Strange Dreams

Last night I went to sleep in my pajamas, a fleece pullover, a long sweatshirt, Josh’s flannel pants and two pairs of socks.  I was warm, cozy and slept soundly.  I had two strange dreams.  In the first one I was at some sort of Water Park.  A former student named, Ron, was there and he wanted me to try the slide.   It was a long tube, but unlike tube slides at water parks I am familiar with, this one was filled with water and you needed to hold your breath all the way through.  Ron entered the slide feet first and reached up to hold my feet to make sure I got all the way through.  The tube was longer, and because of the water inside, slower than I expected.  I got panicky toward the end because I did not think I could hold my breath that long.  In the dream, I did make it through and swam to the surface for a breath of air.   I had to chuckle when I woke up immediately following that gulp of air.  Oh so many possible interpretations of that dream!  In terms of adjusting to my new environment, it is a long way to the other side of that slide.  

In my second dream some nasty, centipede type creature had attached itself to my second toe.  I was kicking hysterically and which resulted in the majority of the creature’s body tearing away leaving only it’s head attached.  I really have no interpretation on that one, and will just file that away under bizarre dreams.

The strangest thing just happened.  My blackberry phone, which I only use for an alarm clock, just beeped with a message, and then rang.  Both were announcements about a snowstorm at Gustavus.  The reason this is surprising is that it has been my experience up until now that my American blackberry does not work here under any circumstances.  I quickly texted Bob, and the small indicator said “D” – as in delivered.  Bob replied he was just getting off the train in Washington D.C. and would call when he got to the station.  True to his word, a few minutes later the phone rang again, and both Josh and I had a chance to speak to him briefly.  Another breath of unexpected air!

Over breakfast Josh was telling me how the locals call him “Gwailo” – Gwai Lo literally means “ghost man” and is a common way to refer to Caucasians in Cantonese.  The shuttle bus driver, “Gwailo want off?”  The Starbuck’s cashier shouting instructions to the barista, “Gwailo want caramel macchiato!”  (Yes, there is a Starbuck’s in Zhuhai.  Josh has been there.  I have not.)

The first Internet guys arrived at shortly after 9:00 AM just as planned.  After a great deal of exploration, they determined the problem was not related to the equipment in my apartment, but was a bigger issue with lines in and out of the building.  They needed to arrange for additional help to look into the situation.  (After numerous phone calls, they handed the phone to me and Jessica was on the line, and explained the situation to me.) I do not teach on Mondays so I agreed to stay home and they said they would try to get someone here today.  At 3:30PM I got a phone call saying someone should arrive around 4:00PM. 

Before the Internet went out, I had downloaded Peter Hessler’s Oracle Bones so I spent the long, quiet day of waiting in my apartment happily reading that.  I had started reading Country Driving before I left.  He is a great writer and storyteller, and I am sure I will devour everything he has written in the time I am here.  He weaves history, geography, politics and sheer hilarity into memoirs about living and working in China.

Okay, it took a good hour and half but they figured it out and I am once again connected to the world!  Maybe being cut off from air was about being cut off from the Internet.  Maybe the creature attached to my toe was about my dependency on instant communication.  Who knows?  I think this Gwaipor (ghost woman) thinks too much.