under the weather

I was planning to keep it easy this weekend and stay in my apartment for most of the weekend. I wanted to catch up on some reading, writing, laundry, etc. I spend so little time at “home” that I sometimes feel like a stranger in my own place. Unfortunately, I had no choice as flu-like symptoms are getting the best of me. Somehow my body is telling me to take it easy and slow down. So I’m breaking new sleeping records as I slept most of Saturday. I didn’t know one could sleep so many hours. I’m drinking plenty of fluids (green tea), stuff myself with vitamin C so that by Monday morning, I’m hoping to feel much better. So far no fever yet. I do have a full week of traveling coming up with trips to Guangzhou, Shanghai and Chongqing next week. The weather in Beijing is getting colder and greyer. The winter here seems to be a little different than in North America or Europe. In addition to frigid temperatures, the air is dry and dusty. The coldest month in Beijing is January with average of minus 6-7 degrees Celsius or about 20 degrees Fahrenheit. People and especially cyclists are layering up to stay warm. In the gym I started to notice that most Chinese men are starting to wear long underwear, no luxury if the freezing wind is blowing in your face. I hibernated my bike in late October and solely rely on taxis (or walking) for transportation. When I’m not traveling across the country, I’m still going to the spinning classes 3-4 times a week. I can call myself a regular now and started to get to know a few people. There is Ned, a chubby student from New Jersey that is here to learn Chinese and lately shows up a few times a week ; there is Chil, a designer working for Lenovo from New Zealand but with Chinese parents and a few Korean girls from California here to learn Chinese as well. Most of the times, I’m still the only white guy in the room and by far the oldest. Although with grey hair and 40 years of age, I can still kick it and teach those young students a few things. Chris will know what I’m talking about. Last week, I approached one of the teachers and asked him to e-mail me one of the songs I got to like but I’m not sure if he understood what I wanted. Although I asked Ned to translate, even Ned was not sure if his Chinese was adequate to convey the request. It was a slow song in a Tibetan-like language, perfect to wind down at the end of the class. I gave him my business card but I’m still waiting to receive that e-mail. I might have to try again. Right now, I'm going to sleep a little more. To be continued.