After weeks of being wrapped up in thick coats and scarves it seems that Suzhou's weather has had a change of heart and gone straight from winter to summer. In general, the weather in Suzhou is definitely strange; it's unpredictable and flippant and there is a lot of rain. In fact, I think it's safe to say that the defining feature of Suzhou's weather is the rain. According to that omniscient source, Google, Suzhou has on average 128 rainy days a year; this roughly means you can expect rain at least 3 times a week. Fun. June is the apparently the wettest month, hot and rainy, described as "moist"...you just know it's going to be disgusting. But for now its mid-March and the weather is beautiful. For the time being its hot and dry, and a very welcome change. With the inevitable and impending return of rain, we've been trying to make the most of the lovely weather.
I've taken a stroll by Jin Ji lake near the Culture and Expo Centre with Jonas after school, played in the playground during lunch instead of holing up in a dark office and we maximised outdoors time last weekend by visiting Tongli with our new friends Alex, Matias and Kevin.
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| Tongli, Garden of Serenity (or something similarly romanticised) |
Tongli is a little water town just outside Suzhou and is absolutely beautiful, think a Chinese Venice but nicer. Its full of pretty waterways, lovely gardens and pagodas, quaint little winding streets, and a hell of a lot of Chinese tourists. We spent the day wandering around the gardens and taking a boat ride through the canals bathed in the first proper sun we'd seen in a long time. A perfect saturday with some lovely people, and of corse because we were a group of westerners there were a lot of opportunities to practice our model poses too. We always seem to become as much of a facination to Chinese tourists as the attraction itself...
But although we truely took advantage of the sun and immediately ditched our coats, the Chinese all seem to move inside and keep on those layers. We were boiling in our jeans and I have no idea how the Chinese aren't sweating their butts off and overheating in all their layers. For them, coats were still firmly on, as were sweaters, furry boots and thick leggings.
Today in the heat I learnt a valuable lesson at school: never touch a warmly dressed child on a hot day. They are all slightly damp. Turns out they do get hot and sweaty, they just don't take any layers off. I think this is a combination of this actually not being that hot for them, whereas at home 25° would warrant shorts and a BBQ, and that they really really don't want to tan in the sun. Part of why they think us Westerners are beautiful is our pale skin; while we're desperate to get a tan, they are desperate not to get any darker.
But while the Chinese are rejecting the sun and staying covered, I can't help but be happy when its sunny. Everything is prettier and brighter and I'm loving Suzhou more and more. I can't tell if this is because we are discovering more of the city and finding the nicer bits, or whether it's because of a change in perspective enhanced by the sun. Overall I am particularly content at the moment. Our social situation is improving and teaching has started to become, not only bareable but, fun. I'm enjoying the moments a child actually remembers some vocab, or when they branch out from their rote trained responses and try something different. Without being too cheesy, it really is very rewarding. Right now if I had to make the decision of what to do after the end of our 4 months contract I think I would stay in China for at least another 6 months. Maybe I wouldn't want to stay in Suzhou, maybe it'd be good to see and experience more of China in a different city and that's the beauty of it. I really can go pretty much anywhere. Fancy a stint down South in the heat, that can be done. Want to go up North to see how the Mongols do it diferently, China is my oyster. Its a very freeing feeling, and something I'm planning to fully make the most of when the time comes to decide what to do next. Until then, I hope the good weather holds and the rain (because it will return) doesn't dampen my spirits!
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