raging Friday nights

Tonight Mikayla and I are doing lessons plans for next week's Christmas lesson. We're on the couches with Apple laptops on our laps (appropriately enough). This is how we roll on Friday nights in Nanchang. Lesson planning tonight so that we can enjoy the weekend. The pressure... to fit this huge celebration/tradition with all it's meaning and then present it to students in 1 hour 40 minutes... is a little heavy. We're working hard and hope to shine some light on what is an 'adopted American party' in China with Santa Claus posters everywhere (which happens to be sponsored by a big beer company).

Right now we're shoulder shrugging and head-nodding to Phoenix's "Long Distance Call". Our soundtrack also includes Over the Rhine, Something Like Silas, and old school Phil Wickham. We've drank tea and hot chocolate while being bundled up in my 65 degree apartment. I'm chewing cantaloupe flavored Chinese gum and every once in awhile we look up from our lesson plans and ask random questions. Tonight I used one of my two Starbucks Tazo Chai teabags. It's funny to think how we ration our American stuff. I opened the tea bag an hour ago and Mikayla and I smelled the black tea goodness. We laughed at ourselves, but then continued to smell it. Awhile ago Stephen got some oatmeal and I asked for a packet (I think I bargained some how). I asked Mikayla if she was going to ask for Oatmeal and she replied, "I mean we're close, but we're not oatmeal close. You know?"

I'm convinced sometimes that our lives are Reality TV worthy. C'mon who wouldn't want to watch Lesson Planning and tea bag sniffing. And what culture uses Apples and Cinnamon Oatmeal as currency? It's all real interesting.