfortable talking about things like menstruation and bowel movements. People here also drink hot water instead of ice water, and you're not supposed to tip your servers.

So.. while I have gotten somewhat more used to expecting the unexpected, I still never thought I would be picking strawberries in December. In Washington, we usually harvest strawberries in June and July. Of course, those are outdoors strawberries that grow naturally in direct sunlight. These special Christmas strawberries were grown in long, plastic-covered greenhouses and were absurdly perfect in shape and texture. I'm not sure what they did to make them so flawless, but whatever it is didn't affect the taste. They were so delicious, in fact, that we took every opportunity to throw one in our mouths while the farmers weren't looking.

In the glasses is my student Alicia from my senior 3 class, and on my right is her lovely mother. I'm so grateful to them for taking me out to the countryside with their family!