Some of our friends (who we’re starting to refer to as our “Cheers” crew, since we always meet at the same tea/coffee shop and its a place “where everybody knows our name”) invited us out for fireworks and dinner. We were out way too late, but we had a lot of fun! We knew we were in trouble when we didn’t even leave the coffee shop until midnight.
At the tea bar with our “Cheers” crew. Clockwise from left…I play Woody, then Frazier, Norm, Sam (he owns the shop), Diane (co-owner/real-life wife), and Cliff.
$50 worth of fire works goes a long way here!
Nunchuck sparklers
Danny lighting the grand finale box
Then on to dinner… from top right: potatoes, mushrooms, cow throat, potato noodles, cow stomach, bone marrow, sweet garlic, tofu plate. Mmm 🙂
Surprise trip back to the tea bar after dinner (2:30am) for impromptu singing lead by a pro piano player.
Shèng dàn kuài lè…Merry Christmas!!! Literally translated, holy birth happy. It’s been super cold here. We thought our Texas blood couldn’t cut living in these conditions, but we are actually really enjoying the cold weather. Maybe it’s because it is a “dry” cold. Whatever the reason…we love it here!
Being in a country that doesn’t celebrate Christmas has been strange. Back in the states, we remember the month of December being a time of mentally shutting down from school/work, plus tons of reminders that Christmas is just around the corner. Here, the only visual reminder we get is a Santa sticker here and there. No Christmas trees, lights, music, and no days off from class (we told our teacher we wouldn’t be coming Thursday/Friday). Everything goes on as usual. But Kristen and I have worked hard to bring Christmas to China. I think Kristen put the Christmas tree up before Thanksgiving to get in the spirit.
We ordered the Christmas lights online… It’s the little things 🙂
One unanticipated Christmas blessing came from our university. They hosted a Christmas themed party for all of the foreign students, which included food, games (Danny participated, unaware of the amount of Chinese language that was needed to play), and a speech from the president of the University. They also bused us to a nearby town for some fun in the snow that included sleigh rides, snow tubing, horseback riding, traditional “Tu” people dancing lessons, and food in a yurt. We had a blast. Our school did a great job of making us feel loved!
Danny trying his best to participate in the game.
This was the entrance to the park…felt like we were a little too old.
Pony sleigh ride. Kristen was so afraid of getting kicked… or pooped on.
Danny riding a horse…He looks scared 🙂 One guy fell.
Tube runs
On Christmas morning we woke up early and hiked to a nearby mountain to see the sunrise. As we celebrate the light of the world coming to us, we wanted to start a new tradition…
Danny leading the way up the mountain with his flashlight.
At the top! We brought a thermos filled with Starbucks Coffee… priceless gift from the States 🙂
First light. We’re used to seeing the sun rise over the horizon, not the smog… but we’ll take it 🙂
Then it was back home for opening gifts! We were so blessed by family and friends who mailed packages to us.
🙂
Kristen’s gift to me…no more working out outside when it’s below freezing!!!
We miss our family and friends but we are truly blessed this Christmas!
Recently, Kristen and I hosted five Tibetan friends to celebrate one of their birthdays. Birthdays are not celebrated in Tibetan culture, so when we learned that Ken (we can’t remember his Tibetan name) was turning 24 the next week, we decided to throw him a party. Balloons, dinner, birthday cake and candles, games (then Tibetan circle dancing)… the whole shebang. Kristen cooked BBQ chicken tacos as well as a couple of Chinese dishes in case they didn’t care for the BBQ (they liked it). She also baked a delicious carrot cake that they ended up really liking 🙂
The preparations begin…while Kristen was cooking, my job was blowing up balloons.
China doesn’t do birthday candles, but we found this candle the day of the party. The sign in the background says Happy Birthday in Tibetan…Kristen rocked it!
Birthday Boy!
Ken is making his wish before blowing out the candle.
The crew
Ken is making us tsampa (pronounced saampa). It is a traditional snack/meal that the shepherds take with them.
It tastes similar to a peanut butter lara bar.
Ingredients: Tsampa flour, dehydrated cheese, yak butter, sugar, and water.
We really wish we would have taken a picture or video of the Tibetan circle dancing… but picture this happening in our apartment:
Overall, it was a really cool cultural experience — we have also been invited to come stay with their families next summer!
Thanksgiving is far and away my (Danny) most favorite day of the year. How can you beat Thanksgiving cuisine, family, and football? But, this year was the first time that I did not spend Thanksgiving in the states with family. It made us realize just how much we miss them, and the life events that we are missing out on — like missing our nephews 2nd birthday!
Aiden’s (our nephew) 2nd birthday party. He is opening the gift we gave him. He looks pumped 🙂
Kristen’s family
Kristen’s Dad and brother the day we left Austin
Danny’s family
Even as we think about the things we’re missing, we do feel super blessed and so thankful for Skype and other apps (especially during the holidays)!!!
But Thanksgiving can be great in China too. Kristen and I set out to make this happen. We invited 15 friends over for an “authentic” Thanksgiving dinner — for many it was their first. Kristen split duties with 2 other ladies to prepare the food, while the guys played football (Turkey Bowl!) at the university. I do wish I would have taken pictures because we were playing on a frozen field, with fresh snow, at a warm 28 degrees. We did this without heaters and all the frills players get back in the states 🙂
The ladies were the big winners of the day. They successfully cooked a delicious Turkey (which we had to order from a small import store about 6 weeks ago, as China does not have Turkey), my grandmother’s dressing (Kristen rocked this), mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, apple pie, ect. It was amazing and our guests loved it!!!
Our market
Turkey and to the left is BBQ chicken in case we ran out of Turkey. Can’t have too much meat at Thanksgiving!
Main course
Dessert 🙂 The pen and yellow paper were there for people to write what the were thankful for — we posted it on our wall in the dining room.
Our friends!
Surprise Kungfu demonstration. I’m thinking this is going to have to become a Thanksgiving Tradition in our house!!! It was awesome.
I finished Thanksgiving celebrations by skipping Friday’s Chinese class to watch the Texas vs. TCU football game. Boy was that a mistake. I should have gone to class (like Kristen did) instead of wasting 3 hours of my life watching that mess. The picture below shows me watching the game on the laptop that was overheating. Apparently, not even the laptop could stand streaming that game. I had to open the window and let it cool down.
Overall, there is much to be thankful for no matter where we are!
Epic WeChat fail ! (Wechat is an app we use to text our Chinese friends) I (Danny) finally figured out that my buddy was trying to get me to teach him how to grill the perfect hotdog.
A sign outside of a school…enough said
Whatever you do, do not call from this phone!
It’s getting colder here…
Below is a pretty cool back alley we found on our way to school one morning while I (Danny) was looking for a short cut. I am truly my father’s son because my short cuts never seem to cut time but take on average 30 min longer. However, they are really good for a change of scenery and finding things you would never have found before! Thanks Dad!!!
Outdoor toilet…”but I don’t remember eating any corn!”
Many of you have been asking what we do for exercise. Welcome to muscle beach 🙂
Most complexes have at least one muscle beach on their premises. Ours has 3! They all tend to have the same equipment, and are very popular places to congregate (kind of like the WOT back home). Let us give you a tour…
We end up using most of the equipment for exercises other than their original purpose.
i.e. the dip bars become a row machine
The ab machine becomes…
a bicep curl and shoulder press machine.
Then there are the “adult playground”? machines…
?
?
These are a local favorite
Then there are the “use the space you’ve got” exercises…
i.e. squats and wall-sits
push ups
Ab slide
Stair climber…Kristen climbs all 25 flights of stairs 5 times…takes her 45min! I tried one time and almost vomited at the top…not kidding! She’s a beast 😉
Needless to say we miss our routine back in Texas, but we are making it work here!!!
National holiday, we think, is like mix between 4th of July and Spring/Fall break. It’s nice weather all over the country, so people get a week off to travel/vacation. We spent the first half of the week around our city… hiking a mountain nearby, and exploring other parts of the city.
Chinese chipmunk! Kristen’s favorite.
panorama of our city from the top of West Mountain (Xi Shan)
Danny at the top. The little pieces of paper are from the Tibetan prayer area.
Tibetan prayer flags. The idea is to attach prayers to a pole at the top of the mountain, so that the wind carries them to the heavens.
Post hike latte at a REAL coffee shop… diamond in the rough.
We also got the chance to go with some friends to a different province, to a city about 8 hours NE of us (by car). It was fun to see some of the country side, and to experience a slightly different climate/culture.
Most of what we drove through was farm land, or undeveloped land.
Mountain side monestary
PBR in the middle of nowhere China??
A Daoist temple. Somebody donated the gold used to cover the statue.
Basketball continues to be a universal language.
Our trip coincided with the Muslim holiday Eid Al Adha (or in China, Corban). They remember the faith of Abraham, who was willing to sacrifice his son when God asked him to. The tradition is to slaughter a cow, goat, chicken… whatever they can afford. There was a mosque across the street from where we were staying, so we walked over to see what there was to see.
A symbol of the ram God provided as a sacrifice, in place of Abraham’s son.
Blonde-haired, blue-eyed Danny is approached by a group of men…
Per usual, Danny somehow ends up making friends, shaking hands, and kissing babies 🙂
The first snow of the year! We’ve had more rain (and now snow) here than is typical… we love it 🙂
We have learned some interesting Chinese culture surrounding the weather. As soon as September 1st hit, we started seeing people wear more jackets and sweaters than was necessary. Just like you aren’t supposed to wear white after Labor day, you’re not supposed to wear anything short sleeved after August. It didn’t matter that it was 75 and sunny, we started being reprimanded by all our neighbors in the elevator.
Then the snow came, and Kristen and I bundled up – hats, gloves, layers, the whole thing – but the Chinese seemed to be wearing the same thing they were when it was 75. Our teacher said that “they have a secret”… long underwear under their pants. Just like our “80% of your heat escapes from your head” rule, they are taught that if your legs are warm then the whole body is warm. No one wears hats. We might just adopt both rules… when it’s cold, we’re cold. 7 layers, 3 pants, 2 gloves, 4 socks, hat… it’s gonna be a long winter.
Today is our 6 week anniversary here. We’re starting to settle into a schedule… most of which revolves around the university where we are studying Mandarin. So we thought we’d show you a little bit of what life is like at our beloved Minorities University (the name literally translates to this).
Monday – Friday we walk 25 min to class (2 hours), then stick around for lunch (either street food, or the cafeteria), then meet with tutors for another hour or two before walking back home. Here’s some of our documented experiences thus far…
Danny’s favorite street food cart outside the U… noodles + egg + cabbage + carrot + onion + bell pepper + spices. And a really nice lady that laughs at our Chinese.
Another street food option… a “bing”. Essentially a hotdog and a fried egg wrapped in a tortilla.
This fountain was on for the first day of school, and we’ve yet to see it on since:
The ROTC program practices formations every morning.
Full moon this morning for the ROTC show. Most pre-potty-trained kids wear these pants … parents just hold them over a bush (or not).
Danny is thinking about trying out for the university basketball team. We’re checking on eligibility 🙂
Our classroom… just a bunch of 30-somethin’s trying to learn the hardest language in the world.
Here’s a little clip from our walk back home. The tall buildings at the end are part of our complex:
nomadic texan 