My Birthday in Changsha! Part 1 and 2

My birthday in Changsha consists of 4 different parts, and was celebrated for nearly 4 days off and on!  The first part was with my primary school 一师二府小 (yishi erfu xiao).  I came to class with a fun Christmas lesson, that didn't go over to well!  It was a little too advanced for them!  And they seemed to think that setting the table was naughty.  Anyways.  I walk to school and walk into my office and there are two of my students with a cage for me.  I looked at it, and smiled awkwardly.  As my students proudly presented me with a cage containing two hamsters.  I do not like hamsters that much, to be honest.  But the students were so happy and proud of their gift to me.  I just stammered a thank you, which they accepted before they ran off to get the bag that had food and more bedding!  They informed me through the English teacher Mrs Yi (Lucy) that I must clean their cages every 5 days.  Then a flood of other students brought me cards, chocolates and other gifts for my birthday!  I smiled nervously as I saw my desk disappear under a pile of presents.  I went to teach my lesson, and in both of my classes the first 5 minutes of my 40 minute class were reserved for students who wanted to pile presents on my desk.  So after two classes and a long break, I could no longer see my desk under my gifts.  It was time to go home.

So I borrowed some bags and filled them up with all my gifts.  I had a backpack, a shoulder bag, a stuffed dragon under my left arm, 4 bags in my left hand and hamsters in my right.  As I walked down the street trying to keep the cage from swinging too much, Pangpang continued to stuff her face.  Pangpang means fatfat, Shoushou cowered in fear under the shavings.  I made it home and my arm was in pain.  Real legit pain.  I put my gifts down, and managed to straighten myself up a bit then it was back out for dinner with my Primary school Headmistress, deputy headmistress, the party liaison (communist party I assume), and several English teachers.  Unfortunately the two headmistresses were unable to join us as a teacher had just lost her father.  They were going to pay their respects.  So it was just some English teachers, and the party liaison.  We went to Thai food, it was their first time eating Thai food!  They shoved the menu at me, and asked me to order and then told me I wasn't ordering enough, and to order more.  So I did, we got a bottle of wine.  We toasted each other and ate delicious Thai food.  Lucy quickly became intoxicated off the 1/4 a glass of wine she had to drink.  So she kept speaking to the waiters in English, confusing them!  The evening was fantastic.  At the end of the evening I had some flowers and a giant cake to add to the pile of gifts in my house.  What can I say?  I love presents!

My pile of presents!