美国全国各地经济似乎都衰退，但不是休斯顿。我妹妹说，我真看不出这里经济衰退来，买东西连停车位都找不到，商店里买礼物交钱的要排大队。我看报纸，休斯顿今年有24万人从别的州和外国搬到这里。本地报纸《休斯顿年鉴》报今天说，今年内共有14万多人从其他州搬过来，有9万2千人从外国移民过来。所以，人口增加造成就业增加，房价不但没有跌，还上涨了4.5%。哪里有新移民，哪里就有繁荣。
休斯顿正在迅速成为一个国际化的城市。在街上走，去商场买东西，这里比联合国还联合国，我在儿童游戏场跟孩子们玩，两个东欧老太太抱着孩子也在那里，说着我不懂的语言，他们大概是给子女看孩子来的。妹妹的右邻是印度人，左邻是香港人。这里中国人也有十来万。昨天的报纸报道，移民局在很多小私人飞机场逮捕到偷渡倒美国来的中国人。这些中国人给蛇头付两万美元。蛇头把他们送到墨西哥，然后乘私人飞机飞进小机场来。今年偷渡来美国的中国人大幅度增加，比去年增加了50％。据美国移民局估计，此刻在美国的中国偷渡进来的人有29万人。
奥巴马光着上身在夏威夷度假，这样的照片全国讨论，让我们再次讨论奥巴马到底是黑人还是白人。妹夫妹妹没有投奥巴马的票，对奥巴马还是不信任。奥巴马本质上不是黑人，却利用黑人。黑人一看是自己的哥们，不管什么都投票。白人受教育的也与奥巴马认同，因为奥巴马就是他们中的一个，哈佛男孩俱乐部的，所以他两头占便宜。我妹夫不满。休斯顿是南方，城市里黑人非常多。哪里看都是肥胖的黑人。今天报纸说美国人平均身材都在长高，但是一个群体除外，那就是中下阶级美国的黑人女性。美国七八十年代出生的中下阶级黑人女性不但不比她们的母亲辈高，而且不比她们祖母辈的女性高。她们的身高趋势成下降。据身高与社会经济关系专家分析，原因是食物导致的肥胖。美国中下级黑人女性80％身体过度肥胖，导致她们身材变矮。黑人上层女性与其他种族一样个子都在变高。
我因为倒时差，早上比全家人都早醒，一边喝茶一边看报纸，看完报纸。我巡视妹妹的菜园子。妹妹喜欢种菜园，一年四季菜园里都有不同的菜。妹夫嘲笑她在中国没有下过乡，现在在美国体验上山下乡的生活。休斯顿这里是热带，所以四季常绿。妹妹种很多只有中国才有的菜，比如茴香和中国黄瓜。妹妹种的茴香长得好极了，昨晚做的饺子，让我想起母亲包的饺子。想起母亲，突然意识到母亲的意义就是食物。生下来，母亲是乳汁；长大了，母亲是那个世界上做饭最好吃的人。
今天所有商场都早上五点就开门，圣诞后大减价。妹妹起来后，我们去逛商场，全家人还在睡觉。等我们回来，我们都累得要晕倒了。我买了四件羊绒衫，一件给妹妹，两件给母亲，一件给自己，还买了三件首饰，高高兴兴地。
译文:
Economic Crisis Didn't Hit the Christmas in Houston
The economy in the USA seems to be in recession, but Houston, however, is not in the list. My sister told me she couldn't really sense any trace of recession here is Houston. Parking spot was still hard to get, long line still exited when ready to check out. The information I got from newspaper was there were in total 240,000 new immigrants from other states and foreign countries this year. Local newspaper Houston Yearbook reported today, this year, a number of more than 140,000 moved here from other states and 92,000 came from foreign countries. As a result, growth in population triggered growth in employment, housing price experienced 4.5% growth instead of falling down. There is new immigrants, there emerges prosperity.
Houston is becoming an internation metropolis by leaps and bounds. Taking a walk or going shopping, people of different races and contries are in sight, a sudden thought just came into my mind that perhaps people from different countries here are even larger than the countries which have joined in the UN in number. When I was playing with some children in children playground, I saw two senior ladies holding two young kids who are probably from east Europe, because I couldn't understand their language. By guessing, I assumed that they are here to be babysitters for their children. In my sister's neighborhood, there lives Indian by the right side and Hong-Kongnese on the left side. Chinese residents here reached more than 100,000. It was reported in newspaper yesterday, chinese smugglers were arrested in many small private airports by Immigration Administration Bureau. Those smugglers paid their snakehead $20,000. Snakehead smuggled them to Mexico then transfered them onto private jets and landed them in small airports. This year, there is a big rate of growth in chinese smugglers in the USA, a 50% increase of last year. Immigration Administration Bureau estimates, in the States, number of successful chinese smugglers is 290,000 for the moment.
Obama's on-vacation-half-naked photos in Hawaii were exposed and led to a nationalwide inquiry. Is Obama black or white? My sister and her husband did not vote for Obama, because they still don't trust him. Technically, Obama isn't black but he did take advantage of African Americans. Black people voted for no reasons as long as they see someone who is from their own race. Well-educated citizens voted for him as well, because Obama is one member of Havard Brotherhood Club. In this case, he got voted by the two sides. My sister's husband was not satisfied with the result however. Geographically, Houston is the South, Black people take up a great percentage in population and they are overweight. Newspaper reported today that average american's height is getting taller, except one group, which is low and middle-class African American females. Low and midddle-class African American females borned in 70s or 80s not only shorter than their mothers, but also shorter than their grandmothers. Hence, there is a trend of falling of their height. Accroding to the analysis by relations between height and social economy experts, it suggested adiposity is caused by food. 80% of Low and midddle-class African American females are overweight which made them even shorter. However, high-class African American females are getting taller as the same as other groups.
I woke up early than my family due to jetlag. I was enjoying my tea while reading newspaper. After that, I took a tour in my sister's garten. My sister is a vegetable lover, so she plants various vegetables in the garten all around the year. Her husband always teases her by saying that she is making up here in the US that she did not get a lot of chance to practise farming in China. Houston is located in tropical area where green covers the whole city all the year round. My sister plants a lot of china-only vegetables, such as fennel and chinese cucumber. The fennels are growing fabulously. The dumplings which I had last night reminded me of mother's. Speaking of mother, I suddenly realized that in some ways, defination of a mother is something to get you full. Everyone was raised up by breast milk;When we grow up, mother is the one who cooks the best in the world.
All the stores and shops opened at 5 in the morning today, because it was after Christmas sale. My sister and I went shopping while the rest of the family were still sleeping. We did shop till we dropped and ended up exhausted. I bought 4 cutton sweaters, one for my sister, 2 for my mother, and one for myself. Besides that, I bought 3 accessories. I did have a terrific time.