My students began giving me Christmas presents today….some gave cards, others hugs, others promised to bring something next class….I love them. They’re always so happy, always so fun to be around, hard working, and just an all-round pleasure to teach.

Still no snow here in Zhengzhou, but today’s China Daily reports over 1.5 metres of snow fall in Shandong province, just West of Henan. I’m considering perhaps working in a skiing weekend in Luoyang, which is in Henan, next month; I’ve heard there are some ski hills over there. We’ll see; I’ve got a lot of plans on the assembly line right now, and not a lot of time to actually see them through.

I recently picked up a notebook with this written brazenly across the front cover:

“TRAVELLING THOUSANDS OF MILES IS BETTER THAN READING THOUSANDS OF BOOKS”

In some ways I hate to say it, but it’s right. There is no comparison between reading about something and doing it. Mistakes and fights and sadness included. But don’t put those books away, they are of course important. We can’t do everything first-hand, can we?

Two more weeks of university classes, then winter holiday begins, followed by Spring Festival. This Wednesday my classmates at the university and I are going for hotpot together as a farewell dinner; most of them are returning home after the term ends. Everything ends, but we should try to end things well, I think.

“I long not for the perfect, but for the complete.”

“Even the sun goes down.” – those are from books, by the way.

Chris