Spring, Sunshine, Sunburns

Happy Easter, and Happy Spring!

It has only been a few short weeks since I last blogged, and I remember writing the last blog in my warm pyjamas and slippers on my feet, and a hot tea in hand to warm against the frigid winter air. What a change in weather today; bright blue skies, at least for the better part of the morning, and 26 degrees.

My class took a trip to Chiang Kai Shek Residence for a picnic and to view the acres of flower gardens. In fact, I never got to see any residence, just row after row of roses and cabbage-looking things. Oh, of course there was a cafe to by ice lollies and coffees, but there were far too many people in queue to even consider it. My jeans and polo shirt were definitely not an appropriate choice for such a hot day. I actually like that the seasons change with such abruptness here; at least it's predictable. Ooh, and also, happy first sunburn of the year! Go, go melanoma! Just kidding. No, not kidding, melanoma isn't funny. Sorry.

We had a very lovely picnic, and actually it was so typical of what I remember picnics to be from my younger years that I hardly noticed I wasn't supposed to be enjoying myself. Well, considering how much I was hating this winter, I was quite taken aback by my relaxedness today. We played games and threw balls and ate junk food and got cranky from too much sun. I broke up fights and bandaged some wounds, both physical and emotional. There were about seventy five thousand too many people at the park, literally, but I found that I was able to ignore the crowds and just enjoy the moment.

I think that we were all enjoying the first real day of good warm weather, and it shows on their faces. I was going to say that the kids were praising the sun, but I was playing fetch with them and the picture was a little bit staged. :) Yep, I'm not above subjecting my students to fetching just for a photo-op!

One of the memories that stick out for me from elementary school was playing with the giant nylon parachute; how we would whip it up and around, creating a storm system of synthetic waves and undulations. How we would bring it low, then quickly overhead, darting underneath and tucking it under our bums, the parachute sinking slowly, slowly, silhouetting our bodies like psychedelic snow under rocks, us lost in a world hidden from reality.

The picture of the still-closed rose seems cold, bleak and uninviting, a bizarre juxtaposition to the sweat that was dripping down my forehead when I snapped the shot. I was going to post-process some vibrancy into the petals, but then I was reminded that everyone has their own way of dealing with the changing of seasons and weather, even flowers.