My how time has flown by…back nearly a month from the states and it seems like yesterday I was breathing clean air, understanding the barista at Starbucks and driving on roads where rules are followed.
In the 4 weeks since returning to GZ, a lot has been going on. Birthdays and festivals mainly. My birthday was first with a lovely little party 4 days after getting back to China. Many friends came over, we ate,
we drank and we watched tennis. This is what a 33 year old’s birthday looks like.
This was also coinciding with the Lunar New Year, or Chinese New Year. And this was probably the best way to come back into GZ…a city of over 14 million shrinking in size to about 5 million. Seems like a lot still, but the whole city was empty. This included shops and restaurants with no staff so no service so no opening hours. But suited us just fine as we sat around most days, enjoying the nice weather and few friends that stuck around for the week of holiday. I am sad to admit that I didn’t take many pictures during this time. Maybe jet-lag, maybe laziness, but I wish I would have captured to enormous amount of decoration that this city embraced. Red is lucky for the Chinese, therefore red was everywhere. Mandarin trees also are symbolic of something, so every place of business had a little, or big, tree with bright orange fruits hanging off it (apparently they are no good to eat though, such a waste). More info about Chinese New Year! This is also the time of the red envelopes. Check out the link to learn more. You’ll probably end up knowing more than we do! At least we have 2 more rounds of CNY to participate, enjoy and learn from…or travel during.
Once my birthday passed and we got through CNY and the city started to buzz again, we were planning Joel’s birthday. For those of you that know Joel, you know he loves karaoke. Here, we have KTV. It is pretty awesome. You hire a room, get everything delivered to you and sing for hours and hours. 8pm-130am we spent in one room, about 15 of us, singing our hearts out and dancing the night away. I think it may have been the best birthday party Joel has ever had (sorry Joel’s mum, I’m sure his childhood parties were pretty awesome too).
And now that festivities have come and gone and we’ve gotten our parties out of the way, we are back to the daily routine of working and training and enjoying our foster dog. Joel is working the same long hours, but seems to be enjoying this line of work he’s involved in, even catching a few work trips in the meantime. We’re both attempting to get going with our running training as our marathon (Joel) and half-marathon (me) is just under 3 months away. Our Great Wall Marathon is going to be a challenge but a once in a life time experience that will be amazing. I am still involved in some coaching here on the side. My fitness has vastly improved and I am going to undertake another K2Fit Challenge in about 2 weeks. Poor Joel will go from noodles for lunch every day to a kale salad with boiled chicken. (Not really, we have amazing recipes to choose from so we eat pretty well). Our dog is still a handful but a fun handful. We are now ready to find him a forever home. He’s been with us about 5 months and he’s adjusted very well and while he still has issues he will do great in a home that is patient and loving. And if there are any readers out there that know of a good home for him, don’t be shy because we can send him anywhere! Plus he’s trained in English, not really a bilingual dog set up for a Chinese speaking owner.
And that is our life, up to date. I plan on being more regular with my posts and sharing some of the more interesting things I experience here. Honestly, it never ends. Every day there is something new to marvel at or be grossed out by. Never a dull day in GZ!
A Ginger in GZ 