Autumn

The Chinese official first day of Autumn was back when it was still incredibly hot, in August, but just the last two weeks the weather has finally changed... and FAST. Two weeks ago I was wearing shorts and capris; now I'm wearing earmuffs, scarf, gloves in the morning. On sunny days, the afternoons are glorious and the temps are in the high 60's.

Ever since the first day of autumn, people here have been commenting on my clothing, because they begin wearing fall clothes on the first day of fall (shockingly, I still dress according to the weather, so when it's warm I wear short sleeves). It will actually be a relief when it's cold enough to wear a parka all the time so people will stop telling me how to dress.

Yesterday I went to a shoe store downtown that a colleague recommended and dropped an American price for a pair of good black leather hiking boots for work for the winter. I hope they feel as comfortable after 10 hours in the classroom as they did in the shop.