My Holiday Part One - Jiangsu, Shanghai, and Lucy's Arrival

I've been off for a couple of weeks - trying to get some relaxation away from Urumqi (to be honest, once you've been here 6 months, anywhere feels more relaxing / just plain better) ... My first week away wasn't the MOST enjoyable - I think I stayed a couple of days too long at an old friend's place and ended up feeling quite bad about it - not because he wasn't hospitable but because our views on some things differed greatly and after a couple of arguments there really wasn't much else to say. I should just have left. Well I suppose you live and learn.

At least I got to see ONE of my former Chinese students, and maybe I'll see more in July before I come home; and as you've maybe read, I had a drab day in Suzhou, culminating with a couple of hours in a smoky internet cafe half-heartedly updating this blog among other things, before I spent an inordinate amount of cash on some alright coffee and read a book for a bit.

The night before Lucy arrived I really couldn't sleep. It didn't even matter that I'd been out with some friends for a meal and then to a bar, where we'd stayed until I was nicely tipsy. My sleep was fitful and inadequate; sure I got my head down but when I woke up it still wasn't enough. Oh well no time to complain - Lucy's coming to China! :) I forgot the location of our hotel for the first night and spent a frantic half hour working out where we were supposed to be - fortunately I got the information just in time to leave for the airport, taking the bus because it was cheapest and to save the thrill of the Maglev for when I was actually with Lucy (the thrill mainly being hers - I've ridden it at least 4 times before). I think from here in I'll keep things short else you'll be here forever:

* She arrived. Sounds obvious doesnt it? But it's true and it made us both very happy. Within minutes we were bantering like we'd been apart 6 minutes not 6 months. Also my handdrawn "Welcome to China" sign with her name (in English and Chinese) went down well :) Maybe I will post a photo of it later.

* The hotel was adequate. I hadn't gone overboard for the first night, and if the thermostat had worked better we would probably have given the entire place 9 / 10 (clean the carpet and I'd give it a 10) but with the stuffy air inside the room and no way to fix it, my rating sinks to about 5 / 10. I don't know what Lucy thinks, but I'm guessing she mostly agrees. We spent the first day slumming in the hotel room, strolling around the Bund (the Pudong Development Bank interior is still wonderful), sampling some "normal" (ie: cheap, standard-for-Chinese-people) food and then flopping out because the A/C was still crap and the windows didn't open.

Well you win some you lose some, right? And hey, we still had each other :)

Taking A Break

It's just 10 days 'til I travel to China ... and instead of running around packing and worrying about money, I'm sitting in the foyer of a hotel in Prague, using free internet and waiting for the complimentary all you can eat buffet breakfast to start. This has to be the best way to spend the money I earnt this summer - the city is beautiful, the people welcoming, the food is great, everything is cheap ... what more could I ask for? :) And best of all, I've left all my work at home in England so I can't stress over all the Chinese I've forgotten until at least Thursday. Of course, then I'll be cramming characters and grammar back into my brain like nobody's business. Apparently there are no entrance exams as such when I get to XNU (Xinjiang Normal University), but I want to be put into a decent class if possible, however they work it. And, given that I've not spent my summer in China or Taiwan like some people, I think some hardcore cramming in my final week in England is about the only thing I can do to ensure some modicum of success.

But for now, I am relaxing in Prague. Happy Days.