My October Holiday 2008

Hi everyone!

The weather has cooled off significantly in the past few weeks. I still get surprised by how fast the seasons change here! Unfortunately, there is still no word as to when our hot water will come back on. Big sigh.

On a better note, the October Holiday has been and gone and now I’m counting the days til I arrive in VANCOUVER!! I spent the first few days of the holiday in Beijing, then a day at home in Langfang, then 4 days in Zhuhai. Here are some hilights from my holiday week!

Beijing

Shopping spree – China stuff requested by friends I’ll see in Vancouver.
New glasses – broke the old ones, and in addition to getting them repaired, got some funky new ones!
Hanging out with Joe – a really good long-time friend I hadn’t see in ages.
Hanging out with the Sparkman family (who graciously gave me a place to stay one night).
Hanging out at Jungle Java – cafe in Tian Tong Yuan. Word of advice – the chocolate cheesecake is heavenly!!
Lanlan – my take away from Jungle Java.

Introducing Lanlan

Let me explain that one. Lanlan is a one year old cat I just adopted. He lived with the Jungle Java crew for 6 months but they were looking for a new home for him, so he came back to Langfang with me! We couldn’t find a cat box so he went in a Jenny Lou’s bag with a towel! There was some worry that he wouldn’t like the car trip, but as soon as we got in he curled up and went to sleep (in his bag, against my leg) and stayed there the whole time! He’s a gorgeous kitty, super soft white fur with golden-tabby patches.

I was a little worried about how Mark and Lanlan would get along, but I’m sure Mark gets lonely when I’m away at work all day (or in Beijing on weekends) so I figured it’d work out. There was some hissing and growling at the start, but by the second day Lanlan was following Mark around everywhere (which just seemed to annoy Mark to start with) and when I got back from Zhuhai they seemed quite happy. They have a definite big/little brother thing happening. They even curl up together on the same blanket! I can’t tell whether Mark just looks bigger/older/wiser in comparison to Lanlan, or if he’s actually started acting different now that he has a little brother to educate/tolerate…

Streets of Zhuhai

Zhuhai trip

Warm weather – my last dose before the long Beijing winter takes hold.
Hanging out with Jo, Bruce, and their families. It was really fun! I met Jo about 4 years ago in the Wudaokou group, but I hadn’t seen her since before she and Bruce started dating – was wonderful to catch up, hang out etc.
Visit to Macau – it was really fun. I got to play tourist for a change! Plus I got four stamps in my passport in as many hours…
THE WEDDING!!!!
Hanging out – lots of time spending lying around reading, listening to music, cross stiching, and chatting. A perfect holiday!