If you were in my shoes for this month, then you would be too! On the bright side, we've been enjoying really nice weather for this time of year ... very similar to last year, how November was like an "Indian summer" in Shanghai and it kept up right until December.
But if you're stuck working, then the nice weather is more of an insult since you can't be outside much to enjoy it. It's really too bad that the busiest times of the year happen to coincide with the brief periods of the nicest weather in the city which take place in October/November also in April/May. Aside from that, Shanghai is too hot in the summer, or too cold in the winter. In fact we're expecting the temperatures to plummet within a week, and it will stay cold until April once that happens.
On this note, the most important part of teaching is that we enjoy two major holiday breaks a year. Summer and winter, baby! Winter break is traditionally when teachers head off to SE Asia, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why. This is the prime time of year where you CAN enjoy the beautiful dry season weather, and it is only a 4-5 hour flight away to the traditional locations of Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia.
This time I've got a plan for Thailand and Burma and it's outlined on the crazyguyonabike website. Only 59 more days to go!
Watch that space for more details on how the trip itself will pan out.
As it turns out, I'm also thinking about summer break. One of the bike journals has captivated my attention on a daily basis, Mr Doug's rendition of "Rolling West Through China" This is the best cycling journal I've seen. His humorous writing style keeps me glued to his blog, even while the students are writing exams and I'm supposed to be supervising them.
When Doug flies back into Shanghai just before Christmas, then the beers are on me.
His trip is amazing in that he is cycling around the western part Sichuan province which is part of historical Tibet but not actually part of the automous region. Some of the views and Himalayan mountain passes he has crossed are absoluely phenomenal. And of course I've been thinking, "Damnit, I'm so jealous and I want to do this too."
It has long been a dram for me to pass through the Himalayas on a bicycle, and espcially to Tibet, but it hasn't happened yet. The lack of time is what makes this so difficult, and I may very well have to spend the entire summer break doing this. Usually I go home to Vancouver during summer, but there may be a way to do this some other time, or cancel altogether. We'll see. Meanwile, winter break trip planning will be the immediate focus, and that's going to involve Burma, to pick up the trip that got aborted last August.
No comments:
Post a Comment