Move, Inauguration, and New Year
Apologies, apologies- I've been shamefully neglectful of this blog in the past two weeks. My primary excuse has been moving- last week I moved into a new apartment after two years of living on the 8th floor of an old-fashioned walk-up near the university. My new place, located next to the northern train station, is on the 26th floor and boasts a view of the entire Kunming skyline. It also faces south, maximizing winter sunshine which, in southerly Kunming, is warm and pleasant. I am looking forward to weekend mornings with a book and cup of coffee while sitting on the balcony. Much of my free time has been spent buying furniture for the new place, though a sofa is still conspicuously absent.
My secondary excuse for not blogging is food poisoning, which I contracted last week after eating an unfortunate salad at the Prague Cafe. I spent the better part of three days lying in bed, too sick to do much of anything but think. Afterwards, I could work and go out and do things but still felt fatigued and listless; an awful feeling. Just today do I feel like my old self again, ten days after eating the salad of doom.
That aside, here I am. What better way to resume blogging, then, but via self-promotion? For those of you living in or near Kunming, an article I wrote on cycling through the valleys of central Yunnan has been published by Yunnan Magazine, with photographs by Jeff. Jeff also has an interesting piece in the front of the magazine on the origins of Kunming art, something that I suspect few of the beer-swilling local laowai know much about at all. There are several other cool bits in there as well, including articles on mountain climbing. Once again, I'm reminded what an amazingly diverse and interesting province Yunnan is and how lucky I am to live here. When (if?) my piece goes online, I'll link to it of course.
Speaking of cycling, I'll be off again over the next few days on a new trip, this time headed toward the warm Vietnamese border area. Traveling during holiday times in China is always a zoo as everyone in the country makes a mad dash for home. Traveling abroad is a good option but not cheap; I nearly gagged when I saw the price of flights to Laos. A bike trip is simply the best way to go about it; get out of the city, get some exercise, avoid the crowds, spend little money, and still feel like you've had a holiday. Perfect.
The year of the ox commences shortly; I'll be on a friend's balcony watching the fireworks show, which should really go off at around midnight on Monday the 25th. For those of you who will celebrate your 12th birthday this year-or a multiple thereof- this is your year.
Finally, what more can be said of the inauguration? I give you words, then, rather than constructed phrases. Relief, hope, exhileration, anxiety, excitement, historic, cool. His job won't be easy, though.
