I'm dreaming of a Chinese Christmas

So I know it has been an absolute age since my last post but I have several very good excuses lined up.

Anyway, tomorrow is my six month anniversary living in Kunming and teaching at Shane, and I am still really enjoying myself.  Life at school is crazily busy at the moment as we have to hold all sorts of Christmas related activities, which when you work with the Grinch and three of Scrooge's (pre-hauntings) clones, getting into the spirit is a little tricky. Regardless I decorated four trees and draped every cupboard, shelf and sleeping TA in tinsel. So we are getting there, ish. My house on the other hand looks like Santa personally appeared and threw up Christmas spirit; I even decorated my fish tank.

Which reminds me, I now have two new residence of my little house; Ahab and Floozy. They keep me company and basically sit on the cabinet looking fish like and cold, the house is so cold that I am a little worried about the tank freezing over and coming home one night to an ice cube with two little fish-ice-lollies with surprised expressions on their faces.

With Christmas looming and having been given all of our holiday dates for the next couple of months I decided to sit down and plan various excursions.  Christmas Eve Karina and I are going straight to the train station from work for a few days in Lijiang. Having been there already (with Mam and Dad) I know how pretty the place is and am very much looking forward to a weekend in the lights and streets of the ancient city, and a day climbing a mountain to the north of the city. It’s going to be a different type of Christmas but one I am very much looking forward to.

So like I say, good excuses. Well maybe only OK excuses. I have had Mam and Dad invade for a full two weeks, which was nice but bloody hectic! It took me weeks to catch up at school and even longer to get over the weird effects of having a small piece of England with me in China. Then there was….well that’s about is actually. I have just been really busy.

I now have Chinese lessons every day and spend large chunks of my day completely baffled and trying desperately to remember if the character for water is the one that looks like a star or a little man holding a fish. Chaos!!

Well that’s all my news for now, I will be updating with pictures of very cute Chinese kids singing Christmas songs next week, and with any luck Lijiang too.

Wishing everyone at home a very merry Christmas and a drunken new year, and when you look at leftovers of turkey remember me over here slowly turning into fried rice.

Lots of Love and Festive Kisses,

Claire xxx