Sunday, December 26, 2010

There's no place like China for the holidays...

...really. Can you think of any other place where the main Christmas Eve activity is exchanging apples? I rest my case.

Other oddities about a China Christmas:
-Lots of Santas, no nativities
-Teaching on December 24
-Wearing your coat through the church service
-Banqueting with the college Communist party leader
-Getting a 14 hour head start on all of you back in the USA

Here are some pictures to sum up the holiday.

Christmas Eve Eve:

Christmas Eve:

Christmas:

The past few days have been a busy mix of Christmas celebrations, final exams, and getting ready to leave Qufu. I am giving my last final exams tomorrow and then I will be done with the semester. I'm going to Albuquerque later this week for my brother's wedding, and then my winter travels will begin. This year will include a week in Beijing for some Chinese language study, a couple weeks volunteering in India, our organization's annual Thailand conference, and a short trip to Bali on the way back to China.

It's an answer to prayer that I will have opportunities for language study, service, professional development, and relaxation during the long winter holiday. But packing for the next two months will be a challenge! And I leave in less than 24 hours. Yikes, yikes, yikes.

Well, somehow this post is no longer about Christmas, but it was a good Christmas nonetheless. Time for me to head off for my last night sleeping in my own bed for a very long time.

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