Hectic Holidays

The weekend of December 8^th Courtney and I went to Xiasha District for a retreat with the other American teachers. Xiasha is technically still in Hangzhou but is a 2 hour taxi ride away. We spent the weekend there and finally got to meet the rest of the Americans that came to China at the same time we did. It was nice to see a quieter, less busy part of town, and the hotel some of the other teachers live in was heaven compared to our apartment. We heard some more experienced teachers’ thoughts on spending time in China long term.

While their talk highlighted many positives about this country, there are still its drawbacks. The day we got back from Xiasha, Courtney got sick. We’re still not quite sure what it was, (the hospitals are, in a word, terrifying) but it was probably some bacteria from the sink water she used to brush her teeth. The level of caution required to keep your health up in China is much higher than in the states; our first few weeks here we had to tape our sink faucet down to remind us “tap water = bad.”

Then the great American holiday of Christmas loomed its head. Surprisingly for me, I actually missed the Christmas atmosphere. Normally the sheer amount of Christmas spirit pouring into every facet of my daily life borders on annoyance. But here, having very few signs that the biggest holiday in the states was even approaching, I craved any hint I could get. Starbucks had holiday themed drinks, a few restaurants decorated their doors with a small Santa face cutout, and I cherished those more than I would have at home. The worst part wasn’t missing all of the decorations and music but missing our families. We had a quiet Christmas morning, one that I will remember all of my life.

Because this is China, the day after Christmas I learned that finals had to occur the very next week. This is typical of the amount of planning one is given here, but the extra problem was that the next week would also be New Year’s break from Monday to Thursday. They decided to tell us that a few days later, however. Oh, and did they mention that you have to make up those classes the next few Saturdays and Sundays? In China, when you have a break, those days aren’t already scheduled out of the calendar; you have to make them up, cramming the weekends before and after with classes.

So on top of learning about the finals schedule, the break, and how the two coincide, I then had to change the rest of my classes for the week to prepare the students for the test. The only problem was that the Monday classes I had were cancelled for Christmas; the next week they’d have off for New Years, so I wouldn’t see them until test day, which they had no idea would be coming. Instead of letting the school control our schedule in its own hectic way, we made our own. From other teachers we’ve talked to, American and Chinese, this is a normal thing to do. There is often little organization; Courtney even had two classes scheduled for the same timeslot, which she found out about in the middle of said class.

So we decided to hold the Final preparation last week, have off this week, and give the final the next. I have never had as confusing of a week in any job I’ve ever had. So what better way to relieve all of the stress of confusion through language and culture barriers than by singing some Elvis? Last Friday Courtney and I were able to perform at one of the school’s shows. We sang “Hound Dog” by the king, and while we’re definitely not getting approached by any record companies, we had a lot of fun. Of course, it wouldn’t be China without some performances involving nunchakus, tea history, sappy love songs, and boy/girl dances. Did I mention the Japanese cosplay? Males cross dressing? How about the fact that there was another performance we were supposed to be at, scheduled for the exact same time? Our waiban decided to text us about when we were performing on stage.

This week off from teaching before finals is nice, if a bit nonsensical. It wouldn’t be China without it. This country has its own quirks and eccentricities, but don’t we all?