Back into the Swing of things

Photos

After Mum and Dad left on the Wednesday it was (sadly) time to return to normality. On the Friday night with the temperature plummeting and having been out of contact with my friends for awhile, I went to have hotpot with my friend Pip, but stupidly took us to a very fancy place and ordered chicken gizzards. Bless Pip, she was very sweet but it really was revolting even to look at. My first true failure on the ordering front! But because you cook hotpot at your own pace it's one of the few kinds of restaurants that they don't throw you out after 20 mins, so we achieved our aim of sitting and catching up for a few hours. It was also Mike's last night in China so despite the fact I was supposed to go to bed early, I went out and, to my great sadness, fared him well over a a drink or two.

The reason I was supposed to go to bed early that night was because I had my interview with the reporter from "That's Beijing" on Saturday morning. First thing Saturday morning in fact, because I stupidly volunteered to take the first slot at 9:30. I know that's not particularly early, but you're talking to the girl who barely gets into work at that time and lives a 10minute bike ride away. And I found it a bit of a struggle to be coherent enough to be witty and charming for the interview, and also well-presented for the photographs. The article is for their feel-good December issue about people "working for causes bigger than themselves" as the journalist put it. I had to spend a lot of time running through all the things I would say because I'll have a paragraph or two at most since I'm only one of ten people. I needed to be succinct and quotable, so I got up early and by the end of my second cup of coffee I was feeling somewhat ready. Choosing what to wear was a much harder task though! I know, I know, that's really dumb but give me a break, I'm a girl. That crap matters to me :)

Anyway, the interview went fine and the journalist was really nice. He was an Aussie from Canberra no less so we discussed the great divide between North- and South-siders, and how everyone bags out Canberra without actually ever spending any real time there. Having brushed up on the details of my projects and messages, I had a mild panic when he explained that the article was more about the individual than their organisation. I wasn't expecting that! He asked me about why I got into what I do (because I was accepted?), my previous work experience in the field (er, none?) and my motivation for doing the job (cause I think it's important?). I stumbled through somehow and then was subjected my first "shoot", with explicit instructions not to smile; then a little bit of smiling; smile please; and, finally, showing teeth. Luckily, I hadn't eaten breakfast so I didn't have to worry about any food stuck in my teeth at least.

Afterwards I had a much needed brunch at a trendy new brunch place (sorry Grandma's) with friends, then shopping in a nearby area I had discovered when wandering with Mum and Dad. Sunday was dedicated Tash-Time and back to Grandma's we went. The resident cat who normally sits in Tash's lap was greatly perturbed by the presence of a little grey Schnauzer pup who was getting all the attention, much to the cat's disgust. I was happy though, as it was great to be round a dog that looked clean enough to actually risk touching. In the afternoon we headed down to Tash's area so I could see her new pad, which is a fantastic flat to the East of the Temple of Heaven. She has a bakery with a coffee shop above it literally next door so we ruminated over coffee and, in my case, ice cream because my throat was sore as all hell. As it turned out, that was only the beginning of my malady and I proceeded to develop a truly magnificent Beijing cold and cough (though I absolutely refused to spit in public even at my sickest). It was exacerbated by the deadly pollution that settled on the capital. It made me understand why people spit all the time, and why when they do it's so solid it almost cements the cracks in the pavement. It was the worst pollution I have experienced in my time here and, as always, it happened exactly in Beijing Time (not quite the worst possible moment, but almost) when I was just getting really sick. It was disgusting, some of the things that came from my body were almost their own lifeform.

But, that didn't stop me getting to my language classes, or Swing dance which had just started a new cycle of beginners class. So I went from Loser to "Oh, I remember doing this!", and knew what I was supposed to be doing for once. That was two weeks ago however, and I'm still sick though I'm finally on the mend. It was a frustrating time as I don't really get sick at home, and this really knocked me off my feet for awhile. But, there's no rest for the wicked as they say and too many things to do in Beijing to take time off so as always, the adventures continue...