This week Americans around the world celebrated Thanksgiving. My celebration did not include the traditional turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, or pumpkin pie, but there is still plenty for me to be thankful for. So here's a list of just a few of them.
1. I'm thankful for the many friends I've made here in Shenyang, both Chinese and otherwise. In particular, I'm thankful that many of them attended the same Thanksgiving dinner of Peking Roast Duck (hey, at least it's a bird) on Thursday. I expected that I would know the majority of the 130 people in attendance, but it turned out to be a lot of Chinese people I didn't know. Furthermore, the organizers tried to have us sit randomly so we would have to get to know new people at our tables. That's a great idea in theory, but on a day like Thanksgiving, I was certainly thankful to have three of my favorite people here also sitting at my table.
2. I'm thankful for the occasional opportunity to eat Western food. Last week, G & WT invited me over to eat spaghetti. Real spaghetti. Mmm. And we topped it off with real chocolate pudding. Yeah, I'm thankful for microwavable recipes of chocolate pudding, too.
3. I'm thankful for the opportunity to buy relatively inexpensive clothes here to fend off the cold. Because it is really cold. Last weekend I successfully bought a nice red ski coat, which the lady assured me would be warm enough all winter. I was less thrilled with the lady at that market who pretended to not understand my Chinese, just to try to rip me off, but I refused to buy anything from her and found others who were much friendlier. (When I walked away from that lady, I heard her tell her coworker in Chinese, "Wow, her Chinese was actually pretty good!") Also, I'm thankful for the Chinese invention of really really thick nylons. Superbly thick. Basically, they're pants but designed to look like nylons. So right now I can wear them with a skirt to go to fellowship. Of course, in the worst of winter I won't be doing that, but I'm thankful to have the option right now. And I'm thankful that option only cost me 20 kuai to buy… about $2.50.
4. I'm thankful for fun winter activities. My most recent adventures have included a trip to the "sports center" of Shenyang, where you can buy all variety of sporting gear from the real name brands. The story of how and why I got there is a bit bizarre, but it worked out. Two weeks ago, the girl I tutor on Saturdays and I wandered around a nearby store, simply to give us something entertaining to do as we practiced English. As we passed the athletic gear, I simply asked about where someone would buy ice skates if they would happen to want them. Apparently that got translated in her mind to me really really wanting to buy ice skates. So the following week, our outing was to the sports center to find me some ice skates. I'm thankful, for one, that the ice skates only cost me 95 kuai (since I couldn't very well get out of buying them after she had gone through so much work for me). I'm also thankful, though, for the option of ice skating this winter. I actually went today for the first time, and remembered just how much fun ice skating is. Now I just need to convince some friends of mine that it's fun and that they should get some ice skates, too.
5. I'm thankful for Chinese families who welcome me into their houses. Today, the girl I tutor invited me to her house to eat Hot Pot with her family. Her family is from Dalian, an ocean town, so they had lots of seafood in the hot pot. Wow, I like shrimp done that way. And even oysters aren't too bad when cooked in the hot pot. But better than the food was the fact that I could interact with a Chinese family, see how they live, and even practice my Chinese a bit.
6. I'm thankful for the occasional random opportunity that comes up that I could never have anticipated or expected. This past week, I had a girl approach me – in English – saying that she is a journalist for a magazine and wanted to interview me. The following day, we got together and I learned a lot of interesting things from her. And I believe this is one way that I will be able to improve my networking opportunities here. Yeah, I'm thankful for that.
7. I'm thankful for all the fun activities that I have going on every day that prevent me from writing any more on this blog. Like right now. There is certainly plenty more I'm thankful for, but I have to go… I have dinner plans.
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