Post #5

 

                                                   Traditional woman, massive building
                                                         upheaval in the background.

A snapshot of a day:  At school by 6:30 (I like getting an early start - always have).  My first block - of 4 - is a prep for me so I was able to borrow Susan's scooter and go and get gas for mine.  I brought back 2 2-litre bottles: one for filling up my gas tank and one for spare as the gage is so vague about when one is out of gas, and I didn't want to get caught like that again.  It cost $7 for the 4 litres of gas (two large pop bottles).

I worked the day (well, the 1/2 day - Friday) and kept prepping into the afternoon... at some point during that time I realized I did not have my cell phone/handy/mobile.  I had had it at there school and dropped it earlier (kind boy handed it to me) but then I guess I absentmindedly put it down again.  Anyhow, I knew I was stuck having to wait until Monday morning to really search.  Later, I went off in search of food and as I drove along a cop car went by.  Now, I was in the wrong lane, opposite to him.  He put his lights on and my heart fluttered as the principal has told us that if the cops try to pull us over on our scooters, we should "ignore it".  Jesus, don't make this little jaunt into the nightmare from hell, I thought.  But all was fine, I think he just put it on for the pure power of being able to - we both kept on our merry ways (yeah, the deal is either gas scooters are now illegal, or over a certain cc...it certainly wasn't that I was in his lane).  Anyhow.  That got me to thinking, though.  I was out in the wilds of China with no cell phone (and no phone numbers), so no way to call anyone at the school, should I have had a bit of a bother with the police.  The school secretary had my passport (again) for more paperwork.  Worse, I had just that day taken out the little laminated (yes) card I had made up with the school's address and phone number on it.  So, it would have been a bit tricky to act out "I am a teacher" or "I am a Canadian" or "please call my boss" or ....as the Chinese to this point have been singularly unimaginative in trying to figure out what I might be meaning.  I got to the restaurant, ate, cruised carefully home, and grabbed that little card of info and shoved it back where it belonged.  Monday should see the return of my passport, and, hopefully, my phone.

I'll end with a snap of the only cool thing in the building-nightmare that is Luxu - one of the 2 communities I live near. I love dragons, and he's a beaut!   K