I slipped and fell on adventure

After a week of being unable to go out of the house due to pollution and the following week  having no work due to “mid semester exams”, Robyn and I decided to throw some clothes in the back pack and head off to Beijing for a very special BOOK SEARCH weekend! First of all… Doctor Strange. Robyn is a student of Comic Theology and was particularly keen to see Doctor Strange at the cinema. We had attempted to do so in Tangshan, but the day we went, the cinema was invariably closed without any explanation. It only takes an hour on the speed train (running at 305kms per hour – zoom!) to get to Beijing Train Station, then the tube (they call it Subway there in a more American fashion) is relatively easy to navigate (so long as you stay calm and are not in a rush!) and it took another 45 minutes to get to the hostel. I will admit I’ve not previously been one for hostels, in my experience they’ve been loud, smelt primarily of stale cigarette’s (which having quit two years ago I find

So Ni Hao is hello, Ni Hoa Ma is how are you. I’m not happy with this, I think there should be a ‘hello, how are you’ option, but apparently it is another situation in life where one must obey rules that go against all previous belief, knowledge and understanding. It’s been a difficult few days, reason being that: a)       Pollution has been at a HAZARDOUS level, so leaving the apartment for a walk is  inconceivable, a trip to the mall… the one acceptable outing. Sadly my lungs, that I’ve made suffer through a pack-a-day smoking  for 15 years, is not overly pleased about our new habitat and so a chesty cough sneaks up when you least expect, and often enough that often times I don’t even notice until someone points it out! b)       Due to ‘mid term exams’, all my classes were cancelled this week which means my mind has been about as occupied as a hampster on a wheel, something particularly unhealthy for someone like me. To deal with this situation I have: a)       Mad