Fortnight in, fortnight out, four weeks away

Many parts of the New Zealand is in the grip of a heatwave, which is apparently defined as when you have 5 consecutive days over the average maximum temperature. This morning had a touch of Guangzhou to it. Waking up in sweat. The outside temperature was already 20 degrees at 6am, which wasn't so bad when you're outside with a breeze but isn't so nice inside. Fortunately I got out early, to walk not to run.

Running has been off the agenda as my left knee isn't keen on running. It's disappointing but I have had plenty to pre-occupy myself with. Would I have been able to survive this busy period while also getting up at 5am to run? Probably not. In this "inter-fitness" period I've also launched myself into books. After finishing The Deer and the Cauldron, I read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, which was an interesting little tale. I head back to Chinese literature with a short Louis Cha story, The White Horse Neighs in the West Wind. Now I'm reading Wild Swans, which is probably the pick of all that I've read recently. It chronicles the life of a woman's grandmother's life, mother's life and eventually her own life in China throughout the 20th century. To say that China's twentieth century was rather topsy-turvy is an understatement and to read a personal perspective of it is extraordinary.

After a busy first two weeks of the school year, the third was a bit of a relief. I only had one big day of work, yesterday, 13 hours... but it was a good cause. I fixed a lot of things. My senior teachers are both on board; we're looking at the projects ahead and they're soon going to be ready for my absence, which is just two weeks away now. Thank goodness there are only 8 more work days to go before our flight. And then it's almost a month in China. And then it's eating, drinking and sweating some more.