Merry Christmas to All!!!

I hope that all of you find yourselves warm, well fed, and surrounded with love and friendship today.

Chris and I spent the morning volunteering at the migrant school handing out school supplies, warm hats, cola, and cookies to children whose parents work so hard to put this city together... yet do not receive the privlege of public education.

Despite the fact that my body is currently warring with my third (and most dreadful) cold yet... I have had a wonderful Christmas. I will tell you more about it and post pictures tomorrow.

I wanted to stay up late this evening to call all of you back home in the states, however, I'm having the most difficult time getting money out of China and into my bank account, so at the moment I haven't the money to call any of you who aren't on skype and aren't online.

Presents are on the way as well... Hang tight, they'll get there eventually :O)

It's time for me to get some rest, take care and have a wonderful Christmas!!!

Love,
Jackie

Hutongs and Rickshaws

Today we visited Beijing's Gulou drum tower and toured the surrounding hutongs by rickshaw.

Years ago, the Gulou drums were played every evening to signal the end of the day.

Zhonglou, the bell tower, where the morning bells would ring and wake the locals.

The view from Gulou. Ahead is the center of the city, the dragon's head.... and the road below is the dragon's back and tail. The hutongs are the dragon's scales. It is said that a dragon can not live without its scales and so it is believed that the city can not survive without the hutongs, so this area has been designated an historic site.

Ooooh, I'm in a rickshaw!!!

My favorite pictures from the hutong we visited. Here we had tea with the daughter of the man who owns the place. It has been in the family for over seventy years and was repurchased after the Cultural Revolution. The structure itself is over 200 years old. As you can see, I was mostly captivated by the inhabitants.

Imagine waking up to the sound

of a dozen energetic toddlers banging on pots and pans, right there in the center of your bedroom.

I promise, this is precisely the first thought that came my mind last week as I leapt from my bed, heart racing, to see what on earth could be making such an enormous and horrific noise.

My second thought, as I glanced at the costumed people below, was that -for some strange reason- a high school marching band was having its first and rather dreadful day of practice.

But as I rubbed the sleep from my tired eyes (and put on my glasses so I could see) I realized that the locals were practicing for the Chinese New Year!

You think she sees me?
Ooooooh STILTS!

The pots and pans, as I described:

Early to Rise

I admit it, I'm spoiled. My routine here in Beijing has me sleeping in most mornings until anywhere between eight thirty on the weekends and ten thirty most other days. Granted, I usually work until nine each evening and don't get to bed until the wee hours of the morning.

This morning is special. Despite the fact that I went to sleep last night at ahhh, around three, I've been up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed since before seven.

My motivation is simple and nearly as old as I am. Today is a snow day.

For as long as I can remember, a snow day has been nothing short of a holiday as grand as any other... especially when the snow is rumored to begin in the morning. My excitement rivals Christmas eve as I find it hard to sleep the night before and my feet hit the floor before sunrise. I have to admit that on this occasion I'm pretty sure I've gotten up at least once every hour to check the weather outside, even though it isn't supposed to start snowing until after eight.

The sky is dark and gray. It's cold enough to numb my fingers and I know its coming. (Yes, I've already been outside to assess the current weather conditions.) Chris has been the ever-present pessimist all week with comments like "if it snows" and "only flurries" but my spidey senses tell me that this morning there will be a downright drenching of snow. Who cares if it sticks, I just want to see it!

So here I am, at the break of dawn, stalking the weather... waiting with excitement to watch the first flake fall.

Half-way Somewhere

It's been three months since I moved to China and I'm halfway through my contract with Real Life English. Three months ago I would have considered this the half-way point, but today its difficult for me to think that I'm on the downhill swing, wrapping up my business, on my way out of China and back to life as I knew it, somewhere in America.

With that heavy thought in mind, I'm thinking there's a good chance I might want to be here for a while longer.

In three months I've read six books. That, if nothing else, is an amazing indication of how different life is here. It just seems to be happening at a more laid-back pace. I realized the other day that I haven't been this relaxed in years, if ever.

There are days when I can't explain how nice it is to come home from work. I hop on a bus, fifteen minutes later I'm on the train, thirty minutes later I'm on a bus again which takes me directly to my apartment. Sometimes I read, sometimes I listen to my iPod, and sometimes I listen to the people and try to understand what they are saying. For four American dollars I could take a cab home and arrive in fifteen minutes or less... but I choose not to because I enjoy the ride.

I love buying fruit on the street and vegetables in the little market downstairs. I love the way that boys carry bags and purses for their girlfriends, and ride them around on the backs of their bicycles. I love the chicken nuggets at McDonald's which are curry flavored. I also love my students and my job.

I love the fact that little things here are so significant. Like Heroes night and heat in my bedroom or finding out that my little market downstairs also sells frozen meat and dumplings... for half of what I would pay at the supermarket.

So this is where I am, three months into my stay here. I don't know what's next... and I'm not in any hurry to decide.

Dear Blogger.com,

I don't understand why you won't let me upload pictures. My readers demand pictures and my blogs are boring without them.

What is up?

-Jackie