Well finally an evening at home and time to write an update. Its getting very hard to go out teaching of an evening now that it is SO cold. Still cant get over the fact we have no heating in the classrooms and to make things worse for some bizarre reason they insist on leaving the windows open!! Needless to say they all get closed in my classes even if it just gives me the illusion of warming the room up!
This week we have had a few things happening...... Firstly on Saturday night we saw another auspicious full moon, but to us here in China, it was one with a difference. We had the opportunity to witness a lunar eclipse, one that offered Chinese sky watchers the best view of this phenomenon in ten years. We even managed to have a clear night so could capture some of it in photos so some of us braved the sub zero temperatures and wandered outside to do so!!


Tuesday bought us a stark reminder of the little known tragedy (Nanjing Massacre) that occurred here in 1937....Not having lived in Nanjing on this fateful day previously, the morning sounds that greet you on 13th December come as a big surprise, and to those not accustomed to World Wars, a frighteningly eerie shock. As the sirens continue to cry out, you see local people going about their working lives and daily routines largely in respectful silence; save for the cursory words of explanation for their out of town colleagues. Even some of the cars stopped beeping their horns continuously.

I have written about this bit of history in a previous blog when I visited the museum but here is a reminder of why this day is commemorated by the people of Nanjing. The 1937 population of Nanjing was approximately one million, and so it is fair to say that with the massacre of 300,000 people, to this day every family in Nanjing has a tragic story to tell. Similar to our own ANZAC history as the years pass, the numbers remaining of those who lived through the horrors are quickly diminishing; it is estimated there are now only 300 such people left. The governement has launched a campaign to catalogue stories of survivors from the period along with those of their family members or heirs with the aim of informing more people of the tragedy in the future. As we would say "lest we forget".

This week I learnt a little more about Chinese culture.......In China, the 24 solar terms were created thousands of years ago to guide agricultural production. They also reflect China's rich history through the seasonal festivals, special foods, cultural ceremonies, family gatherings and even healthy living tips that correspond with each solar term. I was told that we had just passed the Major Snow and were now heading towards the Winter Solstice which falls on December 22 or 23 (solar calendar) every year. It is the day when the Northern Hemisphere has the shortest daytime and longest nighttime in the whole year. It is a custom to celebrate the arrival of winter solstice, which is regarded as worthy since it is the beginning of a solar term circulation. Traditionally one eats rice balls and long noodles as well as eating dumplings on the festival to protect the ears from frostbite!!! After winter solstice, the coldest (!?!?) period comes to the northern part of the globe, which is commonly called "JinJiu", suggesting that once winter solstice comes, we will meet the coldest time ahead. REALLY looking forward to that..........not!!!!

My students are all getting around with worried expressions on their faces as the exam period is starting. I see students in the classrooms and various other buildings around the campus late at night studying ***********dered why they didn't study in their dormitories and I've now found out, much to my shock and amazement, that they do not have any heating or hot water provided. I am feeling rather spoilt now with my heating and hot water all provided and on tap 24/7. To give you an idea of the workload of Chinese students, my second year Nursing students have 16 exams to sit......no wonder they don't want mine!! Truly it is amazing how hard they all work and competition is fierce to do well.

Well that about it for now.....guessing most of you are celebrating the pre Christmas dinners etc....Bye for now. xxx