Hansel & Gretel, Hula-Hoops and Holiday Blessings

Hello again, everyone. On this, the one month anniversary since my last post (sorry 'bout that), I thought I'd finally take the time to sit down and give you the news.

Let's start with work life. I finished up my semester in late December, just after Christmas. I gave two final exams, and let me tell you, it is interesting to proctor exams instead of take them. I felt a little shaky in my student-assesment skills, but I think my first go-round went pretty well, considering it all. I learned a couple of lessons along the way, which I'll take to my upcoming semesters. My sophomores, as the most advanced group of students I had this semester, did a mock trial as their final project. They enacted The Trial of Hansel and Gretel, whom were tried for the attempted murder of Miss Ivana Eatyu, an alleged witch living in a gingerbread house. (Note: one class convicted, the other acquitted) I must give credit to my friend and fellow PCV, Ian, who gave me the basic plot line for the trial. Because of a miscommunication in the English department, I had planned the final trial for a day when my students had another exam, so we had to rush it in the end. Nonetheless, I was quite proud of my students' performance. It was amazing to see them perform, and on such short notice, I was really impressed. My favorite part (and theirs, too, I suspect) was to see the "lawyers" shout "Objection!" when they felt their client was being badgered by the opposing team of lawyers.

Now that the exams have been taken, I am left with the not-so-entertaining job of correcting them all. It is taking me rather a long time, though, between tea-refills and hula-hoop breaks. Yes, I did say hula-hoop.

Which brings me to the holidays. One of my best gifts was from my boyfriend--a hula-hoop. Why, you ask? Well, during the summer, I was taken with a sudden passion for hula-hooping. I decided, and told all of my friends, that once I got to site, I would buy a hula-hoop for exercise and general happiness maintenance. The way I figured, my ball-and-socket joints in my hips don't get enough circular motion and so what better or more fun way to resolve that than hula-hooping? It is a popular form of exercise for Chinese women. The standard version here is a little different than the one I had as a kid, however. Instead of a hollow plastic tube, they have a heavy metal circle encased in a soft plastic foam. This makes for much more strenuous hip gyration. Luckily, because I'm not sure how long I could keep that up, I was gifted with the good old fashioned hollow type, and have been hula-hooping in my living room at whim ever since. To be honest, I've lost much of the skill of my youth. But I'm hoping to improve.

You may wonder how I spent my Christmas and New Year's, my first away from home and family. Well, luckily and somewhat surprisingly, it was similar to an American Christmas, just without my family and a warm house. Todd, the afore-mentioned boyfriend (also a China 11 PCV), came from Chongqing to celebrate with me between final exams. We opened one gift on Christmas Eve and the rest on Christmas Day. I had two stockings hung up, and they were stuffed in the morning of the 25th. I spoke with my family on Christmas Day, as they were having our traditional Christmas Eve gathering at home. To a large extent I avoided the holiday blues, thanks to Todd, Christmas decorations purchased in the open market and a near-total retreat from Chinese food. Thanks to everyone who has mailed me Western food; I was able to take a week-long break from the local cuisine. While tasty, it gets a bit old when eaten for every meal, every day.

New Year's Eve was spent with the sizable Volunteer crew in near-by metropolis, Chongqing. Our friend Thalia hosted a "hat party," and at the stroke of midnight we all took our hats off to China and the new year. We even managed to find some champagne for toasting. Looking back on 2005, I am still struck by the many and great changes, opportunities and blessings that came into my life. It was a watershed year for me in a lot of ways. And 2006 is the Year of the Dog, which happens to be "my" year, so who knows what good things will come my way in the next twelve months. I'm looking forward to the continuance of the rollercoaster ride.

In a final note, in the last month I was mailed many cards and packages, and was often surprised by the thoughts from so many of you in the States. I felt truly blessed and loved, and I want to say thank you again to everyone who dropped me a line, a mix-CD or a box of macaroni and cheese. I have not only been behind on my blogging, but also on email correspondence, so if you haven't heard from me in a while, don't worry. I'm catching up slowly, and I certainly haven't forgotten you all. More from me soon. Until then, Happy New Year, Xin Nian Kuaile, hasta luego.