A Sad, Sad Christmas

I know I haven't been updating recently. Besides being insanely busy, working extra hours at the training center and college prep center where I moonlight, my life has just been insanely boring recently. I mostly just lesson plan. Cook. Clean my house. Try to stay warm. It's not very exciting.

But I'm just so sad right now, I just have to share this story with you before I lose it:

Yesterday, I went to the annual Jiangsu Christmas and New Year's Party. And like last year, they gave out stuffed animals at the end of the evening. I got a stuffed duck modeled after the beloved Hong Kong Big Yellow Duck.

On my way home, I stopped at the copy shop to print out some papers for class tomorrow. Even though the people who work at this copy shop get really exasperated with me and my lack of Chinese, I go there because it's cheap, close, and because of Copy Shop Baby.

He's not really a baby, but Copy Shop Baby is adorable. I'm guessing he's the son of the owner. He doesn't have a lot of toys, so he's usually just running up and down the hill outside or spinning in circles in front of the bakery next door. Literally. One time, I saw him playing with a stapler, a roll of toilet paper, and some weird metal rods. As I said, not a lot of toys.

He's like the MacGyver of toys

So when he saw the duck yesterday, he was grinning and asking me (in Chinese) "What is that?! What is that?!" So I decided that today, as painful as it would be to part with 小黄鸭 (SHOULDN'T HAVE NAMED IT), I would give it to Copy Shop Baby for 圣诞节, Christmas.

Adorbzzz

So today when I went to make the copies, I told him that tomorrow is Christmas. I wanted to give him the duck. While my copies were being made, he used a box as a duck pond and had the duck swim... he and I took turns having the duck give each other kisses. And as I left, he gave me the duck back.

In my broken Chinese, I said, "it's for you!"

He said, "I don't want it."

"But I want to give it you! It's a present!"

"I don't want it. Unintelligible Chinese, which I think was something along the lines of, "I already have a lot of toys."" He took out a car and started playing with it.

At this point, the copy shop was filled with students. Staring at me. His mom urged him to take the duck. He wouldn't. My face burning crimson, I walked over and gave it to her, hoping he would want to play with it later.

Embarrassed. Sad. Depressed. As selfish as this is, I was hoping that giving Copy Shop Baby the stuffed duck would make me feel a little more cheerful. The laughter of a child and whatnot. But no. Sigh. Chinadoll is feeling those wintertime blues...