Fruit to Eat

I don't know about you, but I feel that any weblo post that opens with a picture of the great Robinson gains immediately validity.

So life has been as good as ever here in Shanghai, in case you were wondering. I'm thinking that maybe after a couple of years of me saying so on my weblo, you my reader will be able to assume as much without having to read my new entries.

That's not to say that life is devoid of challenges, but I honestly forget anything bad that might happen in the face of the beauty of this world. Admittedly, I've had a hard time today dealing with the fact that a 10-year stealing from someone's purse in the middle of a negligent crowd is a confirmation of the "mind your own business" attitude of the masses. But with the delicious new fruit that I cannot name in my tummy, and the ten minutes I spent on the street with a student from one my my classes, I can quickly refocus my consciousness on the good that I can do myself in this life, and as Radiohead says, "You can try the best you can/ You can try the best you can/ The best you can is good enough."

That said, I really wanted to tell you about my week-long vacation...

It turns out I didn't miss my students as much as I had expected (although my return to class this week has been a joyous and welcome event). Instead, I jumped right into the vacation with loads and loads of activities to keep me busy. Actually, the activities could be summarized in one word: socializing. Maybe there's a better word... It's amazing how many wonderful people I've met here. Almost everyone I've met is wonderful, actually.

The most vacation-like activity was my travel to Hangzhou, with Javad and Abby. This is supposedly one of the most beautiful cities in China, and people from all over go there to visit the West Lake, temples, mountains, the night market, etc. Although I did bring my camera, I decided to rebel and take no pictures. In short, I feel picture-taking takes away a part of my experience. The bulk of our time was spent having delightful philosophical and spiritual conversations over a meal or over coffee. We also hiked a little, did some sight-seeing, and spent lots of time at the amazing night market (this is where I bought the pants and hat from the previous weblo entry).

For some reason, this weblo entry feels uninteresting... Experiences pile up, and it becomes difficult to convey to my friends what I am living. I recently had a conversation about this with my sister. I spent four months last year living with her and her family. Over the course of said months, I felt that we were able to catch up to a great extent with all of the amazing journeys we had taken separately. Now, some four months after leaving her, it feels like of all that catching up already has to be done all over again!

Today Jacqui got two mosquito bites. Bad omen. Even worse is that Rainbow has left NewBeat. Well, she'll be around on Sundays, which helps, but it's still a big change for me: half of my classes were taught with her. Jacqueline and Michelle have been doing a great job since they started several weeks ago. We'll be getting another Chinese teacher soon, I hear. In the fall we might have a much larger faculty, as I hear we are really expanding our school! Times are a-changing! Tomorrow will especially odd, since Rainbow and I usually go off between classes to pick up some jen bin (my favorite Shanghai street food) from the nearby market.

Please excuse me - I have some fruit to eat!