After a few chilly days of only 14 degrees, today we are back up to the mid twenties which is perfect timing as we have 3 days off for to celebrate the mid-autumn moon festival. Unfortunately that also means we have to work some weekend days to catch up 2 of the days off (it is a Chinese thing) and it implies Autumn is here, which is such a short season, it will very quickly be Winter!
The last two weeks were busy -we had the official launch of the project i have spent the last 5 months setting up, including developing a website (www.ciyuan.bsr.org), and organizing a big conference with international speakers flying in. Anyway, I am hoping to be spending less time doing marketing materials, websites, event logistics and planning in the next few months as the project focuses on more meaningful things, and a couple of smaller projects start as well.
China continues to get in the intenational news, it seems, more and more often, even though I thought this would not be possible; from now having the second biggest economy to the world's longest (70km) traffic jam (twice) and even to the number of new cars per day on the streets of Beijing (1,900 now, because the previous average of 1,000 evidently was not enough to satisfy the middle classes here). Meanwhile at work we organized a half-day cycling trip for us all out in the suburbs of Beijing which was very nice, though due to time pressures (and distance, it was almost 80km) most of the girls (though i hate to be sexist, but it was mostly girls) ended up taking the bus for some of the last few stretches. Evidently our team needs to practice long-distance cycling more often!
When there is beautiful warm weather, clear blue skies, and no work, life seems wonderful. Sadly this is not always the case, but it happens -and the views from our apartment over to the skyscrapers a few miles away and the lake in the middle of our community make it tempting to not even go out and just relax. Then again, on other days, we play football in the smog or rain and struggle to cycle to work through hordes of traffic, cyclists, tuk-tuks and pedestrians. Cycling to work is marvelous -incredibly fast compared to any other form, including the subway, and it so rarely rains that is is comfortable too. It is so rare to cycle to work in the UK, but i would recommend it... even if it feels like it is a long way; several miles, it still may be quicker than the subway, healthier, cheaper and more enjoyable (and less cramped). I even read once that is only rained around 20 times in the UK during rush hour in a whole year, though I am not sure if that is actually true.
Next week is the final week of the 5-a-side football season and both my teams are in mid-league, so we might not finish in the bottom two for the first time in too long to admit!
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