On December 21st SPPM held its annual Christmas dinner and party at the “Space for Imagination” Café, just across from the campus.
The event is held exclusively for the international students, including those from the Masters of International Development (MID) cohorts of 2011 and 2012 and International Masters of Public Administration (IMPA). Also in attendance were Assistant Dean Meng Bo, MID Program Director Liu Zhilin, and the office staff.
With most students arriving around 7:00pm, there was plenty of time for everybody to make some small-talk over cocktails before mercilessly attacking the open buffet, which included a mix of Chinese and Western dishes. Soon spirits were high, stomachs were full, and the night was getting started.
Assistant Dean Meng then addressed the partygoers, wishing them safe and happy holidays. Time was also taken make some birthdays wishes as SPPM’s December and January birthday stars were called out and congratulated. This was followed by mystery gift-grabbing, as partiers took turns taking presents collected as part of the office’s Secret Santa game.
MID 2012’s Tyler Shelden then performed his rendition of John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads”. (Trivia: John Denver was the first American artist to perform in China after the foundation of the People’s Republic in 1949.)
After the applause subsided, the DJ filled in the silence with hits, and the rest of the night was danced away. With new friends made, surprising gifts received, and cutting edge dance moves unveiled, a good time was had by all.
(From Stephan Mothe, MID 2011)
