On the Road

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I finished my final week of teaching in Wuhan on Friday. The final teaching day was actually Thursday and we combined classes, so I had 2 classes of about 40 students each. Great day of bedlam as I assigned students to various companies that had to make deals with each other, in English. Most students jumped into the game with relish, while others (remember, these were all doctoral candidates) just didn't have a clue.

Friday was a thanks and farewell party with much picture taking, gift giving and long goodbyes. You can see some of the many photos taken of the event by one of my students at http://www.flickr.com/photos/67941382@N02/. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get him to edit out the one involving a red dress.

While it was difficult to say “goodbye” to my almost 80 students, I was ready to be on vacation.

I spent another day in Wuhan relaxing, including getting a really wonderful hour massage by a blind massage therapist, all preparing myself for two weeks of travels. On the blind massage therapist, this is nothing unique in China. There are places all over China employing the blind as massage therapists. The claim, substantiated by my massages in Wuhan, is that blind masseurs are more sensitive and are able to more successfully feel what needs attention.

My first stop after leaving Wuhan is Kunming, the provincial capital of Yunnan. I hadn’t traveled alone for several years, so left Wuhan feeling a little uncertain of how I’d do. But, I quickly regained my traveling legs.

Like Wuhan, much of central Kunming seems to be a construction zone. Like Wuhan, Kunming is building a subway, which will partially run under one main street in town, Beijing Lu – which happens to be where my hotel is located. But traffic isn’t nearly as bad as in Wuhan, perhaps because the population is smaller, at just 6 million.

I took off from my hotel on foot after my arrival to explore and to find a place to eat. I headed in the direction of the pedestrian shopping district, but via small, dark streets to avoid the traffic and dirt on Beijing Lu. I find I can walk and walk when visiting a new place being happy just to see what turns up. Frequently, nothing special turns up, but, like tonight, there are many small, inconsequential things that are somehow interesting when traveling that would be nothing at home. There’s that interesting looking restaurant, two kids trying to roller skate, a quiet bridge over the river that runs through town, etc.

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