Hot

The weather has been startlingly clear and hot for the past week or so - last night after soccer I went with friends to eat barbecue and we were shocked at being able to see the moon - I'd almost forgotten what it looked like. Blue skies almost every day and bright, bright sun - we are almost wishing for a nice layer of pollution to give us some relief. We do get a good rain regularly too though.

A friend starred in a TV commercial (they needed a foreign face) and got paid in spa treatment gift certificates. She gave me a gift card for a very $$$ back and face treatment, and the back treatment unexpectedly included scraping and cupping. Didn't hurt but I had the telltale scraping tracks on my back for a couple of days. (The bruising results from breaking the surface blood vessels, which is believed to release toxins.) My massage guy has been trying to convince me to get cupping done, but when I ask why all he says is that it releases moisture.

Many friends are leaving for the summer - the city empties of foreigners this time of year. I am done with all classes for a while, but into the next cycle of looking for work.

Outdoor Eating

Some shao kao from the weekend. I was looking forward to the fish so much I didn't notice that it was being grilled over an old chemical bucket.



The grill people were very good at their trade.



Much beer is being drunk. First time I've seen pitchers and straws...

Gan'sTripe Noodles

"Great noodles, but they are a little stingy with the intestine", grouses one online review of this locally famed noodle shop. I was finally in the area to try the place last weekend.



I would agree with the reviewer on both points. I was disappointed not to be there when the noodles were being made because it's very interesting to watch.



Menu board - you can get plain beef if your tastes don't run to offal, but the broth will be made from tripe anyway. The 15 rmb 'jie zi' is a highly prized knotlike section of intestine.

Living Water Park (Huo Shui Gong Yuan)

With the frequency of updates over the past few weeks readers seem to expect regular signs of life. Here are some pcitures of a local park that I took last month.

It is an ecological park with water running through it and explanations of how each stage benefits the water. The kids are playing in it at any stage that was available though. A few of them had these squirt gun toys.



Towards the end of the park was an enormous bird house with doves.

Still OK. Still not the last earthquake post.

I was at friends' for supper tonight when they started getting Skype pings from their home country - the news of the latest aftershock had broken. (My friends' apartment had enormous cracks and chunks missing in their walls, apparently like many in their complex.) Today's aftershock was entirely the doing of my roommate, who was on the phone with her family at the time and who had just chirped to her parents that the seismic activity had ceased and that life was very boring. Today's aftershock was 5.5-6.4 depending on which article you read, but definitely was strong enough to feel and sent people out to the streets. The epicentre was quite a ways away from the city though.

Tianfu Square, May 21

Today is the final official day of mourning. When China says 'no fun' it means what it says - movie theatres are closed, my gym was closed, and even entertainment websites like tudou.com were partially or totally blocked. I met some of my students for coffee at the Starbucks beside Tianfu Square in the evening and afterwards while crossing the square to get a bus home I passed vehement displays of grief and nationalism beside silent groups sitting with lit candles. Here is a group marching around the edge of the square:


Another group towards the north side of the square with M*o looking on:



A group of students:



Another, more subdued group of students.

Nine Days Later

The tarp and tent towns are looking more and more civilized, with people hanging clothes out and chilling in the afternoons.

This one is in the middle of the street in front of a hospital, and appears to be an extension of the hospital.