This blog is about all the beautiful things around me and things I am grateful for every day. Some entries are my personal stories, positive experiences in life, Bible verses, excerpts from books, movies, songs, inspirational videos, articles, essays, a voice within, TV shows, places and people I love, and my BIG dreams. My blog entries will include anything under the bright sun, the shimmering moon, and the sparkling stars!
I hope I can inspire you in my little way. Please leave a comment! -AR
I have never thought that I would experience such a wonderful Christmas in a non-Christian country. A Chinese friend, who is now a successful businessman in Las Vegas once told me that I should not expect too much in China and I should be prepared for worst things. He was not too positive about my plan to work here in China. He asked me that of all the countries I could work, why China? He even advised me that I should not trust people easily, but unfortunately I just didn't heed his friendly advice. I think it's a weakness and a strength to be able to trust people easily. He said that I would find many strange things and that I would not experience the holidays that we celebrate in the Philippines, specially Christmas, my favorite season of the year. So I didn't imagine that there would be Christmas celebration here in China. I thought that it would just be an ordinary day where I have to wake up at 7:00 take a hot shower and prepare for work. Yes, I have conditioned myself that it would just be fine. It was my first time to be at work at Christmas time. So I didn't expect any "Christmas" experience in China at all. I was surprised that some students, the English Club members had prepared a Christmas Party which I never thought would be too special for me. I was moved with their thoughtfulness because I understand that Chinese people don't believe in Christmas but they really had it like the Christmas Party we have at home. It was really fun with all the fruits, biscuits, candies ,balloons. and students' singing performances (including mine haha). I enjoyed it very much and they even surprised me with a huggable teddy bear (I just love it). The student who gave the bear was dressed as Santa Claus and he was so cute and funny. These students are really sweet. They just didn't know how homesick I was that time. It felt strange not to see some the bright Christmas spirit around specially the stars and all the Christmas decorations, but during that night I saw the entire room transformed into a place with a real Christmas spirit. After the party, when my friend and I were walking back to our dorm, I was hugging the teddy bear and I felt that there were some white glitters on the bear's red dress. My friend told me that it was snow! We stopped walking and just felt the snow falling from the dark sky. We just stood in the middle of the road and I tried to catch some snow. It was not really much but I was too happy to see a real snow in my entire life haha dream come true. Well, I'm still hoping to see more this coming Spring holiday when I'll be visiting in other cities of Jiangsu province.
INSTALLING LOVE Technician: Yes, Ma'am, how can I help you today?
User: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install LOVE. Can you guide me through theprocess?
Technician: Yes, I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?
User: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready to install now. What do I do first?
Technician: The first step is to open your HEART. Have you located your HEART ma'am?
User: Yes I have, but there are several other programs running right now. Is it okay to install while they are running?
Technician: What programs are running ma'am?
User: Let's see, I have PAST-HURT.EXE, LOW-ESTEEM.EXE, GRUDGE.EXE, and RESENTMENT.COM running right now.
Technician: No problem. LOVE will gradually erase PAST HURT.EXE from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory, but it will no longer disrupt other programs. LOVE will eventually overwrite LOW-ESTEEM.EXE with a module of its own called HIGH-ESTEEM.EXE. However, you have to completely turn off GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM. Those programs prevent LOVE from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ma'am?
User: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?
Technician: My pleasure. Go to your Start menu and invoke FORGIVENESS.EXE. Do this as many times as necessary until GRUDGE.EXE and RESENTMENT.COM have been completely erased.
User: Okay, done. LOVE has started installing itself automatically. Is that normal?
Technician: Yes. You should receive a message that says it will reinstall for the life of your HEART. Do you see that message?
User: Yes I do. Is it completely installed?
Technician: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other HEART's in order to get the upgrades.
User: Oops. I have an error message already. What should I do?
Technician: What does the message say?
User: It says "ERROR 412 - PROGRAM NOT RUN ON INTERNAL COMPONENTS. What does that mean?"
Technician: Don't worry ma'am, that's a common problem. It means that the LOVE program is set up to run on external HEARTS but has not yet been run on your HEART. It is one of those complicated programming things, but in nontechnical terms it means you have to "LOVE" your own machine before it can "LOVE" others.
User: So what should I do?
Technician: Can you pull down the directory called "SELF-ACCEPTANCE"?
User: Yes, I have it.
Technician: Excellent. You're getting good at this.
User: Thank you.
Technician: You're welcome. Click on the following files and then copy them to the "MY HEART" directory: FORGIVE-SELF.DOC, REALIZE-WORTH.TXT, and ACKNOWLEDGE-LIMITATIONS.DOC. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching any faulty programming. Also, you need to delete VERBOSE-SELF-CRITIC.EXE from all directories, and then empty our recycle bin afterwards to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.
User: Got it. Hey! My HEART is filling up with new files. SMILE.MPG is playing on my monitor right now and it shows that PEACE.EXE, and CONTENTMENT.COM are copying themselves all over my HEART. Is this normal?
Technician: Sometimes. For others it takes a while, but eventually everything gets downloaded at the proper time. So, LOVE is installed and running. You should be able to handle it from here. One more thing before I go.
User: Yes?
Technician: LOVE is freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everybody you meet. They will in turn share it with other people and they will return some similarly cool modules back to you.
User: I will. Thanks for your help. By the way, what's your name?
Technician: You can call me the Divine Cardiologist, also known as The Great Physician, but most call me God. Most people feel all they need is an annual checkup to stay heart-healthy, but the manufacturer (Me) suggests a schedule of daily maintenance for maximum efficiency. Put another way, keep in touch.
December 2007, it was at this time when I truly understood the meaning of confusion. I was confused and made a big decision. It was a decision that I was torn between friendship and my job. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder what would my life be if I accepted my boss's offer? Would I be better off as a CEO than a college teacher? Yes being a CEO is such a big opportunity that would mean a bigger responsibility, new experience and a better pay. But I turned it down.
One night, when I was in the office doing the usual Marketing job, I got a call from my boss asking me to meet him at the coffee house. He even said that I must not inform anyone about our meeting. It was supposed to be between him and me. I didn't feel good about doing that, so I made a note for our CEO telling him that I was going out to meet our boss. When I arrived at the coffee house I saw two people, our boss and his lawyer. So I thought, this must be serious. I smiled and greeted the two men in front of me. They were both gentlemen and offered me a seat. They started talking about how I changed and pointed out my strengths, in short they were praising me. It was nice to hear a boss doing that, so I wondered what would be. They said that they saw a great leadership skill in me and they think that I got the potential to run the company. Finally, they asked me if I was ready to take the job as the company's CEO. Wow! I couldn't speak, I couldn't think straight! I was just not ready for that. So I said, "No, thanks, but I don't think you need another CEO when we have already a good one." The lawyer said that they didn't need two CEO they were planning to fire him and have me as the new CEO. I just couldn't accept it if it would mean the end of my friend's job. I just couldn't do that. So told him that it was not right and they should talk to our current CEO about their problem and settle it instead of trying to replace him. I just couldn't do that. I didn't think that he did something wrong and I tried to persuade our boss that they should talk about the problem and firing a CEO wouldn't help solve it. They had a little misunderstanding and I thought they could settle it before Christmas. Then my boss said that if I wouldn't accept the offer then he had to close the company and declare bankruptcy. right after our conversation. Again,I was speechless for a few minutes. All I did was stare at the two men in front of me. I wanted some strength and I found it from the cup of coffee so I held it tightly as if it could give some help. I just sat there and drank the hot coffee and burned my lips. My brained couldn't think straight, it was like I was trapped. The lawyer broke the ice and said, "Well, gel we have to go back to the office now and break the news, No big deal." What? did I hear it right? They were about to go back to the office and informed more than a hundred people that they're going to lose their jobs? What about our Christmas preparation? I was part of organizing the event and it seemed that everyone was excited. I felt sorry for everyone and even to myself losing my job that night. So I changed my mind and told them that I accepted the offer. I accepted it on the condition that they should not fire our current CEO, they have to talk about it and wait for his decision if he would resign then I would take his place. My boss thought it was fair enough. We went back to the office and things were no longer the same as before I left the place. I saw people smiling, but it was so hard for me to smile back. I couldn't fake a smile. I couldn't concentrate on my job and I couldn't share my confusion to someone, not even to my friend who was seating beside me. I just kept quiet and tried to stare at the screen. The atmosphere has changed a lot. I felt that our CEO was hurt due to some false accusations. I couldn't take his place because I know that he's doing everything that he could for the company and I never doubt about his skills. I just felt it's not a good idea to remove him in the position. So few weeks after the meeting with my boss, I made another decision. I submitted my resignation and filed a leave for a week so when I submitted my resignation it appeared as immediate because I didn't have to report the next day. He was surprised and refused to sign it but I left it in the office. I was hired in another company, same nature of business but different clients. Things were back to normal after a few days and my ex-boss even tried to convince me to go back but when I went there things changed. The CEO which was my friend also resigned few days after I left. Someone was already hired as a new CEO and they wanted me to be the Operations Manager or whatever position was available. The new CEO was a lawyer and she seemed to be very confident about bringing more money into the company which was not bad. There was just something that was telling me that I should not go back. So for the second time, I said no and left the company with no second thoughts. Looking back at that time, I was confused yet I can say now that I made the right decision. It's really true that things happen for a reason. Sometimes it's really difficult to find them but sooner or later we would see them clear. One thing is certain, things happen for a reason and usually the reason is good.
I need a remote control. I just can't find it. "Mommy Loids, i off ang airconditioner palihog". This is what I would say back in the office where we could control the room temperature. Yes, it was easy then. We would just look for mommy loids, our lady guard and poops the room would be warm again. Now, there's no mommy loids here and an airconditioner won't help much. Shivering seems to be the only option huhuhu. Back in the Philippines I always wished to see some snow and to experience the four seasons in other countries. I never thought that I wouldn't like winter. Imagine I'm already over dressed as I may put it, since I'm currently wearing 3 sweaters and a thick winter coat (dark feather) but I can still feel the coldness down to my spine and through my bones. I couldn't think of the right word to say. Below 0 degrees is just too much for me, I never thought this would be the case during winter season...wahhhhh someone please give me a remote control of the nature's airconditioner! The world is really funny, back home people are using airconditioner to make the rooms colder but here we have to use airconditioner to make the rooms warmer and it's only up to 30 degrees which I think is not enough. I think I would like 40 degrees since the temperature outside is really cold. Another funny thing about me is that I'm scared to sleep with an electric blanket on. I'm just too paranoid that I would get electricuted(is this the term). I don't know what else to say, I can't type well at the moment, I feel like I'm inside the refrigerator...wahhhhhhh
I never thought that I won't be able to see my uncle when I'll come home next year. It's a sad and painful truth which I refuse to accept. It seemed that I just saw him smiling and wishing that I'll have a good life here in China. I was shocked to read my cousin's message this morning that he already passed away last night. He even gave a pocket money since he knew that I didn't have much money when I left the Philippines. My uncle is a bit strict, yet I still feel that he is a kind-hearted man since he's the only uncle from my mother's side that I came to know closely. If only I could fly back to the Philippines and see him for the last time then I would. He was on a vacation with my mother and had stroke, unfortunately he didn't it make since their hometown was too far from the hospital. I feel so sad knowing that I won't be able to see him again and honestly I would miss his being a strict uncle because I didn't have any other uncle who really cared. Now, I just miss home so much, I miss my mother and I'm so worried because she also has a hypertension problem like her younger brother. I just wanted to say goodbye wish that he will be in peace wherever he may be and I want to thank him for everything.
Christmas has been always meaningful to me. I remember when I was in grade 1 and our school had a competition for Christmas lantern making. All students and parents were encouraged to join the contest. My parents were very supportive and we made a simple Christmas star made from bamboo, dried banana leaves and crape paper. We all helped each other and had fun making the lantern. On the judgment day, I saw many different lanterns, others were so big, shiny and they looked so beautiful. I never thought that our simple Christmas star would be the first prize winner. The judges said that the work was so artistic. We didn't even use expensive materials since my late father just wanted it to be simple and inexpensive. Remembering those times I realized that there are many things which I'm going to miss this Christmas. Now that I'm in China I have realized that I'm going to miss some Christmas symbols and activities back home in the Philippines. (Here is the list of things not in any particular order) 1. Christmas lanterns (specially Christmas stars) 2. Christmas lights ( they would turn the city into a magical kingdom at night) 3. Christmas tree (it adds spirit of Christmas and kids love to hang something on it) 4. Christmas songs (Usually shopping malls started playing them at the end of August) 4. Children Caroling (you have to prepare some coins for children who come and sing Christmas songs at your door) 5. Lechon (I really miss the crispy skin of roasted pig) 6. Gift Giving (I love to buy gifts for my family specially my sister's and brothers' kids) 7. Eating Barbecue on the street (We used to do it with my brothers, my brother would drive us to a famous Barbecue street) 8. Christmas concerts (both local and national performers...I miss going to SM Cebu and Ayala concerts) 9. Company Christmas Party (it's always fun...i miss Voiceville people) 10. Friends and Family (being with them is just perfect)
Today is Thursday, November 27th, 2008 which happens to be the last Thursday of the month. On October 3, 1863 the late US President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed that every American citizen should observe the last Thursday of November, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to the Lord for the blessings they have receievd. He stated that "while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him(God) for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union." In China, people don't celebrate thanksgiving day as well as my country, the Philippines. I was just surprised that early in the morning I received some messages from my students wishing a "Happy Thanksgiving Day". I actually forgot about it. I was just aware of the thanksgiving day when I was still working in a Business Process Outsourcing Company, dealing with American customers since we usually didn't have to work for Thursday and Friday during the American thanksgiving day. I was happy reading the messages from my students and their wishes that I would have a Great Thanksgiving in their country. I was touched by one student message. He took time to write these few English sentences though I believe it was not that easy. It's his original words, I did not edit it. We'll do the editing on our next meeting :)
"I would like to migratory birds in migration on the road with you fly; I would like is the eagle, climbing on the way to encourage you; I would like to be a turkey, Thanksgiving was a taste you! Ha ha, this kind of student loyalty enough, right? Oh Happy Thanksgiving! " -Liu Yong" Jaye Class 21
Today China celebrates the 30th anniversary of their economic reformations which was started way back in 1978 by led by Deng Xiaoping and are ongoing as of the early 21st century. Deng Xiaoping was a prominent Chinese revolutionary, politician, pragmatist and reformer, as well as the late leader of the Communist Party of China (CPC). To commemorate this event, our college prepared a singing competition for all the Departments. Each department should present any song that would show love of country. Our department has chosen the song, Da Zhong Guo, which means Great or Big China. There were 17 teams and I could say that each team did have a great preparations. If I were one of the judges I would find it hard to decide for the winner since I think all of them did a great presentation. But in every competition there should be a winner. Here are the first and second prize winners. First Prize
Below is a song that my department is going to present tomorrow, Nov. 26, 2008. Unfortunately I won't be able to join the group because I don't know the song and I can't pronounce Chinese words correctly. After their final practice today, I searched for the song in youtube and I'm glad I found it. The title " 大中国 " Da Zhong Guo, which means "Big" or Great China...yes China is really great. I don't speak a single Chinese word when I arrived here but all the people that I met were very helpful though sometimes there would be language barrier but for their kindness, they are always understood. Xie xie ni!
Great I found the lyrics of the song with English and Pinyin characters...thank you telly of http://chinesemusicblog.com
Great China "Da Zhong Guo"
高枫-大中国
我们都有一个家， wo men dou you yi ge jia We have a home 名字叫中国， ming zi jiao zhong guo Her name is China 兄弟姐妹都很多景色也不错， xiong di jie mei hen duo jing se ye bu cuo With many brothers and sisters, and a stunning scenery to boot 家里盘着两条龙是长江与黄河呀， jia li pan zhe liang tiao long shi chang jiang yu huang he ya In our home lies two dragons - Chang Jiang and the Yellow River 还有珠穆朗玛峰儿是最高山坡。 hai you zhu mu lang ma feng-er shi zui gao shan po Not forgetting Mount Everest, the world's highest peak 我们的大中国呀好大的一个家， wo men de da zhong guo ya hao da de yi ge jia Our big China, oh, what a big family 经过那个多少那个风吹和雨打； jing guo na get duo shao na ge feng chui he yu da We have experienced many setbacks but came out strong 我们的大中国呀， wo men de da zhong guo ya Our big China, oh 好大的一个家， hao da de yi ge jia What a big family 永远那个永远我要伴随她。 yong yuan na ge yong yuan wo yao ban sui ta I want to accompany her forever. 中国 zhong guo China 祝福你 zhu fu ni I wish you well 你永远在我心里 ni yong yuan zai wo xin li You are always in my heart 中国 zhong guo China 祝福你 zhu fu ni I wish you well 不用千言和万语 bu yong qian yan he wan yu but not with verbose adulations
我们都有一个家 wo men dou you yi ge jia We all have a home 名字叫中国 ming zi jiao zhong guo Her name is China 兄弟姐妹都很多景色也不错 xiong di jie mei dou hen duo jing se ye bu cuo With many brothers and sisters, and a beautiful scenery to boot 看那一条长城万里在云中穿梭呀 kan na yi tiao chang cheng wan li zai yun zhong chuan suo ya Look at the Great Wall of China snaking in and out of the clouds 看那青藏高原比那天空还辽阔 kan na qing zang gao yuan bi na tian kong hai liao kuo Look at the Tibetan plains, broader than the horizon.
Today I had a wonderful time climbing Mount Ningyalin in Suzhou, China (I hope I spelled it correctly). I was with the leaders of the college student council. They are not my students, but they are my friends. They invited me to go mountain climbing with them and visit some Buddhist temples there. The trip was too tiring but it was lovely. This is a sacred mountain where some Chinese monks live. The place is accessible for many buddhists and even tourists who are not buddhists just like me. I respect their religion and I did some rituals that would show respect to the image and prayed. The landscape and the temples are said to be very old with a history dating back from Qing Dynasty( I think I'm going to review my lesson in History hehe). The place is spectacular!
Here are some photos of our adventure.
Parents wishing for their children's success in college life. I have also learned that in every temple there is a specific wish or prayers that you can say. One temple is for wealth, another could be for health and others. A a place where they can light their candle stick. A Buddha inside the temple. Another religious images inside the temple. These big rocks are said to be sacred, so no one is allowed to step on them. We are only allowed to touch them. We are on top of the mountain. It was a very long walk and I almost gave up but I made it. I had a hard time climbing on these big rocks.
I'm happy with the result of US 20082 elections. I always wished that Obama would won as the new US president. Finally, he made it! Although I may not be directly affected with US politics and I don't care about any politics at all, in fact I never exercise my right to vote in my own country, but I'm glad with the result. It also shows that Americans (white) are now open minded and this lessen racial discrimination. I just admire Obama's eloquence and courage. I watched their presidential debates and Obama always had a way with words. He knows what to say and deliver his points with confidence. I hope that this time actions would speak louder than words. :) Good luck Obama!
The Lion King , a 1994 Disney animated film, is a very good movie. I first watched this movie way back in 1990s, but I haven't had the chance to appreciate some lines in the movies since I couldn't apply the story to my life. I watched this movie again today just to pass the time. When I watched it before, I just appreciated the work of animation and of course the story but it never made me cry. Today, I was so into it that I realized I was crying when Simba's father died and when he thought that his father was no longer with him. Simba was guilty about his father's death. In my case, I felt sorry that I wasn't able to help my father survived from pancreatic cancer and I felt too weak that I was there watching him took his last breath. Just like Simba, I felt that it was so unfair for him to leave me and my family without giving me the chance to pay him back what he has done to me and to my family. I only wish that he had lived longer and see the fruits of his efforts and his wish to give us all a brighter future. In this movie, Rafiki, the wise monkey said, "You can either run from your past or learn from it". In order to forget the pain in the past I tried to run, went to another city and built a new life. I met good friends and got a good job so things were good. I still remember the past and sometimes thinking about it still hurts. It's true that we can't change what happened in the past what we can do is learn from it and continue to live. This movie also emphasizes about the cycle of life, everyone is an important part of a food chain. We may be eating animals while we are still alive, but when we die our bodies will decay and parasites' turn to eat us and once grasses will grow from our grave other herbivores will be happy to feast them. Everything is so natural and everything must come to an end. The line "Hakuna Matata" means no worries for the rest of your days. It is a Swahili language (called Kiswahili in the language itself) is the first language of the Swahili people (Waswahili), who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from Kenya to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands(wikipedia). Simba learned to live a carefree life with this Philosophy who his friends taught him. Sometimes, it's too easy to say that we should not worry and just think about the present without thinking about the past and our future. Yet, according to some research a normal person spends almost 90% of his life worrying about things that don't actually happen. We can't help but worry about our future and we worry about the things around us. For me it is a natural thing to worry, we can't just live and don't care about what will happen to us or to others because of our actions in the past. It's good to worry since it helps us prepare for things, but worrying to much is bad. We should enjoy life, worry less, plan for the best and be prepared for what will happen in the future. As the saying goes, "I'll cross the bridge when I get there." Sometimes no matter how hard we try to get something done or to make something happen, it won't just happen the way we wanted it to be. Things are in balance and everything that happens, happens for a reason. Nature has way of making things happen. I think "Hakuna Matata" is a good philosphy, but we should not forget our dreams, for what we do today will have a great impact of what we'll be in the future. Seize the day, life is too short to worry to much...
This week is a National holiday here in China. The school is so quite that you could even hear the birds chirping. Most of the students and other teachers have gone home for the holiday. I wish them a safe trip and send my regards to their families. Everyone seemed so excited about the idea of going home and spending 9 days with their love ones. It didn't occur to me that I would feel so homesick after seeing them get on the bus. I went to my room and tried to tell myself that everything will be alright. I opened my email and glad to see an email from a very close friend with some of her recent pictures in South Korea.
The photos are really beautiful and all are new scenes to me. After viewing all the pictures, it made me realized that I am so far away from home and so far away from her. That's how I became so homesick and one thing I realized, crying is good when we missed someone and our homes, but no matter how many buckets of tears we shed it won't change a thing.(Just a waste of water and tissue paper hehehe)I maybe homesick, but it doesn't mean that I have some regrets about my decision in coming here in China. Everything is great here and I would love to be home if given the chance but I would still be coming back because the people here are so kind, I will miss my new friends (Bianca, Belinda, Thomas, Oliver, Rock, Sammy, Lily, little Lily, and Aurora) my students are waiting for me and being here in China is a "Dream Come True".
I have been looking forward to this day when I could finally meet my new students. I planned for some activities ahead that would make them interact with each other. As usual first day would be a time when everyone introduces his/her name. What I did was, I gave each student a piece of tissue paper and asked them to fold it the way they wanted it. They could fold it 2-4 times with a corresponding numbers, like is they fold the tissue 2 times they would get 4 spaces, 3 times would give them 8 and 4 times would give them 16. Next was for them to write any information about themselves in the spaces on their tissue paper. So if they have chosen to fold it 2 times then they would have to tell 4 things about themselves. After writing some information about themselves, they were asked to work with a partner and exchange the paper so they would be introducing their partners based on the information from the tissue paper. The activity was fun and the students were able to speak, but one thing I realized was that majority of them were so shy to speak in front of the class and for my part I have to speak slowly and repeat some instructions using simple words. Following will be some photos of my students work...it was a great day!!!
Suzhou is such a beautiful and highly industrialized city. I loved the place when I saw some pictures in the internet and now that I am finally here, I just love it more. The people are very friendly and warm-hearted. I would like to share some photos that I think would help me describe the place since they say that a picture could paint a thousand words.
Enjoy viewing!!!
I like the deisgn of this Building. This is located near the school where I am working.
A river that runs right infront of my school, Global Institute of Software Technology (GIST) I love this too :)I'm thinking of swimming here.
The roads are wide and full of beautiful plants. I could walk for hours here...
A road just beside the school. ( left side )
A beautiful view from my window.
Fiery Sunset, I'm so lucky I get to watch it everyday :)
Global Institute of Software Technology, it's where I work.
I have never thought that I would experience such a wonderful Christmas in a non-Christian country. A Chinese friend, who is now a successful businessman in Las Vegas once told me that I should not expect too much in China and I should be prepared for worst things. He was not too positive about my plan to work here in China. He asked me that of all the countries I could work, why China? He even advised me that I should not trust people easily, but unfortunately I just didn't heed his friendly advice. I think it's a weakness and a strength to be able to trust people easily. He said that I would find many strange things and that I would not experience the holidays that we celebrate in the Philippines, specially Christmas, my favorite season of the year. So I didn't imagine that there would be Christmas celebration here in China. I thought that it would just be an ordinary day where I have to wake up at 7:00 take a hot shower and prepare for work. Yes, I have conditioned myself that it would just be fine. It was my first time to be at work at Christmas time. So I didn't expect any "Christmas" experience in China at all. I was surprised that some students, the English Club members had prepared a Christmas Party which I never thought would be too special for me. I was moved with their thoughtfulness because I understand that Chinese people don't believe in Christmas but they really had it like the Christmas Party we have at home. It was really fun with all the fruits, biscuits, candies ,balloons. and students' singing performances (including mine haha). 
I enjoyed it very much and they even surprised me with a huggable teddy bear (I just love it). The student who gave the bear was dressed as Santa Claus and he was so cute and funny. These students are really sweet. They just didn't know how homesick I was that time. It felt strange not to see some the bright Christmas spirit around specially the stars and all the Christmas decorations, but during that night I saw the entire room transformed into a place with a real Christmas spirit. After the party, when my friend and I were walking back to our dorm, I was hugging the teddy bear and I felt that there were some white glitters on the bear's red dress. My friend told me that it was snow! We stopped walking and just felt the snow falling from the dark sky. We just stood in the middle of the road and I tried to catch some snow. It was not really much but I was too happy to see a real snow in my entire life haha dream come true. Well, I'm still hoping to see more this coming Spring holiday when I'll be visiting in other cities of Jiangsu province.
