establishing routines

It's the end of my week-long, National Holiday break. Tomorrow (Sunday) I have to teach two classes. And then it's work, work, work until the semester break (sometime in January, I believe).

Autumn has been gorgeous here. The days are sunny and usually warm, especially if you're standing in the sun, and the nights are cold. The chilly nights are a reminder that winter is around the corner, and I don't know if I'm quite ready for that. They say it's the hardest time for PCVs in China, as the weather is unwelcoming, the honeymoon period is officially over, family and friends are celebrating holidays at home, and China remains China for better or worse. But I'm not there yet, and being in China continues to feel like a dream to me.

I'm slowing beginning to establish routines. I usually get up mid morning (no thanks to the night schedule I'm on), drink hong cha (red tea) and eat something breakfasty while I surf the internet. Then I work on Chinese or lesson planning, whichever has the priority at the moment, for a couple of hours. When I get hungry again (about 2:30), I walk to the Muslim mian (noodle) shop right outside my gate and eat a giant bowl of niurou mian (beef noodles), which I have never managed to finish. But I love going there because the food is amazing and they know me by name (An Ji, my Chinese name). Then I head back to my apartment and finalize lesson plans and then teach for a couple of hours. When I get home, I eat dinner--usually leftovers or if I've been to the market, something I can throw together--and watch a movie. This routine varies by the day. Sometimes I teach late at night; sometimes it's mid afternoon. A couple of times a week I teach in the morning, and Wednesdays are so busy and disjointed that a routine hasn't been established.

I'm also feeling more comfortable around the city and am getting to know the bus routes more each day. Much of my time is spent on public buses going downtown. I find that the bus is a great way to practice my listening comprehension, as they're usually crammed with people also taking the bus across town. [Note: Lanzhou is a long city. It is surrounded by hills/mountains on both sides, which means the city grew east-west. If I want to visit friends in another district (Lanzhou has four districts), it's possible that the trip will take two hours.]

Not much else going on here. I've been in Lanzhou for a month now and it's beginning to feel like home. I guess I won't really know until I go away for a few days, but otherwise it feels comfortable.