Happy Hanukkah to all, and to all a very belated Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, Hanukkah is happening now. So how did China Doll spend these family oriented holidays so far from home?

The week of Thanksgiving, my classes at NDZF were all Thanksgiving themed. I taught the students the food we eat, the Thanksgiving story (and they got the story that doesn't end with "AND THEN THE NATIVE AMERICANS AND PILGRIMS WERE FRIENDS FOREVER THE END," they got the scoop. The best part, however, was the final activity. I explained that Thanksgiving is a time in which Americans really think about for what they are thankful. That we think about how lucky we are to have friends, family, food, shelter, and everything else in our lives. My older students had to write out what they were thankful for and why. My younger students had to write three things for which they were thankful and then draw a hand turkey, like we did in Kindergarten. Most of the students thought of the same answers, usually a variation of rotating family members. However, many students got creative. In every class, one (very smart) student always wrote, "I am thankful for teachers, because they teach me new things." I always got a student who is thankful for KFC. We brainstormed a list and my students always got really creative. Many said "seeing" and "hearing." They were thankful for "air" and "the Earth." A few students were thankful to live in China and for the Chinese government, which was pretty interesting. One student was thankful for Mao! It was a good way for me to get to know my students better.

Thanksgiving night was celebrated with Sophie, Lela, and Anna (Lela and Anna are doing a similar program to Grinnell Corps, but for Wellesley College). However unlike Grinnell Corp, Lela and Anna are provided with a very nice kitchen, so we were able to cook a few Thanksgiving treats. It was somewhat Mexican themed, with chili, chips, and salsa (and sangria!) but we also had mashed potatoes, candied yams, and cranberry sauce. It was so delicious, and we had a great time.

The Thanksgiving sangria, new tradition?

Lela and Anna preparing the chili

Chili, chips, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, candied yams,
and (of course) sangria!

That weekend Sophie and I went to Shanghai. We were lucky enough to stay with a college friend of my mom's, Joan, who has a beautiful, and very centrally located, apartment with her family. They were all so sweet and generous, I feel really fortunate to know such wonderful people so close to Nanjing. Since I live in a dorm here and am only really friends with young people, it was nice to be in a family setting. They even have a daughter the same age as my brother! 

It so happened that many of the people with whom I got TEFL certified were in Shanghai for a conference, so we mostly hung out with them. Friday night we went to Wagas for dinner, which had amazing Western food... not even just by Chinese standards, by American standards it was really good! We went out that night in Shanghai, which is more expensive and definitely more intimidating than going out in Nanjing.

The next day, Sophie and I spent hour(s) at the new Forever 21 in Shanghai (YES!) and afterward we went to an expat Thanksgiving dinner with Joan and her family. It just felt very homey to be in an apartment full of families, who were able to find and bake real Thanksgiving food. It was so nice of them to invite us, and Sophie and I had a great time. That evening, another night out in Shanghai with friends I hadn't seen in a few months! So it was really fun.

Joan, Sophie and me! (Picture stolen from Joan)

Today is the second day of Hanukkah. Last night Sophie, Lela, Liz, David and I celebrated together. David brought potatoes, onions, and eggs for latkes and we did our best to fry them up. Since we didn't have or want to make apple sauce, we used our leftover can of cranberry sauce to pair with the latkes. It was pretty good! Sophie, David and I told the story of Hanukkah and explained the tradition to Liz and Lela. We listened to the Hanukkah pandora station for about five minutes, but Hanukkah music does not hold a candle (ha!) to Christmas music so we soon switched to Motown. 

David shredding the potatoes

A very creative solution to the "no menorahs in China" issue

The latkes made a mess, but the were delicious!

Our carrot menorah

I have always believed that when it comes to the holidays, it's the thought that counts. Of course, I love Thanksgiving food and would have loved to have turkey and stuffing, but just the fact that I spent it with friends means a lot to me. Same for Hanukkah: a carrot is definitely not a menorah but it's the idea behind it that really matters.