Thanksgiving

Unfortunately for us, the International School we work for is not American based so the Hackmans had to work on Thanksgiving. We were a little jealous of some of the teachers from church who work at the American International School as they DID have the day off for a big feast.

However, a newly opened Western restaurant here in Huangdao advertised that they were doing Thanksgiving dinners complete with turkey, pork loin, stuffing, mashed potatoes, candied yams, and pie. Because our responsibilities require us to be with the dorm students on weeknights, I got the OK from the school to take them all out with us for a "cultural" experience.

Before the dinner, we all took turns going around the table saying something they are "thankful" for...and then we plowed in.

When we asked for out pie, the waiter replied, "no". Living in China you learn that hospitality standards are...a little bit different. To be fair, you can't go from the Cultural Revolution to a "service" culture without hitting a few speed bumps. When we explained that pie was included in the price of the meal he said, "No, you must pay more".

Don't worry, the Scottish manager came over and sorted us all out with fresh peach pie and banana fosters.

The only thing missing for our Thanksgiving, besides our families :( was a little football!