End November? I can’t believe it!
Friday, November 24th, 2006
It’s been an interesting month – some good, some bad. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the used bicycle I bought some months ago. I use it to explore areas around my university campus; I have discovered some wonderful spots, as you can see from these pictures. Another thing I have noted is that most bare walls facing the streets are covered in hand-painted pictures and advertisements. Manual labour in China is super cheap, so paying someone to cover a block-long wall facing the street, with handpainted artwork is very common. But, I must be the only one who actually stops and takes pictures of it! I think it’s sad that so many artistically-gifted people here are allocated such menial tasks that pay so little – these same individuals would be considered ‘artists’ in the western world! I should add that these are just temporary ‘walls’; we use chain-link fences in the west to block off access to construction sites.
Our university had its two-day SPORTS DAY this week. But they sure don’t run them like back home. The students here have been practicing dance moves, kung-fu, karate, drumming – you name it, for weeks now. The reason – the opening ceremonies are practically like watching the Olympics! I can’t believe the work they all went to, but it was certainly appreciated by me. Check out the photos – Most of my students, 300+ of them, participated in some capacity – volunteering, performing, or competing. It’s cold and rainy here now, but thankfully the rain remained ‘light’ for the two-day event, rather than becoming a heavy deluge like we have experienced lately.
Now, for the bad news. Within a 48-hour timespan this week, the following happened to me: My bathroom light burnt out, my TV stopped working, I couldn’t access the internet on my computer…. You’d think it would stop at three, right?! Oh no – someone STOLE MY BICYCLE! I still can’t believe it! Now, bicycle thefts are quite common, but I had two bicycle locks on my bike, plus I had locked it to a pole. And, there were other bikes newer than mine, as well as older, in the same area. What’s with that anyway?! At the time of this blog, I am pleased to say that everything has been fixed, with the exception of replacing my bicycle. I will take care of that soon. It’s hard to know just what to buy – I mean they stole my ‘used’ bicycle! So, should I buy a new one, or maybe even ‘steal’ an old one? Hard to decide – wish me luck!
carolh452003