Thanksgiving with Chinese Characteristics

Thanksgiving for me this year was celebrated in two parts:

Part 1: My Show Competition

This competition took place at work and as one of the newbies (along with my friend, Joel) we were 'volunteered' to organize and run this event...even though we'd never seen it, never heard of it. That's what new people get to do, right?! :) It turned out to be fine but we were running all over the place for a couple days leading up to the competition. The My Show Competition is one of the biggest advertisements for our center as it shows students giving speeches or performing skits, showcasing their English levels. We had 9 groups/individuals sign up to perform this year, based on the theme of Thanksgiving. It was everything that a competition should be...music, prizes, a host to lead the event, judges and visual aids. Most of the students did speeches on being thankful for parents or teachers and there was one really amazing skit where the students totally got into character...it was pretty amazing to see them do that! One of our favorite students, an older guy who is a doctor but also wants to learn English, chose the topic, "We should be thankful for the contributions of white people." At first we were thinking, wHaT in the WoRLd??? but it ended up being a very well-done presentation. Another quick story about this guy...I had him in an English corner once and during EC's the students are supposed to come with topics that they want to discuss. They almost always say things like travel, shopping, food or TV shows but one day I asked them what they wanted to talk about and without missing a beat this guy said, "Somali pirates." I love him! :) Anyways, back to the competition...when it was over we served up some roasted chicken in the Thanksgiving holiday spirit, a hit among the students!

Part 2: A non-traditional Thanksgiving dinner

I decided that since I had to work on the day that all my international friends would be celebrating Thanksgiving, I would make my own meal on the actual day and invite some friends to join me. This was the first time that I planned a big meal and made it on my own in China! I never cook here!! I had soooo much fun, though...planning the menu, buying (searching) for all of the things I needed, and then cooking with Tony and my roommate. This is what we made: Oreo ice cream pie, lemon bars, stuffing, mashed potatoes and broccoli salad. Then, we bought three different kinds of roasted chicken and some baguettes. We invited some other friends to join us...it was really a great night! So, my American holiday consisted of eating and celebrating with 7 Chinese friends and Sonja, my German friend. Hehehe...not the typical holiday at all but still with every bit of the meaning. :)