Stone and cement

When I return to Australia I will enjoy walking on something softer than stone or cement. Here in China, or at least in this part of China there is nothing else to walk on but stone, tiles or cement.

At the university there are only tiled floors - in our apartments, in the offices, in the canteens and other catering places. The foot paths are stone, or cement walk ways. In the class rooms there are tiles. The stairs are stone.

Walking to the bus stop - it is all cement or stone. In the city of Shoaxing it is cement or stone. Never does one walk on timber floors, or on lawns or "ground."

We feel the consequences of this in our feet and our backs. Sometimes after a few hours of teaching in a classroom with tiled floor where we never sit down, we can feel the stress on our bodies.

The Chinese people probably know little different.

If I go to the huge tourist spot across from the university, there too I can expect to walk only on stone or cement.

While everything looks green and the gardens stretch for "miles" there is no where to walk but these hard surfaces.

We have discovered that the Chinese people often do not like to walk on lawn or grass anyway. One teacher took her students out onto a small patch of grass near her class room, but the students would not sit on the grass. They just don't, although I have seen them sitting onplastic sheeting on the ground.

It is hard on the feet. I long to walk on a carpeted floor, a timber floor or just walk around grassy areas.