THE EMU HAS LANDED

THE TRIP from melbourne to nanjing was a LONG haul.  after a lovely dinner out in the open air with chris and ian,  i got up at 5 am to organise everything before sunny drove me to tulle. 

in the foyer of the hotel i'm staying in for 3 nights

got there in good time, no traffic and a really smooth run. the flight to shanghai was 10 hours, i was so tired and watched movies  -  i now know jason bourne intimately - and dozed the whole way.

two hours in shanghai domestic lounge nodding off and if a kind german man hadn't woken me where i sat, i would've missed the flight.

it was midnight when we finally got to the hotel so today i'm pretty whacked.

outside my hotel - deceptive though because it's really bare and industrial outside my window.

The drive in from the airport last night was interesting and a little scary,  they drive on the right side of the road but sometimes cars approached inexplicably on the other side, veering out of our way at the last minute. it was very dark and as we crossed the bridge the driver had to brake suddenly when a parked car looked up ahead.   i was told that taxi drivers like to sometimes park on the bridge to run down and collect water to wash their cars.    what??

It's really warm, early spring and i'm surprised that it feels so summery, a couple of weeks back there was snow.   i guess beijing will be colder.   very smoggy, but beijing will be much worse.  

i'm here at the British School  of Nanjing using the parents computer in a roomful full of 

after school 'club' kids who are all noisily making orange cake.

 

it's been a full day with two sessions in the morning, a really good lunch in the large cafeteria,  lots of little preps and grade ones all talking and eating, cute as bugs.   the school also has open air cafe areas on the roof, it's really well set up  and full of good vibes.

Now the school day is over the place is alive with clubs; as i made my way up here there were two boys on guitars and one on grand piano rehearsing for the performances next week in a lovely room with full length windows looking out over the lake beside the school.   costumes are being made,  i can hear roomsful of kids singing,  flutes playing reels,  and it's all floating out across the water.

gorgeous painting on canvas by year 3's - about relationships (not from my workshops)

early spring
in the gardens
outside the school
buildings, things
are just bursting
into leaf and
blossom

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pollution over  the city, but it feels like autumn, soft light and air