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| Little girl with a red balloon-tired from a long day at the park |
It wasn't a real weekend, just a sort of teaser. In China, missed workdays are nearly always accounted for. We are about to have a four-day weekend for the Moon Festival. However, this means we need to make up class days, leaving us to put in hours on Sunday. With a packed schedule last week and Saturday filled with errands, I really didn't feel up for it. Thankfully, our boss relented to our grumbling and let us leave a few hours early in the afternoon, after administering the writing final. I left my papers on the desk ungraded and practically sprinted out the door into the warm, beautiful sunshine.
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| My very own rock! Nature! (well, sort of) |
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| Catching tadpoles |
After a sweltering summer, things finally seemed to have calmed down and reached bearable temperatures again. C and I headed for Xujiahui Park, one of my favorites in the city. I like Xujiahui's greenery, its proximity to our apartment (about a 20 minute walk down Hengshan Rd.), and it's relaxed, community feel. The ponds are especially lovely. Kids collect tadpoles, young men play basketball, couples old and young stroll arm and arm. There are runners, roller skaters, and the usual clusters of men playing majhong.
Shanghai's a big, busy city and it's never really possible to get away from people. It is however, possible to find an area where life slows down just a little bit and the traffic is blocked by walls of greenery.
