my Valentine

Lucky me had a dozen red roses delivered this Thursday. Somebody loves me! The sender didn't reveal their identity, but I have a good idea who it was. The office lady was really excited for me as she rushed over with the flowers when I arrived at work. I couldn't understand a word she was saying, but she had a big smile on her face, so I'm pretty sure she wasn't angry or anything.

Traditional house

Today I walked around town with my friend HC, who has come to visit me from the olympic city. I'm in the process of deciding which part of town to look for a place to live, so walking around and checking out the city has become my current preoccupation.

we went to an area of old housing that has been renovated and pedestrianised and now houses a selection of mostly western bars resaurantsand shops, we went , not because i want to live there, but because we wanted to have a coffee and visit the museum, where you can walk round one of the old style local houses, stuffed full of gorgeous antiques.

now I feel a bit ill, so am taking a rest before we go out for dinner.

New Years Eve

On New years eve I met up with my friends (presently I have about 3 friends here! - not bad going really) and we were lucky enough to have front row seats at an in-promptu firework display, thanks to a kitchen full of chefs, who appeared from a door in the wall beside the bar we were in, and set off lots of bangers in the street with great excitement, and then 15 minutes later dissapeared again into the door in the wall. The funniest part was that they all kept their chefs hats on, while running around lighting the very short fuses and dashing to take cover before the big bangs. They were having so much fun, and it was really entertaining.

This was not the only fireworks display in town, as you can imagine. There were bangs and crashes all over town all evening.

We made our way to a restaurant up the street, along with 100 or so others for a New Years meal. It was interesting, we met a few people, and then on to a nightclub. The nightclub was, well, a night club. lots to drink, a bit of dancing etc etc. I actually was not overly excited by the club, I mean it was good and enjoyable, but, not every week thank you..... well- maybe i'm just being a bit Bah Humbug. After all it was only last week that I found myself dancing on the bar in some latino place in front of all my new colleagues. I'm still wondering whether that was a clever thing to do or not...

perhaps i should give myself a rest for a while!

New Year's Eve

Today is New Years eve, and Tonight I'm going out for dinner in some kind of huge event. Not quite sure how that works, but I will find out later no doubt!

not having much luck posting pictures directly onto the blog, since the uploader always stops halfway ( very sus) so you'll just have to make do with my links to the photo albums for the moment!

happy birthday to me

Yay! It was my birthday on Monday, Luckily I'm on Holiday from work this week, because the office is closed for the New Year Celebrations.

I was delivered a huge bunch of flowers from my Parents, which was a wonderful surprise, and they make my room smell delicious. Boring old hotel suite rooms, aren't always the most fragrant places to live, especially ones with disposable underpants and sachets of lubricant for use by the bedside.

In the evening I was invited to JV's house for Champagne along with friends SM and LNP, and afterwards we all went out for a delicious meal to a Restaurant called M. We drank lots of delicious wine and got very loud, before leaving to drink more in a nearby bar, which was extremely empty on account of the fact that it was a Monday night and lots of people go away for the holidays.

pictures

My New Friends

OK, they are not really very talkative, and they can't come out for a drink or anything, but they have made me smile since I have been here!

Shanghai - snowmen

sunshine Sunday

I was woken by the sun shining through my window, FINALLY! what a relief. I hopped in a cab with my new colleague who is also new here, and we headed directly downtown to view the sights. It may be sunny, but it still remains cold as ice, so I am very glad I packed my big puffa coat.

we mingled with the rest of the tourists avoiding the street salesman offering us watches and handbags, and walked up the central shopping street, heading for a funky moroccan bar where we had a bit of lunch. I had a big big smile on my face today, the sun really cheered me up, and I'm happy to be here.

Yesterday I got my Teach-yourself language kit out, and started on my pronunciation. I hope nobody over heard me as I sat there in my room repeating all the foreign sounds from the cd! I'm determined to master a bit of this language, from my experience in Sausageland, I know that speaking some of the local lingo can seriously improve your enjoyment of a place. Lets see how it goes...!

extreme climates

The last three weeks have whizzed past in a whirlwind of packing, travelling, and generally having a rather exciting time. I think I shall write seperate pieces about it all, because it is rather diverse. In short, I've packed up my life, had a beautiful sunny and hot week in Thailand, Diving and relaxing, followed by an emotional farewell in Bangkok airport, and now here I am in my new home city under 2 inches of snow, freezing cold, and the whole country is in a pre-holiday frenzy as the CNY approaches and they are going to visit family.

I arrived Last Sunday, and am now installed in "Sun Shine International serviced appartments" as a temporary measure.My suitcases, however did not arrive. I'd sent them on from London,before I left, to avoid carrying them all the way to Thailand. So I have spent the first week wearing an interesting collection of 'beachwear' layered with as many teeshirts and tops to keep warm! Luckily my cases arrived on Friday to save the day.

What to name my new home? Well, I would use it's real name, but i don't need to, since anyone reading this actually knows where I am. The name of the city means "City By The Sea" so that is what I shall call it.

Snow is very unusual here, I think the last time it snowed like this was 20m years ago ( it gets longer every time i speak to someone about it...) and they are utterly ill-equipped for it. No grit, no clearing, nothing. the airport has shut down, the roads are a quagmire of freezing slush, and all the taxi's are hiding because they don't want to crash their cars. For a newcomer who speaks no language and has no clue where she is, it's all rather strange, not to mention dehabilitating. I am confined to a small area that I can walk within, being careful not to skid and fall over in the snow.

I am Tired from my first week in the Office here, getting to know my teams of colleagues, and just taking it all in. This morning I have found a global cafe and got myself online, which is quite a relief, as anyone who knows me will know that I do have something of a addiction to the Internet.