Bed

There is nothing like your bed when not feeling 100%. We were up at normal time this morning and decided to take Lucy for a walk before it got too hot. We did a circuit of 2.5 kms, I was urging Lucy not to stop everywhere cause the sun was out and could feel the day getting hotter.

Sitting down and thinking about what I needed/wanted to get done and Warren says to me that he was going back to bed, I said that I had been thinking the same thing.

No phones no tablets, we just climbed into bed and I am not sure who was asleep first. Warren has a lung infection and is on antibiotics and I feel as though I am getting a cold but an hour and a half in bed did wonders for me so hopefully my cold/flu whatever wont progress any further.

Lamb chops yum!

We ate well while we were away, the only meal we had at home was breakfast as there was no cooking facilities in the apartment. Had the choice of five canteens on campus or a few small ones across the road or there was Pizza hut, KFC, maccas or burger king further away. We did frequent pizza hut a bit as their menu is not just pizzas.

My menu of choice to cook when we first got home was lamb chops, nothing to beat them but we dont have them very often eating more chicken or pork.

Lamb chop, sausage and bacon with salad, I did pinch four very small pieces of Warrens potato and I made a lchf cheese sauce to go over all of it. It went down very well and I havent felt the need to eat yet today.

Pizza is on the agenda, home made pizza which is a cheese crust. I have bits and pieces to use up and a pizza will do that for sure.

Packing for home

College kids are preparing to return home. My helper Michael told me that he was going home for 45 days, he is in his second year of college and used to meet me and take me to the other high school once a week. This involved organizing ubers to take us and pick us up. Michael also had to check in at the school with his id each week and report to the office. Me? I would just wander in after Michael and make my way to the classroom while Michael had to be okayed to get in and out.

Kids are ferrying everything home, wrapping it securely and putting it through the courier system so they dont need to carry too much themselves.

We were also preparing and packing for home, but limited to one suitcase each plus a computer bag and back pack. We fitted it all in was surprised at the final weights, Warren's was 23.1 he had very little in his back pack, mine was 15.5 and my computer/laptop was in the computer bag which did get a bit heavy carrying it around the airport.

Socks

I hate wearing socks and usually go without. I guess the main I dont like them is the tops seem to be too tight. Nothing to do with me having fat ankles of course!
I did bring two pairs with me just in case it got cold enough to need them. Well, of curse it did, who was I trying to kid. I bought a couple of pairs of silk socks and there fine but quite light and therefore not very warm.

At the campus book store ,they had on offer socks, pretty cheap and I thought they would be good to wear in the apartment to help keep my feet warm. I only packed three pairs od shoes, well one of shoes and two pair of boots.

Well, I have been amazed, these socks are really comfortable and I can wear them with my boots and definitely no cold feet. I do think that they might be bed socks but I dont carr, my feet have not been cold. I bought some more as I am sure that I will be able to use them ln our UK walk and at 7 rmb, cheap as well.

Interesting walk

Surprisingly the weather is getting a little warmer and it is really nice to go out, still need a jacket though but my gloves have gone in the bin.

Se

Seen from one bridge up to the mountains.

Who put a stone stairway in the middle of a park? I did notice yesterday though that I went up much quicker than usual. There was a woman practising her drumming on the other side of the bridge. I knew she was there as the sound was bouncong off the buildings the other side of the canal. I have seen her there at other times as well.

I did intend to walk further but wearing a jacket and thick socks, I was starting to get a bit warm so took the shorter route home which lead past this little guy. He lives across the road from where i was walking but came over to say hello as he and his dad often see us. They both live or at least hang out near a small shop just out the North gate. r

Lunch for a less than a Dollar

Yep, that was how much my lunch cost me today, beats the tin of baked beans that I had yesterday for lunch. Warren was out today and I set out for a walk and picked up lunch to eat on the way. I usually only buy it when I am kn my own as he cant eat it.

It being like a flat bread with alittle meat and fermented vegetable mixed through jt and cooked over hot coals. When we were in Nanchang, that was my normal lunch.

This is the tub that they are cooked in. He rolls the flour mixture out, its about a handful and then attached it to the sides of the tub and allows to cook for a couple of minutes.

This morning when I got there, it was just before school finished for lunch and he had several already cooked. He put up four fingers to tell me the price and indicated for me to take one. Then he nodded to the side, ha, it was the till, I had a five yuan note out so I put the note jn and took a coin. It was good to see that while he is cooking he doesnt touch the money. A student comes in to help once finished school and she does all the money changing. Not much cash changes hand anyway as students pay using their phones, except high school students who are not allowed to have phones.
They use a qr code and then show the vendor that they have paid.

Helpful people

We were returning from the capital city this morning and after an early walk at the lake side, we waved down a taxi and went to the south bus station. We could have taken the subway/metro but our back packs were already starting heavier than when we left on Friday and we had only purchased a couple of things. A taxi would deliver us right outside whereas the subway would require several minutes of walking.

Purchased the tickets, even though we were only going to the next smaller city, fifty minutes away, we had to show both of our passports and then again when we went into the waiting area as well as having our bags scanned and a body scan like at the International airports. Warren had a bottle of mango juice with him and had to take a drink from it to show that it was alright, after he had drunk some he was able to go ahead.

Very few on the bus and we made good time, pulling into the guest/long distance bus station just under the fifty minutes. We headed for the smaller buses to catch one to school. Darn, the no 30 bus shut his doors when we were 20 metres away but I had seen a 63 when we were pulling jn and yes, he was still there and we were able to get on that with a couple of minutes to spare.

There were two women already on the bus and they both had what looked to be very big fish in large plastic bags. I caught their eye and asked by means kf some Chinese and some sign language, were they fish? And got confimation that they were indeed fish.
A conversation started and between us and them and the bus driver it was established that we were Shaoxingren, living here and yes we were english teachers and where we were teaching.  When they got off, we got a cheery wave and then we could see that the fish was dried and had been stretched out, they would be preparing for big feasts for Chinese new year in a few weeks.

Travelling along, the bus stopped at the west gate of the school and when we didnt make a move to get off tge driver looked around and told us in Chinese that it was our stop, we wanted to get off at the next one, near the south gate. By then several people were urging us to get off there. Our Chinese doesnt run to saying No we want the next stop so we thanked everyone and got off. It meant that we had a walk of about 1400 metres as opposed to an 800 metre walk but we knew they were trying to be helpful.fish