Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Settling in, travel plans canceled

The Chinese teacher who lives in Qingdao sent me a text message that it is 41 degrees Celsius (100+ Fahrenheit) there and I should not go, and also she can't take me to the tea plantation this week as we had hoped. So, since I'm really still so tired from the last few weeks of travelling and moving, and I haven't anyone to meet there, I decided to cancel the trip and go some other time.

I enjoyed my trip to Qufu last week, and it was nice to meet some friends there, but the heat really was awful and I probably would have enjoyed Qufu more in better weather. Still have to post pics from that trip.

This morning I spent about two hours cleaning in the bathroom with bleach, managed to get the worst part (toilet area) clean. the bathroom has no window, so even with the apartment windows open and the fan blowing in the bathroom doorway, the bleach ws too much for me and I had to stop, it made me cough and feel like vomiting. Did I mention that I hate moving? Anyway, it's a relief to have that part clean.

It wa super hot today, about 39 degrees, but the humidity is down to 16% so it actually feels better. I got some vegetables yesterday but can't get up the energy to cook them. The last 3 days I have had no appetite, if this continues all summer maybe I can get slimmer, yay!

This evening it was cool enough to walk home from the bus stop on the main road instead of riding another bus, and there is a lot more nighttime activity here than there was in my old (industrial) hood. There were a lot of old people sitting on little stools visiting out on the street (and this is a MAIN street, they have walked some distance from home just to hang out on the sidewalk). And I found a fruit and vegetable open market which I'm happy to know is nearby, SO much cheaper than the supermarket. And a few shops and restaurants in another part of the apartment complex, I grabbed some dinner in one of them. I have had so little appetite for the past several days due to the heat, I guess I ate more at dinner this evening than I've eaten in a day lately, and dinner was just stir fried egg and tomato over rice.

My lungs are feeling sore from the bleach, I should do some yoga breathing before I go to sleep. Speaking of which, it's much later than I usually like to stay up, so I will close and go to bed. Night all.

4 comments:

  1. I'm still loving this. I hope your bleached lungs are all better now (and the cough you had last month).
    Your pictures are wonderful!
    Thank goodness you have air conditioning now.

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  2. Thank you, Kaimi. I'm so glad you enjoy it.

    Breathing better today, but I will give it at least another day of rest before I work more on the bathroom. The bleach also worked through the gloves and my skin is irritated. Next time I will make a diluted solution rather than using it full strength.

    My first apt did have AC, but it was a really big apt and the AC was in the living room rather than the bedroom. Here it's in the bedroom and I can just cool the one room.

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  3. Glad you got moved ok. Yes, dilute the bleach a bit so you don't take out your lungs again...

    It has been quite hot here as well - East Coast has a major heat wave going. I am on the road myself on a trip from Ohio. Indiana was absolutely horrible at 95+ degrees on Tuesday with a lot of humidity, so I certainly sympathize. This morning outside of Charlotte, North Carolina it was 98 degrees and we were glad we were in an air conditioned car! Hopefully it will cool down for you soon.

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  4. DMom: Haven't got the energy for another bleach session yet, but when I do, I will dilute! From what I've seen in forums, a lot of places are having their first heat wave of the summer. At least I'm not suffering alone.

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