wu yi
The Chinese holiday of 五一 （wu yi)(May 1st) has arrived and all of China is on vacation. Every May 1st, Chinese people get an entire week off from work to go on vacation. The trains are all packed, the bus station is bustling, and the highways are bumper-to-bumper. It is funny how Chinese people generally get week long vacations (new years, May 1st, national day, etc.) whereas Americans typically only get a day or so.
Anyways, I made a decision that since (at the time I thought) my teachers were going to be in town, I would power through the holiday and continue my lessons. Since I would not be traveling, and knew that Shenqi wanted to take a course on teaching aerobics in Beijing, I told her that wu yi might be a good time to take the class. That way, we could both take a trip together around the 20th when there would be fewer people vacationing.
Of course, that proved to be too idealistic for China. On Thursday afternoon, a day and a half before the holiday, Willa told me that all the teachers would have the holiday off and that no one would be able to teach me. Now it is not like this was a last minute thing…..May 1st is not some type event that comes out of the blue. This date is something that could easily be seen in advance, and thus it should not have been a problem to give me more than a days notice to make other arrangements. This is so typical of my experiences in China. No matter how far in advance someone knows about something, they always manage to inform you about it at the last minute when they are sure it will inconvenience you. GRRRRRR!
Anyway, 申琦(Shenqi) is now in Beijing for the week, I have no class, and everyone I know is on vacation in another city. What a fun week this will be. Actually, it is going to be nice to have some free time to do some self-study and catch up.
April 30th, 2006 at 9:39 pm
I hope that you enjoy it. Go check out the flight school there and ask if they’ll take you up in the DA42!!!
April 30th, 2006 at 9:42 pm
Wow Elijah…..that was QUICK. I clicked post 3 seconds ago!!! Why don’t you get a job there and take me up yourself
May 1st, 2006 at 5:50 am
AJ
May 1st is a huge holiday in South America as well. I vividly remember the May day celebrations in Russia where the Russian military would roll out the cool weapons and drive them through the streets of Moscow.
Stay safe!
May 1st, 2006 at 5:58 am
Alan…….I had no idea May 1st was so big in South America….thanks for the comment
May 1st, 2006 at 6:45 am
An1Di2,
pretty cool, my name is Terry and I used to work with your Uncle Alan. Your posts do get me laughing out loud as well, and fun to see your perspectives.
By the way, you dont tip cash in China ’cause you would be upsetting the rule for others. However tipping cigarettes is generally a nice gesture and ice breaker. Not a good practice for a newcomer like you, unless it is situational.
I travel to China a lot and will be heading there again this week, arriving just in time for the end of May 1 holidays.
By the way, your Chinese is excellent!!! Enjoy the week in BJ with your girlfriend.
May 1st, 2006 at 7:13 am
Terry…..thanks for the info. I quickly learned that you don’t ever tip here…..and while it was strange at first, I have quickly gotten used to it. It is nice not having to deal with tax and tip on a meal. Have fun on your trip
May 1st, 2006 at 7:45 am
Think of all the time you now have to organize your graphic images. Study. Relax.. A week must seem lie a lifetime after a rigorous daily schedule. It will be back to normal before you realize it. Continue to learn and have fun.
May 1st, 2006 at 4:36 pm
Jerome……it is funny that you said that as that is one of the first things I am trying to tackle. Processing RAW images really takes some team. You an do so much with RAW, but it takes some serious time.
May 2nd, 2006 at 8:12 am
Processing what you’ve learned DOES take time. But it’s the processing that makes it stick. Actually, a week of free time right now is a gift. It didn’t come wrapped in pretty paper or have a bow on it, but you’re the lucky recipient. In between good food, workouts and massages, there can be some magnificent processing.
May 2nd, 2006 at 6:50 pm
Grammy……thanks……I think you are right
May 12th, 2006 at 7:16 pm
在中国，五一长假总是好多好多人出行旅游，有的人是去玩，有的人是回老家探亲，而我则喜欢在家睡个大懒觉，养好精神。
玩嘛？！通常我会选择人少的地方，比如开车带着女友去小汤山农家菜园采摘草莓，或者去一个景色好；空气清新；比较偏远一点的寺庙！
据我所知，在石家庄和北京的交接处有两个风景区，叫做“十渡”和“野山坡”，可以蹦级；爬山；骑马；晚上住在农家院里，可以烧烤全羊羔；放炮竹；还有很多可以玩的，我前几年去过一次，感觉挺好！
我的英文很差，需要查字典才能看懂你的文章，你能看懂我写的中文么？
*^_^*
June 11th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
Fu Rao….你的汉字我都读懂了。我不需要查字典，我只需要我的女朋友，就可以帮我翻译=）你说的地方听起来非常好玩儿。
December 24th, 2009 at 9:54 am
Great post mate! Where