Seismic Experiences

So the Earthquake. I would like to say that I survived a near death experience but in fact I mistook the entire thing for a bout of light headedness. It was only when my Chinese teacher stopped teaching and lent against the classroom wall that I realised that the movement was not in my mind. I persuaded my teacher to carry on with the lesson, which in retrospect was a little unfair as most of the businesses and buildings closed for the afternoon as people refused to re-enter buildings. Later that night (the earthquake struck at about 2:30 Chinese time) Wojciech and I discovered the extent of the destruction while on the BBC news website. We were not surprised and both of us made the comment that it is lucky that it occured during the day and also that the epicentre was not right under Chengdu or another large city. Had it struck at night the death toll would have been far greater.

On a lighter note, I had a rather enjoyable weekend (or should I say Saturday as fatigue effectively destroyed my Sunday). Firstly I went to a wedding party on Saturday lunchtime. To be honest this was not particularly different from any other large meal in a large restaurant except that there was clearly a reason behind it. That and the fact that Wojciech and I were charged with guarding a handbag containing about 150,000 RMB (11 grand) worth of wedding gifts. The best thing was the food, that was surprisingly good for an expensive Chinese restaurant. Top of the list of dishes were some massive pork meatballs in a 'Hoisinesque' sauce. After a brief recovery, Tom (who met me at our apartment) and I went to watch Henan Construction FC at the large stadium on the outskirts of the city. The quality of the football was poor, but the atmosphere was good and Tom and I looked great in our recently purchased home strips (if I say so myself). After the football match we returned for some more food and beer in our favourite restaurant over the road.