It's begining to feel nothing at all like Christmas.

Its 60ish degrees (F) here, the sun is out, I'm wearing my Chacos, and a white Christmas is about as far away as possible. With the exception of the street cleaning trucks playing Jingle bells (they do that all year long) and the Christmas poster at Dico's (Chinese fast food joint), this city hasn't quite caught the western holiday fever.

Truthfully, this doesn't bother me at all.

Don't get me wrong, I am a big fan of Christmas. Great holiday, great season. Families come together, love is shown, and people get drunk on eggnog. That said, I don't miss the stupid, commercialized, in-your-face American approach. There's a fine line between celebration and exploitation, and that fine line was crossed decades ago in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Back to China, though. The decorations are slim here, although when I was in Guiyang for Thanksgiving I did notice decorations (trees, tinsel, posters, etc) in store windows the weekend after the 3rd Thursday of the month. I think there will be a celebration on the day itself; I have heard there is dancing in the street, even. Maybe a banquet or a feast, well-wishes from friends and faculty, and a present or two from back home. That's what I'm expecting. And, in a way, doesn't it seem more like a proper feast day, a proper holi-day, than what we've done in the past?