It’s here! Yes, it has arrived even here: Christmas. Or at least the decoration. About a week ago they put up all the decorations on campus – lights on the two main roads, the big Christmas tree in the central shopping square, and along the road to the teacher’s building a lot of colored lights. Now, whether the decorations are pretty is another question altogether, but at least there is something, and that’s enough to be thankful for!
I haven’t told you much about our Christmas Banquet last Friday yet. Let me do so in today’s Food Corner. Well, after having had the same course of dishes for several years now, this year’s Christmas Banquet held a nice surprise. One of my American colleagues assisted in the kitchen and the result was a rather different banquet. Instead of squash soup with buttered bread buns, we enjoyed potato soup with bread that was baked with cheese and tomatoes. This was followed by a plate of various appetizers such as salads, sweet and sour chicken and meat with some kind of sauce, and yes, we also had cookies (I learned the cookies are a very typical side dish here in China!). The main course was mashed potatoes and pork with some steemed vegetables and our dinner was concluded with some sort of tiramisu. Aside from the fact that everything was cold by the time it got to us, it was quite an enjoyable dinner accompanied with the performances of lots of my colleagues, ranging anywhere …
I never got to tell you about the Dongzhi Festival (Winter Solstice Festival) or the Dumpling Day, as we commonly refer to it around here. Dongzhi literally means “arrival of winter” and it is one of the most important festivals in the Chinese calendar. It usually takes place on or around December 22, when the daylight is shortest and the nights longest. As with all the Chinese festivals, there are several traditional activities connected with the Dongzhi Festival: In the south of China, people traditionally make tangyuan (balls of glutinous rice) and eat them on this day. In the northern parts of China it is the dumplings that are made and eaten – thus our “Dumpling Day.” Ancestral worship is also part of the traditions observed on this day. At our school students usually get together with their classes at night and make dumplings which they will eat afterward. And in most cases those dumpling parties turn into huge flour battles among the students, resulting in everyone being covered in white at the time the …
Mighty mountain ranges, deep gorges, hidden valleys, countless springs, waterfalls and lakes – all this is Yuntai Mountain. Situated in the northern part of Henan Province right near Jiao Zuo, the spectacular scenery of this area draws people from near and far. Corel Peak, the highest point, rises about 1308 m above sea level, but it’s not only those who like to climb mountains who get their money’s worth. Since Yuntai Mountain was turned into a national park, the area has been greatly developed and is now conducive to lots of outdoor activities. The park offers countless opportunities for tourists, and visitors who like to spend more than one day exploring the scenery can stay in one of the various accommodations on site. Those planning on visiting Yuntai Mountain, should know about the two downsides involved, though: On the weekends and during the main season, the park is really crowded, requiring visitors to spend long hours waiting in line in some areas; Admission fees tend to be on the higher end of the scale (at …
After skipping last week, the Monday Highlight is back over in the DigiScrap Corner, today featuring ScrapKitchen Designs’ “Christmas Past”. Check out my post, and you might even find a surprise in the end! Final Exam Day Today, officially for me the semester has ended with the final exams. That doesn’t mean the work is over, though, since now there’s a lot of grading that still needs to be done. And I’m also continuing to meet with my students as usually, but at least classes are over. And once all the Christmas celebrations are over, I’m finally going to have some quieter days to come! Looking forward to that!
After skipping last week’s Monday Highlight (sorry for that, was out of town and previously had been caught up with my December Daily project), it’s about time to show off another product I recently fell in love with. Since the Christmas season is in full swing it is another Christmas themed kit: Christmas Past by ScrapKitchen Designs Let me tell you, what I love the most about this kit are the papers! The color palette reaches from traditional Christmas greens and reds to cream, blue and brown, which makes it quite versatile to work with. One paper comes with a pretty Christmas themed wordart printed all over it, another one has a tiny holly leaf pattern (I love holly leaves, don’t know why!), and the one I love most is the background with the very vintage style paintings in the corner! Check it out: As soon as I discovered this paper in the stash of backgrounds, I was all over it! It works perfectly for those old vintage style pages to scrap those memories from …
In the midst of the glare I still hold inside the soft glow of a star. Quiet. Ancient. Timeless. Beckoning me to hope to peace to joy to faith to love. To Bethlehem Anne Goodrich
Sun 19: Christmas Party Mon 20: Final Exam Wed 22: Cookie Baking with students Thur 23: Cookie Baking with students/Concert Fri 24: Christmas Celebration Sat 25: Christmas Celebration Sun 26: Raclette dinner with friends I’m looking at a very busy week ahead with working on grades (the goal is to finish them before Christmas Eve), proctering, and lots of parties (most of which I need to organize and prepare for).
I found a new treasure for you this week: Snow Fun by eranslow She used the kit “Frostbite” by Julie Billingsley and I love how she worked with the blue papers and elements provided in the kit! In combination with the snowflakes and the evergreen it’s quite the perfect mixture for a great page! Besides I love her composition and this page makes me want to have some snow to play with here, too!
For some it is the cause for great excitement, for others it is a reason to turn their noses up and look at it in disdain: this year’s foreign faculty Christmas tree. True, it’s the first ever real Christmas tree we had in the lobby of the teacher’s flat, but for a real tree it’s a rather poor sampling. And even whether the way it is decorated is beautiful or not is open to dispute. After all, people’s tastes are different. As for me, I’ve come to the conclusion that even though the tree as a whole is a somewhat pitiful sight to be seen, this year’s decoration is a lot better than in past years, though I would have preferred the fake tree!
