from the class that brought us such classics as "love is beautiful, so just do it"...

This week's class topic quickly became one of my personal favorites last year.  The first unit in our textbook is titled "Attitudes and Happiness", and discusses things like personality, moods, and opinions.  I prefer to have this class further into the year when the students are more comfortable talking in class and with each other, because it can be a little personal and it's largely discussion-based.  My favorite question in the whole lesson is, "Would you be able to marry someone from a very different background (cultural, religious, socioeconomic, racial); why or why not?".  Of course, it was during this class last year I learned that Chinese soldiers are not allowed to marry foreigners, so I have to ask them to discard that notion for a few moments.  Last year I actually had someone tell me it was his dream to marry a foreigner and have mixed-culture kids and raise them all over the world; usually the number of Chinese traditionalists (and I would argue realists) is much higher than the foreign-wanting outliers.  Anyway, the whole class has quotable potential, and I'd like to share some of my favorites from this week.

-"I can't devote all my heart into her", Clyde
-"my love girl", Nathan (one of my real romantics)
-(me)"What does 'prejudice' mean?"...(Marx)"It's a book's name."
-"He is happiest when he first mate with his girlfriend", [meant to be meet]
-"She happy, I happy, why not?", Jack, on marrying someone with a different background
-(Sheldon)"Do you have a girlfriend?"...(Howard)"Yes"...(Sheldon)"Do you want a few more?"

Somehow, my kitchen is messiest it's ever been in my life, even worse than when I've been baking or making dinner.  I decided to buy real coffee beans at Starbucks since I bought a grinder last year, and yesterday morning I was so excited to use it finally, I even woke up a bit earlier than normal (and this was Thursday, my early teaching morning).  Well, I put in too many for just one person, then when I took the lid off the grinder to transfer the powder to the coffeemaker, it kind of exploded everywhere.  And me being me, I left it that way.  All day...and last night.  Last night I was actually struck with a cleaning fever, which conveniently directed me to tidy everywhere EXCEPT the kitchen.  But I promise I'll tidy it today, there is the possibility of being Betty Crocker on the weekend horizon and it's too difficult to navigate the mess in there and actually get anything done.

Thanks to the magic that is Google Music here in China, I've replaced Christmas music with anything else I can download for free including: Mumford & Sons, The Swell Season, Hugh Laurie, The Black Keys, Gloriana, and the Killers.

"When you're still waiting for the snow to fall, it doesn't really feel like Christmas at all"

"some mistakes are too much fun to only make once"

It's the Christmas season, and I am super-pumped.  If my recent theme of amazing holidays continues, then Christmas is going to blow my mind.  I didn't intend to have the most interesting birthday ever or the most pleasantly-surprising Thanksgiving, they just happened that way...  It's fun to be in a holiday season with a wide net of friends and lots of parties and stuff to do; that's how it was at home splitting time between work and school and friends and family, and I love the hustle and bustle.  Classes have been going well, even though I had a sinus infection last week (and the cough and congestion seem to be hanging on)--the weather changed to cold and rainy all of a sudden and most of the foreigners came down with something or other.  Right now I can smell the cake pastries I'm making in my little toaster oven, and it smells so good!  I really love to bake, and the arrival of Betty Crocker cake and cookie mixes a couple weeks ago at Metro was a big deal.

I didn't post for Thanksgiving, but I'll still mention some random things I appreciate.
-my mom is really funny, and she says surprising things all the time
-I like looking on FB and seeing people who I know have had hard times in the past that seem really happy now
-last week we were finally able to book plane tickets and lodging in Harbin for winter vacation!
-when I was teaching dance at the training center last week while I was sick and in a terrible mood, I looked in the hall and saw the 50-something cleaning lady doing the steps: instant spirit-lifter
-my students make me laugh by drawing/saying things they don't realize are inappropriate, and creating impossible situations like the following:

This week I was having them create their own countries as part of our government lesson (y'all remember doing this in high school?).  This is what the board looked like after one presentation, and I'll explain as best as I can:  The name of the country is "The Great Kingdom of Morpheus" (the sun god?), and their capital city is East Factory.  The national language is Cantonese, and "fule ice" is their greatest natural resource.  You can't see their flag, but it's a palm full of bright red fire.  [Already, don't we have an issue?  A country based on the sun that produces ice?  It gets better...]  Their currency is the "Vampire B", one of which is equal to $1,000.  It is called that because the country was founded/is run by "the Great Vampire".  In a sun country.  Oh, and that little bit of Chinese to the far left?  It means polygamy--in their country men can have multiple wives.  My job is very rarely boring.