I am Thankful for...

This is too good not to write about.

This week I’m doing a lesson for my grade 4 primary school kids on Thanksgiving, of course, since it is on Thursday. One of my activities is called the “Thankful Turkey.” Basically I draw a huge turkey on the board with words “I am thankful for…” on its belly, and then the kids come write things they are thankful for on the turkey’s tail feathers.

The answers began pretty standard. I am thankful for my family, my mother, my father, my grandpa (surprisingly no grandma’s yet), my teacher, specifically Miss Lori, my dog, food etc. Then they progressed to things like psp (video game), basketball, and computers. Then they jumped into politics—my country, China, Hu Jintao, Deng Xiaoping (remember these kids are 10). Finally it just turned silly. I am thankful for the W.C./toilet. So overall, I think the turkey was a pretty thankful one by the end of the class.

Today after this lesson, one of the boys came up to me and proudly showed me the notes he had taken from my power point. Then he asked me to sign my name. I figured he just wanted to see how it was written. My first mistake: I signed in cursive. He thought it was so cool he wanted me to do it again. Before I had time to respond, the girl standing next to him shoved her notebook and a pen in my face. Second mistake: I signed hers as well. Next thing I knew a flood of notebooks and pens were being shoved in my face. I couldn’t refuse them after they had just watched me sign the other two, so I began a notebook signing session. Although, I could barely sign because the kids were pushing each other trying to see who could get their notebook closest to my face. In the midst of the chaos one of the little girls kept saying, “Miss Lori you are a superstar.”

After months of mentioning the fact that I now have some sympathy for celebrities who have to constantly deal with random people staring at them and taking their picture, I finally really have sympathy for them. Nevertheless, it was extremely amusing watching them struggle just to get their teacher to sign four letters on their paper. I guess I should be thankful that my students see me as a celebrity as opposed to the random person forcing them to sit in a classroom for 40 minutes. Most teachers have to work to win over their students; I just write my name. Every teacher should be so lucky.

So that leads me into the entry that I intended to write for Thanksgiving:

10 Things I’m Thankful for while here in China:

1.) Chinese hospitality – I have never met people who are so willing to go out of their way to help you (note the earlier entry about Autumn, the Chinese girl who helped me buy a bus ticket). They are so hospitable that they make the Southern United States look lame. They willingly share everything. If a teacher in my office is eating fruit, she offers me the biggest piece. If I go out to eat with a Chinese person, I never pay no matter how much I insist. They really know how to take care of their guests.
2.) Skype – yay for technology that allows me to communicate with my family and friends at home. I couldn’t have done this 30 years ago, and for those that did (like my dad when he went to the coastguard), I commend you.
3.) My Students – Yes, there is the occasional bad kid, but for the most part they are great. Since I teach primary, the kids are at the age where they still love their teachers, and they haven’t reached the “I’m too cool for school” stage. They say hello to me everyday with huge smiles on their faces.
4.) My Chinese dictionary and my Chinese speaking friends – Hand motions only get you so far.
5.) Cheap prices:
a. Bottle of Water – 2.5 Yuan ($0.37)
b. DVDs – 10 Yuan ($1.50)
c. One hour Full Body Massage – 48 Yuan ($7)
d. Hair cut, style and massage – 40 Yuan ($6)
6.) Bargaining - There is nothing more satisfying than realizing you have power over the salesperson. No fixed, cold, unflinching prices here. Here it’s “give me the price I want or I walk away,” and it is always satisfying seeing the defeated salesperson run after you saying “Ok! Ok! I give you!”
7.) Crazy random fashion – I think you can wear anything here in any combination and no one will look at you funny—stripes and plaid, stockings as pants, glitter on everything, furry vests, boots with capris, shirts with misspelled English words—you name it they wear it.
8.) Nap time – I get off of work at 12:00 and I don’t have to be back until 2:30. My contact teacher informed me that this time is for eating, resting, and taking naps. This is brilliant because it makes the second half of the day so much better.
9.) Eating Family Style – There are no individual meals here. Someone just orders several dishes for the whole table, and we share. This eating style is good for several reasons: a) food variety b) you eat smaller portions (also because their dishes are smaller) c) for indecisive eaters like me, you don’t have to decide on one dish.
10.)Translation Funnies – I could make a fortune correcting English grammar, spelling, and syntax on Chinese business and government signs. We foreigners here in China affectionately refer to these translation mistakes as “Chinglish.” Not that I can blame the Chinese for these mistakes since they are attempting to use English—a gesture I appreciate, and since I know the languages are so grammatically different. Someone just needs to tell them not to trust translation websites. But until then, I plan to have a blast collecting pictures of various signs such as “Fire Fighter Jury Exciter Lamp” and “Here Contes All People’s Caze.”

10 Things I am now thankful for in America:

1.) Freedom and democracy – I am thankful that we have the ability to vote for our president. During the election, so many Chinese people around me were talking about the election as if it were in their own country. Most wanted Obama to win. For them our election was much more exciting to talk about than their own because the result all depended on the people. During their election, as my contact teacher pointed out, they don’t care because all they can do is “find out the result.”
2.) Diversity– I am now thankful for the variety of everything in America – food, people, backgrounds, TV shows, movies, etc.
3.) Schedules, appointments, and Calendars – I never thought I would miss these things, but when every answer you are given begins with a “Maybe” and may or may not be true, it starts to get a little frustrating to someone who plans her calendar months in advance. Here in China, make sure you write every appointment, deadline, schedule, etc. in pencil because it will most likely change at least two times before it comes to pass.
4.) Paper Products – I’m all for saving trees, but I miss not having to remember to bring napkins, toilet paper, and Kleenex everywhere with me.
5.) Public Bathrooms that don’t require you to squat – Let’s just say that when you’ve walked around all day on the hot China streets eating the not so digestible food, the last thing you want to do is use the disgusting public bathroom that requires you to use every last ounce of energy in your already aching quad muscles to squat over a hole in the ground. Enough said!
6.) Clothes Dryers - (and clothes washers that work) – My clothes are now twice their original size, and they have not smelt clean since I wore them the first time. I am now in a desperate search for a belt to hold up my pants and some Febreeze to take away the lingering musty/sweaty smell left from hand-washing and air-drying.
7.) Not feeling like a celebrity – As stated above, I completely sympathize with celebrities now, as I have to deal with people staring at me, taking pictures of me, and yelling “hello” everywhere I go.
8.) Meat without Bones – Every piece of meat I’ve eaten here seems to be from some mysterious part of the cow, pig, or chicken where there is mostly bone and a little meat. I have no idea what they do with the nice cuts of meat—the filet, the pork loin, the chicken breast, etc. I know forks and knives aren’t the forte here, but I will use my hands if necessary, people! Everyone already spits bones all over the table as they eat, so I don’t think a nice chunk of meat is too much to ask for.
9.) Space – Stores are the size of closets. Classrooms are the size of a typical U.S. classroom but with 60 people. Buses are always packed. Cars are everywhere. People are everywhere. I need a big open field.
10.)My Family – This is my first Thanksgiving away from home, and while I usually am not that excited about a day spent entertaining younger cousins, recapping a year in one dinner conversation with my relatives, and trying to ward off boredom and sleepiness after dinner, I wish I could this year. I, of course, miss the food, but I find myself missing the little things I never noticed before. I miss the feeling of being surrounded by a group of people who love you just because you are a part of them. I miss seeing how much my younger cousins have grown and changed over the past year. I miss commiserating with my sister when we get bored. I miss sitting on my Papaw’s lap like I’m still ten years old. I miss all of these things, but I am thankful that I am not there this year because now I realize just how important these things are to me.

These lists may be random, but they are all the little and big things that first popped into my mind when contemplating what I am thankful for. It doesn’t take long to think of something you are thankful for, but it is interesting to see how your situation changes what you are thankful for. Ultimately I’m thankful for this experience in China. It has given me the chance to change and broaden my perspective so that I can be thankful for all the things I’ve taken for granted over the years.