Do they know its Chrishanukah time at all? Yes

Yesterday was amazingly cold. I fear that it was only a preview of the weather to come in January and February. The air temperature hovered around freezing while a strong wind whipped around and drove the cold right through me.

The Chinese classes are going well. I am able to hold perfectly normal conversations with cab drivers. Cab drivers in Beijing have been given a series of tapes and books aimed at improving their English ahead of the Olympics. Between my Chinese and their English we learn a lot about each other. I am now totally capable of giving directions, ordering food, and talking about my likes and dislikes, and asking questions. I just need some more adjectives and verb constructions and I can make my run at Vice Premier.

Last Monday was one of the worst pollution days ever in Beijing. You can read the 'official' account here During the day you couldn't see more than 50 feet in front of you because of the smog. It was horrendous. I spent most of the day with a scarf wrapped around my face. The Chinese didn't seem to mind it so much and actually laughed at me when they saw me walking down the street. On Mondays I have Chinese class after work from 5:00 to 7:30. After class I went out for dinner with some of my co-worker's friends. We had a hearty Sichuan meal. Side note: I am really getting used to the heat of Sichuan cuisine. This is adding another depth to my eating repertoire (look out world). After dinner a few of us went to have some drinks at a really classy bar nearby. By the time we finished our drinks the subway had closed. Sorry to do this again, but side note: The subway closes at 10:15 p.m. every day of the week. Through the course of our time at the bar the pollutions seemed to get worse and worse. In the end we could not even see the buildings across the vacant lot. We some how found a cab and began to make our way back to Tongzhou. We tried to get on the highway but it was closed due to the smog. It was so thick that it was dangerous to drive at high speeds! I feel as if I shaved 3 years off of my life that day. To add more horror and disbelief to an already unbelievable situation, I was told that the winter has the highest concentration of clear days. Heavy pollution days are most frequent in the summer.

Tuesday was just as eventful and almost as harmful to my health. I went to McDonald's. I did not go in order to fulfill some sort of burger craving I had. This is not to say that I have never had any such craving, I have but that was not the impetus for this visit. The foreign teachers were approached by the school and asked to participate in an English Corner. At the training in Changzhou we were told that participation in English Corners would be, 'strongly suggested' by our schools but it is in fact mandatory. English corners are sponsored by provincial and local foreign relations bureaus. They are a chance for community members to get together and practice/learn English. English Corners are open to the general public and are usually facilitated by English speakers living in the area. The English Corner in Tongzhou takes place at the local McDonalds. The reason I went on Tuesday was that I have been tutoring a student at our school who is taking part in an English speech competition. About a month ago she won first prize among all the high schoolers in Tongzhou. Two weeks ago she placed second among all the high schoolers in Beijing. Next week she is competing in the national competition so we went to the English Corner in order for her to work on her speech and get some more practice. McDonald's was packed. There were probably 70-80 people packed into the back corner of the restaurant all speaking English. It was a strange sight to see so many Chinese speaking English with each other.
I had a chance to speak with a gentleman named 'Wilson'. He was quite the character. He was there with his English teacher (also Chinese). She had told him that it was a good chance to practice his English and if he went she would give him a kiss. He complained to me that they had been there for hours and she still hadn't, "laid one on" him. He had an arsenal of colloquialisms and he used them all perfectly. He was cool. I will be back there again this Tuesday for the Christmas party.

On that topic, happy holidays to everyone! It is strange how much pub Christmas gets here. Decorations are out, lights line major thoroughfares, trees are up and decorated at most shopping centers, and you even hear Christmas music at the malls here. Not surprisingly there has not been one hint of Hanukah. I am on the look out for some decorations to put up. After all, the wall hangings and various other decorations are made here so I should be able to find them somewhere. Or maybe not.

Happy Hanukah and Merry Christmas!