Christmas Around the World

It's not every year one (at least one who was born and raised in the American west) gets to celebrate Christmas in China, eating Indian and Thai food (where the dominant religions are Hinduism and Buddhism, respectively) with a Korean/American family while playing with Legos from Denmark. But such was my experience in 2007.

I went to Shanghai December 20 to attend the First Annual International Council for Traditional Music -- Study Group for Musics of East Asia Conference (yeah, that's a mouthful, I know, but we ethnomusicologists think the longer, more complicated a title, the more erudite we are... must be our German background.) A good time was had by all, and although the "paper" I delivered was not perhaps my most profound work, it was fun. (Actually, I chose to call my presentation an "oral musing among colleagues," rather than a formal paper.) I compared the training processes and vocal production of five generations of p'ansori singers, based primarily on sound recordings. I'm sure you are sorry you missed it.

Most of all, you should be sorry you missed out on eating some of the best dim sum ever to be had.


After the conference was finished I was lucky enough to be able to spend the Christmas holiday with the Bang family: [Left to Right] Melanie, Ethan, Whitney, Tylor, Paul, and Nicole (sadly, Kera, the adorable miniature schnauzer, was unable to join us on the excursion to the museum).



It is always delightful to spend Christmas with children -- so much excitement and many more gifts, even if they are not all my own (although, Santa was gratefully able to find me, even in amidst a billion Chinese citizens)! And the food, oh the food! Melanie and Paul are both marvelous cooks and bakers and I indulged myself to the fullest -- perhaps enjoying the sugar cookies the most, as usual.

I also learned that the key to shopping in China is having a stubborn, but gracious, native on hand to do the bargaining for you -- makes things so much easier (and cheaper)!

And so it is that another Christmas has passed. I wish I could have been with my own family, but am grateful I have good friends all over the world willing to take me in and share their warmth and love with me.

And speaking of time passing..., I made it back to Korea in time for New Years, but that story will have to wait for another day...