Sunday morning coming down on Florence

 Time passes 

Things change 

COVID still haunts people and countries.

Changed the trajectories of many who foresaw

a whole different life

not smiles hidden behind masks

constant Health checks via apps

In one shop- check

next shop- check

Constant

Hands held out- yes 36 deg C again

Not allowed in the taxi unless you show your health check.

It is tiring, yet there are no cases in Beijing so something must be working.

Winter is gradually losing its tight grip and no more do we huddle against the wind and a temperature of minus 20.

I see the leaf painted trees, emerging from the cold into a slowly warming spring.

The air is heavy with haze of who knows what- over 250ppm some days and we have inddr recess and lunch as it is too unhealthy.

Beijing is a city, like other cities across the world- large, busy, rushing, crowded.

Yet to wander in the temples, and in the mountains offers a sanctuary from this thing we call Beijing. Our holidays are gone, ripped from us by COVID so no travels to distant provinces.

For foreigners? We have yet to be notified of vaccinations- and we want to travel, and constantly hark back to those days of ease, hopping on and off planes at will. Our globe has changed as have expectations and no country is any different.

Can I return to Australia? Judging by the numbers hoping to get home, I doubt it as it is capped. No other country rejects entry by its citizens. If I go back, will they let me leave? Would my reason pass Peter Dutton's people? Its a all a bit of a lottery these days. Can I get a visa to USA? Only if Trump's proclamations are removed , those regarding China.It's all a matter of waiting to see what changes will occur. 

Oh well

The gym has finally opened and it is warm enough to walk outside again, masked ! I have no objections to the mask- it should be mandatory everywhere.

Sunday morning coming down.......

Florence on her KNees... Thank you Universe!

 So winter descended, along with another COVID outbreak

and wished us all a merry christmas.

Thank you , Universe.

Yellow stickers on my card to denote my ID City residency

so I can get in

should I go out

in -14deg C

Seems rather deflating to be in China

and barriers( metaphorically speaking) surround me

so my dreams of The Silk Road

and the Gobi Desert

have been decimated.

And they tell us that we should not look to having the next two holiday breaks outside of Beijing.

Merry Christmas and looks like the Happy New Year is a fallacy.( I wanted to write Phallusy)

But

to spend Christmas under the Great Wall was exciting

but I castigate myself as my knowledge of CHinese history is woeful

I know a little

enough to cause danger!

Now is my time

in my restrictions

to develop an understanding of the amazing geology of CHina, especially in that area as it seems that the mountains we see, the sedimentary mountains , were somehow laid down over a billion years ago over the top of volcanic areas., and then lifted. Isn't the Earth marvellous ?

OK

More, you say?

I have only been here a couple of months and getting used to the lack of English and the changing culture has caused me many moments of pause!

I do not know yet

it is early days

I'll be in touch! After I emerge from the freezer.

Frozen Lily

 Not sure whether I am an oriental lily yet. No, I do not need to qualify with a yet. 

I am not an oriental lily.

Today winter clawed at my soft pink skin

and threatened to attack my thermostat by gouging any warmth

that might please

a cold body.

It rains

Large golden liquid amber leaves

layer upon layer

flat

soaked littering the pathways around ID City

my home

My two storey window 

in my loft apartment lets me look out across the quadrangle

of trees

weeping under the weight 

of rain

Snow is due on Saturday

but I am not ready

I just got here

I have just come from two winters

and my third will cast me into a 

darkness

of searing cold.

I am not ready for this.

Beijing

peking

MAndarin

I read that little book 

about the duck

in Peking

Ping was the duck's name

That China has gone

The buildings

gone

Hutongs are the remnants

I must find the other CHina.

The Flowering of an Oriental Florence

 How free can I be?

Wonder how it feels to be shut in a room for two weeks? I felt sorry for myself, with my internet , TV and great food.

Imagining solitary

for two years

in an Iranian jail.

This year has been one of confinements

hidden people

disappearing people

faded people

pale people

Which one are you?

How has life changed?

Are you living your best life?

Loving your best life?

Are you changing your life?

What did this about turn mean for you?

I though I had faded into obscurity

removed from further adventures

I thought rejection was imminent

Yet here I am

and in China I am not faded, just a bit wintery and pink

China is far from fading- its full of life

and living

as we wander in our masked splendour, hold out our wrists for temperature measurement

and smile

to be alive

I begin work on Thursday

...........

"We all have to care for each other" she said

 So here I am in China.

But I don't yet know what is out there as I came in the dark, traveled by bus in the dark and landed at my hotel.

People were wonderful- I understood nothing!

One woman, head to toe in PPE and pretty well faceless, helped me when she discovered I didn't know any person in Shanghai( poor me)

Her words" we all have to care for each other"

Great introduction to China.

Armed with thermometer, alcohol wipes and bleach tablets , I was parked in my room.. very nice room with huge window looking out over a river.

And there I stay

Internet would not connect and have had no connection to the outside world for 8 days.

My standby email of lisada75@me.com is the only email that works...

But I feel a sense of freedom now as I can open up my tiny world.

Not much to say- I jog, listening to amazing podcasts- Hannah Arendt and the Banality of Evil, Celtic History by Dan Carlin.. and i've got five more hours of that to go.

And I now can look forward to my coming year

and the people I will meet

and a whole new world!

First dispatch- The Orient of my desires

 New day

Last day

Florence flies into a new identity today. Such a long time coming.

Health checked, papers organised, VISA completed!

Florence flies away

Five months of character development  has almost proven to be overwhelming.

Today she flies into a new world- masked and gloved, and the hand sanitisers are within reach.

There is a certainly a nervous note , accompanying all

But

This time is different

Its a whole new world- a world that seems to  be on the brink

as if there is a waiting

for something

The weariness could be gone

Futures seem obscure

kinda hopeless

But its not

The eternal optimist in me has a few positive thoughts

But there is hardship

For me?

I'm one step closer