was really not enamored with the place. Now that we are beginning to
see more of the rest of the country, I am beginning to appreciate
Chongqing more and more.
Take, for example, the grey skies and humidity: keeps me from getting
too homesick from those cloud blanket PNW winters and helps keep my
skin and nasal passages moisturized. Or the constant 45-50 F indoor
temperatures: putting on a few extra layers inside with relative
comfort outside sure beats the frozen toes, ears, and hands every time
we stepped outside in Xi'an last weekend. Of course there is also the
fact that Chongqing is not a particular tourist destination but is
still a large Chinese transit hub: we get all the cool stuff to
ourselves and frequent, relatively cheap trains and buses.
"The above stated facts of the preceding statements lead me to
conclude," (stole that line from my students' final exam essays) that
despite having a lovely new years weekend in Xian, what I am really
looking forward to in 2011 is a new start in our adopted Chinese
hometown. And a nice vacation to Vietnam to enjoy the sunshine and non-
Chinese flavors probably won't hurt either.
~ Katie (written on my ipod while I was crabby, trying to sleep in a top 3rd class bunk on the night train back to Chongqing. The sooner China makes smoking illegal on trains - not just confined to the "smoking area" between the cars - the better for my train moods and sinuses. Xi'an was actually really awesome, but I do find myself looking forward to heading back to my Chongqing home these days.)
No comments:
Post a Comment