Einstein once made the observation that a minute spent on a hot plate could feel like an hour, while an hour in the arms of a hot woman (presumably looks and not temperature) could pass in a moment. I've now spent 100 days in China (not a cause for celebration) and it feels like an eternity. I'm not even 1/3 of the way through my adventure (roll on December 11), which is really quite depressing. I suppose I'll feel better when I get a small break - one of the major problems is that all of our classes are Chinese here - in the UK I would study maybe three or four different topics per semester, and I'd have a workload for each of them which would mean I'd be busy, but at least I could change subjects if one was getting a bit boring, or if I'd worked for five hours solid on it ... here though, what is there to do? Learn vocabulary (writing it out lots, looking at flashcards, etc), practice a bit of grammar, do some reading, but it's all basically the SAME - look at Chinese characters for EVERYTHING. No wonder I am suffering a lack of motivation and severe apathy towards my course.
Then there's exams coming up and I found out I at least have to PASS (that's getting 40 on a Newcastle scale which I think means getting about 47 on the Xinjiang Scale, at least if my maths is halfway correct) - so I've decided to enter myself for the lower intermediate class, not because I think I'm really that level but because all the exams here are based on the books we use, and I've only been in higher intermediate a week or two so there'll be loads I don't know. Also, because maybe, deep down, I think my level probably *is* closer to that of lower intermediate (I just don't want to go back in that class). So I don't want to do any work, but I do want to pass these exams / improve my Chinese (by osmosis?) - it's a bit of a Catch 22.
On the plus side I went out the other day - taught a bit of English in the morning, fun fun, I even have a job offer for my winter break, if I'm around I can have a class of my own in my friend's school, maybe 50 students he said, and he'll make sure I'm paid for this work. Hmm beats sitting around doing nothing else! I have other winter plans of course, so it all depends on availability but I definitely intend to take him up on this offer. After teaching, I went out with my friend Doris (I dont know where they choose their English names either), who is coming to the UK next year to do a MA in Teaching English (she's currently completing a BA in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language) ... we went shopping for flashcards and then some stuff for me to send people at home - I can't really say much more or it'll spoil surprises but I got myself something nice as well and I feel good about that.
Oh and I picked up all 4 seasons of Prison Break on DVD for a total of £2 - and even that was probably a rip off because we didn't haggle but hell if I'm complaining. So far, so good - perfect quality episodes and I'm kind of hooked, approximately three years after everyone else I know :P That's about news for now, I know it's not terribly interesting, but there ya go.
Sunday 30 November 2008
Monday 24 November 2008
Weather Report
I want to see if this HTML sticker thing works ... it's a weather report (that should update itself when the page loads) from a website with access to local information courtesy of Urumqi Diwopu Airport. If I like it, it may become a feature of the blog, so you can see what I put up with here. That being said, although it is GETTING cold, from the accounts gathered from everyone who was here last year, it is nowhere near as bad as last November / December.
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Friday 21 November 2008
Things I Have Seen
Some things from the last day or two that stick in my mind:
* The Urumqi Splatter
Okay, let's imagine you have a blocked nose, or a slight drip, or something similar. It's winter time, most people will be having this kinda problem around now. How do you deal with it? Tissues? Hankie (a personal hate of mine but hey) ... Not in Urumqi you don't. As with other places, I imagine this is a popular method, but I've only seen it here, so it's the Urumqi Splatter. Take your thumb and forefinger. Pinch your nose a bit, and lean forward slightly (or lots, if you are worried about spray) and exhale forcefully through your nose. This may be done over pavement, roads, or (if you're classy) flowerbeds and grassy areas. It saves tissues and to some extent therefore the environment. It remains absolutely disgusting and I never want to find myself doing it. Do the people here seriously wonder why chest infections and colds and general illnesses spread so rapidly? It's because you all lack basic hygiene, common sense, and civilised behaviour.
* Strange Child
I saw a kid today, scuffling through some leaves like most of us do, crunching away, then he paused and let out some kind of cry. The only thing I could think of was "Pterodactyl". Why a child felt the need to make such a scream, I dont know. Only in China.
* Change of Scenery
I've voluntarily moved myself up a class - I'm now with people who have been learning Chinese considerably longer than I have, in fact I think one of them was with LAST YEAR'S Newcastle lot. The reasons for the move were (a) my friend said she wanted to move and didnt want to go alone, (b) I agreed with her points for wanting to move - the pace of the class was sluggish, the atmosphere in the class was often disruptive, and (to a lesser extent for me) the material was too easy. Now personally I thought the material to be okay for me, but the pace to be the main problem. Anyway, I've spent about a week in the higher class now, and the material for grammar and reading really isnt SO hard, just a lot of vocab to look up, and the pace isnt so much faster but the ATMOSPHERE, now that is different. This class is larger, maybe double the other class, and yet it's mostly quiet, the questions are sensible, there's no misbehaviour, in short .... it's just a good atmosphere! And this, I've found, has helped my learning considerably. I prepare for classes more, the words are sinking in better, and I've had just as much chance to practice in class, despite the larger size. So, I've decided to stay - I think I can hack it. The listening is hard, but ... I'm sure I'll get better (I'm going to buy a radio and listen in the evenings, lord knows the TV is useless, I don't even watch English TV in the UK so why I would start here I dont know). My teachers worried this morning that I would flunk on the exams, but I said that's okay because Newcastle really dont care. So they asked if I care. And I suppose, actually, I dont. As long as my Chinese improves, I dont give a damn about some exam result in China that no one will look at in the UK.
* Homesickness
This has subsided since last weekend, when I was DISMAL. I spent a day just sitting in the house, mostly on my bed, watching English and American movies and TV shows, feeling like doing NOTHING even though I had plenty to do. Sunday was better, I got out the house and saw a friend for lunch, but still didnt want to DO anything. This week I feel heaps better, though I still wish I was at home, and I'm trying to work out where my life is ever going to go :(
That's about it for the time being. Next update when I can really be bothered, lazy creature that I am!
* The Urumqi Splatter
Okay, let's imagine you have a blocked nose, or a slight drip, or something similar. It's winter time, most people will be having this kinda problem around now. How do you deal with it? Tissues? Hankie (a personal hate of mine but hey) ... Not in Urumqi you don't. As with other places, I imagine this is a popular method, but I've only seen it here, so it's the Urumqi Splatter. Take your thumb and forefinger. Pinch your nose a bit, and lean forward slightly (or lots, if you are worried about spray) and exhale forcefully through your nose. This may be done over pavement, roads, or (if you're classy) flowerbeds and grassy areas. It saves tissues and to some extent therefore the environment. It remains absolutely disgusting and I never want to find myself doing it. Do the people here seriously wonder why chest infections and colds and general illnesses spread so rapidly? It's because you all lack basic hygiene, common sense, and civilised behaviour.
* Strange Child
I saw a kid today, scuffling through some leaves like most of us do, crunching away, then he paused and let out some kind of cry. The only thing I could think of was "Pterodactyl". Why a child felt the need to make such a scream, I dont know. Only in China.
* Change of Scenery
I've voluntarily moved myself up a class - I'm now with people who have been learning Chinese considerably longer than I have, in fact I think one of them was with LAST YEAR'S Newcastle lot. The reasons for the move were (a) my friend said she wanted to move and didnt want to go alone, (b) I agreed with her points for wanting to move - the pace of the class was sluggish, the atmosphere in the class was often disruptive, and (to a lesser extent for me) the material was too easy. Now personally I thought the material to be okay for me, but the pace to be the main problem. Anyway, I've spent about a week in the higher class now, and the material for grammar and reading really isnt SO hard, just a lot of vocab to look up, and the pace isnt so much faster but the ATMOSPHERE, now that is different. This class is larger, maybe double the other class, and yet it's mostly quiet, the questions are sensible, there's no misbehaviour, in short .... it's just a good atmosphere! And this, I've found, has helped my learning considerably. I prepare for classes more, the words are sinking in better, and I've had just as much chance to practice in class, despite the larger size. So, I've decided to stay - I think I can hack it. The listening is hard, but ... I'm sure I'll get better (I'm going to buy a radio and listen in the evenings, lord knows the TV is useless, I don't even watch English TV in the UK so why I would start here I dont know). My teachers worried this morning that I would flunk on the exams, but I said that's okay because Newcastle really dont care. So they asked if I care. And I suppose, actually, I dont. As long as my Chinese improves, I dont give a damn about some exam result in China that no one will look at in the UK.
* Homesickness
This has subsided since last weekend, when I was DISMAL. I spent a day just sitting in the house, mostly on my bed, watching English and American movies and TV shows, feeling like doing NOTHING even though I had plenty to do. Sunday was better, I got out the house and saw a friend for lunch, but still didnt want to DO anything. This week I feel heaps better, though I still wish I was at home, and I'm trying to work out where my life is ever going to go :(
That's about it for the time being. Next update when I can really be bothered, lazy creature that I am!
Tuesday 11 November 2008
A Friend In Need ...
A combination of what I think must be lack of sleep, poor dieting habits, and the change in weather (combined with the social effects of cold temperatures such as more people using buses ergo more germs being shared in close proximity for prolonged periods) have recently conspired to take their toll on my body. This afternoon demonstrated to me that having friends and a small network of known places around a city, or on a particular route can be invaluable.
I've not been feeling so well, on-and-off for a couple of days. A couple of weeks ago at the gym I felt quite bad but continued my workout and came away feeling much much better - you know the sweaty, dizzyish start-of-illness phase ... well that workout must have done something (sweated it out?!) because I perked right up. However the weather changed recently, from being just a bit cold to starting to snow. Apparently it's late for this year. Well equally late is my uptake on buying winter clothes; the problem is I was told it would get cold but there were just no SIGNS of it. In fact on Sunday afternoon I looked out of my window around 1500 and observed the builders working away next door, and I thought to myself "wow they must love this weather, they can build later into the year" ... about three hours later, sitting in my room, curtains closed, and I heard Marta on the phone to someone telling them it was snowing. "Snowing?", I thought, "Not when I last looked!" ... But she was right. In those three hours about two or three centimeters of snow had fallen!
Monday I went to school, my layers being a thermal top, tshirt, and jumper. Not even a very thick jumper at that. I was pretty cold. The weather warmed a little in the afternoon, and also it helped that I came home in my gym clothes, mmm tracksuit bottoms, so I didn't feel the FULL effects. Nonetheless I didn't feel 100%, and I couldn't help thinking the weather was to blame. I stayed up late last night, and woke this morning feeling tired and with an aching neck and shoulders (could have been part of my gym workout yesterday but really I was hitting the chest so those parts shouldnt have hurt so much). After a lie in (okay I turned off my alarm instead of putting it on snooze, I'm so lazy) I rushed my waking up, and didnt have enough time for proper breakfast. I made it through my first class, but only just, I was definitely zoning in and out, just about to conk out on the desk, luckily the teacher didnt ask me anything! ... In the break I went to the shop and did something very stupid (but necessary) - I got a can of Red Bull, a bar of white chocolate, and a cake. I thought it was a jam roll but it turned out to just be some kind of sponge roll without the jam (boo, China, do SOMETHING right goddammit!) ... these were devoured over the next two hours (while I had a reading test, only got 66%, so room for improvement think I).
I met with my friends - Anwar and Ava - and together we decided to go shopping for some winter clothes for me. This is related to the title of this post, there's really no substitute for some local knowledge and experience when it comes to things like clothes to protect you from winters where the temperature regularly hits -20C ... I'll cut this a bit short, we went to a dept store, found some jackets I liked, then went to another one just to compare them. The second place was closing down, but it had only recently gone bankrupt so neither of my friends knew it wasn't fully stocked with goods! So back to the first place where I got a jacket (hurray!) ... It's a bit puffy, but very light, filled with down (90%) and feathers (10%), with a couple of pockets and a hood too ... and room for some winter clothes like a jumper underneath. Wearing this, we all headed to Da Bazaar (Da means Big in Chinese, I am not speaking "ghetto" thank you very much), to see if there were thicker trousers and maybe some more jumpers I could buy. We had tea in a Uyghur shop (Anwar's choice), a bowl of soup with some noodley type bits of pasta-esque stuff in it, a tiny bit of beef, and a couple of eggs, nom nom nom. Tasted good anyway! Then we browsed some stores (and I made my mind up, I want some corduroy trousers, when I have time to go search for ones in my size / the right colour). We got to some second hand stores (with some nice looking clothes, I want to go back) where everything was significantly cheaper, but I started to feel (again, and not for the first time today) not quite right. I told Anwar and Ava that I just didnt feel so great and maybe we should call it a day. To be fair it was about 1820, time to be going home really.
Heading for the bus my stomach decided it would play nice for a bit, but once ON the bus (and with a good 20 - 25 minute journey ahead of me) it started to act up. I could feel gurgles and cramps and I knew this was not going to be pretty. After about 15 minutes (yeah I managed to hold my composure that long!) I told them I felt sick (I didnt want to tell them which end it was actually going to come out of) and they asked the guy sitting in front of us - we were standing - if I could have his seat. He obliged. I guess he didnt want me to be "sick" on him. Sadly, within a few seconds of sitting down it became apparent my bowels just were not going to hold. This was going to get messy fast, and I didn't want to be around for it. Kind of a shame that, it being my body and all. I told them I had a brainwave, I would go to the gym (it was right opposite the next bus stop) and just use the toilet there. They were really concerned for me, asked if I needed one of them to go with me, but I think the people at the gym know me well enough by now, so I thanked them but said no, I just need to get there fast.
Getting out the bus, I realised I didnt want / have time to take the underpass (ie "safe" route) across the road, and would instead have to go with the ordinarily riskier method of just crossing the six-lane road topside. The traffic thinned a little (or my eyes have just got good at spotting gaps in the traffic flow) and I made it across in record time. I got to the lift to the gym just in time. In time to see it ASCEND that is. Aaaaaaargh, what the hell was I going to do, about to colour the pavement a new shade of Urumqi brown (the other shades including mud, dirt, and winter grunge). Think calm thoughts. I ran out of the lift waiting area and gulped down fresh air as I tried not to think about the possibility that I may need to drop trow on a street corner. Thoughts of my brother, Mark, and his time in India filled my head. The time he'd had a bug so bad he had literally 5 seconds to jump to the roadside and squat. This was getting ridiculous. The lift was at the 6th floor and not coming down. By the time it reached the ground, I'd been joined by another man, who watched as I implored the lift's occupants to vacate quickly because I was feeling ill. I dont even know if what I said to them made sense, all I knew is there were toilets on floor five and I need them yesterday already. Reaching the fifth floor he had the decency to let me out first, and I rushed to the receptionists. Luckily my English student (Gu Li) was on the desk, at least I know her better than the others. I managed to blurt out "Gu Li I'm just in to use the toilets, I have a really bad stomach ..." before she nodded and watched as I sprinted down the length of the gym to the mens room.
Ah but what a dilemma when I got there. Where to put my coat and bag?! This was a brand new coat, I did NOT want to be leaving it on some crappy (literally) floor! Fate must have been smiling today, as one of the gym instructors (one of the nicer ones in my opinion, not at all hindered by his lack of English) entered the room, obviously about to go himself. He saw my situation and instantly offered to take my coat and bag. My brain overrode my bowels for one brief moment and I was able to ask "but what about paper?!" seeing there was none in the cubicle. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out" ... ahhhhhh thank heavens. Inside the cubicle, memories of the Great Train Ride came flooding back - longterm readers will remember my ordeal with the toilets on the Shanghai-Urumqi express train. Another squat toilet. But really, what other option was there? And you know what, it's REALLY not that bad. It could definitely be worse. If there's one good thing to come of today, it's finding out definitively that I will never be put off in future by using squat toilets. But I will definitely be carrying tissues ON me, it was just good fortune that the gym instructor went through my belongings and found my half full pack which he passed to me under the door. I emerged several minutes later, my quadriceps burning, my stomach still not quite right, and my Britishness returning with disgust for their lack of soap (what I need to carry THAT with me now?)
The point of all this is, you never know when you are going to need / want / appreciate a friend, contact, or just place you are known. Especially when your world is turning brown fast.
[[This happened about an hour ago. Since then I've had to go again (felt ill on the taxi ride home, but luckily my flat has a "normal" WC), and I'm just going to stick to lots of plain food, plain warm fluids, and get some decent rest, hope this passes. Mum, thanks for the smoked salmon, cheddar cheese, and so on which all arrived today, but I don't think I'll be eating them for another couple of days! ^_^
EDIT: all conversations in inverted commas here actually took place in Chinese, but since my audience is mostly made up of non-Chinese speakers I've put everything in English!]]
I've not been feeling so well, on-and-off for a couple of days. A couple of weeks ago at the gym I felt quite bad but continued my workout and came away feeling much much better - you know the sweaty, dizzyish start-of-illness phase ... well that workout must have done something (sweated it out?!) because I perked right up. However the weather changed recently, from being just a bit cold to starting to snow. Apparently it's late for this year. Well equally late is my uptake on buying winter clothes; the problem is I was told it would get cold but there were just no SIGNS of it. In fact on Sunday afternoon I looked out of my window around 1500 and observed the builders working away next door, and I thought to myself "wow they must love this weather, they can build later into the year" ... about three hours later, sitting in my room, curtains closed, and I heard Marta on the phone to someone telling them it was snowing. "Snowing?", I thought, "Not when I last looked!" ... But she was right. In those three hours about two or three centimeters of snow had fallen!
Monday I went to school, my layers being a thermal top, tshirt, and jumper. Not even a very thick jumper at that. I was pretty cold. The weather warmed a little in the afternoon, and also it helped that I came home in my gym clothes, mmm tracksuit bottoms, so I didn't feel the FULL effects. Nonetheless I didn't feel 100%, and I couldn't help thinking the weather was to blame. I stayed up late last night, and woke this morning feeling tired and with an aching neck and shoulders (could have been part of my gym workout yesterday but really I was hitting the chest so those parts shouldnt have hurt so much). After a lie in (okay I turned off my alarm instead of putting it on snooze, I'm so lazy) I rushed my waking up, and didnt have enough time for proper breakfast. I made it through my first class, but only just, I was definitely zoning in and out, just about to conk out on the desk, luckily the teacher didnt ask me anything! ... In the break I went to the shop and did something very stupid (but necessary) - I got a can of Red Bull, a bar of white chocolate, and a cake. I thought it was a jam roll but it turned out to just be some kind of sponge roll without the jam (boo, China, do SOMETHING right goddammit!) ... these were devoured over the next two hours (while I had a reading test, only got 66%, so room for improvement think I).
I met with my friends - Anwar and Ava - and together we decided to go shopping for some winter clothes for me. This is related to the title of this post, there's really no substitute for some local knowledge and experience when it comes to things like clothes to protect you from winters where the temperature regularly hits -20C ... I'll cut this a bit short, we went to a dept store, found some jackets I liked, then went to another one just to compare them. The second place was closing down, but it had only recently gone bankrupt so neither of my friends knew it wasn't fully stocked with goods! So back to the first place where I got a jacket (hurray!) ... It's a bit puffy, but very light, filled with down (90%) and feathers (10%), with a couple of pockets and a hood too ... and room for some winter clothes like a jumper underneath. Wearing this, we all headed to Da Bazaar (Da means Big in Chinese, I am not speaking "ghetto" thank you very much), to see if there were thicker trousers and maybe some more jumpers I could buy. We had tea in a Uyghur shop (Anwar's choice), a bowl of soup with some noodley type bits of pasta-esque stuff in it, a tiny bit of beef, and a couple of eggs, nom nom nom. Tasted good anyway! Then we browsed some stores (and I made my mind up, I want some corduroy trousers, when I have time to go search for ones in my size / the right colour). We got to some second hand stores (with some nice looking clothes, I want to go back) where everything was significantly cheaper, but I started to feel (again, and not for the first time today) not quite right. I told Anwar and Ava that I just didnt feel so great and maybe we should call it a day. To be fair it was about 1820, time to be going home really.
Heading for the bus my stomach decided it would play nice for a bit, but once ON the bus (and with a good 20 - 25 minute journey ahead of me) it started to act up. I could feel gurgles and cramps and I knew this was not going to be pretty. After about 15 minutes (yeah I managed to hold my composure that long!) I told them I felt sick (I didnt want to tell them which end it was actually going to come out of) and they asked the guy sitting in front of us - we were standing - if I could have his seat. He obliged. I guess he didnt want me to be "sick" on him. Sadly, within a few seconds of sitting down it became apparent my bowels just were not going to hold. This was going to get messy fast, and I didn't want to be around for it. Kind of a shame that, it being my body and all. I told them I had a brainwave, I would go to the gym (it was right opposite the next bus stop) and just use the toilet there. They were really concerned for me, asked if I needed one of them to go with me, but I think the people at the gym know me well enough by now, so I thanked them but said no, I just need to get there fast.
Getting out the bus, I realised I didnt want / have time to take the underpass (ie "safe" route) across the road, and would instead have to go with the ordinarily riskier method of just crossing the six-lane road topside. The traffic thinned a little (or my eyes have just got good at spotting gaps in the traffic flow) and I made it across in record time. I got to the lift to the gym just in time. In time to see it ASCEND that is. Aaaaaaargh, what the hell was I going to do, about to colour the pavement a new shade of Urumqi brown (the other shades including mud, dirt, and winter grunge). Think calm thoughts. I ran out of the lift waiting area and gulped down fresh air as I tried not to think about the possibility that I may need to drop trow on a street corner. Thoughts of my brother, Mark, and his time in India filled my head. The time he'd had a bug so bad he had literally 5 seconds to jump to the roadside and squat. This was getting ridiculous. The lift was at the 6th floor and not coming down. By the time it reached the ground, I'd been joined by another man, who watched as I implored the lift's occupants to vacate quickly because I was feeling ill. I dont even know if what I said to them made sense, all I knew is there were toilets on floor five and I need them yesterday already. Reaching the fifth floor he had the decency to let me out first, and I rushed to the receptionists. Luckily my English student (Gu Li) was on the desk, at least I know her better than the others. I managed to blurt out "Gu Li I'm just in to use the toilets, I have a really bad stomach ..." before she nodded and watched as I sprinted down the length of the gym to the mens room.
Ah but what a dilemma when I got there. Where to put my coat and bag?! This was a brand new coat, I did NOT want to be leaving it on some crappy (literally) floor! Fate must have been smiling today, as one of the gym instructors (one of the nicer ones in my opinion, not at all hindered by his lack of English) entered the room, obviously about to go himself. He saw my situation and instantly offered to take my coat and bag. My brain overrode my bowels for one brief moment and I was able to ask "but what about paper?!" seeing there was none in the cubicle. "Don't worry, I'll sort it out" ... ahhhhhh thank heavens. Inside the cubicle, memories of the Great Train Ride came flooding back - longterm readers will remember my ordeal with the toilets on the Shanghai-Urumqi express train. Another squat toilet. But really, what other option was there? And you know what, it's REALLY not that bad. It could definitely be worse. If there's one good thing to come of today, it's finding out definitively that I will never be put off in future by using squat toilets. But I will definitely be carrying tissues ON me, it was just good fortune that the gym instructor went through my belongings and found my half full pack which he passed to me under the door. I emerged several minutes later, my quadriceps burning, my stomach still not quite right, and my Britishness returning with disgust for their lack of soap (what I need to carry THAT with me now?)
The point of all this is, you never know when you are going to need / want / appreciate a friend, contact, or just place you are known. Especially when your world is turning brown fast.
[[This happened about an hour ago. Since then I've had to go again (felt ill on the taxi ride home, but luckily my flat has a "normal" WC), and I'm just going to stick to lots of plain food, plain warm fluids, and get some decent rest, hope this passes. Mum, thanks for the smoked salmon, cheddar cheese, and so on which all arrived today, but I don't think I'll be eating them for another couple of days! ^_^
EDIT: all conversations in inverted commas here actually took place in Chinese, but since my audience is mostly made up of non-Chinese speakers I've put everything in English!]]
Sunday 9 November 2008
A Lazy Update
It's Sunday morning and I should probably be doing some kind of work ... but I'm taking some time to stay in bed a bit longer and generally laze if not sleep in (the Chinese for which is 睡懒觉 in case you were wondering, I know you weren't), while I try to recall some of the week's events. Also, there's no way I can leave the house right now - Marta went out last night and hasn't come back, and my crappy excuse for a main door key broke off in the lock yesterday evening (fortunately i was able to salvage the actual key part so the lock itself is still okay to use). Lucy had a front row seat to that event, being on the phone to me at the time; I could not believe that the key just sheared off in the lock. Oh wait, I COULD believe it because this is CHINA. That's fast becoming synonymous for "I've never seen this happen before, in quite this way, but it doesn't surprise me that it's happening to me here". I recall this happened the last time round as well, Sam and I came to the conclusion that "Nothing is impossible, you just haven't seen it yet" meaning you had to be in China to witness such an "impossible" event. Whatever the chances of it, having your front door key snap off in the lock is a damned irritation. I want Marta to get back here soonest so I can go and get another key cut, but since she was (presumably) on the lash last night I might be waiting some time.
I don't think so much has been going on recently. Or maybe it has and I've just not taken it all in - this is a problem when trying to document your life, some things happen that may be considered amazing or abnormal to people who don't experience them, but when you live it everything sort of blurs into "normality" ... I suppose one thing I look forward to every week is my Tai Qi class - not only is the teacher really good, but it's free (well for the students anyway, apparently our school pays the teacher, but free at the point of consumption is basically free as far as I'm concerned!) ... Every Thursday afternoon for about 90 minutes we knacker ourselves. I personally think the teacher's idea of a warm up is more work than the exercise itself! A quick run (no, that's not the knackering part) followed by several stretches, mostly for the legs, though after this week I will be adding some arm stretches too, and then some exercises. The first is okay - put your arms out to the sides and goose-step 10 - 15 paces (each foot, so 20 - 30 total). Then it gets a bit harder. With your arms still out to the sides, step forward, as you do so bring your leg up to kick your outstretched hand (same side). Do 10 - 15 paces. Finally, repeat but kick the opposite outstretched hand. Do all of these twice. Sound hard? Well it was to begin with, but now, about a month later, I am finding I CAN do this. Then there's some kicking practice, and a couple of routines (ah, I dont know the Chinese for any of this, I'm useless), which looked complicated when we first saw them, but are less so now we've done them a few hundred times. I can't wait to add breathing to it all, slow it right down and get a work out (holding some of those positions will be "fun"). This week was extra fun though because the teacher decided it would be good for us to box a little. So out came the gloves (I've never worn boxing gloves before) and some training. I would like to do more of this, I have a feeling for all my time in the gym my punches are still weak. Or maybe they're not. I should find someone to experiment on ;)
So Thursday was enjoyable. However, by Friday I found myself so knackered (I seem to have been burning the candle both ends for a few weeks now, I'm trying to regulate my body clock to something sensible but it's not happening so easily) that I stayed in bed most of the day, getting out only to shower and go to the gym (not for a workout, as I normally would, but instead to teach one of the receptionists some English - for free? maybe. Why? Well I wouldn't ordinarily, but since I'm in the gym on a Friday mostly anyway, it's not a problem to spend an extra hour there before / after working out which would otherwise be spent at home doing nothing). This week was slightly different though, because the Tai Qi from Thursday managed to strain my right tricep - all those punches! - and the inner side of my left thigh - all those kicks! I don't recall doing anything much on Friday apart from that.
Saturday I got up stupidly early (my friend texted me the wrong time to meet, fortunately I decided he had made a mistake and got up when I felt was suitable, but it was still early!) to go and give a talk at an English school. Well to be precise, a Uyghur school for teaching English. It's called NSP (Never Stop Program) and the guys that run it are now friends of mine. I'd offered to give a talk, about me, about England, about anything really, and play some language games with the classes, so I did. My morning session lasted 3 hours. That's a long time for a relatively unprepared class. The guys had got all of their morning students together, there must have been easily 150 people in the room, most of whom had reasonable English but had never used it with a foreigner before. So they were understandably delighted. We had lunch and then I was going to go to the gym but I needed time to digest (lag maan goes down slowly) so I did another hour in the afternoon, mainly questions and answers from the guys' more advanced students. It was fun, but wholly tiring! And to top it off, of course I went to the gym later, not going to miss THAT!
Coming home from the gym my key sheared off in the lock and I think that pretty much brings me full circle for the time being :)
Oh and Mum, I know I never reply to your emails and I've not written anything to you in a while, but thanks for all the letters, the bank card, the aid package and so on that have arrived this week :) Dad, I've written you a letter but it'll have to wait for posting. Lucy I'm in the middle of a letter to you. Other people, I need to write more I know!
I don't think so much has been going on recently. Or maybe it has and I've just not taken it all in - this is a problem when trying to document your life, some things happen that may be considered amazing or abnormal to people who don't experience them, but when you live it everything sort of blurs into "normality" ... I suppose one thing I look forward to every week is my Tai Qi class - not only is the teacher really good, but it's free (well for the students anyway, apparently our school pays the teacher, but free at the point of consumption is basically free as far as I'm concerned!) ... Every Thursday afternoon for about 90 minutes we knacker ourselves. I personally think the teacher's idea of a warm up is more work than the exercise itself! A quick run (no, that's not the knackering part) followed by several stretches, mostly for the legs, though after this week I will be adding some arm stretches too, and then some exercises. The first is okay - put your arms out to the sides and goose-step 10 - 15 paces (each foot, so 20 - 30 total). Then it gets a bit harder. With your arms still out to the sides, step forward, as you do so bring your leg up to kick your outstretched hand (same side). Do 10 - 15 paces. Finally, repeat but kick the opposite outstretched hand. Do all of these twice. Sound hard? Well it was to begin with, but now, about a month later, I am finding I CAN do this. Then there's some kicking practice, and a couple of routines (ah, I dont know the Chinese for any of this, I'm useless), which looked complicated when we first saw them, but are less so now we've done them a few hundred times. I can't wait to add breathing to it all, slow it right down and get a work out (holding some of those positions will be "fun"). This week was extra fun though because the teacher decided it would be good for us to box a little. So out came the gloves (I've never worn boxing gloves before) and some training. I would like to do more of this, I have a feeling for all my time in the gym my punches are still weak. Or maybe they're not. I should find someone to experiment on ;)
So Thursday was enjoyable. However, by Friday I found myself so knackered (I seem to have been burning the candle both ends for a few weeks now, I'm trying to regulate my body clock to something sensible but it's not happening so easily) that I stayed in bed most of the day, getting out only to shower and go to the gym (not for a workout, as I normally would, but instead to teach one of the receptionists some English - for free? maybe. Why? Well I wouldn't ordinarily, but since I'm in the gym on a Friday mostly anyway, it's not a problem to spend an extra hour there before / after working out which would otherwise be spent at home doing nothing). This week was slightly different though, because the Tai Qi from Thursday managed to strain my right tricep - all those punches! - and the inner side of my left thigh - all those kicks! I don't recall doing anything much on Friday apart from that.
Saturday I got up stupidly early (my friend texted me the wrong time to meet, fortunately I decided he had made a mistake and got up when I felt was suitable, but it was still early!) to go and give a talk at an English school. Well to be precise, a Uyghur school for teaching English. It's called NSP (Never Stop Program) and the guys that run it are now friends of mine. I'd offered to give a talk, about me, about England, about anything really, and play some language games with the classes, so I did. My morning session lasted 3 hours. That's a long time for a relatively unprepared class. The guys had got all of their morning students together, there must have been easily 150 people in the room, most of whom had reasonable English but had never used it with a foreigner before. So they were understandably delighted. We had lunch and then I was going to go to the gym but I needed time to digest (lag maan goes down slowly) so I did another hour in the afternoon, mainly questions and answers from the guys' more advanced students. It was fun, but wholly tiring! And to top it off, of course I went to the gym later, not going to miss THAT!
Coming home from the gym my key sheared off in the lock and I think that pretty much brings me full circle for the time being :)
Oh and Mum, I know I never reply to your emails and I've not written anything to you in a while, but thanks for all the letters, the bank card, the aid package and so on that have arrived this week :) Dad, I've written you a letter but it'll have to wait for posting. Lucy I'm in the middle of a letter to you. Other people, I need to write more I know!
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