Who's scruffy-looking?

The deep Chinese chill has begun to set in but you won't find anyone hibernating here. Instead of burrowing deep into my den for the winter, I have decided to face the cold head on. My going outside gear now often includes but is not limited to: long underwear bottoms, jeans, long sleeve undershirt, sweatshirt/sweater, jacket, two pairs of socks, shoes, gloves, scarf, and hat. While this may not seem overly impressive to many of you, you must keep in mind that in years past I would often still be seen wearing sandals at this time of year. However, not even my hobbit feet could brave the great wall wind that blows down to Baoding.

Even with all these wintry wards, (can you tell I've been on an alliteration kick lately?) I have not completely managed to shut out the cold. Last Thursday was undoubtedly the coldest temperature to date. While the temperature alone would have been bearable, there was a fiercely strong wind that made the cold blow right through every layer you could stack against it. While riding my electric bike with Jon and Ryan to our weekly lunch meeting at KFC, we could not help but let out a few wild yelps at the sting. Encouraged by our mutual frostbite, we desired no longer to subdue our discomfort and proceeded to yell battle crise like savage indians the rest of way to lunch.

If bearing the cold is the price we must pay to welcome the holiday season than I am confident that we bear it gladly. Both I and the rest of team Baoding have had our spirits uplifted by the prolific signs of Christmas fast approaching. I was unsure how much Christmas time would be felt while we are in this foreign land, as both Thanksgiving and Halloween were treated as very minor affairs. It seems so far that Christmas is in a whole different league. Everywhere we go there is a jolly Santa peaking around the corner at us, a christmas tree with incredibly ridiculous ornaments, magnanimous displays of holiday lights, and even a massive gingerbread house!

It seems that the Christmas spirit has spread all over. Trips to the supermarket have been greatly enhanced through the workers all donning little Santa helper costumes. Walking down aisles that are practically bleeding tinsel while listening to a ridiculous Chinese version of "Santa Claus is coming to town" has put an abundant amount of holiday joy into my heart. I even went so far as to create a Christmas wish list powerpoint for my mom after she chided me on not being able to think of anything I would want.








In addition to my regular routine of teaching and hanging out with students, visiting the local coffee bars and dvd shops have become my regular rendevouz of choice. The coffee shops are always a great semi-warm getaway and usually pretty empty, allowing a perfect time for chatting or reading. There are always new dvd stores to discover and I was recently overjoyed to find 5 seasons of one of my favorite tv shows, Monk, on dvd for a mere $3! To top it off, last Saturday night we were invited to go bowling with one of our teaching colleagues, Sophie and her husband. It was an awesome night of relaxation and fun, not to mention that I bowled a 145 and 161 (even without my lucky bowling ball). All things considered, I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to have so many new experiences during this holiday season.