The Past Month Or So…
In case you hadn’t noticed, I’ve neglected to write my weekly round-ups for the last month or so.Sorry about that. It’s now been one month since I returned from my holiday trip to the US and I have to admit it has been a difficult adjustment this time around. Linyi feels grayer, colder, dirtier and a whole lot less exciting then she has previously. I guess that’s Winter for you. My first morning back at work, I mixed up my usual Nescafe instant coffee only to find it was far more horrid than I had remembered. (I brought back some of Starbucks’ new Via instant coffee and am now completely ruined – more on my instant coffee woes in an upcoming post.) I literally wanted to cry. I had been rationing my Via supply but had to give in and I ended up drinking three cups that day.
A couple of fun weekend outings, such as our Yi Shui skiing trip and weekend in Qufu have helped to assuage the homecoming blues, but being hit with that nasty stomach bug last Sunday really wiped me out. I have felt fatigued and not quite right all week.
Hopefully this will all be solved with yet another vacation… That’s right, it is that time of the year again – Spring Festival/Chinese New Year! The holiday officially takes place this year on February 14th, but I am off from February 8th to the 22nd. Ivan and I weighed all of our potential vacation options: Borneo, Laos, Philippines… and somehow or other decided this would be a good time to visit Harbin, in far northern China, to see the Ice Festival. Did I mention it will be somewhere between -30C and -15C? Yeah, I’m gonna have to break down and buy some long johns. We should be heading up to Beijing on Monday and on to Harbin sometime later in the week. Once again we haven’t made serious concrete plans.
Now that I have made a lame attempt at “rounding up,” I will put myself to bed and hope I feel miraculously well tomorrow.
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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi, I whish you spend good time in your new vacations. Actually you spend at least half of the year in vacation dont you…? lol. Dont be blue, things will be better after those good days travelling around, you will come back with more energies.
Take care and enjoy.
Big, big hug
You take good care of yourself!
I wanted to go to Harbin the last time I was in China, but was unable to make it. Hope you have a great time and take lots of pictures . . . if your camera doesn’t freeze.
Well, the camera didn’t freeze, but I sure did!
Sounds like you have a case of the “re-entry blahs”, or that icky, quasi-depressed feeling about your adopted home. I had that too upon return to Iceland after a fabulous Christmas holiday spent in the Midwest catching up with friends, family, and….good food ; ‘ ) I hope you’re able to snap out of it — I think it takes some time! How difficult would it be for friends or family in the US to ship you a package of coffee beans from Starbucks? Is that a pretty convoluted process in China with the postal system and customs? It’s funny how little things — like food or drink — can lift the spirits or make us nostalgic…
.-= Jessica´s last blog ..I whacked you with a stick, you owe me a cream puff =-.
Yes, it is definitely the re-entry blahs!
It will get better… Thanks! As for the coffee, I can get beans from the Starbucks in the bigger Chinese cities, like Shanghai and Beijing, so little trips out of Linyi now and then are a must!