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I live here. Yes, it's true.

Also here. It's very nice.

We live in this beautiful gated community with bereted guards and well-trimmed hedges. People do taijiquan at all hours or urge their grandchildren to come say "Hallo" to us.

There is one older Chinese gentleman who has taken it upon himself to show these Westerners how badminton is done. He has a knack for finding us whenever we are out. On Wednesday he coached Candice and I in Chinese and gestures for a couple hours, dressed in white shirt and dress pants/shoes, pausing only for a cigarette break. At length I explained in

broken Chinese that we would go home now for dinner. As we walked back to the apartment, a little winded and sore, we saw him still at it, giving pointers to some other poor strangers. Now we don't dare take out our rackets for fear of ambush. He saw us walking yesterday and beamed and mimed playing badminton.

For being so upscale, the apartments are very cold. All you Loganites are rolling your eyes because weather.com says it's 64 degrees. But. There is little to no heating or insulation in China, so realize that the outside temperature = the inside temperature and it cools down quite a bit at night. So at bedtime I put on socks and a hoodie and my coat, step into an empty duvet cover, wrap myself in a comforter, and turn on the space heater. When I teach in the morning I wear gloves, because otherwise the kids won't hold my icy hands. Speaking of which...

The school itself. Also very nice.

Some of my oldest class. Oh but they're fun. And cute. I'm sorry, but Caucasian chilluns have nothing on those of the Asian persuasion. They are SO cute. They have raised the standard for cuteness so high that it will never be the same. One of these days my ovaries will simply explode from the cuteness. They are so cute that when we pass a typically adorable haizi on the street, I don't even blink an eye because I have reached my cuteness saturation point and can take no more. Pics/video conveying such cuteness soon to follow.

Much love from Zhongguo as always,

The Traveling Kate