We have five school days off to celebrate October 1, National Day. The word was seven days, but because we have to use next weekend to make up some of the classes, it is really only five days. October 1 was the day Mao declared the new nation — People’s Republic of China. The year? I keep thinking 1949, but it could have been 1950. I could look it up, and so could you, dear reader.
For the Chinese, a holiday means lots of fireworks, but not necessarily days off work. The banks for example, were open. The market proceeded as usual.
For myself, I spent the day in bed, not to luxuriate, but to recover from a nasty head cold. I’m not over it yet, though it has descended to my chest. In the past two years, I can’t remember having anything like it. I guess I’m meeting a virus new to me. In the month we’ve all been here, we’ve taken turns being sick, including the young man upstairs. At all times, one of us has been “down.”
Our good news is that some new teachers are coming this week and next, so we should have just slightly lighter teaching loads. Let us hope that these two adjust without meeting that virus.
It’s considerably cooler the last few days and it has been continually raining. The air is clean now outside, and we have gotten an air purifier for the inside. I was well enough today to do the week’s laundry—we’ll see how long it takes to dry, hanging there on the balcony.
At home, I do appreciate my clothes dryer, but here I have to admit there is something wonderful about that fresh air smell the clothes have when they’ve been hanging outside. It reminds me of my childhood.