Guye my Guangzhou classmate went home to start a business! and we had a hoot getting to the PO to send back our excess baggage (see photo of borrowed recycling tricycle!)
...and today was my last day in 2nd 4-week stint in neurology where I was feeding needles to the doctor and often given the odd point or two to needle - not so many as the Chinese students but I tried not to get a complex. But at the end of today the students were asking me which points the needles were in so I've definitely come a long way.
Although the patients and other students were a little wary of me at the start there are now a couple of patients who'd call out XiNing and get me to be in charge of handing the needles to Dr Cheng or ask me to 'xing zhen' twiddle the needles to get 'de qi' - that buzzy electric needle sensation. That's fine but when there's 30+ needles it can get a little tiring!
Thankfully Cheng Guan Yu the Dr's son helped to translate and although at times I thought the students all hated me or ignored me today was a nice ending and they enjoyed the Chinese equivalent to shortbread I bought them as a mid-morning treat.
Ahh refreshed after my long-awaited swim - they shut the pool for 2 days so my start the week swim turned into a small cycle ride round the forrest. This was a more relaxing, briefer ride than my Sat afternoon sortie to the Children's park. This turned our to be a run down Disney horror Chinese styley so I cycled round the perimeter and then ended up at the Russian St Sophia's church - still shut - before getting several sets of directions off locals back to Zhongyiyao Daxue (Chinese medicine herbs uni). It was an exhilarating ride thro crazy streets and I managed to find a few hours rain free.
The other big event was cooking Malaysian curry!! The wife of one of the Malaysian students/lecturers always chats to me in the park in the mornings and brought me back some curry packets. So yesterday I braved the local market and bought 1kg of chicken breasts (£1.80 a kg same price as the more prized legs!) and cooked up a storm in the 7th floor kitchen. In fact I've got 3 frozen dinners and another meal tonight. Just as well as even the takeaway people are off on holiday! It means I go foraging further afield for my supper and there's so much of Harbin and just the local area yet to explore.
I've finally found a nice tv to watch olympics - the pool lobby - and the grey morning by the Thames reflects the grey Harbin afternoon. I think I'm slowly being wheened back into British summer/autumn.
My other tv source, the noodle & jiaozi (dumpling) shop has proved unreliable - the Women's volleyball start offered false hope as it was followed by rifle shooting and weight lifting, then a b-rate Kung Fu/horror film when the kids took over.
So I had to resort to reading up on tongue diagnosis and atrophy disease! Good that I didn't keep the tv in my room as I'd be up all hours!
Well thank goodness team GB finally got some 'Jin pai' - 2 golds yesterday in rowing and cycling - I can show my face in campus again. The locals do concede that there are a lot if people in China - accounting for the 15 medals and counting!!!
Internet has been typically unreliable!
ONE DAY LATER - Sat 4 August
So I'm left to my own devices and by now I should know that the only thing you can depend upon in Harbin is the unexpected!!
I didn't set my alarm for 4 and strolled out to the park at 5.45!! My laoshi looked surprised but my soul feels refreshed. I went straight to my breakaway spot on the path and started 40 mins Zhanzhuang (standing qigong) with my Insight Timer app which has a lovely gong. So now I can add to the matinal cacophony!!
Then through much resistance I went through my old Chen XiaoWang reeling and 3 x LaoJia. The first time was a mental struggle but by the 3rd I was sweating and had drawn a crowd - of 2. Juan my little Yunan taiji friend was back from home and she and another if the most popular and expensive taiji old man laoshi's students came up and we chatted about mediation and forms. I wish my Chinese were better!! So tonight after refining to the primordial chaos fold I'll meet up with Juan for the long-awaited Tui shou - push hands.
It's taiji day and it's Harbin inspired lesson plans for Morley college today!
..and I'll nip out for a much needed local massage. I'll let them loose on my feet first and see how it is first!
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