I'm thankful for....

Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed wonderful dinners with lots ( A LOT, just for you Ms. Seymour), of turkey, mashed potatoes, and my favorite part--the canned cranberry sauce!

This last week was certainly busy but a great deal of fun. I introduced the history of Thanksgiving to my fifth grade classes and had them make hand turkeys. Inside their turkey they had to write what they were thankful for. One student copied the examples from the board, which were (I am thankful for...) my mom and dad, my friends, my teachers, and then added "my Nicki'. A lot of students said that they were thankful for their moms and dads for raising them and taking care of them. One student was particularly thankful for his dad picking him up from school every day. The hand turkeys also brought out the romantic side of some students--one little boy wrote that he was thankful for Lily, the little girl who he sits next to in class every day.

In some classes I had the students make Thanksgiving trees that they could hang in their homerooms. The students traced their hands on yellow, orange, and red paper to make the leaves, and I cut a large brown tree trunk for them. Since the example I had made was of a turkey on white paper, many of the students also decorated their colored paper as turkeys as well, so we ended up with turkey trees. It was too cute!

On Tuesday night after work Rebekah, Katie, Danni, Shana, and I went to a baking party organized by members of AIT (American Institute in Taiwan). We made chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter cookies, an apple pie, and Rice Crispy treats. We were all designated specific positions (with the exception of Shana who filled in wherever she was needed): Danni was cookie girl, Katie was oven girl, Rebekah was given the unfortunate title of lard girl (she was handling the Crisco), and I was Rice Crispy girl since I manned the marshmallows and mixed in the cereal. We tried to sneak bites of things here and there, but she was watching us all very carefully, so I formally asked for permission to eat a spoonful of cookie dough. The branch chief brought home pizza for dinner, which we devoured as we watched American military T.V. in his too-good-to-be-true family room. We ate the chocolate chip cookies while they were still warm, and Jan packed up the peanut butter cookies to take home. We also divided the Rice Crispy treats into hunks to take home. Pretty much the only thing we didn't eat was the apple pie, and we probably would've eaten that too if it had been baked.

On Thursday night all of the ETAs gathered with some of our LETs (local English teachers) and Fulbright advisers to have Thanksgiving dinner at the branch chief's home. As soon as we walked in it smelled like Thanksgiving. There were two turkeys, green bean casserole, orange jello salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, and rolls. This was my first time ever trying green bean casserole, and I have to say, I was quite impressed! Those French's onions definitely give it a little something extra! The ETAs all squeezed on the couches and pulled up chairs until all of us were gathered around a small coffee table. We decided to keep our home traditions alive and share what we were all thankful for. We had each filled our plates with a little bit of everything and even got the chance to go back for seconds. Jan had made more cookies, so there was a fresh supply of chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter cookies for dessert. She bought delicious pumpkin pies from Costco, and brought out the large apple that we had made and she had freshly baked that morning. It was a really great evening, and we were all thankful to be in the company of one another, finding our own way to be with family on Thanksgiving.

This past Saturday Wen Fu held a school-wide sports day to celebrate it's 6th birthday. Some of the homeroom teachers and student teachers planned a surprise dance to perform when the student cheerleading teams performed, and I was able to join them. It was a really fun hip-hop routine and I got to know a few of the teachers much better. After rehearsing on Friday night, we went out to eat at a popular curry restaurant near the school. It felt really great to be included, and I was even happier when I got my own Wen Fu polo to wear on Saturday at the event. There were vendors selling delicious snacks and it was great to see many of my students so excited to buy their favorite foods and win medals in the races.

The rest of the weekend has been spent inside as I've somehow managed to become sick again. Lots of rest and fluids...and seven pills three times a day! It's crazy how much medicine you can take at once here. Tomorrow there is no school at Wen Fu to make up for sports day, so I will happily stay in bed and read the books I just received in my package from home.

In approximately one hour and twenty minutes it will officially be December here. The month is already filling up with trips with our host families and holiday parties, so I'm sure there will be plenty more to write about soon. Our apartment is planning on having another party to treat our host families and co-teachers, and Maya and I recently discovered that many of the stationary stores nearby carry tons of Christmas decorations which we will purchase soon. Tonight we watched A Charlie Brown Christmas and I played a few songs from my Christmas playlist to get us in the mood. I also just received my fleece pj pants with "Merry" written all over them in red and green in the package and I brought my Christmas toe socks with me, along with a Santa hat and a stocking, so I think we're in business! The guards have been stringing massive amounts of Christmas lights, both white and colored, around the courtyard during their shifts on duty, and I can't wait to see what it looks like all lit up!

I wish you all a very festive December, complete with hot cocoa, gingerbread lattes, candy canes, warm and fuzzy decorations, snow, holiday music, and the joy of shopping in overcrowded malls (this is not sarcasm--I really do love it!). May your days be merry and bright, and may all your December days be white!