Since cooking in China happens mostly with the wok, almost everything comes more or less fried in oil somehow. The same thing happens with this broccoli, which was fried in oil, while salt, other spices and garlic were added. It still makes a decent side dish at any meal!
Christmas is over now, but since I’ve been blessed with more presents than usual this year, I’d like to share what I got with you. (After all, why should I keep all the joy of these Christmas presents just for myself?) Now, keep in mind that the one who got the presents was … Me (that’s a grown-up with a love for subdued colors, and a fully furnished apartment). And here goes the list … a little plush container for pens and pencils an apple candle an all pink picture frame some red and silver Christmas decoration striped socks with stocked with chocolate and pralines a colorful porcelain angel a rabbit with long hanging legs (decoration on a shelf) apples & oranges a wood boat that also is a lamp a handcrafted Christmas card more chocolate and candy sunflower seeds So, whether I’ll be able to find use for all these presents, that’s a question I’ll allow you to answer yourselves.
Did you know that Christmas in Germany consists of 2 and 1/2 days full of celebrating? If you’re from Germany, sure you’ll know. But to most people around here, I need to explain this over and over again: Today it’s still Christmas. Since yesterday was the 1. Christmas Day, it means that today is the 2. Christmas Day – makes sense, right? So, while everyone else around me is returning to business as usual (well the Chinese never stopped anyways, Christmas isn’t a holiday at all here, just a day for partying at night), I’ve decided to be a little stubborn … and insist on celebrating Christmas, still! And I’m sure, those friends of mine who are invited to my dinner party tonight don’t mind at all that I’m determined on celebrating that 2. Christmas Day with them!
Look who has found his way all the way to China! And look who seems to think that I’ve been a nice girl this past year! This morning when I came back from breakfast, I found a sweet surprise hanging at my door. Looks like St. Nicholas found my little corner of the world after all. Sure, he was a little late, because when I left for brunch there was no trace of his having been there at my door yet. But who cares about such things, when there’s such a nice surprise waiting for you. And after all, St. Nicholas must have had a really busy morning, stopping in Germany first, to get me all these favorite German chocolate treats, before coming all the way here to find me! In any case, he’s made me a really happy girl this morning, and I’m left to wonder who might have told him how to find my little spot …
Wishing all my family, friends, and readers a very merry and wonderful Christmas! And now the same in German: Ich wünsche meiner Familie, meinen Freunden, und allen Lesern dieses Blogs ein frohes und besinnliches Weihnachtsfest!
I’ve made a discovery! This year I found out that the repertoire of Christmas songs consists of more than just “Jingle Bells!” That’s good news, because Jingle Bells certainly isn’t one of my favorite Christmas songs. And it’s a huge relief to my ears that in between the repeated jingling of the bells, I can also listen to something else. (Remember? I have a constant blur of music floating into my living room from the supermarket across the street – the one that is kind enough to entertain the entire neighborhood – whether desired or not – with their music!) Sadly, they only have about one CD of Christmas songs, and that CD only has about 5 different songs that are repeated all. day. long. Which means, I should be a real expert when it comes to those Christmas songs pretty soon – don’t you think?
Remember that Christmas tree? The one I keep telling you about? The one that needs some imaginative powers to be regarded as a Christmas tree. The one about which I can’t decide whether it’s just not good looking or plain ugly. The one that has all these little notes added by the students to make good for the lack of other Christmas decorations and ornaments. Well, I was wrong. About the little notes, that is. And about how they’ll soon cover up the bottom part of the tree. I should have never told you about the little notes, because this year? They’re … HUGE!!! Or about how they only cover up the bottom part of that tree. Because that whole tree looks like a carnival scarecrow for Santa Clause. Just saying – oh Christmas tree! Or maybe: Oh, oh, Christmas tree! PS. And I haven’t even told you about the Winnie Pooh Bear and Micky Mouse balloons that are flying far above the tree. Wonder how they got there? I agree – that’s a gooood …
Look at what we created today! My first ever real gingerbread house! And while it’s far from perfect, I still consider it quite a success for numerous reasons … Reason #1: The only time I’ve made a gingerbread house before, turned into such a disaster that we never finished it, and never dared touching a project like that afterward. Reason #2: I consider myself quite unexperienced when it comes to making a gingerbread house, or even working with and decorating things with icing. Reason #3: It’s not easy to get a gingerbread house kit here in China at all, and the same applies to the other ingredients such as icing sugar, or even suitable candy (we had to be a little creative). Reason #4: I don’t have the right tools to put together and decorate the house, so we had to be quite creative with what we had, and thanks to my two friends who helped me, we were able to figure out how to make things work. Reason #5: None of my friends who …
Christmas is almost here, and that reminds me of the first Christmas I spent in China. Let me tell you about the first Christmas party I had here, and what happened with the gift exchange: I’d invited a bunch of friends to celebrate together, and I had told everyone to bring a gift for a gift exchange. Everyone followed my instructions and brought a gift, except there was one little problem. While my intention was that everyone would leave with a gift that they’d gotten from someone else, their intention was to give the present they’d brought to me. In the end, I found myself with a bunch of presents, some of them specifically dedicated to me, and feeling quite bad about the fact that I’d gotten so many presents while they’d not gotten anything. But all arguing and debating was fruitless – my friends wouldn’t want to have the gifts used in a gift exchanged. They only wanted me to have all the gifts. That’s when I learned not to organize another gift exchange …
I promised you, I’d post more about the floor decorating competition, so here goes another hall that I went to explore. This one’s all about the journey to Bethlehem, and I love how entering the hall you enter into the oriental world of the past – with flat-roofed houses, hills and mountains, camels and what not … and if you look very hard, you can even see the wise men following that star! On the doors my colleagues posted different Christmas carols, and I’ve been told that after entering the hallway, everyone starts humming, or singing, or whistling, or whatever … Christmas songs! That’s it for now as far as the hall decorating competition goes, but stay tuned, because I have more to come about the oh-so-famed Christmas tree …
