The Flowers of Spring

Xiuxi -naptime in China- no matter where you are.

The yellow flowers are rapeseed blossoms. They are all over and I absolutely love them. Fun fact: the oil used to cook in Huarong is predominantly rapeseed oil

  

At the back of one of my classes- pretty funny I thought.

Cool noodle place in fancy Changsha

Midservice Conference reunion and Beverly's birthday dinner at the Mao restaurant!

REAL good food. 

Bday girl even got a cake

Bus back to Huarong

Here, an ode to Rapeseeds blossoms:

Rapeseed Fields

                                  By  Luye

Everywhere on the island the Rapeseed flowers 

are in blossom.  We should christen them Official Flower

 Of The Island In The Center Of The Yangtze River.  

It's April, and now they begin to understand the world. 

Over and over they say love and love.  Even their 

eyelashes are golden. They speak in bright voices. 

They make the sky dizzy. They cover the fields, 

an enormous, outstretched coat, plain cloth a country 

girl has painted with yellow flowers, its patterns 

wavering shapes marchers form in a Flower Day 

parade, blooms plaited into their hair, bouquets 

in their hands. Here, the world's a floodlit stage, singers

trilling classic opera.  Soon it will darken as the show

ends, the audience applauding, and the curtain lowers. 

Then the little flowers will bear the oil rich seeds 

held deep in the vaults of their bodies and wait to be taken

away, new brides awaiting their husbands.  When we 

walk to the end of the yellow fields at the banks of the Yangtze 

River, the strong wind makes me suddenly lonely.  Can 

so many Rapeseed flowers understand my northern accent?

Huarong at night. The frogs were so loud next to me in this picture.

The cars waiting for their students outside our school gate at 9:30 pm

YiZhong's got some new swag