Teachers' Day

Recently I had a case of beer delivered to my doorstep. Andrew brought it in and set it down on my coffee table. "Here, it's for you," he briefly explained. (Did I need more of an explanation?) I stood there confused. "But I didn't buy a case of beer" -- this thought slowly developing in my mind into "Did I?...". It's quite possible that my limited and easily misinterpreted Mandarin skills unknowingly enrolled me in China's "Beer of the Month" Club. We'll see...

As it turns out the beer was delivered, not because I bought it or requested it, but because it was Teachers' Day in China. Last year the present was an umbrella. I'm guessing the gift giving committee got a new leader. All I can say is this is China.

But that was not the end of the gifts. The next morning I woke up to 2 boxes of fruit on my doorstep. I didn't see any cases in front of the other apartments which caused me to be unsure as to whether or not these were mine. They were. My fridge is currently filled with 34 apples and 28 pears. I don't think I can consume that much fruit. The other teachers and I are currently pondering what to do with all of it. We've begun to pass on the gifts to our friends and there is still enough to go around and around again. This has inadvertently become my next cooking challenge -- cobbler is on the menu for tonight.