Lockdowns around town, Halloween Celebrations, Red Dress Run, Canceled Band Practice, and FOMO

There were a couple lockdowns this week that indirectly impacted me.   Any building can be placed in lockdown at any time if someone in the building tests positive.  Although I have been fortunate to not be directly impacted by any lockdowns this last week, they did indirectly impact my schedule.  On Wednesday, because of a lockdown in one of the apartment complexes that houses teachers, there were five teachers absent and I was called to sub at the last minute.  Today, because of a lockdown in one of my bandmate's building, we ended up canceling band practice.  

Halloween celebrations have been underway all week despite the lockdowns.  My school had spirit this week. So throughout the week children and staff were dressed in a variety of festive attire and costumes. If I were allowed to I would include pictures of the adorable little kids in their costumes, but because of privacy concerns I cannot.

Friday night I worked late, had dinner at a Friends themed Café called "Smelly Cat", and helped a student by providing guitar accompaniment while she sang a song (by T. Swift) at the high school student council party. While Halloween is not technically recognized as a holiday in China, there are enough expats in Shenzhen that it gets celebrated. 

Yesterday (Saturday) I joined the Shekou Hash House Harriers once again for their annual Red Dress Run, which also included a Halloween theme. Two friends from work laid the trail.  All the hashers came in red dresses and costumes and all payment proceeds went to a charity for boys and girls to earn scholarships to return to school.  Most folks walked, but I joined the runners for a ball buster of a 13.3Km (8.28mile) run and hike. It was my first time taking the metro, which we rode to our starting point.  It only cost me 3rmb (0.41USD). We ran through the city for about 5km before scrambling up one side of Nanshan, stopping for drinks a couple times, and then practically sliding on our asses down the opposite side of the mountain. We did all of this while wearing red dresses and costumes.  By the end of the ordeal my hips, knees, ankles, back, and lungs hurt like hell.  I was covered in mosquito bites and very dehydrated.  We finished with a circle, drinks, and dinner at the Snake Pit.  Despite all the pain it was still a lot of fun.

My weekends fill up quickly.  Despite having tons of fun I often feel I am missing out on other opportunities.  Friday I missed game night because I was working late/performing/chaperoning.  Today (Sunday) I missed out on an epic hike with a waterfall and a view because I thought I would have band practice and was too exhausted to do much else besides get my covid test, do laundry, and order a grocery delivery at home.  I will be here plenty long enough to experience and enjoy a lot, so that reassures me that I have nothing to fear.  Although I cannot do it all in one weekend, I have many weekends and vacations to come.

The hash trail as recorded on Strava.  13.3km (8.28miles)

The hashers drew a lot of attention on the train to our start point and on the trail.  We are lucky we did not get arrested. 

Here you can see Shit Magnet, Camel Fucker, Branded Bitch, and Stolen Balls (Me)

Some stone carvings on Nanshan 

Some of the views from Nanshan

One of the hares, Lababa, pointing out where we started the run.  This dude saved my ass from getting terribly lost when I fell behind and lost the trail.  I heard him walking on a path a few meters above me so dashed up the hill to meet him.  Thanks to this guy I made it back to the on-in without taking a cab.

Some pictures from about 3 miles into the run. By this point I was already hurting and falling behind. 

The whole H3 crew on the metro.

The red dress run draws a crowd and a lot of attention.  Many hashers who rarely show up will make it to the RDR. Here we are making a spectacle of ourselves at the SnakePit.  The other patrons were not expecting to see this today. 

This adorable little doggo belonged to a hasher named Sloppy Seconds. She enjoyed the scratches that I happily provided.  

"Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, what are they feeding you?"

Some folks have asked me about the food here.  I make breakfast at home, then eat second breakfast and lunch at school, then cook dinner at home.  The most Chinese foods I have eaten are usually at work.  Here is a picture of a typical meal at lunch.  It is worth noting that bones in meat are not only accepted, but expected, as it lends a certain rich flavor to the dish.  That said, I am not yet used to eating the bony meat with chopsticks, and end up using my hands more often then not.  They also use tissues instead of napkins or paper towels here.  This is something which I do not think I will ever get used to.  It is delicious but messy.