Sinterklaas and the Annual Staff Christmas Party

Look what Sinterklaas brought!

For our annual staff Christmas Party on Dec. 14th, we went to a local Chinese restaurant, ate amazing local foods, held a white elephant gift exchange, and took part in the British tradition of Christmas poppers (hence the fabulous paper crowns).

Kim, Michelle, and I

Kunming in the Snow!

This is what Sunday Dec. 15th looked like in Kunming! Our first snow in China.

There is something super cool about snow on palm trees.

Monday morning brought more snow and very chilly temps.

View of the KIA track and field from the fifth floor.

Looking through the buildings in Hu Pan, our neighborhood.

So many of the students were disappointed we still had school with the 1/2 in of snow on the ground, but let's face it, why do schools in America get classes cancelled? Extreme cold, loss of water, icy roads etc. We live without central heat so cold is the norm, we loose water about once a month so no problem, most people bike or walk to school so it really wasn't an issue. Sorry kids. 

Christmas Time is Here!

I purchased this awesome tinsel tree from a friend of mine who is sadly leaving the country soon. I am so happy she was willing to part with it.

The cloves and oranges make the house smell amazing!

Our tree!

I did not make this. Sadly, I am not this talented. One of my students folded this and the star in the next picture. 

Another student creation.

My cyclamen is thriving.

New addition to the tree. This was purchased Christmas Day 2012 at Hong Kong Disneyland. 

Domestic Day: Thanksgiving Edition

Once a month my friend, Michelle, and I host Domestic Day at her house. We invite all of the seniors over and cook/bake/hang out. This past Friday we held the Thanksgiving edition of Domestic Day focusing our food making energies on Thanksgiving favorites: apple pie, pumpkin pie, Oreo cheesecake (this may be a China expat thing), mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes (we also had curry, but that really doesn’t fit into the Thanksgiving favorites category). The students genuinely enjoy making dinner/dessert for each other and hanging out with us, their teachers! Crazy kids. Earlier this year I introduced them to the game Pit and this has been regularly played at each of our get-togethers ever since. I think it has something to do with the necessary shrieking/yelling that is involved. Every time I play I have a hard time talking the next day!

Domestic Day students getting ready to dig into pies and cheesecake!

Gan Eng Jie Kaui Le! Happy Thanksgiving!

This is how we started our Thanksgiving Day- with the first annual Kunming Thanksgiving Day 5K.

We rushed home from the race to get our pie making on! This is apple.

Apple and pumpkin!

Dinner with the Rodgers family. Zoe, Macy, Sam, Sophie, Eric, Eric, and I. Missing were Eliza and Amy, who were in the other room, and Emmy, our photographer.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

The cold has come to Kunming. So maybe it’s only 45 degrees Fahrenheit, but for a place without central heating it seems downright frigid! Thanksgiving morning dawned grey and cold out and it hasn’t warmed up since. While last year we used our space heater one time, for three hours, on December 31st, this year we have already used it in an effort to ward off the chill. Wo hen leung! (I am cold!)

Rob Visits!

Rob flew in early Friday morning from Calcutta and we did our best to keep him busy the entire time he was here. Friday we went downtown and walked through the Bird and Flower Market, saw the big map of Kunming in the city center, and had banana pie at McDonald's (yes, that is a must do!) before heading back to our neighborhood and touring KIA and experiencing a little bit of what youth group here looks like. We had dinner at a sqatty and had an ice cream bar in the neighborhood for dessert. 

Checking out the Chinese exercise equipment in our xiao qu.

 Saturday we biked to Dianchi Lake and rode a gondola and then a ski lift up Xi Shan and hiked to the Dragon Gate. The Dragon Gate is a Daoist temple that was carved in the 1500's into the side of the mountain. We spent most of our afternoon hiking the path down from the gate. That night we had a bunch of friends over for dinner and then we headed out to Shao Kao! 

Sunday was not much more laid back with Fellowship in the morning, lunch at an awesome Chinese place across the street and a slow bike ride back home via Carrefour and a little village in the city. He flew out at 7 something so we called a driver who picked him up at 4:30 and he was off!

We had an awesome weekend and were thrilled to share a little bit of our lives with him. 

Taking the ski lift to the top of Xi Shan and the Dragon Gate.

The Dragon Gate

The only picture I have of the three of us!

Shao Kao is Chinese night bbq and is pretty awesome!