December in Yichang

If you're planning on visiting China for a quite Christmas away from the commercial hustle and bustle, get togethers and Christmas mayhem, maybe you had better rethink. I have never been so busy with social engagements in my life...of course the usual thing of having a birthday close to Christmas has added to it...but neither has actually arrived yet and I have been showered with well wishes, gifts, meals and much generosity. I had pictured this time as having quite time alone with just a few decorations for Christmas and quitely letting my Birthday slip past..my family and friends in Australia know that I'm very shy about attention and rarely celebrate my Birthday (my parents gave up trying to organise parties for me) So ironically (again) it seems that I am being made to make up for many years in one big swoop :-)
There will be a Christmas get together at my apartment on Saturday and I invited Nettie, Jess and the kids over yesterday to help me put up the Christmas decorations.
I actually found a Christmas tree (about 4 foot high) in a shop in Yiling Square...I bought it thinking they would take off the lights and decorations and fold it up for me to take home...but NO I had to take it as it was, fully decorated, on a bus, in China,carrying a decorated Christmas tree back to my apartment (lol) All I could do was look out the window and try not to feel all the eyes staring at me and the SILENCE was so quite you could have heard a pin drop...I have never heard a quite bus...anyway...
I think everyone had an ok time decorating and the evening ended up as a huge suprise for me..I will write about it later(I will also post the pictures later as the internet connection is very slow and dodgy at the moment)...right now I need to go and meditate as I have another dinner engagement at 5.30 tonight...

OK here's a few pic's

Confession

I have a confession to make....every now and again something really gets my goat and I blog it...I don't really get angry...but I do get annoyed and when I get annoyed I write about it :-)
Now I'm being honest here when I tell you I have a little stash of unpublished blogs because what I usually do is write when I am annoyed or sad or whatever...save it....sleep on it...and then next day have a look...If I still feel annoyed I figure I will post it...if I dont feel so annoyed anymore I will leave it :-)Mostly I think the annoyances pass (I don't think there is much negativity on this blog site ?)...So I guess the question arises am I being totally honest..I think YES...I think when you're annoyed, angry, depressed, having a bad day...whatever....I think it clouds your thinking and sometimes you're judgement.
Tomorrow is a new day and one may feel differently.
Does it make for exciting reading? probably NO (LOL)
TONIGHT...I am sleeping on a blog post...how will I feel in the morning...we'll see :-)
But in all reality...I'm finding more frequently now that everything passes AND it is much healthier (I think) to just let this happen.

Cold...Hot...or what?

Just a day after posting how cold I am...today the weather has been gloriously sunny and from what I'm told will stay that way for most of this week! It is amazing how much one appreciates the warm sunshine during winter :-)
It reminds me a little of that song.... "Camp Granada" The last bit that goes...

Wait a minute, it's stopped raining
Guys are swimming, guys are sailing
Playing cricket, gee thats better
Mudduh, fudduh kindly disregard this lettuh (or in this case the last blog post)
(lol)

Brrrrr

Do I look cold? Do you like my groovy slippers and hat? I have just started to keep a check on the temperature on the internet. I live in Dianjun, Yichang across the river from the main part of the city and for some reason it mostly is a lot colder here than in the city itself. When I checked early last night there was a 6 degree difference...it was 6 degrees in the city and 0 degrees in Dianjun...currently it is 4 degrees.
I took the ferry over to the city today and one of the students said to me it is like spring in the city and winter in Dianjun...she was very correct.
So today I bought this woolly hat because my ears,nose and my throat don't really know what is happening with the cold air (LOL, pick the West Australian). I'm kinda getting worried at the amount of heating gadgets I see around town (I have never seen quilted pyjamas before I came here)Just how cold is it gunna get?. I could really do with some more thermal underwear, but I think finding my size may pose a problem. Right about now I'm thinking I made a good decision to come to Yichang and not Harbin in North China. Maybe -20 to -40 degree's would have been a bit too much for me to handle:-)But I would really, really still love to visit there.
The North of China has central heating, but heating is not so common here. I actually do have reverse cycle in my apartment and they are not too bad for taking the chill off, but I don't like to leave them on for too long. I think most people just seem to rug up and stay rugged up??
Today I found some Christmas decorations in a small shop. It feels very strange being in the cold for Christmas, something I have not experienced before (well I guess I have when I was little un' in England...but I don't remember)
OK...I'm going to get a cup of hot Milo :-)
P.S. Yes the picture is in my apartment. When I have decorated for Christmas I will take some more pictures of it and give you a tour (and when it is a little more tidy)

Hockey mates !

In the last post I mentioned how lucky I am to have found friendship here in China. Today I must also mention just how thankful I am for my friends back home in Australia. I always value my friendships very highly even though I have never been a very social person.
Most of my friends from my hometown are from the local Hockey team..I miss my Hockey and I miss my friends from the team...today I walked into the office at school to find another huge parcel on the desk, this time from my friends back home :-)
My special friends from the team had got together a Christmas/Birthday parcel for me and sent it over.
Henny, Marjo, Kazz and Jude...Many many thanks! and a big special thankyou to the kids for the homemade cards...I love them very much.
Look at all these goodies



I have hung the Christmas cards along the window in my loungeroom (That is Yichang City outside the window but it is wintery weather today as you can see)
I have not opened my birthday cards yet...I am saving them for my birthday.

I haven't put up Christmas decorations yet...I will post a picture when I do :-)
The wintery weather that has set in here today reminds me of Saturdays standing on a hockey field in the wind and rain :-)

Thankyou all so much for being so thoughtful, it means a lot to me.

Masterpiece

What is this scroll?


Last night I had another wonderful dinner with my friends and young My Liao. I was given the Chinese painting painted by his father and framed by himself. The framing in itself really is also an art form and I am told that there are not many people that can do this properly. It looks absolutely beautiful. I can't show you it displayed properly 1) because I do not want it to get dusty and 2) I don't know where to put it that would be suitable :-)I am told it is covered with a protective coating that will keep it safe for 100 years.



I am lucky enough to have this painting because of the kindness of my friends who are always taking me out and showing me around. Jess is always so sweet and kind and her husband (Mr Zhou)is very good at thinking of and organising expeditions into Chinese culture for me, of which I appreciate very much. Nettie's husband (Mr Zhang) is constantly driving us all around in the car, last weekend he also cooked a fantastic meal for us all, giving me my first Chinese Hotpot experience... and Nettie, well she is there for me all of the time, helping me with anything and everything and is a constant support. I think I am very lucky to have found good friends.

Two Little Drummer Girls

Check this out for cute. This is Carol and Annie banging out a tune on their drums.


and this is them in real time.

In my parcel that arrived from home, Mum sent some advent calenders thinking that Annie and Carol may enjoy them. This is the girls getting their advent calenders yesterday and an explanation of what to do .They were very excited and pleased and Nettie informs me that Carol slept with hers last night :-)