One year ago today I sat at this computer fighting the heat, healing from an appendectomy, and hammering out a new lesson plan for classes as I felt the building waiver slightly.
In contrast, last night the temps broke and the rain is pouring. Classes will be held today and my health is not a concern. To put it another way; as with every major world impacting event in history, life will continue on. That should in no way belittle the grief the families are feeling today.
Please take a moment to be aware that while it does move on it moves on more slowly for those most closely affected by such events. For the families of victims in Sichuan, this year has been tumultuous. While other parts of the country press-on and other parts of the world will remember the news of the event they may have forgotten the date, residents of Sichuan most likely view today as a difficult date on the calendar.
When we think of the relentless hold March often has on us with it’s wintry-like grip, few years represent such a tug-of-war between the balmy Springtime sunny fresh air and the bitter cut of frigid Wintry winds as this March has been. But that hasn’t stopped the blooming of cherry blossoms and magnolia trees here in Jiujiang. And it hasn’t stopped people from venturing out to enjoy the turning of the season and it’s colorful brush.
This early Spring season has been a roller coaster of high and low temps that could only be described as…well a roller coaster. hmm… OK, so when classes began back in mid-February Jiujiang was enjoying a very early end to winter and a fantastic start to Spring. A day before classes began I even went mountain biking in sandals [not extreme biking by any means]! The weather was that great! Unfortunately the warm weather did not last. A day after classes began the cold winter returned and it has stayed, for the most part, ever since.
I know that compared to the flooding of the northern plains and the Spring blizzards that have hit Colorado hard enough to declare a state of emergency, my cold nights and wet days may seem trivial. But I must say, three solid weeks of rain and temperatures hovering in the single digits (Celsius) is torment enough.
Ah but this isn’t a banter blog. It’s a what’s going on over there blog, a WGOOT! Hmm, maybe I should come up with something better than that for the acronym. I digress: take a look at the small sample of blooming flowers and people enjoying the fair weather.
The snow never amounted to anything down here but now that the skies have cleared you can see a beautiful snow dusting on LuShan.about 2 days agofrom Posterous
Typical March weather in JJ the past couple of days- cold and very wet. Visiting? Bring cold weather clothing and rain gear.09:12:42 AM March 04, 2010from Posterous
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