We interrupt this gloomy winter for a little sunshine!

I'm busy lesson planning this afternoon, but I wanted to post a couple of quick pictures of a sunny day in Guiyang!  These were shot from the hip, so apologies for the quality!

China giveth...

Things are usually pretty great for me here in China, but as I said in the last post, nothing can really be relied on here.

Last night a pair of other teachers and I went out for dinner with the aim of going to one of our favorite street vendors.  Unfortunately, they had completely packed up their tents and tables and disappeared.  Will they be back at some point?  Have they quit the food-service industry?  Did they find another location?  We may never know.

But that's sort of how it goes here.  Sometimes things go really well, and sometimes they don't, and there doesn't seem to be any explanation.  For instance, yesterday I actually did get to take a nice, long, warm shower.  Today, my hot water cut out mid-shower.  Is my hot water heater broken?  Is there some setting on it that's wrong?  Is there a certain amount of time (+24 hours?) that I need to wait between showers in order to have hot water?  Most importantly, this was not a problem when I got here- it only manifested in the last 5 days or so.  What happened?  Who knows?

At any rate, I started this post by saying things are going great, and they are.  I'm well-paid for what I do, my job is enjoyable, my coworkers are fun to be around, food and most necessities are exceedingly cheap for someone with my salary, my apartment is HUGE, and everything around me is just generally pretty amazing.

The thing is that I'm about to post some pictures of my bathroom, and it is a pretty dire place.  It makes me sad, and it should make you sad, but I don't want anyone to worry too much because most everything else is just fine.  The Chinese just don't quite seem to understand bathrooms, is all.

Maybe I'll just leave you all alone with this picture for a little bit.  Stories of joy and wonderment to follow!

From The Land of Endless Summer...

I'm told "Guiyang" means "precious sunlight," and I don't know if I've ever heard a more appropriate name for a city.  In the month I've been here there have been two days in which the sun dared poke its head from behind the clouds, and neither time was it for very long.  It seems to be always drizzling or foggy out, and oftentimes I can't see the mountaintops surrounding the city. 

On the bright side, it seems like Spring will be arriving soon.  The days have been warmer than in the first few weeks since my arrival, and there doesn't seem to be quite as much need for me to wear all the clothes I own in order to go outside for the day.

My apartment here is on the 7th floor, and it has a MASSIVE patio area that seems like it will be ideal when warmer, dryer weather comes around.  As for now, it's just somewhere I can stick my head out and see how bad the weather is for the day.

Weather issues aside, I'm having loads of fun.  I had my first week of teaching my own classes just last week, and it really is a fun and -mostly- easy job.  The kids are pretty adorable, and they often show me a lot more affection than is probably necessary.  Still, it's hard to turn down free candy in the middle of a long work day.

Right now, I'm sitting on my bed with a bottle of peach juice, wondering if my water heater is working properly so I can have a nice, long shower.  I guess this demonstrates two lessons I've learned about China so far: 1.  The orange juice here is VILE, and 2. You can't ever really count on anything.

I miss everyone a bunch!  Make sure to post comments!

Here's a view from my place on one of those precious-few, semi-clear days.  Can't wait to send pics on a totally clear day!

Out for a walk one day when I spotted this piece of architectural nonsense.  I can't explain it, and I'm not sure anyone involved in the construction of this building could either.  Madness.