Blue skies, rolling green hills and the kindness of strangers
I spent a few days – including my birthday – in a neighbouring province, visiting local government departments and animal farms. To spend your birthday alone, away from your family, friends and beloved, in a strange city in a foreign country can be a confronting experience if you’re used to, well, *not* being alone on your birthday. I was delighted and overwhelmed by the outpouring of kind thoughts and well wishes from my online peeps (the paper here calls them ‘netizens’) – I’ve never received so many notifications from Facebook ever! The Chinese government even momentarily unblocked it so I could access FB on my iPhone, rather than VPN’ing in on work computer – birthday miracle! The people I spent my day with – 2 colleagues (that I don’t know all that well) and 4 strangers, were so kind and sweet, even taking me out for a birthday dinner where I got to pick ALL the dishes (mabodofu!).
And that wasn’t even the best bit! An animal lover, I got to spend two days visiting two goat farms and a cattle farm. I am not sure what I was expecting, but I was so impressed with the quality of the establishments and the evident health and happy nature of the animals I saw. The farms and practices were on par with anything you’d see in Australia, and the kids and calves sooooo cute! The countryside we visited was breathtaking, and so far from the China I had so far experienced and expected.
Love, in person
My darling BF visited for a week. Best. Week. Ever. I love that in 9 hours, he flew across an ocean to visit me here. I love that I was able to share this amazing, crazy, confronting, challenging, surprising and astonishingly beautiful country with him. I arranged a surprise trip for us while he was here – for our birthdays. A recommendation from a friend, to visit a romantic, scenic, stunning part of the country. After our 1 hour flight, we both started unravelling about an hour in our 2.5hour drive to our destination. My surprise getaway was turning into a potential disaster. The chit-chat we’d enjoyed became short, stroppy sentences about a) how long it was taking and b) how the windy roads were making us ill. But then, we arrived and it was everything promised and more. We had the best, best, BEST time exploring and just being together. So grateful for time to reconnect, recharge and relax with my man.
A change is as good as a holiday
Right before my darling arrived – literally 12 hours before – I moved from my old, noisy apartment to a gorgeous, light, spacious apartment about 3km away. I am actually able to sleep, I get peace – heaven!
My new view, so green and lush and inviting!
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