Memories I don't miss (I hate you, wind, but I love Chinglish!)

I can feel the cold air dancing across my legs as I sit here typing. The draught coming in through my patio door is relentless and adamant about sticking around and harassing me. Much like last year, I'm in slippers and I'm wearing a scarf indoors.  Luckily, I don't have any frost building up on my floor like my apartment in Daheishi. Still, though, this wind just doesn't want to let up. And needless to say, my doors aren't exactly sealed or weather-proofed.

A random story from last weekend...

So, everywhere we go here in China, travellers/ex-pats encounter nonsense signs and Chinglish, both in speech and in print. Menus can provide hours of entertainment, advertisements can be thoroughly enjoyable nonsense, and parties feature no shortage of jibberish provided by local hosts. Last Friday, CG, me and a bunch of other teachers attended a free Christmas/holiday dinner for ex-pats at a local hotel and restaurant. They hosted us like we were kings with free wine, food and entertainment. Although the food and wine were delicious, the entertainment was even better... it was simply priceless. And even better, they had a powerpoint plastered on a screen describing each of the performances.

The top 5 titles on th e Powerpoint were as follows:

5) "Lady Gaga's, 'Porker Face'" (A new reinterpretation of "Poker Face"??)

4) "Drinking Song" (A Wagner piece, I think)

3) "Tibetan People Through Dancing to Wish a Happiness and Peach Life" (A traditional Tibetan-style dance)

2) "Folk Art Play & Throw Some Stuffs With Goth - Chinese Juggle" (It was a clown juggling stuff)

AND THE GRAND FINALE...

1) "Paper-cut Hands Girl! ( A Paper-cut Show in Form of Dancing Chinese People Use Paper-cut Art to Celebrate Festivals)"

This was a dance.

As usual, China, you find ways to make me smile. And as Christmas approaches, I hope everyone back home and around the world is having an enjoyable countdown to the holidays. Much China love, all...

T