Blogs from Suzhou, Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 12

Saturday while in Suzhou, we visited two Chinese gardens. The first was a miniature garden first laid out in 1140 called Master of the Nets Garden (also home of the infamous “squatty potty”). The second was much larger. It is called The Humble Administrator’s Garden, is around 13 acres and was built in 1509. The wealth of the city’s officials, scholars and traders was spent on their gardens and many have survived over the centuries. The Humble Administrator’s Garden is one of the four most famous gardens in China and was lovely to visit. Some of the highlights of the gardens are the wood buildings, rock formations and designs worked into the stone walkways. It was 95 degrees when were there so we took in all of the beauty in a short time. Hopefully we will ... read more

Burnt Norton - Eliot. Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future And time future contained in time past If all time is eternally present All time is unredeemable What might have been is an abstraction Remaining a perpetual possibility Only in a world of speculation. What might have been and what has been Point to one end, which is always present. Footfalls echo in the memory Down the passage which we did not take Towards the door we never opened Into the rose-garden. My words echo Thus, in your mind... I have carried this poem with me for over 15 years, through an education, a marriage, a divorce, and for over 25,000 miles across Europe and Asia. My first edition floppy, tactile, paper-jacketed copy, tied with string lies in a darkened ... read more

It's been hot and humid but since it is the rainy season, I guess that is acceptable. I've put some photos up on the Picasa site (http://picasaweb.google.com/arasmuss). A bit of a mix; some from earlier and some very current. We biked around Suzhou a bit last weekend and will probably do the same this weekend if it doesn't rain. The bike paths are good and fairly safe. The main problems are just outside our door on Shiquan Jie but once we get beyond that, we're OK. Generally we go across campus to the east gate rather than worry about the traffic on our own street. The problem with Shiquan Jie is that it is very narrow and is lined with lovely old sycamores (I think) . The result is that the buses have to drive down ... read more

6-14-09 I feel like I should start out with an apology. I am leaving quite a bit out, because whenever I write these entries, it’s after everything’s done with the day, and needless to say, I’m always really exhausted. We’re all pretty much on the move constantly, seeing and experiencing China. As a result, a lot of anecdotes and hilarious stories aren’t being told. I will be going back to edit certain days to add in funny stories, etc. for my previous entries, so be sure to check back often if you’re interested in what else is going on. We started out today with an hour or so drive out of Shanghai to the nearby city of Suzhou. It wasn’t far enough away to escape the smog, but still close enough for a smaller drive. It ... read more

I was living in the old Hutongs when the first summer storm hit. It came without warning forcing me to run down the lane in between the old houses towards home trying to dodge the drops of rain the size of old English pennies, rain falling in curtains from the rippled black tiled roof, rain in huge dirty puddles to jump over. The local people were used to me by then and waved or smiled as I ran by. The lane had been dug up for the ‘restoration programme ’ which was evident everywhere but the life around didn’t stop - it wasn’t on hold. Everyone continued unaffected by the changes that were happening on and around the impassable places and it all became passable. Man holes and water holes were left raised and standing up ... read more