Hanoi!

We had intentions several weeks ago to try to get to Thailand for a holiday, but it proved cost-prohibitive.  Instead, we have arrived in Hanoi!  The internet is pretty sketchy here, so I'll keep it brief for now.

Enjoy a photo!

Hoofin' it

Finding new things to see or do can be tough without the help of a native Guiyanger, but I've been trying my best to hunt up new sights by just walking all over the place.  The nice thing is that it's a pretty small city, area-wise, and the weather is pretty decent lately.  The bad news is that we are up in the mountains, and the terrain is not by any means level.

What I've been told about exploring is that it's generally a safe policy to walk wherever you want, unless someone yells at you. So far, so good.

I'll post some pics of my trekking adventures, but first I wanted to share that it looks like I have the video situation sorted out!  Enjoy a sample!

Potpourri

I don't really know how the schools work here in Guiyang, but something happened that resulted in a 7-day work week for me.  Anyway, I got some rest and I'm working on getting my apartment cleaned up after I just tornadoed into it every night for the last week.

As my brain is a little to squishy right now to write much and the internet is behaving too poorly to post too many pictures, you're getting a whopping TWO new photos now!  Hooray!

History

I don't know if I'll ever get over how deeply saddened I am by the events that brought me to China.  That being said, tonight I had drinks with a man that marched at Tiananmen  Square.  

That's something.

Cool, Cool Guiyang

Spring seems to have finally sprung in the land of precious sunlight.  The birds are swimming, the bees are singing and everywhere Chinese people are playing badminton and taking pictures of the blossoming flowers.  Guiyang is not what I would ever call a "clean" city, but it is certainly working on being properly beautiful now that the winter is fading away.

I remain a tad under the weather, a result - I imagine- primarily of working in a school, far from the familiar germs of the grown-up world in the U.S..  I thought I was pretty much ready to put my winter cough to bed, but last night I was treated to a vivid dream about suffocating, and I woke up to totally blocked sinuses.  I took a shot of Nyquil and a dash of "Chinese medicine" - a mysterious powder I'm supposed to mix with water and drink three times a day- and woke up coughing up all kinds of green goop.  Within about two hours, everything seemed more or less cleared up.  Bottom line- I have no idea what's been going on with my respiratory system since I got here, but I'm totally jazzed about being actually "healthy" at some point while I'm here.

I walked quite a bit today, including a short hike up a little mountain near the school.  While crossing through the intervening neighborhood, I saw a mother holding a little girl over an open sewer so the girl could relieve herself.  It was not the first time I saw something similar happening today.

On the way back, my hiking companion and I were stopped so we could be photographed with a Chinese gentleman.  His female companion (wife?  girlfriend?) spent a fair few moments pointing the lens of the camera towards her own eye, displaying it to us, the prospective photo subjects, via the lcd viewing screen.  It was a great example of the big Jinx on China.

I haven't yet figured out how to upload videos from my camera, but when I do, I have a great one involving me and a taxi and a somewhat irregular series of movements through traffic.

That surprise I alluded to several days ago?  Well, the situation has changed a little, but the news is still big.  and cool.  and amazing.  It involves a week-long holiday at the end of April.  Any guesses?