Winter time has started in Amsterdam (daylight savings time), but in Yangshuo, it's so warm that I could wear shorts today! I'm so glad that I don't have to wear gloves (yet). I only wear plastic gloves here, for when I clean the bathrooms. Chinese people just aren't very hygienic... I'll give you some more examples of what I think is typically Chinese (and most foreigners in Yangshuo agree with me!).

The Chinese in Yangshuo:
- walk very slowly
- don't pay attention to where they're going (they usually look backwards)
- are surprised when they bump into each other, but don't say 'excuse me'
- don't stop for pedestrians at a zebra crossing
- get a kick from honking their horns when driving cars, motorbikes, buses and trucks (the noise is terrible!)
- sell meat on the street in the blazing sun (and people buy it!)
- have a bad taste in fashion (I think Viktor & Rolf would die if they saw the people here....)
- think it's completely normal to wear your pajamas when you go shopping (!)
- can't sleep without having taken a shower
- don't drink coffee, because they think coffee makes your skin black (pale = beautiful here)
- work 24/7 (and they expect me to do the same!)
- don't celebrate birthdays
- think vegetarians are crazy ('Snake is really delicious!"
- don't have any table manners (as discussed before....)
- don't care about the state of their house (inside and outside)
- are afraid to lose face
- and are therefore not afraid to tell (white) lies
- are pushy sales people
- will give you a piece of gum instead of money if they're out of (small )change

The purpose of this list is to give you an idea of the world I live in. I find it very interesting to observe the differences and to learn more about the Chinese and their customs. Teaching English to Chinese adults and sharing a room with a Chinese student are perfect opportunities for me to obtain more information. Teaching English to Chinese is exhausting (a real test for my patience...) and sharing a room can be a bit suffocating (the Chinese don't understand the meaning of the word 'privacy'), but I consider it all a unique experience.

I'll be teaching afternoon classes again this week, so I'd better get some sleep now. I had quite an eventful weekend: I went dancing with Kathy Friday night (+ some of my students) and Saturday night (I got three red roses last night - crazy!); Kathy and I biked to Moon Hill yesterday and then we climbed Moon Hill as well; this morning, I had to be at school at 11 am to interview three new students (I told you, work never stops here!); this afternoon, I cleaned two bathrooms, swept the floors, handwashed my clothes, went for a walk and did some shoppping with Kathy.

Good night and have a good week!