Shell in China
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Thanksgiving in China= Chicken!
For the big day we went to Lanzhou. LZ is the capital of Gansu, the province that we live in. It is about 8 hours away by bus. We went up there this last weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with the other Peace Corps volunteers in the area. We left here Friday after our classes and got in up there just before 10PM! It wasn’t a bad trip, other than the fact that the bus didn’t have heat! Okay- it was freezing!! Horribly! My toes felt like ice cubes by the time we got off the bus. Many of you know how little I like the cold to begin with, and this was just miserable. Once we got to town though, it was great to see everyone again.
Dinner was going to be Saturday evening, so we had Saturday morning to do some DVD shopping and hanging out with friends. When we got up in the morning, it was snowing, which was a good start to a nice comfy holiday.
There was a small pick-up football game, until the campus police decided that we were having too much fun! They kicked us off the courtyard, but it was okay because we were freezing by that point anyway. I don’t think that it got above 30 degrees up there all weekend long. We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner that night. It was as close to America as we could get in China. Lots of families from home contributed to the dinner by sending food in the mail. We had ranch dressing made from a packet, we had Velveeta shells and cheese, we had Parmesan cheese, and even some homemade biscuits.
That was the first Thanksgiving I had ever spent away from my family. (Can you believe it? 27 years old and this is the first time I have not been with my parents for the holiday!) It wasn’t exactly the same as home, but the other Peace Corps volunteers have become like my family here, so it was good.
After a fabulous dinner, I was initiated into the game of beer pong. It is a dorky game that consists of throwing ping-pong balls into cups of beer and the other team has to drink anything that you get a ball in. This was great, except for the fact that I don’t drink at all! My poor partner, Simon, was drinking for two on Saturday night! I had a good time though!
On Sunday we had to come back here to Chengxian, so we took the bus back to town. It was great, expect that the second bus did not have heat, again! I am not going to be a fan of winters in China unless I figure out how to get the bus that has heat on it!
Picture 1- Thomas, Simon and I playing a Chinese card game called "Fight the Landlord."
Picture 2- Thanksgiving would not have been possible without the loving contributions by family of Lanzhou volunteers. They even sent fall-themed decorations for the party!
Picture 3- 2 turkeys??
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Blog of a Peace Corps China volunteer serving as a TEFL teacher in Cheng Xian, Gansu, China.
About Me
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- Name: Michelle Ross
- Location: Chengxian, Gansu, CN
In America, I teach 8th grade English and reading and really enjoy spending time with middle school students. Some people think I am crazy for it, but Marsing has a great group of kids and I love being a part of their lives as they grow up! Right now I live in China and teach English and teaching methods to students who want to be teachers. I am here through Peace Corps, which I think is a fabulous experience and something that more people should look into doing! The application process can be a bit of a pain, but it is well worth the time and effort. Check out Peace Corps and give something back to the world that has given you so much!! Teaching runs in the family, as just about everyone is involved in education in one way or another. My dad is retired, but he was a teacher, counselor and principal for 30+ years, my mom is an elementary counselor, my sister and husband are both teachers and my brother will finish his teaching degree this next spring! "Those who can, do; those who can do magic, teach!"
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