A Big Wind Blows

Yesterday, the classes in the morning were cancelled because of a sandstorm. How awesome is that? A sandstorm!

It wasn't one like in Hidalgo, but it was still pretty cool. The days before had been hot and sunny, and dead calm. Yesterday I woke up to the howling of the wind, and stepping outside was nearly blown over. In front of a building next to my apartment were two dust devils, given more permanence than normal by the storm, and five times the usual size. One of the Chinese teachers told me it's because of deforestation inland (to make disposable chopsticks!), and that the Japanese government sponsors tree replanting in China because the storms reach as far as Japan itself.

Today I went to the sports park with Alex - it's a nice park, and has a gym attached. You can pay 200RMB per month for membership in the gym, or you can use the exercise machines scattered throughout the park for free. Go figure. Apparently exercise machines are a common feature in Chinese parks, although they're more clunky and solid than the equivalent inside a gym. I'm going to start trying to get up early enough that I can go to the park to work out without dying from the heat.