Another sunny, summery day in Baoding. I just got back from spending a great time with a bunch (6) of my Phd students, we went to the Baoding Botanical Gardens (which in reality is really just a big park area with trees and plants planted a couple of years ago... it's a little bare right now but will surely be nice in a few more years), just walking around and lying down on the lawn, enjoying the day and being silly. The area of the gardens is huge, which means that even though hordes of people come there on the weekend, you can still mostly be on your own and enjoy the peace & quiet (- essential for the Finn in me...).

I really, truly enjoy being with these people, they are the ones who are my real friends here and make me feel at home. I have a few close friends in the younger students, but with them I always feel that I'm playing the role of an older sister a little, they look up to me somehow, but the PhDs treat me as an equal, though they are all older than me I am their teacher so I guess that sort of equals it out... Anyway, I feel like with them I can just relax and be me :) And I have to say I feel a lot better with them than with most of the foreigners, no matter how nice they are, too, but somehow it's much warmer and simpler with the Chinese.

The outing in the park was of course followed by a great lunch...which means it's time for a nap now, in the Chinese fashion...

But pictures, of course, check out the bold and the beautiful of Baoding!!