Books, Bread and Nutella

Time for another update from the Far East!

It's getting cold. Which is both good and bad news. Good, because it means that we aren't eaten alive by mosquitoes anymore. Bad, because all space heaters will only start working on the 15th November. So until then, we're going to bed wearing jumpers and scarves.

In other news, my cough is finally gone!! Thanks to the help of some magical Chinese cough syrup, which was delicious. Of course I immediately took advantage of my improved health to try out the university's swimming pool. It was exactly as crowded as expected, but at least for some reason you get less stares there than outside. An interesting thing that I discovered was that Chinese kids are not taught to swim "frog" style (breaststroke), but crawl. They looked insanely cute practicing it. I will definitely come back to swim there again.

Last weekend, I made a very important discovery: METRO. A giant store that sells imported products. Among them Nutella and Bread. :) :) :) I now finally have a jar of Nutella again, or to be entirely truthful, had. It did not survive the week. It's somewhat difficult to find your way in the store, but it's basically heaven on earth for me. So. Much. Food. Also I've started going to book stores again. So far, my purchases include Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Chinese, two Maths books (one for Analysis and one for year 8, I think I understand more of the former), a compilation of ancient Chinese poems and the novel The Shadow Thief by Marc Levy in Chinese. I hope for happy reading.

Also, for those of you who were worried about my life without a fridge, you can now relax, last week we got one! It's beautiful and I love it. Naturally, my roommate and I stole the box it came in. It is now standing on our balcony, we cut a door and a window into it and you can go there for some quiet time. Also it's a great spot for unwanted guests ;)

That's about it for now. My plans for this weekend?
1. Discussion on whether or not same-sex marriage should be legalized in China. Kind of cool, that these things are being discussed here, right?
2. Go to a cat cafe. A cafe with a lot of cats. More on that later.

Chinese Word of the Day: 泳帽 yongmao, bathing cap. Because you have to wear one in Chinese swimming pools or you will get kicked out.

And at last I see the light.

My new best friends.