Vanessa's Journal

Feb. 1

Well folks, it is February.  I don’t know where January went! Today was a whirlwind of a day.  Lao Wang and I hiked down the mountain for the pre-Chinese New Year party at the panda breeding center.  My boots have been inherited by Lao Yang again because his broke and we are waiting for new ones to arrive, so I hiked down the mountain in my New Balance running shoes.  Given the six inches of snow and my complete lack of traction, it was more like freestyle downhill skiing.  It’s all for the best really, as someone needed to take advantage of the powdery snow that was just too perfect for skiing.  On the way down, we saw what Lao Yang was telling us a few days ago regarding the evidence of a wild pig frequenting the trail down the mountain.  Wild pigs are another species that has suffered greatly from human disturbance in this area, so I was excited to see that one was making a rare appearance nearby. 
The party was fun.  Again, it was nice to be invited.  The majority of the colleagues who work there will be leaving to meet with extended family for the holiday.  So this was the final hurrah before then.  I also got a chance to stop by the post office and pick up another box of chocolates from my mom and another set of two letters from my dad.  It’s like Christmas every time I go to the post office!

Lao Wang got a chance to get his haircut, which was actually one of his main motivations for trudging all the way down the mountain in the snow.  He had wanted to go and get it done awhile ago, but it got delayed due to the water fiasco.  His hair was kind of getting out of control and we were teasing him about it.  Not that the rest of us look spectacular.  I didn’t realize how disgusting I was until a fancy car picked us up in town and I was afraid to get in and damage the upholstery.  I made the mistake of looking at myself in the rearview mirror from the backseat and suddenly realized why we don’t have mirrors at Wuyipeng.  It was my first look in the mirror in over a month and definitely the last for the rest of the trip.  Anyway, we hiked back up the mountain in the afternoon and made it back for dinner.  All in all, it was a long but good day.