Vitamin D Deficiencies hit Suzhou

After what seemed like a lent without sun, Mother Nature blessed Suzhou with two full days of sun and low pollution last weekend.

We bought hammocks and went to Yangcheng Peninsula.

This weekend wasn't as nice, but we still managed to get in some sun and some questionably polluted air at Lion's Garden in Suzhou.

Can we talk about the selfie stick for a minute?

I mean just look how committed this woman is! She's got the water bottle and selfie stick in hand while trekking through these UNESCO Heritage rocks. 

Then there was this guy. I saw him use the selfie stick for non-selfies, and I was so confused! 

Photo of the day goes to Anwer-no selfie-stick required

Sleeveless tops to absorb maximum Vitamin D

High of 82 predicted for this week. Where did spring go? 

Life after Woodstock.

When you leave a place like Woodstock, you know that you never actually leave. One of my friends randomly met a Woodstock staff alumni on a work trip once during my first year at WS, and this is what he told her. "We couldn't wait to leave. Then we left, and my wife would have dreams of Woodstock. She'd wake up in the middle of the night and say, 'We have to go back.'"

Working at Woodstock consumes you entirely. When friends come to visit, they make quick and slightly annoyed observations about how much you talk about Woodstock. We talk about monkeys, mold, low pay, being cold, the crazy people we work with, monkeys, dogs, students, bun omelettes, and monkeys. When you live on a mountain that feels like a non-stop family reunion, it can get to you. You're surrounded with the drama and politics that a place so small often has. You're trying to survive in elements that are far from your comfort zone, and you are far from home. My time at Woodstock was not easy, but it was one of the most important experiences of my life.

On that same mountain of crazy, I met the love of my life. I made friends that struggled through and came out on the other side with me. I taught students that have confirmed my purpose in this troubled world. I was pushed to my limits physically, mentally, and emotionally. We left Woodstock for many reasons. Professionally and personally, it seemed like the right time to go.

Going back to visit Woodstock was a bizarre experience. Everything was so familiar. It was a place that I had been so purposeful in leaving and coming back seemed like admitting I shouldn't have left. Who leaves a place with such beauty? I was welcomed with chai and a fire at 7 AM by my amazing neighbors who continue to carry on the Oakland Getters name. I was swarmed with hugs and greetings from my students. It was all hailstorms and daisies. Then I began to chat with some of the staff, and I was soon reminded of why I left. Things seem to be the same or worse in most areas of professional concern at the school. People wanted to know about my new school. What's life like on the other side? I made some quick comparisons for the curious:

1. I really like my new school.
2. I am learning and growing professionally.
3. I make more money.
4. I don't love China or my city.
5. I don't love the pollution.
6. My life is easier.
7. My life is too easy.

For some people, easy is good. Easy is nice. Being back on the mountain, I was reminded of how difficult it is to walk to school through hail and rain. Taking a shower is a task that involves too many steps. Everything is more laborious and pioneer-esque. And I miss that sometimes. But not all of the time.

Woodstock will always hold a special place in my heart. I have made more dear friends at Woodstock than any other place or time in my life. It's home... and someday, maybe, we'll go home again.

Pumping up your tires.

My favorite part of riding a bicycle is when I've been riding around for awhile on low tires. I finally get my bike to the sport shop and have them pump them up for me. Suddenly, biking is the easiest thing ever. I go further. I go faster. I feel like an Olympian out there!

It's kind of like life. Every now and then we get a bit low and end up working twice as hard to go half the distance. Why do we do this? Why do we insist on driving on low tires? Part of the reason is because we are too lazy. Even worse, some of us don't even know that our tires are low. We are totally unaware to the signs and feedback from our bodies when they require maintenance. I'm not saying that you should go to the doctor and ask them to give you some botox and a pacemaker, but you can pump your tires in other ways.

Anwer has been in India for about ten days already because his Chinese New Year holiday is longer than mine. We've been separated by oceans on various occasions since the beginning of our relationship, but this was different. This was my first time being alone in China. I spent some time rediscovering Shannon time. I had to be more purposeful in my pursuits. I took a bicycle journey to Yangcheng Peninsula. I got lost. I found my way. I pretended I could read Chinese signs. I spent time skyping friends and reconnecting with friends from long ago. This did mean I was up later than usual because of time zone differences, but I still felt refreshed and inspired.





Keep your tires at optimal pressure.

A proper bike lane with kilometer markers, lanes, and rule following.

Why haven't I visited here before?

I didn't get peed on by a monkey.

In a day that rivaled the time I got peed on by a monkey and glittered in the same twelve hours, today sucked.

First period began with biathlon training with my 9th graders. Things are as fun as you can imagine with a group of 9th graders in the pool that range from great swimmers to doggy-paddlers. I had everyone get out of the pool to talk about something and have them watch some other swimmers demonstrate. One girl was sitting and said she was dizzy. Another girl mentions that this happens to her often. As I was talking to the girl, asking her questions, she passes out in my arms. Her eyes glaze over, and I think she's about to have a seizure. It was the scariest 15 seconds of my life as I shouted her name to get her to wake up. It felt like minutes had passed before she woke up. While this is happening, I'm also dealing with an extremely different level of emergency recognition from my Chinese lifeguards. I try to tell them to call the nurse, an ambulance, and they tell a student, who translates it for me, that they are not allowed to call.

Luckily, I had another teacher in the pool and called him over to help. A student had already gone to get the nurse, but this was before the girl passed out, so the level of emergency was at a much lower level when the student left. The girl woke up, but she couldn't see or hear well. I was so scared she was going to pass out again. I just kept talking to her and waiting for someone with more life saving skills to come. Time seemed to be moving much slower, and I had no idea what my first aid training had taught me to do in this situation. I was trying to summon people who knew more than me, but it wasn't working. The nurse came, and everything was beginning to be more under control. It was scary. I was distraught.

A couple classes later, I had gathered a sense of calm and was less likely to yell at children when this happened: I called over my 6th grade students to sit next to a badminton court so I could demonstrate something. As I was talking to a couple students, a student literally slid into my legs from behind me. (He was apparently trying to just slide in and sit, but I was moving as he was sliding.) I did a bunch of nascar maneuvers to not fall or crush the student. I ended up banging my knee up in the process. I did not kill this student.

THEN! I came back to my office and was drinking from my water bottle, and I began to choke on a piece of plastic. A small tooth-size piece of plastic was lodged in my throat. Is this real life? Is someone trying to murder me?  

Suzhou Winter

Coming to Suzhou after being in Minnesota was a laugh in winter's face. It was 60 degrees when I landed in Shanghai. What a joke. When the semester began again, my Southern Hemisphere colleagues were talking about how cold it was. Puh-leez. It was mid 40's. MID 40's!! What a bunch of cracker jacks.

Here's what's happening in this chilling winter:

This old man isn't letting winter slow him and his roller blades down.

It's strawberry season. $1/pound-give or take depending on size and quality of the strawberry.

More weird animals are place randomly around malls.
Anwer looks really cold, but it's only because we drove the E-bike. 

Oh hey, Mr. Walton!

What society is.

It's hard to tell, but these cars are lined up for car washes... from the swampy area nearby.
They bring their own buckets and supplies and just get it done.

Yankee Candle showed up to help with the odor issues in greater China.

It did snow very briefly the other day. I prayed really hard for a snow day, but no such luck.

Running in the dark.

I have always been a morning person. As an attempt at New Year Resolutions and beginning my training for the Great Wall Half-Marathon in May, I have been running before school. The weather has been ideal--low 40s. I only run when the pollution is below 150, which has been 3 days this week. I leave around 5:10 AM, and it's dark, really dark, sometimes creepy dark. This is what it looks like:

I almost always have the right of way. 

I like the mornings because it is quiet. There is little to no traffic. I don't have to wait at stoplights as much. It can be a bit eerie at times though. One of my first runs, I made the mistake of running by the lake and a canal that continues to my house. Some of the lights there were not on, and it was scary. Luckily, I don't have to fear monkeys here, but the occasional cat is enough to push the blood pressure through the roof. 

It reminds me of a really dumb run I took in Madison one time. I was training for the Indianapolis Marathon, and it was summer time. It was so hot all the time. I decided to run after work one day and thought the arboretum was a suitable place because it forced me to run through and not cut distance. Well, it got dark when I was in there, and there weren't any lights. The surrounding trees created a darkness that I had forgotten existed while living the city life. It was so scary and very dangerous. There were a few cars that were driving through. The scariest part was when an equally dumb cyclist was pedaling through and did not have a light either. We literally almost collided. 

Now, I stick to the streets with lights and try to avoid collisions. I listen to my podcasts and enjoy the occasional, "HELLOOOO!" from men on electric scooters. 

Things to love about America

Trampolining with Lisa

Fresh Snow

Everything about this photo

Traveling in winter

College Football

Gma and Kiki

Gas <$2

Driving through a town that puts snow in the middle of the road: Silver Lake