Christmas has arrived in Shanghai! The Chinese version is pretty exciting, I have to say. I feel like I’ve said this before, but what they lack in knowledge, they more than make up for in enthusiasm. The Christmas castle facade really is the front of an office building near my work, and if you look closely you'll notice the traditional stuffed animal castle guards.
One of the stranger Chinese Christmas phenomena: there only seems to be a playlist of about 10 Christmas songs in all of Shanghai. It’s like we’re in the tv show “Lost”, and only one Christmas CD survived the plane crash, and now we’re destined to listen to that one CD forever. No matter where we go in Shanghai, we keep hearing the same 10 songs. And not just any old Christmas songs, mind you.
Tiffany’s favorite is the yuletide classic, “Mamacita, Donde Esta Santa Claus?” which is Spanish for “Mama, where is Santa Claus?” It’s an incredibly annoying song, and they’re playing it in my office building, so I get to hum along every morning on the elevator ride up to work.
My favorite also gets heavy airplay. It’s George Michael’s “Last Christmas”. Nothing wrong with that, right? Rachel, one of Tiffany’s ex-coworkers, told her how much she liked this tune and asked her about it. Tiffany agreed that it was a peppy beat, but then actually listened to the chorus:
“Last Christmas, I gave you my heart.
The very next day, you gave it away.
This year, to save me from tears,
I gave it to someone special….”
Tiffany had to explain that this song wasn’t really in the “true” spirit of Christmas…
By the way, the tree at the top is our first China Christmas tree! We are hosting a Christmas Eve party for some friends and Rachel was sooo excited about seeing a Christmas tree. So... we had to go out and get a Christmas tree. But now that our apartment is decorated, we're getting more and more excited about the party.
Also, one of my best best friends, Cali, is coming to Shanghai to celebrate Christmas with us! So we are busy getting ready to show him around town. Of course, his first order of business when he gets here will be to help me cook for the party!
And these are the decorations from my office building, which appears to be under attack of the Santas! In the lobby we have everybody's favorite Christmas ferris wheel, with a couple of ponies hijacked from the merry-go-round, and swing-mounted Santas perched all along the ceiling. Of course the ferris wheel cars are packed full with more stuffed animals. Apparently the Chinese have a much more carnival-like impression of Christmas...
Anyway, Tiffany and I will miss all of our wonderful friends and family this Christmas and New Year's. THANK YOU again for all of your support; we couldn't have made it without you! (or without you, Tiffany would have had to deal with a lot more of me breaking down into tears!) Absence may make the heart grow fonder, but we're really looking forward to seeing Cali next week, and more of you next year!
2 comments:
Oh Zachary:
You have helped make a really typically tough day with the students into one with extreme humor. I have shared with my students your journal about Christmas, and although they don't share my exact humor (I think they are laughing at me) they did admit you are a very clever writer. So then, I had to don my ole Language Art's hat and tell them exactly why you are so good. Consider yourself a "lesson" in the lives of 100 or so Steger Columbina Central students today. Merry Christmas!
It's always interesting to see how other cultures perceive Christmas. I hope you had a blast throwing your first Chinese Christmass party!
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