grossed out to the extreme

ok i know that i could write about any number of things like the monthly tests or how i fell asleep in class today watching 'chicken run' or my upcoming trip to hong kong.

i'm going to talk about Christmas presents, because I love Christmas presents and this year I've received a ridiculous amount of them. And it isn't even Christmas yet.

It started out with Mike, who brought me --literally-- a suitcase full of presents.

So that set the bar pretty high. I'm still opening those gifts, one day at a time. It's pretty amazing.

Next came my students, who have been giving me interesting gifts. I've received some classic gifts, like chocolate. Today I got some really nice gifts, including a green sweater (!!) and a green scarf. By far the nicest gift I've received from a student was from one of my history students, who is really good at drawing. Last week, she asked me what my favorite animal, to which I responded, "cat." Yesterday, she handed me my Christmas present, this beautifully drawn face of a cat on a piece of 4 by 6 cardstock. It's really incredible, and obvious that she put a lot of time into it. I want to get a frame for it.

But then there are the weird presents. The set of "antibacterial" flatware that have weird painted handles. The Christmas-themed picture frame that you can only use for like 2 weeks a year. I don't want to sound like I'm not grateful, but come on, I saw this picture frame that Shannon got and it's just hideous. Why?

Then there are the secret santa gifts. I had two secret santas this year because we did one huge gift exchange with the whole foreign teaching staff, and then we also did a smaller one of just our close friends. We exchanged gifts with the close friends last night, and Jonathan gave me a gift certificate to get a massage and some tea and a little teapot. So cute.

Here's where things get weird. I got home today and found what I presume to be my other secret santa gift sitting outside my door. At first glance, I was excited. A blanket! I had mentioned to several people how much I wanted another blanket for my bed. Then I brought it inside and realized that it wasn't just any new blanket. In fact, it wasn't a new blanket at all. Someone just gave me their old, dirty blanket, along with their old, weird fake fur matress pad thing.

Ok, I get that some people don't want to spend money, and I also get that I said I wanted a blanket. But I'm pretty sure I know who gave it to me because he was sitting at the same table at lunch today and was talking about regifting his fake fur mattress pad thing that someone gave him last year. GROSS. On what planet is it ok to give someone a used, dirty blanket and mattress pad as a gift? The cap for spending was 150 rmb, or about $20. I'm not saying they had to buy me anything. Making stuff is nice, or even something small (a pack of gum? a bowl of chao mein? that's only 6 rmb!) would be better than a dirty old blanket.

disgusting