And we're off

Weather: windy and freezing
Temp: -15 to -8
Exchange rate: RMB 1 = R1,47
No balance required: You don't need to skate when you go to Houhai - you can also cycle or sit on a ice chair. Only in China.

We leave for Vietnam today! And not a minute too soon I tell you, cause it's FREEZING. The wind chill factor is crazy. Beijing has central heating and it's a life saver, but usually we don't turn it on cause everybody in our building has theirs on so the building is pretty warm and toasty and usually the radiant heat from the other apartments is enough to keep us warm. But not last night. Crazy me went to Sanlitun yesterday to get a New Years present for our Mandarin tutor, Demi. I was half-frozen when I got home. I turned on ALL the radiators in the apartment: kitchen, bathroom, lounge bedrooms... And I was still a little cold. NuNu curled herself into a ball and didn't move.

I'm totally freaking out about turning 35 next week for various reasons. It's closer to 40 than to 30. And right now I'm not buying that 40 is the 30. 40 is 40, although I know some pretty cool 40-year-olds. Mmm. And a big thing for me: I'm moving from the 20 - 34 age group (which marketer like me so love to use) to the 35 - 50 age group. I'm not ready to be counted with the 50-year-olds (apologies to those 50 and over but I'm freaking out here). And of course the biggest issue is that I can no longer join the ANC youth league... Aaah, perhaps every cloud does has a silver lining.

I won't be blogging for the next week - we're not taking the laptop and I don't think we will have an internet connection anyway. We'll be on the island of Phu Quoc, on the beach, drinking cocktails. You all have fun.