Yunnan Stories 云南故事

"There is another day before the LAST month of 2006" said the emcee in a radio music program in a sentimental voice last night. Later, she played some pieces of music, most of which were love songs. I had long passed the age of having a love affair but I found the lirics and melodies were beautiful. 

One of the songs was seasons in the sun. Some words went like this: We had joy,we had fun, we had seasons in the sun..Everytime I was down,you should always come around and get my feet back on theground…..    It was already close to mid-night. In another several minutes, it would be the last month of 2006! My 2006. What have I done for you? I lay on the bed and couldn’t go to sleep.

Looking at the moonlight filtering through the window coutain and mosquito net and softly spreading itself on the quilt, I appreciated myself for building myself such a snug and warm bed of flowers. The day before, I made a significant adjustment to the layout of the furnishings. Pretty and  cozy. I used to dread the nightfalls but now they look so tender. In the daytime, it’s equally magic—-Leaving the door open, you can’t see me at the desk or on the bed but the fresh air and sunshine.

Now, it is already the last month in 2006. The wonderful melody is still ringing in my ears. Yes, we had joy and fun, we did have seasons in the sun. You did come to my help when I was down. Thank you, those I have seen or not, for your trust and care. Long live our friendship.

Dunno how many days our dorms have been cut off from Internet. Previously, we had been out of water for 10 days in a row. Just imagine the smelly compus and town in general. The day before yestday, the power was off. The students seemed to be happy—–They didn’t need to go to the evening classes. And we had the first candle-lit dinner with two  reporters from Honghe Daily, who interviewed us on our life as volunteers.

Due to the fragile hard enviroment, some baisic supplies used to be cut off very often. Now the situation has been improved a lot, but still leaving much to be disired. Yisa, where I am staying, means a short-of-water place in Yi(彝)languge. In fact, it is not only Yisa but the whole county that has the problem. No wonder every household has a water cellor and prepares tons of candles.  I dread the water-cut days the most among all the inconveniences—-Without electricity or internet, we can resort to candles and books respectively. The others just seem like a piece of cake since we have gone through the worst of the worse.

It is comforting that not all the town has no accsess to the net. The netbar boss is happy that I am his regular, even arranging me an exclusive computer. Still, I will kiss goodbye to it as long as I can surf in my dorm—–only for the productivity.

Let me start with my sneakers.

Last night, my sneakers came in handy for the first time in Yunnan, and performed very cool—-after being laid idle for over two months. I hadn’t worn them for a single day until then. They, wrapped tight in a plastic bag, would stay inside forever,if I had slept well. They say exersise  does good to sleep, offering my sneakers a chance of relizing their values. Hopefully, jogging will be a cure to my insomania. So yesterday marked my first day of jogging in Yunnan. (Originally, the sports shoes were brought to Yunnan mainly for climing mountains, by the way.)

Time to hit the sack but I was not sleepy at all. Outside was a cloudless night and beneath were my sneakers. In 10 seconds, I changed the shoes and hit the road. Excited to be surrounded by the tender night when jogging around the soot track. Along the way was intoxicating tranquility. Lucky for me, a weirdo who had rarely run before,to make a good start. Nearly forgot I was exercizing, for the near terraced houses and far mountains alternately kept attracting me, relaxing me and encouraging me. What a silhouette!  Never expected my first jogging to happen on a plateau in the starlight. It simply hit the spot. Will I be hooked on it?

Three laps finished, I worked up a little sweat and felt a Never-experienced-before relaxation. A hot shower and some reading later, I switched off the bed light.

Come to Yunnan and enjoy jogging!

Felt refreshed after the no-class afternoon spent shopping and having my hair cut. Now I owe my present relaxation mainly to the 2-hour walk. Yes, I spent too much time indoors, either in the classroom or my dorm. Something should change since I felt a little under the weather for a couple of weeks.

Didn’t feel well recently, but I couldn’t pinpoint what was the culprit. Perhaps it was my hair or long-term loss of sleep. My hair was uneven and sometimes in a mess after a sleep , thus making me feel uncomfortable.  A visit to the barba’s looked inevitable, and it did make a difference. Now I felt much better. In fact, each haircut would put me in a good mood for a few days because I appear  more vigorous.

Also bought a box of sleeping plasters for my annoying sleeplessness. I suspect the problem was rooted in the blood cause my mom suffers from the refractory insomania.  I would give the plasters a go whether they work or not, since there are no other better options at hand.

Anyway,the walk outdoors did buck me up again. Hopefully, I should do more exercises instead of spending too much time at the desk.