Fitness

So this weekend was interesting because many emotions were felt. Friday after school I joined some of the other teachers in a game of ultimate frisbee. My ankles hurt afterwards but all-in-all I had a wonderful time. Afterwards I went to a coworker's apartment where they were throwing a party. Who would have thought that even 2-7 years after college adults still play drinking games? I mean, flip cup is fun and I certainly don't mind playing it, but I was surprised nonetheless.

Saturday was a dreary day both emotionally and the weather reflected my bad mood... or maybe it was vise-versa? It was cloudy, overcast, drizzling/pouring, and flat out gross. All the people I knew were busy doing something somewhere else, so I felt a bit isolated. This really was one of the first times that I had been really alone since arriving in China. When I first got here, I just slept, adjusted to jetlag, then rushed around with starting my job. The first weekend here I was busy doing lots of things and meeting new people. The second week of work was still orientating myself to Shanghai, and beginning classes. The following weekend was spent with Laura exploring all of the new things around me. The third week involved getting through my first real week of school. Then Saturday comes, and I have nothing to do and no one to do anything with, so I was a bit down. I did laundry, and bought a few necessities at the local grocery store. Exciting I know.

This mood significantly changed the next day. When I first woke up, I re-read the material given to me about culture shock, also known as "culture fatigue". I gained a fresh perspective, and shortly following that I got to speak to my parents on skype. Despite some scary news, I was thrilled to see and hear them again. After that my lunch plans fell through, so instead I met Lindi in the city where we ate a nice lunch, and explored a local market/shopping center near her. I bought some placemats (the same burgundy/maroon ones I bought last summer), as well as matching pillowcases, coasters, a tissue box thing, and a decoration that goes on a bottle of wine. Of course the price was good. Following that I had a light snack around 6pm, returned home and met my friend Andrea at the local gym to try out a yoga class! It was all in Chinese, and my first one, but I enjoyed it. I didn't know human bodies could be so flexible! Afterwards we lifted biceps and back afterwards which felt so good. This gym costs 1800kuai for 10 months, and includes a sauna, your own locker, and access to the variety of classes that they have during the week. I'm also looking into other gyms too to see what they have to offer.

This afternoon (Monday afternoon) I went to a Taiqi class which is taught by Holly Xi, one of the Chinese lower school teachers here. Only three people are in the class, but I'm hoping it will gain popularity in the future. We're planning on having class in the morning, maybe around 7/7:10am, because Taiqi should be done in the mornings, especially in big groups.

That's it for now!