Head for the Hills: Nan Shan

The Spring semester of 2007 passed in a dizzying rush for me. Hard work is nothing new to me but rarely have I spent so much time with my nose buried in books; there were days when, as my housemates retired to their rooms I was still sitting at the dining room table finishing up preparations for the next day's classes, and when they got up to start their day I was already set up at my post, making harried reviews for classes I was taking or teaching.

I had a busy schedule of full time one-on-one instruction (from good, demanding teachers) in two different languages in two different language families, neither of which has any fundamental similarity with my mother tongue. Then I taught a few hours a week as well. Wondering why no one heard much from me between February and July? Because I was losing my mind.

I did, however, manage to get into the mountains a few times. The first time this year was on a pleasant, one-day hike through some classic Xinjiang mountain scenery. Pine trees, rolling green hills, bubbling streams, and the occasional herder's yurt.

I went with my Korean classmate (on the left), my former student and her boyfriend. This year, there's been nothing sweeter than my moments out of the cities, trudging through the mountains of Xinjiang which seem so far removed from the cities and oases.