Passion

I managed to wake up at 3am, a whole 59 minutes after I fell asleep. Well that was ok, I'd just fall asleep again...at least that was the plan but it didn't quite work out and by 5am I'd decided I'd see it out and catch up after lunch. So I went for a jog at 6.30 and managed a slow hour around the guangchang a few times. More and more people are starting to do this and I had the idea of starting a Park Run here. Except by 9am it would be too hot so it would have to be a 7.30am start at the latest. I wonder how many people would really turn up.

Back at home it would be hours before anyone else was up so I didn't bother getting breakfast from the doujiang place, and instead had some of yesterday's unfinished bbq that was in the fridge. Normally this gets thrown away, so I was happy for the chance not to waste it, even if getting through several spicy duck tongues at 8am felt slightly weird. Later the rest of them got up and Tan said she was taking the kids swimming, and this time it actually happened and they were to meet friends and eat there (I've learnt that "swimming" is the optional part, and generally the excuse for a meet-up). So at midday, after my own bite to eat, I allowed myself a little drink to ease to flight into a morpheus grip and didn't arise till the kids got back at 5pm. They were quite sunburnt and I shuddered to think of the trouble I'd have been in had it been me who'd taken them out. Then suddenly it was 5.30pm and I realised I'd dropped off again, so this time I forced myself to grab a coffee to make my awakeness stick.

We had no invitations or plans for tea so we went downstairs to the jiao zi place, but Xixi didn't want any and chose a pancake-wrapped sausage thing with some lettuce instead from next door. It was not the most nutritious of meals but it fed them. The kids got some soft drinks from the other next door but I decided I would have some fruit, and asked the woman what she had. Of course she pointed to the menu and of course I was too proud to say I couldn't understand it, so looked at it in a way that I hoped made me look like I was deciding which of the various options I should choose. I wanted something new for a change, which meant something that I didn't understand (i.e. not watermelon, mango, or, well basically anything with "melon" on the end). So I started mouthing what I could read from 百香果 - bǎi something guǒ...white something fruit...I had a clue...now I realised the second character is one of the characters in Hong Kong (Xiānggǎng) but I couldn't remember which one...but it would be bǎi xiāng guǒ or bǎi gǎng guǒ, white fragrant fruit, or white harbour fruit. I guessed the former but couldn't work out which actual fruit it would be even if I could pronounce it. As I was mouthing it out the woman must have seen the troubles I was going through, or just grown impatient (which is unlikely here) and just shouted out "bǎixiāngguǒ!" and I looked at her without thinking and said yes I'd like one please! I had to watch as she opened the fridge and brought out a couple of brownish small-apple-sized things that she broke apart, revealing yellowy fleshy seeds inside and finally it dawned on me it was passionfruit. It took a few more seconds before it finally clicked that this was a Chinesisation of the English and had little to no bearing on white fragrance. Sometimes you can over-analyse things. It was delicious though.


Tan was off to Tian Dong and not back till tomorrow so I had the kids to myself for the next 24 hours or so, so we went for a drive down to the river just to have a walk. They didn't seem to get that going for a walk can be something in itself...you don't need to buy something or jump on a castle...or maybe that's one of the differences between being a kid and being "grown up". So I tried to explain that just by looking around and seeing and hearing things they don't get in the UK is an experience in itself. Like going to the bridge that has no road on the other side, and hasn't had for years...wondering why it's like that, and what you'd do if you could...I think that got them thinking a little.... And I still wonder why there is no road after the bridge..fat chance I'll get a good answer....

On the bridge with only one road, with Xixi who recently bought a mask in order to look like a "savage"...

I took them to the guangchang later to bounce off the energy of sweet drinks, and afterwards they both decided they'd like to sleep at Waipo's so I got them showered and ready and took them over around 10pm. At least that freed me up to see Yang Haiwei and his family a bit later as they would have been a bit bored with us chatting, and me having to speak English to his elder son. Despite having kept my diary clear for tomorrow (as he'd invited us to visit to his family's home in Po Zao) he declared that we would not now be going as his son was too busy. Just like that. Nothing gets planned more than a few hours ahead here, but it still surprises me. Instead we were to have a family meal at his place as we have done for the last few years.

I had promised to see my mate Hua the other night so around 1am I popped round to his shopped as he'd been messaging me for the last hour and I'd promised to make it over. I told Haiwei and he said he'd come too, which he did. There were about four blokes sitting at a table outside the shop and all greeted me heartily when I turned up on my trusty steed. It was more of the same in terms of gan beis though Haiwei's wife took them home after half an hour and we continued on for a bit longer but I was getting really tired despite my recent siesta so called it a day at 2am.

A Wu meal

We've been here long enough that jetlag shouldn't be an issue but that was my excuse for another 6am wake-up. Today I couldn't be bothered with a run, so I languished in bed until the guilt tripped me into going to play ping pong. I was duly beaten but I sweated more than enough to justify my time and got back in time to get the kids' breakfast. It's becoming as predictable as it has been in previous years, except they no longer want dou jiang. So I end up buying four eggs, one you tiao, and a couple of yumi bing and a portion of jiao zi if they have them and it costs about 80p and there's always enough left for me to have some lunch later. Despite prices rocketing for many things, and the horrible exchange rate from a post-Brexit point of view, this is one of the things that remains nicely affordable.

Tan took the kids out at lunchtime and I knew I'd need a kip but I called A Wu and Ma Laoban to see if they were available for lunch but neither was. This is a bit of a strange experience here but I think of it as a good thing; people are actually busy as opposed to some previous years' experiences.

Tea was at Waipo's, which she really appreciates, even though she eats earlier than us and doesn't eat at the table any more. I don't know why this is but I'm not going to question it. While we were at Waip's, Tan showed a video of a recent kerfuffle in Pingguo where a bloke was covered in blood after a fight with someone. It filled the kids with the heebie-jeebies and meant I had to get them home reasonable early tonight. I'm quite annoyed at that...we get these sort of stories now and again in the local news in London but we don't change our livelihood.

A Wu then called me to go to eat with him and some bosses at the office behind the KTV. I've hardly seen him since I've been here so drove over and it was just like old times with food and beer and cai ma. I excused myself at 9.30 as needed to pick up the kids from Tian Yang Po's bbq where Tan was eating with Huang Chun and A Xia, and took them to the supermarket before heading home for a shower and bed. Tan got back at 2am.

Some people were drinking suan mei jiu but I don't understand why the hip flask was so big or hip-shaped

A really enjoyable meal but I had to hop to a meeting soon after...