Merry Belated Christmas and a Happy New Year! I have not been updating my blog due to the fact that there has not been much to write about.

So, what have I been doing for the past month and a half? Well, frankly speaking I don't know where the time has gone. It seems that time has flown by in a blink of an eye while still moving at a snails' pace.

Classes seem slower than usual now and half of my classmates don't even bother attending class. There is an average of 6 people nowadays. I think this is due to a variety of reasons:

1) Cold, frigid weather. Waking up is a mammoth task when you realise that you have to walk out into the cold. Recently Beijing recorded the lowest temperature ever which was -16 degrees. Coincidentally I was out that night (waiting for the bus for 20 minutes) and I can certainly testify that the cold was not fun. It was windy; the cold was the type that seeps into your clothes and into every inch of your body.

2) Losing interest. It seems that all of us have sort of lost interest in classes due to its mundane nature. Repetition certainly makes things more bland.

3) Missing home. Most of us are missing home because frankly speaking, Beijing is not exactly the most conducive environment to stay in. The pollution, traffic, population overcrowding, weather etc certainly makes us miss home where at least there is much less pollution, less traffic and definitely sunny weather.

4) Friends leaving. Recently my class has seen 2 classmates go back home. Alex left last Thursday and Morna left today but she hadn't been attending class for 2 weeks prior to this. You grow attached to your classmates because you see them day in day out. So, losing a few makes the class feel empty.

Well, maybe you might be interested to know how the Chinese celebrate Christmas?

Christmas in China is not celebrated at any grand scale; certainly not to the level of grandeur associated with its Chinese New Year. Shops do acknowledge Christmas by blasting Christmas carols over the speakers and waiters and waitresses decked out in red and green coloured uniforms. However, the general public do not celebrate Christmas and to them, it is just another day although the younger generation may go out clubbing and drinking.

There is a special "tradition" in China though and that is to eat apples or to give apples to loved ones and friends during Christmas Eve. This is because the Chinese call Christmas Eve "平安夜", which loosely translated means "a night to wish you well". Apples are called "苹果" and when pronounced sounds similar to the "平" in " 平安夜". Therefore, the Chinese eat apples during this particular day as a symbol of wishing yourself well.

I attended Christmas Eve service at church which was a night filled with singing carols and reading bible passages. On Christmas day itself, I still had to attend classes because Christmas is not a public holiday in China. Therefore, I had to drag myself from bed at 7am to attend my 8am class. I was not a happy girl on that day. I really wanted to skip class but I felt guilty. So I managed to wake myself up and get to class.

Later that evening, my cell group members and I had 火锅 (hotpot/steamboat) and it was a nice opportunity to converse and interact with each other. Unfortunately, not everyone could make it and so we ended up with only 6 people including myself. Remind me never to order a spicy soupbase because I ended up with a rather bad tummyache that very night. What a way to end my Christmas! But you know what? Christmas is not about me, or you, or us. It is about the love of Jesus Christ.

I am glad I know the real meaning of Christmas!