Spring Fever

Hi all!

Just a quick hello from us to you

as we continue to live out our lives

in this country of the squat loo.

We've just recently been gifted with the presence of a great friend of ours - Renae, all the way from Adelaide, South Australia.

Renee had a blast in Beijing,

To sum it up - shopping, shopping, shopping.

Michelle the guide-cum-bargain-buddy,

Made it easy and fun - no fuddy-duddy.

Beijing's beauties did it all

Nails, Massages, pedicures, malls.

With 8 days and no time to waste,

Clothes, jewelry and shoes filled Renae's case.

Tibetan, Thai, Japanese, Chinese, Italian, and Cadbury

Food of all sorts - Mmmmmm....more than plenty.

Decked out with cards to finish the days off

We played and drank...won and...lost.

Spring in the air and spring in our steps

It was a week we Aussies in China won't forget.

Yes, winter has given way to spring here in China, and within a matter of weeks the lakes and rivers have gone from frozen to un-frozen, and the days are becoming quite bearable. No more beanies, scarfs, gloves and layers of clothing to accompany every journey out the front door.

But winter was fun while it lasted. It was great to see snow falling, ice cities (see a few blogs below), people skating on the lakes, and throwing snow balls. So different from winter in OZ. What's more, it never rained during winter. It was a dry as dry can be. We'd wake up halfway through the night needing a drink! But both winter and now into the spring, we're seeing more blue sky days than before, and that's enough to lift anyone's spirits here.

I'm continuing to teach English full-time, as well as 2 nights a week, and Michelle continues to go to and from Australia every day (so that the Chinese can go to and from Australia!).
By the way we're happy and sad to announce that we're coming back to OZ in July this year. Happy, because we get to see your faces once more, and sad because we've kinda grown attached to this wacky and wonderful country. So yes, we'll miss the Olympics, but get to follow the Australian coverage of it on telly back home. Go Aussies Go!

(Apparently it's good for the body to have a good swim in the icy waters of a frozen lake)

This coming Easter weekend we're spoiling ourselves, and heading to the 'Hawaii of the Orient' - Sanya, on the island of Hainan in the South of China (go ahead - Google Earth it and see it for yourselves). So stayed tuned for the next blog where we boast of sun, surf and coconuts.

This is China

Dig it.