Ha. I went to follow a link to the Huffington Post (about George H.W. wanting to throw Jeb into the presidential ring), and the censors blocked it. It was all in Chinese, but I'm sure it was a politely worded statement of the site's political unacceptability or somesuch. Too funny.
It continues to be freezing cold here. Mind bogglingly so. I keep buying up sweaters and long underwear. But I can't buy too many, because it's in the 40s and 50s in Japan, so I can't throw out too much of my warmer weather stuff. Note to self: next time you travel, stick to places that are all experiencing the same season.
I checked out some lovely sites in town today. Chinese houses are awesome. I want one. It's perhaps a misnomer to call them houses, though. They're more like compounds. You get a small building with one or two rooms devoted to similar purposes, then some courtyards, then another building. So you might start with a study and storage room for your business, then a courtyard, then your formal living room for visitors, then another courtyard, then your kitchen and bedrooms. I love the eastern aesthetic. Everything has such clean lines. Even the more elaborate things have a simplicity about them, if that makes any sense. None of the busy gaudiness of India or Southeast Asia (also pretty, but differently so). It's so calming. I imagine if I was here in any other season, I could have wandered contentedly for hours on end. Alas for cold.
My absolute limit seems to be 4 hours before I have to thaw out. Even then, I have to take little breaks, like the one I took today to eat a blisteringly spicy bowl of noodle soup. One of the pitfalls at just pointing at somebody else's bowl and saying "I'll have whatever that is" is that sometimes you get more than your bargained for. I could only eat half of it before my lips felt like they were about to fall off. The other folks in the shop got a huge kick out of it, though, so at least it was entertaining.
Well, my train to Beijing leaves in a couple hours, so I should get something to eat and get my stuff together...
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5 comments:
If it makes you feel any better, we got snow again last night in Seattle where it never snows. That is the fifth snow storm since December and they really don't have the ability to deal with it around here. People don't even own snow shovels! At least Nolan is excited! Stay warm and have fun.
Nikki
Hi Kate ,
Your dad sent me your blog - fun reading . Sounds like a wonderful adventure. I was in China visiting my daughter Sarah in December a couple of years ago . She/we can relate to the cold thing - she taught in an unheated classroom with the windows open for months and had to wear lots of sweaters and hobo gloves all day . I am going to send her the link to your blog . Maybe she will tell you about it . Yeah the censorship is weird huh?
We took the train to Beijing from Suzhou , an over-nighter. Slept in berth next to some people we did not know . It was incredibly cold at the Forbidden City and the Square etc - big place . So cold I decided against going to see the Great Wall the next day . A wall is a wall after all . You should probably go tho . I can relate to the mystery food / soup / noodles / not knowing what it is / etc.
Today was our first work day at the new place .
Take care, be safe , have fun !!
I am doing this "anonymous" since I am too tired to become a google blogger - let me know if this works if you have a minute or tell your dad to tell me
caseyvillard@yahoo.com
Casey Villard
ok I get it - I see my own comment !
I guess i am a little slow on this blogging stuff
casey
Oh no! I sent a postcard (from Laos) to the old office before I realized you guys were moving so soon. I hope you get it! I assume your mail will be forwarded for a while, right?
hi Kate! My dad (Casey) sent me your blog. It sounds like you are having a fabulous time traveling the globe -- I'm jealous! As my dad mentioned, I can definitely relate to the cold and the lack of heating in China. I think both the pollution and the cold had a major effect on my state of mind while I was there...but, as you point out, there is always so much to see in China that you could just wander around the streets for weeks, and that was always great. Take care, travel safely, and if you ever want to compare notes on China feel free to email me: whiteandpewterlights at hotmail dot com.
-Sarah V. :)
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