The other day, waiting to cross the road at the main gate of the university, we hear a voice behind. “Do you know where I can find turmeric?” I turn around, and there is this man in a green mask pulled halfway across his face. “Turmeric?” I ask. “Maybe you can try asking at any […]
It’s been almost a week since I came back from Emei Shan. My legs still ache and quiver like jelly when I see steps or stairs of any kind. But this week, I have had to climb steps of a different kind. Monday saw us open Chinese lessons in the B1 level. This was decided […]
It is around 7:30 when Mr Lin, the tracksuit Red Bull energy bar, knocks on our door. He is already ready to leave, they are taking the bus down. Vikl and Ren Tao groan…and so do we. It is barely light outside, but the summit beckons. I think, rather foolishly, that the summit must be […]
After the frustration of day before, it was 7 40AM when we set off from Wuxiangang Parking lot. The students we met warn us that to climb the summit on foot is ‘dangerous.’ “It’s very cold up there,” they say. Take the bus, they urge. “Oh well, we are crazy, ” I laugh. Sigh. I […]
I sit here in my room with the temperature slowly warming up. Spring is almost here even though it snowed in Beijing yesterday, and many parts of Tibet and Mongolia expect heavy snowfall over the next week. But not in Chengdu. On Wednesday, when I left the university for Xinnanmen Bus Station, I didn’t know […]
I am back from an exhilarating and excruciatingly painful journey to Emei Shan. Trip report of that will come shortly, but first I must go back a week. Last Sunday, I went to Tianfu Square, which is the center of Chengdu. I had mentioned then that the Square was just crawling with cops. It seemed […]
Finally, after a few days of seeing just Birdy, I get to meet a few of the other foreigners here. Just around the corner of the university gates are a few restaurants. Many of them are run by Muslims. Probably because Xinjiang Province is close by. They are quite distinctive from Han Chinese. You can […]
That’s Carrefour in Chinese. A short 1-km walk from the university gates, and there it was. It being a Monday, there was not much of a crowd. Our purpose in walking here was to find a towel, or maojin as it is called in Chinese. A bath towel, if you please. What I like about […]
Ah, I have spent the last two weeks (has it been that long since I wrote here?) being ill. I have been afflicted with a strange bug that doctors have taken two tests to find out and now still require another third one before they find out what it is. So I wait. And now, […]