Qiu tian

Autumn. Not very many trees with colorful leaves here in Xian, but they do have gingko trees (at least that's what they call them) that have bright yellow leaves before they fall. Trees like maples that have orange or red leaves are pretty much non-existent.

Got the heat turned on yesterday (one day ahead of schedule!). It is now comfortable in the apartment and not necessary to wear a jacket. If it's like last year's apartment, it takes about a week before the heat seems to settle down. Heat is not cheap in China (especially by Chinese standards). You have to pay for your 4 months of heat up front (it's on until March 15) and they base your amount on the size of your apartment and other factors of which I have no idea. The heating fee for my apartment is over 2300 RMB, or over $360. You cannot control the heat once it's on - there are no thermostats - if it's still too cold you sweater up, if it's too hot you open the windows (and let in the pollution). Great system!

Well, I was hoping to get to some hot springs this weekend, but all the Chinese teachers had to go to school on Saturday and take a teaching test. They make them do this once a year to show they are qualified to be teachers. From what they all say, it's a huge joke but the Chinese like their routines. Anyways, these hot springs are in an area where there is absolutely no English-speaking going on, so without translators I wouldn't attempt it. So now we're shooting to go in 2 weeks. Keeping fingers crossed...

So on Saturday night some of us went to a new German style restaurant that just recently opened. It is nicely furnished and the waiters and waitresses wear german costumes that look interesting on a chinese person... I went for a bowl of goulash and some pork schnitzel. It was surprisingly good. I'd probably go back again but it's a good cab ride away and on the expensive side...

Tomorrow we start a new schedule at school. I will now teach 24 periods a week, up from 22. I'm not too excited. The new math teacher they were finally able to recruit is supposed to arrive by the end of the week. He won't offer any relief to us though because they've simply added several new classes that he'll be teaching. He's from Kenya - he'll be the only black guy in a 5-mile radius. Certainly a novelty for the students...

It's been a quiet day. Good way to usher in the 60's I suppose. I was surprised when I went to my computer this morning and there was Google wishing me a happy birthday:

We all get our 15 minutes of fame!