I've been busier recently and not so able to sit down and write anything. So I will just toss out a blog, inbetween marking and entertaining Garry, who has come to visit from Pusan, South Korea.
After the initial burst of energy, coping and inspiring others, I hit a little wall at the end of last week. I hit the Great Wall again on Sunday, this time at Simatai. However, the (lower case) wall I am referring to is a metaphorical one, in which the strains of the past 8 weeks caught up with me. Don't worry, it's just a blip. It's mostly an energy zapp. I need to regroup, move out of 701 (E Block) and into 1603 (G Block), wash some clothes, buy some new ones and generally organise myself again.
I think my move will be just in time. I have given notice to leave and no-one has rung me as far as I know to say there is a problem. Once I am organised it will be head down for the next 4 months, get through the winter, save money and come out the other side, or whenever Spring arrives, and enjoy life again. Actually, there will be plenty to enjoy, not least teaching my 9 year old, Fu.
This week there has been an international Design Conference at CAFA with lots of guests from all over the world flocking to my university. I've hardly been involved, and haven't really had much time to know what is going on, but there are exhibitions everywhere on campus. There is a buzz around, in what for some is a kind of holiday week. Apparently, this will be the last decent week of weather before the winter hits us.
I have been back to the Bird's Nest with Garry in the past week, as well as Tian'anmen for about the 5th time. I've also been to Wangfujing and The Egg (national theatre) again. Other than that, Garry has been left to fend for himself while I work. The second visit to the Great Wall was enjoyable enough. More of a climb this time, but a cable car helped us up part of the way. Far less touristy, but a little overcast, it was a good day away from the smog. Our novice driver, however, got lost at the entrance and stopped the coach twice on the way home to have a heated argument with some of the passengers who thought he was taking a longer route home.
Anyway, it'll be Death At The Palace this Friday as we attend a Qing Dynasty murder (a kind of 'whodunnit') at the Bookworm.
http://www.chinabookworm.com/
On Saturday I will take Garry to 798 Art District before meeting a Logistics Management graduate for a first bout of 'language exchange'. Then on Sunday, the day Garry flies home, I will move into 1603 and it can't come soon enough!
No comments:
Post a Comment