I remember the moment when the realisation struck me. I can't remember exactly when it happened, but I do remember where. It was probably still early on in that first year; I'd come home from work, happy and still excited about being in a different country and living on my own for the first time. I'm lying on my bed on newly bought sheets, staring up at the ceiling ready to go to bed when I realise, I'm home.
It makes me smile.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
on a day off...
"Lin ayi." Goes the refrain. To my ears though, it sounds closer to "Lin hao yi".
She's a young girl, probably late primary or early secondary school age, and without fail in the afternoon, we'll hear her call to be let in. Her voice is always patient, never changing in modulation, tone or emotion. I've never heard it raised in impatience for Lin aiyi is never prompt in letting her in, and have only once heard it quicken in tempo, a verbal oh oh, after calling for almost five minutes without a response.
We never hear an answering call or a returned greeting. The only sign that her calls have been heard is the click of a closing gate and the return of silence.
I've never seen her; she calls from the other side of the opposite block but her voice is unmistakable and it's endearing, this little call from an unknown little girl. We'd grown so familiar with it such that when she didn't call one afternoon, we remarked on it. School holidays, of course.
We're usually sat on the couch in the living room, surfing the web, watching DVDs, enjoying a late lunch, when she starts calling.
"There she goes again," I say, and we both laugh and smile.
The things you hear when you're home on a day off during the week.
She's a young girl, probably late primary or early secondary school age, and without fail in the afternoon, we'll hear her call to be let in. Her voice is always patient, never changing in modulation, tone or emotion. I've never heard it raised in impatience for Lin aiyi is never prompt in letting her in, and have only once heard it quicken in tempo, a verbal oh oh, after calling for almost five minutes without a response.
We never hear an answering call or a returned greeting. The only sign that her calls have been heard is the click of a closing gate and the return of silence.
I've never seen her; she calls from the other side of the opposite block but her voice is unmistakable and it's endearing, this little call from an unknown little girl. We'd grown so familiar with it such that when she didn't call one afternoon, we remarked on it. School holidays, of course.
We're usually sat on the couch in the living room, surfing the web, watching DVDs, enjoying a late lunch, when she starts calling.
"There she goes again," I say, and we both laugh and smile.
The things you hear when you're home on a day off during the week.
Monday, July 4, 2011
how do I miss, let me count the ways...
There were things I didn't like in SH. Of course, there are always things not to like wherever you end you living in the world (even home), but it's the memories of what you liked that are worth keeping.
I'm not sure what it says about me, but I do not miss people. I miss what I do with them, how I feel when I'm with them, the interaction and contact. Likewise, I do not miss things. I miss the emotions and memories linked to objects, the 'why' (why did I buy this?), the 'where' (did I get it in Japan, Prague, or Turkey?), the when.
To distill and clarify, perhaps what I miss are the experiences. That's why I miss places.
The list below are all restaurants. The food is amazing and glorious which is why I kept going back, but it is because the food was that amazing and glorious that I spent a lot of time in most of those places, and that is why I miss them.
Coconut Paradise
- for my last 3 birthdays, the leaving do, and amazing lemongrass tea, green vegetable curry, pad thai and Thai style char-broiled beef.
Blue Frog
- 2 for 1 burger Mondays!, several bitching sessions, oh and the sweet potato fries.
Cha
- cheap and good, and they actually do teh ping right!
Abbey Road
- everything happened here.. birthdays, leaving do-s, de-stressing sessions, sangria (with orange, purr), the one and only spaetzle casserole and who can forget? James. Ah, James, of the really strange Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels accent that sprouted overnight.
The Boxing Cat Brewery
- love the location, the burger, the peanut butter and chocolate cake and the fun
Lotus Land
- it's in Taikang Lu, what more do I have to say? Oh, there is the cosy seating and THE best Indian in the city
rbt
- for the swings! (which I only managed to get on the very last visit) and the drinks (Green barley with kaiten). The de-facto place to go with Ray Ray and Vivian.
Julie's
- for burgers, chocolate cake, the cheese cake, and the always friendly Marcel
Cantina Agave
- sangria and friends
hof & whisk
- for THE best chocolate cakes in the city, fun, laughter and serious conversations
mesa aka the yummy cocktail place (which is unfortunately closed now)
- my last birthday, and the most delicious cocktails in the city. mmm...
... and not forgetting all the amazing XingJiang and Lanzhou La Mian stores all over the city, all visited with friends. Always with friends.
What else have I missed?
I'm not sure what it says about me, but I do not miss people. I miss what I do with them, how I feel when I'm with them, the interaction and contact. Likewise, I do not miss things. I miss the emotions and memories linked to objects, the 'why' (why did I buy this?), the 'where' (did I get it in Japan, Prague, or Turkey?), the when.
To distill and clarify, perhaps what I miss are the experiences. That's why I miss places.
The list below are all restaurants. The food is amazing and glorious which is why I kept going back, but it is because the food was that amazing and glorious that I spent a lot of time in most of those places, and that is why I miss them.
Coconut Paradise
- for my last 3 birthdays, the leaving do, and amazing lemongrass tea, green vegetable curry, pad thai and Thai style char-broiled beef.
Blue Frog
- 2 for 1 burger Mondays!, several bitching sessions, oh and the sweet potato fries.
Cha
- cheap and good, and they actually do teh ping right!
Abbey Road
- everything happened here.. birthdays, leaving do-s, de-stressing sessions, sangria (with orange, purr), the one and only spaetzle casserole and who can forget? James. Ah, James, of the really strange Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels accent that sprouted overnight.
The Boxing Cat Brewery
- love the location, the burger, the peanut butter and chocolate cake and the fun
Lotus Land
- it's in Taikang Lu, what more do I have to say? Oh, there is the cosy seating and THE best Indian in the city
rbt
- for the swings! (which I only managed to get on the very last visit) and the drinks (Green barley with kaiten). The de-facto place to go with Ray Ray and Vivian.
Julie's
- for burgers, chocolate cake, the cheese cake, and the always friendly Marcel
Cantina Agave
- sangria and friends
hof & whisk
- for THE best chocolate cakes in the city, fun, laughter and serious conversations
mesa aka the yummy cocktail place (which is unfortunately closed now)
- my last birthday, and the most delicious cocktails in the city. mmm...
... and not forgetting all the amazing XingJiang and Lanzhou La Mian stores all over the city, all visited with friends. Always with friends.
What else have I missed?
Saturday, July 2, 2011
a tour and other thoughts ...
Walk up the long driveway and as you near the top, two semi-detatched houses come into view. The one we want is on the right. If it's summer, all you can see of the house will be the garage, the front door (painted a dark greenish-blue) and half of the ground floor sitting room window that stretches across the width of the room. You can't see the front bedroom on the first floor because it will be obscured by a tree in vigorous green leaf.
Head up the little stone path that leads to the house. There's no car in the driveway, neither is there one in the garage and there hasn't been one for years. To your left is a little flower patch with vivid purples, bright yellows, subtle pinks and a hint of red. The door has a little golden knocker and swings open easily, the key twisting smoothly in the lock.
Inside you are standing in a hallway that stretches out in front of you leading towards a white accordion door behind which lies the kitchen. Immediately to your right as you close the front door behind you is a tidy little recess that holds a small shoe-rack. Perfect location. To your immediate left is a door, cream coloured, that leads into the sitting room. To the right, beyond the shoe rack is another door leading to a tiny, cosy little watercloset fitted under the stairs. Beyond the toilet is a tall, wooden coat rack.
Going into the door on your left, the sitting room opens out in an unbroken line to your right, merging seamlessly into the dining area and ending in large full-length sliding doors that afford a brilliant view of the garden. On a nice sunny day, sunlight streams in from the front of the house, hitting the carpet and a set of wooden shelves hand-built by a grandfather years ago. Opposite is a small fireplace ornamented with framed family photos and little knick-knacks, beside which is a glorious row of bookshelves, all full. An old but still elegantly functional sofa bed sits right in front of the front window and two comfortable armchairs are positioned, tilted slightly inwards at an angle at opposite ends of the fireplace and bookshelves.
Looking out into the garden there are beautiful roses climbing on the trellis and beyond them are other roses. Beneath this second climbing rose are dark, vivid purple clementis. All bloom at different times of the year. Pots of varying sizes and shapes hold flowers of various colours in the nearest corner to the house. In the middle of the garden is an old apple tree, already there when the house was bought 40 over years ago. It leans to the left and is propped up by a stick, but it still bears apples every year. Over to the right stands a tall, slightly overgrown philadelphus bush which bears large clusters of sweet-smelling white blossoms.
If you go through the second door on the right, you end up in the kitchen, which is dominated by a very practical wooden table and two long benches. Another lovely big window on the left, above the sink, overlooks the garden. To get to the garden, go through a white door with a glass panel directly opposite the door from the dining area and through the door immediately to your left.
Still in the kitchen, back to the sitting room door, the accordion door last seen in the hallway is to your right. Going through that, we head up carpeted stairs to your left. Three small steps up, a small landing, you turn right and up a short flights to stairs. Before the top, you turn right again and with another three small steps you're on the first floor.
The bathroom is directly to your left, all perfectly white tiles, lovely natural light, a white bath and light blue linoleum floor. The airing closet is at right angles to the bathroom and is the first thing you see coming up the stairs.
There are three bedrooms on this level, one, the front bedroom is first and overlooks the front lawn and the street, the view uninterrupted during the winter when the tree in front of the house is bare. The second bedroom lies right beside the first and has a beautiful view of the back garden. You can also see the green playing field behind the house. To get to the third bedroom, by far the smallest, turn right at the top of the stairs and pass the first and second bedrooms. It's long and narrow but the small window at the end allows in more than adequate light.
The entire first floor is illuminated by sunlight let generously through a large panel of glazed glass which runs across the entire length of the wall hugging the stairs. Bath towels hung over the dark wood and metal bannister dry in no time.
We always stay in the first bedroom when we visit if there are no prior guests. I've come to like it and feel comfortable in it. I love the sense of space and natural light allowed in by the huge windows. When I'm there, my toiletries go onto the chest of drawers against the wall (as you come in through the door) and I always have to push back the little wooden cats to make more space. I will then move the round makeup mirror from the lowest of the wooden shelves that line the wall adjacent, to the chest of drawers where it's more suitable for my height.
The two single beds, pushed together, are mismatched but I think that adds to the charm of the room. A low bedside table sits beside the bed closest to the window (which I claimed immediately) and 70s tall reading lamps, in silver, stand on either side of the beds. The central heating radiator runs along the wall below the window and without fail, there are fresh towels hanging on delightful silver curling racks that hook onto the radiator whenever we arrive. Warm towels in winter? Bliss.
A new addition to the room since I was there last is a baby cot in the corner by the window at the foot of one of the single beds. And when the family is over we have to play musical bedrooms in order to accommodate both little ones. The dog ("the goo gurl") sleeps in her basket at the foot of the stairs.
It's fun when everyone is over. The round dining table downstairs must be extended, the chairs in the hallway must be brought in to accommodate everyone, the dog, though quiet and extremely well behaved will sit on feet if you're not careful, asking for attention and the best cutlery are brought out. It's distantly different from what I grew up with and am used to, but I love it. There's a sense of ritual and routine to it all - everyone knows what to do, where things go and I especially love I'm now a little part of it.
Head up the little stone path that leads to the house. There's no car in the driveway, neither is there one in the garage and there hasn't been one for years. To your left is a little flower patch with vivid purples, bright yellows, subtle pinks and a hint of red. The door has a little golden knocker and swings open easily, the key twisting smoothly in the lock.
Inside you are standing in a hallway that stretches out in front of you leading towards a white accordion door behind which lies the kitchen. Immediately to your right as you close the front door behind you is a tidy little recess that holds a small shoe-rack. Perfect location. To your immediate left is a door, cream coloured, that leads into the sitting room. To the right, beyond the shoe rack is another door leading to a tiny, cosy little watercloset fitted under the stairs. Beyond the toilet is a tall, wooden coat rack.
Going into the door on your left, the sitting room opens out in an unbroken line to your right, merging seamlessly into the dining area and ending in large full-length sliding doors that afford a brilliant view of the garden. On a nice sunny day, sunlight streams in from the front of the house, hitting the carpet and a set of wooden shelves hand-built by a grandfather years ago. Opposite is a small fireplace ornamented with framed family photos and little knick-knacks, beside which is a glorious row of bookshelves, all full. An old but still elegantly functional sofa bed sits right in front of the front window and two comfortable armchairs are positioned, tilted slightly inwards at an angle at opposite ends of the fireplace and bookshelves.
Looking out into the garden there are beautiful roses climbing on the trellis and beyond them are other roses. Beneath this second climbing rose are dark, vivid purple clementis. All bloom at different times of the year. Pots of varying sizes and shapes hold flowers of various colours in the nearest corner to the house. In the middle of the garden is an old apple tree, already there when the house was bought 40 over years ago. It leans to the left and is propped up by a stick, but it still bears apples every year. Over to the right stands a tall, slightly overgrown philadelphus bush which bears large clusters of sweet-smelling white blossoms.
If you go through the second door on the right, you end up in the kitchen, which is dominated by a very practical wooden table and two long benches. Another lovely big window on the left, above the sink, overlooks the garden. To get to the garden, go through a white door with a glass panel directly opposite the door from the dining area and through the door immediately to your left.
Still in the kitchen, back to the sitting room door, the accordion door last seen in the hallway is to your right. Going through that, we head up carpeted stairs to your left. Three small steps up, a small landing, you turn right and up a short flights to stairs. Before the top, you turn right again and with another three small steps you're on the first floor.
The bathroom is directly to your left, all perfectly white tiles, lovely natural light, a white bath and light blue linoleum floor. The airing closet is at right angles to the bathroom and is the first thing you see coming up the stairs.
There are three bedrooms on this level, one, the front bedroom is first and overlooks the front lawn and the street, the view uninterrupted during the winter when the tree in front of the house is bare. The second bedroom lies right beside the first and has a beautiful view of the back garden. You can also see the green playing field behind the house. To get to the third bedroom, by far the smallest, turn right at the top of the stairs and pass the first and second bedrooms. It's long and narrow but the small window at the end allows in more than adequate light.
The entire first floor is illuminated by sunlight let generously through a large panel of glazed glass which runs across the entire length of the wall hugging the stairs. Bath towels hung over the dark wood and metal bannister dry in no time.
We always stay in the first bedroom when we visit if there are no prior guests. I've come to like it and feel comfortable in it. I love the sense of space and natural light allowed in by the huge windows. When I'm there, my toiletries go onto the chest of drawers against the wall (as you come in through the door) and I always have to push back the little wooden cats to make more space. I will then move the round makeup mirror from the lowest of the wooden shelves that line the wall adjacent, to the chest of drawers where it's more suitable for my height.
The two single beds, pushed together, are mismatched but I think that adds to the charm of the room. A low bedside table sits beside the bed closest to the window (which I claimed immediately) and 70s tall reading lamps, in silver, stand on either side of the beds. The central heating radiator runs along the wall below the window and without fail, there are fresh towels hanging on delightful silver curling racks that hook onto the radiator whenever we arrive. Warm towels in winter? Bliss.
A new addition to the room since I was there last is a baby cot in the corner by the window at the foot of one of the single beds. And when the family is over we have to play musical bedrooms in order to accommodate both little ones. The dog ("the goo gurl") sleeps in her basket at the foot of the stairs.
It's fun when everyone is over. The round dining table downstairs must be extended, the chairs in the hallway must be brought in to accommodate everyone, the dog, though quiet and extremely well behaved will sit on feet if you're not careful, asking for attention and the best cutlery are brought out. It's distantly different from what I grew up with and am used to, but I love it. There's a sense of ritual and routine to it all - everyone knows what to do, where things go and I especially love I'm now a little part of it.
after the cold
Cold hardiness (n) - the ability of plants to withstand sub-zero temperatures.
Growth slows, leaves are shed, some even die, only to live again when spring comes. Even through the longest winter you'll be surprised by what survives with just a little bit of warmth and watering. Just like friendship.
Growth slows, leaves are shed, some even die, only to live again when spring comes. Even through the longest winter you'll be surprised by what survives with just a little bit of warmth and watering. Just like friendship.
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