Back on (blog) track

Hello, China! Hello, blog readers!

I couldn’t keep away for more than 2 months. First I told myself that “come on, you’ve said your “goodbye,” how on earth can you start blogging again?" But then I thought: “well, why not?” (And really, why not?) It’s not as if this blog is following some kind of special format… It was nice to have a blog-break during my summer holiday in Finland and Sweden, but now when I’m back in Shanghai again it feels kind of odd not to be able to share all the funny things that I see, hear and experience every day (which has always been the purpose of this blog). Also, my dear parents (especially mom) have expressed numerous times that it’s a shame not to know what I’m doing anymore (sure we talk, but not every day) and that’s kind of true. Finally, I have to say that I miss writing. I thought that not blogging would inspire me to write longer emails to my friends, but it’s simply not the same. So, here I am. Back again. I’ll try not to do the whole “bye bye this is the last post” for a year or so again.

Forgive me? OK, then here we go again!

I got back to China in the beginning of August, after good holiday in northern Europe, only to be greeted by a hiking temperature. It was “only” 33 when I got here, but soon it went up to 39 degrees, and this made life, well, not hard, but kind of miserable. You don’t really feel like going out for a walk when it constantly feels as if you’re walking behind a bus that’s releasing all of its heat and fumes straight in your face.

Sick of the heat and bored with staying in I decided I needed to get out there and do something, so I went to the gym (that’s what I normally do when I feel bored and useless) for a releasing run.

Or well, that’s what I was meant to do.

Only though, when I got to the gym I was greeted by a somewhat cooler, but still not that cool, gym (how they can still be stingy with the air-con when it’s 39 degrees outside is a mystery to me, but I seem to be the only one complaining about it, so maybe it’s just me who has some kind of inner heat in my body and who has a problem with it?). I had been doing some running during my holiday, so even though I felt as if I stepped onto a tropical island when I stepped onto the treadmill (the heating lamp that was located just above my head acted like the radiating sun) so I told myself that it shouldn’t be too hard.

What was I thinking?!

40 minutes later I laid, soaked in sweat, on the floor, trying my best to regain my breath and wishing for my head to regain normal temperature again and not feel like an about-to-explode-bomb.

“Ah, it’s good to be back!” I told myself.

And really (even thought I might have been exaggerating and lying to myself at that very post-treadmill moment), it is. It’s insanely hot. Smelly. Messy. Crowded. Loud. (Did I say hot?). But I love being here. I passed my 4-years-in-China mark on August 15, and I must say that I’m stoked that I’m still here.

To another year in China (coffee mug clinks with water bottle)!

And to blogging again (solemnly raising a big spoon of muesli and yoghurt)!