11/24:
Happy Thanksgiving! Of course, China doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving, but we Americans wanted to make it a special day. For class today, we watched a movie on the big projector screen. Well, tried to, at least. The entire morning rotation was spent trying to download Windows Media Player, only to discover that it was incompatible with whatever program the Chinese computer used; we tried streaming a video online, but it wouldn’t load; we tried putting a DVD into the computer, but it wouldn’t recognize the disc. In the end, we had the kids pull their desks to the sides of the room and scoot their chairs close together so that they could watch The Little Mermaid on Kate’s laptop.
Our afternoon rotation was only slightly better: we got Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs to load from the internet, but the sound was terrible. Then, we tried The Lion King but the torrent only allowed us to watch the first five minutes unless we paid for the rest.
I ran up to my room to get more DVDs, because Emily’s DVD of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs wasn’t loading, and while I was there, Krisan offered to let me use her speakers. She’s so sweet. Scott was eventually able to figure out how to connect Kate’s laptop to the projector and Krisan’s speakers, and we were finally able to watch The Little Mermaid. The kids seemed to enjoy the movie, though they grew bored after a while. I can relate with how a foreign movie you can’t understand can be uninteresting. We gave them Chinese Teddy Grahams as incentive to be quiet and listen to the movie.
I sat beside Aurora, and she immediately linked her arm with mine and rested her head on my shoulder. I held her hand; she is so affectionate, and my adoration of her deepened.
In between rotations, little Sarah was in the classroom, as for some reason she wasn’t required to go to exercises like the other students. I was eating an orange for my breakfast when she hurried to me and held out her small, coffee-colored hand. Of course, I had to give her a section of my orange; when I placed it on her palm, she promptly gobbled it up and grinned.
I picked her up and spun her around; she burst out in a giggle fit, hugging me tight. I sat down and placed her in my lap; she nestled into me, resting her head underneath my chin. I wrapped my arms around her and held her close. Sarah is the perfect cuddle size; it’s ridiculous how adorable that child is. If I could only take one thing home with me, it’d be her.
At lunch, which was bitter herbs, strange-tasting dumplings and tofu, Kelli told me some heartbreaking news: Maren is going home next Wednesday. Maren has been experiencing toothaches, which have resulted in migraines and puking, for the last week or so. Apparently, she had a couple cavities in her back molar that had been filled, but the filling is falling out or something like that, and it’s pinching a nerve in her gums. If she doesn’t get it fixed pronto, it could lead to very serious problems, the after effects of which could be permanent. She needs a root canal. She researched a dentist in Beijing, but the root canal treatment alone, travel expenses excluded, would be between 5500-7000 yuan ($880-1120).
We only have 3-4 weeks left in China, but Maren can’t wait that long. So, apparently, today she had Casey change her ticket from December 19 to next Wednesday (because her departure is for medical reasons, ILP covers the expenses).
It breaks my heart knowing that she’s leaving so soon, and that it may be a long time before I see her again. I know I will see her again someday, I’m just not sure when. I love that girl dearly—she’s like my other half; we’re two peas in a pod. Our styles and tastes in men may vary from each other’s opinions, but our personalities are extremely similar. It was fate that brought us together; fate was what caused ILP to reassign her from Bengbu to Weihai, fate that reassigned me from Zhongshan to Weihai. If we hadn’t been reassigned, I don’t believe we ever would have met. For all this, I am truly grateful.
I’m gonna miss that chick.
I Skyped my mom and she helped me cope a little bit. I adore that woman—one of the main reasons I am excited to go home is to see her and be able to talk to her on a regular basis. I miss my mother.
So this Thanksgiving, I am grateful for my family, especially for their support in my future plans of traveling and owning a hostel; I am grateful for wonderful friends, near and far—especially Kelli and Maren; I am grateful for the internet; I am grateful for Facebook; I am grateful for email; Skype; good food; warm blankets; sweatpants; jackets; socks; clean water; the opportunity that I have to teach beautiful Chinese children in China; for the gospel; for my scriptures; for prayer; for my testimony; for my life and life in general. I may not have everything, but I am extremely blessed.
Tonight, Scott and Kailey are preparing us a Thanksgiving feast. I am saddened by the idea of not spending this holiday with my family; I will miss them and our traditions, and the traditional feast—especially pumpkin pie. However, Scott purchased rotisserie chicken, potatoes, and other yummy stuff; Scott is an incredible cook, so this should be good. I’m excited. I’ll write about that later, once I’ve partaken of the food.
Alright, it’s later and I have more to report. All of us gathered in the common room, Kelly and her husband, Ganggang, included. Six at a time, we filed into the kitchen to load up on the food. There was mashed potatoes, chicken, rolls, salad and Ranch dressing, creamy potato soup, and vegetables. My favorites were the salad and the creamy potato soup. The salad was a real salad; big, crispy and leafy, and not bitter, unlike all the other salads I’ve had in China. All of the food was amazing, and we ate in silence because we were all focused on our food and intent on enjoying it. The chicken wasn’t the greatest however, in my opinion, because it tasted too much of China.
Once we were all together again, we went in a circle and said what we were grateful for that day. I said I was grateful for Skype, the internet, a family that supports my international dreams, and Maren. Kelli, Maren, and I choked up. I adore that girl; I will dearly miss her. I suppose I should mention that Maren received another email today and her flight has been changed to 4PM tomorrow. I feel as if a rug has been pulled from underneath me; I’m dumbfounded. For the last couple of weeks, I’ve been mentally and emotionally preparing myself to say goodbye to my friends on the 19th of December, but now I suddenly have to say goodbye three weeks sooner—tomorrow, as a matter of fact. Holy eff; I don’t like this, not one bit.
This was Ganggang’s very first Thanksgiving, and he thanked us, in Chinese, for inviting him and for the wonderful food; Kelly translated. I felt honored to spend his first Thanksgiving with him. We began the meal with a prayer, and I wondered if that was allowed, though Kelly and Ganggang didn’t object.
After the meal, I was full to bursting and my ‘food baby’ was extremely prominent. I’m not sure why or how, but ever since I was born I’ve had a prominent baby belly, only now I can control when to show it. If I blow out, I look legitimately pregnant. I showed this to Kelly, and she was enthralled. We took a prego picture together, since she really is pregnant. The only thing is, she’s not very big yet—my ‘baby bump’ is much bigger than hers. I’m more pregnant than a pregnant woman!
I miss my family traditions, where we gather around the kitchen table and gorge ourselves on turkey, cranberry sauce, turkey gravy and Dad’s garlic mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie. We would nap while the tryptophan ran through our systems, and then watch a movie as a family. I love Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, this Thanksgiving was a very good day; I am grateful I was able to spend it with some of my best friends.
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