We found Whoville in China!!!! Who would have known!!

  Merry Christmas to all of you!!!!!  I hope that you have a wonderful time with your family and friends while celebrating the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ!!!!
  This week's blog comes to you from a joyful heart and soul that is filled with the Christmas Spirit.  Last week I mentioned that it was a little difficult to get into the spirit of things, but that has totally changed and the Spirit moved in and made itself right at home with us.  So, put your feet up and get yourself a hot cup of something.  I know you will really enjoy this week's experiences.

TEACHING:  This week was rather uneventful in the classroom for all of us.  There were no performances or speeches being given.  Taylor was asked to be the host for the Christmas performances for the elementary school, but we had to say no, since the performances are on Christmas Eve.  But despite us not having much going on, the kindergarten was creating something that was going to astound us.
  Many of our friends from around the world work in the kindergarten.  A couple of them had mentioned this big surprise that they were putting together and invited us to come over if we had some free time.  One of the things that you need to understand about working and going to Kindergarten here is that it is like going to school at Disneyland.  My friend John describes it that way when he talks about it.  After what we experienced on Friday, we totally believe him.  I am going to do my best to describe it to you in words, but to get the full effect you just had to be here.  I have also attempted to give you some of the experience in video and pictures.  So here goes nothing!!!
  When you first walk into the courtyard you are flooded with the sights and sounds of a Christmas wonderland.  The courtyard is open in the middle of the two story kindergarten classrooms.  It is about 50 ft. wide and 100 ft. long.  In the middle the teachers had strung hundreds of green and gold garland, as well as strings of cutout green Christmas trees.  The Christmas music is playing loud and clear and there are bubbles floating down from the ceiling.  The teachers were all dressed in red and white matching outfits.  All of the kids were lined up around the lower edge of the courtyard dancing and jumping around in anticipation of something that was getting ready to happen.  You could feel the excitement and energy in the air.  It was Christmas Magical.
  The music paused for a moment and my friend John yelled out to everyone over the microphone, "Welcome and Merry Christmas!!!!".  He then asked the kids if they were ready for the party to begin, (Like, if it hadn't already) they shouted out  with a resounding "Yes".  John then shouted out, "Then let the Parade and Party begin!!!!!".  On queue from a side door a stream of elves, princesses and animal characters came streaming out.  Minnie was there, as well as Kung Fu Panda, Hello Kitty and Garfield.

Cecelia and I with Po at Kindergarten Festival.  

The Disney Princesses were there. Cinderella, Snow White, Belle made special appearances.  The Christmas parade wound its way around the two main courtyards.  The kids were jumping up and down the characters were high fiving and the music was blasting.  Taylor and I were standing together watching this extravaganza.  Taylor said she was ready to go back to kindergarten.  We were both giggling and laughing about what we were experiencing.  It was one of those moments in time that I had to take a moment to log in as unforgettable.  As if the parade wasn't enough the characters all split off and stood with the kids while the teachers dressed in matching outfits broke into a choreographed dance routine to a mix of Gangnam style music.  Burned into my mind forever will be the image of the courtyard surrounded by 3, 4 and 5 year olds standing side by side dancing Gangnam style.  If you couldn't catch a little bit of Christmas spirit at this party, you were definitely going to get a visit from Jacob Marley in the early evening.
  After the dancing and parade the entire kindergarten became Santa's workshop, with activities for the kids to make cards and crafts, as well as games for kids to play.  There were games like, Feed Santa Cookies, Fishing, Ring the Present, Deliver the Present and many others.  The parade characters were also available for photos.  Paul definitely took advantage of the photo opportunities.

   We couldn't end our Christmas Revelry without a visit to the Kindergarten performance.  The kids were amazing.  They wore matching outfits and sang about five songs live with a piano as background.  They also did choreography as well.  Of course they were extremely cute.  They were the perfect end to an outstanding experience.  Here is a little video for you to see what I described.  Kindergarten teachers everywhere.  Get ready to raise the bar.  Enjoy!!!!

ADVENTURES:  This week we didn't have any real adventures other than just getting ready for Christmas.  We had the weekend off and then Monday and Tuesday.  So four days off in a row was a real nice break.  The first day of vacation Cecelia and I decided to go on a date with our bikes.  We rode to a nearby mall and shopped for some last minute gifts.  We had a very nice lunch and then shopped for dinner and a white elephant party we were attending the next evening.  The mistake we made was realizing that having bikes was going to make it difficult to get back with all the items we purchased.  So we sat down and had a cup of coffee to think it over.  We decided that we were going to do what the Chinese do.  We tied on and packed as much stuff as we could on our backpacks and bikes.  We looked like a couple of nationals on bicycles going to work.  

We are definitely turning Chinese everyday.  Christmas Shopping China Style!!!!!!

We had to travel about 7 kilometers to get back to our house and were doing great until Cecelia had a blowout.  Luckily we found a small bike shop in the village we were passing through and the guy who owned it fixed the flat for us.  The ironic thing is that I had patches and a pump in my backpack, but could't get to them because of all the bags that were tied on from shopping.

The Chapel Altar

On Sunday we found our church home.  When I say we found our home, I am not meaning that we found a place to go and worship just because it is a building and there are other Christians in it.  I really mean we found a home, in that it was comfortable, small and had some great music.  The priest is a very joyful man and exudes his joy through his message.  Both Cecelia and I got a bit choked up, because we found a place in which we could really enjoy going to church.  I really enjoyed the choir too.



They even had a person playing the mandolin.  How can you beat a mandolin while playing worship tunes.  It was funny, because even though we are in a country in which only 2% of the population is Christian I really got the feeling that we were where God had led us.  I also had a strong feeling that whereever I go God is there with me.  I really felt his presence, not so much in the church, but in my heart.  I know I have studied his word and spent many days praying and meditating on him, but the feeling I got was a little overwhelming.  Although I must say it was a great feeling to have, being so far from home.  Anyway, this little church is a great find and we are sure to have many great Sunday's worshiping there the rest of the year.

  

  This last week I had a request to share more about Paul and how he is doing.  Well, other than being our local historian and Chinese language specialist,(Notice I didn't say expert.  I don't think any of us is going to be an expert any time soon.) he is an awesome scooter rider and uncle.  It is great having him here with us and the girls love him.  I know he misses his family, but I believe the girls fill a little of the hole that is there from his wife being home.  He is also a great teacher.  Even though he will exclude himself from that category sometimes, he is still great at taking care of his students.  He also has a heart for doing what is right by them. Those two things alone make him stand out in my book.  It isn't just brotherly pride talking, but someone that has taught for 25 years.  His work ethic is awesome and I would take him over some of the credentialed teachers I know.  He needs to be paid more, but it will work out for him in the end.  There, that last paragraph should take care of some of my critics and you know who you are.

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE:  I wanted to close with a bit of a Christmas message for all of you.  Despite being here in China, Christmas has not lost its meaning.  As a matter of fact, now that I have had time to really think about it, this is one of the best Christmas seasons we have had.  The focus isn't on what we can get, but on what we can do.  We decided not to buy gifts for each other as a family and make our trip to Thailand our gift to each other.  As well as that we have grown closer as a family and have spent time during the holiday doing things together.  On Christmas, we are having breakfast together, going bike riding as a family and then probably watching Christmas movies with cocoa and coffee.  The point is that it is more important to do than to get.  After this season I could see us falling into a new tradition of not giving gifts, but just doing for each other and others.  We really haven't missed the hype of the season and have enjoyed spending time together as a family.  The reason for the season is Jesus.  Nothing else, plain and simple.  I think if nothing else, being far away has made us realize the importance of this more than ever.  So I hope for you that when all of the gifts are done, you can take a walk, bike ride or something that is important that you can do as a family.  Because even if the stuff is gone, the best present is time spent together.  Love to all and have a wonderful Christmas with your family!!!!!