Chairman Mao founded the so-named People’s Republic of China on October 1st, 1949, making the announcement from the gate at Tiananmen Square that has held his illustrious portrait for the past few decades and has been seen in pictures the world over. Thanks to this action, we have the coming week off from work here, as National Day has afforded us a chance to relax and catch our breath. The break is most welcome, and I am anticipating a quiet week away from loud Chinese students. My plans include a jaunt to Hong Kong tonight where I will finally set eyes on one of the most famous skylines on earth and stay a night before I come back to Shenzhen. The rest of the the week I will be traveling out of the country, spending time in Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. More to come on this next week, with pictures, I assure you.

For now, I have settled into a nice rhythm with regards to teaching and am at peace with my now-stable schedule. The students seem more comfortable with me as a teacher and less afraid, which is both a plus and minus, though mostly the effects of this change have been positive in the classroom. One was quite worried I would forget him over the holiday and insisted on hugging me. A little strange. A few weeks back Andrew and I made an ascent of Wu Tong Mountain, a hill of about 3600 feet to the east of the neighborhood. The path is, like all things here, full of people as the stairs climb up the steep ridgeline, switching back only at one point along the hike. By the time we got to the top, I thought I was ready to die and my heart was beating hard, as it was quite the steep trek and one that I am not keen to repeat for a little while. I was happy to pay twice as much for cold water atop the mountain, and the view was a nice reward for the effort, along with the winds that quickly brought me down to a tolerable heat level. On a clear day I hear it is possible to see as far as Macau, which is 30-plus miles off in the distance. Though overcast, our view was still quite good.

Another area that has proven fruitful (and less strenuous) for exploration has been Donghu Reservoir, which as the name would indicate is a man-made body of water damming some river that has been reduced to a trickle. The Chinese don’t seem to work with nature so much as against it, seeing it as a battle of some type. The landscape however is nice, and hikes can be had into the hills overlooking the city. Last weekend I managed a full ten minutes without seeing another person. In China, such a thing is near-impossible in the city, and it was quite pleasant. The forest and fresh air did me well, and on a whole the day was one of the more memorable I have had since arriving in Shenzhen. Near the dam is a small park area where over-sized paddleboats can be rented out or open pits for barbecues. I encountered a man in a shop playing some type of musical instrument I can only describe as a horizontal harp. Sound it produced was soothing though, I will go back to talk this man when I speak more Chinese; as of now, my words are still few and insufficient for a good conversation.

Time at school passes quicker as we have made sort-of friends with the teachers whom we share offices with, though we are again hindered here by linguistic barriers. Despite this, Andrew and I both have been invited to participate in athletics with the male teachers, and it has been quite fun. I found that as far as soccer goes, there are some very good technical players who handle the ball quite well, and on a good day I am perhaps average out on the field as I do my best to marshal the defense and yell out to my teammates though only a few understand me. Basketball has been a different story. Anyone who has played with me at home knows mediocre would be generous for describing my skills. Here, I am pretty damn good, especially down low, and I enjoy a height advantage I haven’t felt in years. Our fellow teachers have been much more impressed with our basketball abilities than with soccer, though they are far better conditioned than I so that after 30-40 minutes of playing I am ready for a rest. This heat causes me to wilt.

Lastly we have made (and are soon to lose) a new Chinese friend. Going to Chinese class by bus a couple weeks back, Andrew was pulled into conversation with a young man. Ultimately it was discovered that he owns a restaurant here in Lian Tang, not more than 20 minutes by foot from our apartments, so dutifully we headed out that weekend to see our new amigo. We were at the restaurant nearly six hours, being fed a smorgasbord of different foods, all of which were fantastic, even the fried sardines that are eaten whole, bones, head, tail, and all. Despite our best efforts to pay (including subsequent visits), we have been almost always rebuffed, and Gavin’s hospitality and friendliness have been one of the best parts of this journey in China so far. The downside to this new friendship is that this week he is leaving for the UK to study his post graduate, so our hope is to keep the lines of communication open despite this. My photo album has been updated with a few new pictures, so if you like, take a look.