I had a five day weekend!  Let me tell you a few select stories.
 
On Thursday I went to a real Chinese bizarre and let me tell you, it is an apt name.  So much randomness, and not just crazy items for sale (as you might find at an American flea market) but there was a barber here, a series of pet stores there, and tea shop in the corner (with free samples), the upper balcony was the plant section, and of course right in the middle was the wet market (fruits and vegies, animals killed before your eyes).  So I wandered the floor, inhailing the odd aroma of salon perms, dead fish, and expensive tea.  The most interesting items were anteaks from the early communist days, propoganda posters of Mao with some soldiers and what-not.
 
The next day I decided to get some excersice and took a day-long bike ride of the countryside.  It was the perfect day for it, much warmer than it has usually been.  I rode past the graveyard and followed the dirt rode.  There were many forks and I took whichever pleased me, not paying much attention to my direction.  Sometimes I went on paved road, sometimes dirt, and sometime and what would generously be called a dirt path.  I often passed laborers  and farmers, and they stared at me unabashedly.  Chickens crossed the road in front of me left and right, daring me to ascribe purpose to their action.  After a while I wanted to sit and read my book, so I stopped at a house ( as I've said, every house doubles as a store/restaurant).  I bought a drink and was going to read when the owner started questioning me.  I answered best I could, then the owners husbund came, and the owners children, then the neighbors.  Lord this happens every time!  Finally I excussed myself and biked away.
 Never again will I look for peace and quite while others are around.  But I found a nice haybale by the side of the rode and read for a long time in the sun.  I stumbled home in time to make myself an egg salad sandwich for dinner.
 
Saturday I went to Changsha for a Halloween party.  I got  to carve a pumpkin and eat candy.  Stephanie made a haunted house in her apartment which was surprisingly good.  The Chinese were especially interested and scared.  My costume was the Grim Reaper, using flour for the white face and my black coat as the cowl, pretty ghetto but its the effort that counts.  Others went to less effort, unfortunetly.  The party was fine, the standard talking and drinking.  Did you know  voting is manditory in Australia?  Then a fireworks show. It seems one of the foreign teachers Dan knows a guy who knows a guy who is some big wig in a fireworks factory.  Dan gets a free tour and a bunch of fireworks, we're talking a suitcase full.  We light off some roman candles then we try this really big cube.  We light it and step back and BOOM!  It shoots off real fire works, the kind you see on the 4th of July.  Not quite as big or high as at home, but still there they are, shooting not 15 feet in front of
 us and deafeningly loud.  We were lucky too, because we almost placed them under the power lines. Would have seen a few more fireworks then.
 
Those weren't the only fireworks of the evening.  It turns out there is a funeral going on down the street, and as I specilated fireworks are an intergral part of Chinese wakes.  We were invited over and I stopped by and ate some pork.  A little strange, when thinking of where I was, but festive.
 
Now I'm back home.  I had one pair of trick-or-treaters tonight, smart kids who wanted to give me a thrill.  I was very pleased, and gave them candy.  
 
I now have an internet connection in my apartment, so look for me on instant messenger.  My AIM name is Thales De Miletus.  He was the first recorded philosopher.  I should be on most nights, which of course is most mornings in America.
 
Now another week.  I dislike Mondays.
 
-the Wandering Norseman-