funny, how coming back home is strange in the way we just smoothly slip back into our routines, into the netflix series and songs we were obsessed with before we left — and into the worries too. it’s like taking a week off from life, and then coming back… but everything is still here, still the same.

the first half of the week was overwhelming. chinese classes are going well, but each 2-hour class requires another 2-3 hours of prepping in advance… and to do that twice per week gets really intense. so much so that i didn’t go to the pool at all this week. :( i need to be better at managing my time, the eternal struggle.

the skies have been yellow for days now, and a thin layer of dust makes everything a dull color. the air quality this week has been amazingly poor, and the wheezing boy has been safely hiding inside, blasting the air purifier all-day long. it looks like we’ll get some respite next week, and hopefully some rain too, to wash it all away.

because of insomnia, i finished reading bride (which was quite a bit more explicit than anticipated 😳), and also listening to an artist of the floating world (which featured more post-war political guilt than expected). we also watched a couple of movies, barbie and the man who knew infinity.

the boy found out about some guided tours in a local olive processing factory, and so we went to check it out. we were the only portuguese among all the americans and dutch doing the tour, but it was quite fun to see all the things that go into processing olives for consumption. plus, the tour guide (one of the workers there), besides being super knowledgeable, was really funny too! and at the end, there was a feast of olives for tasting, as well as bread and folar made by her mom. truly, a delight! i want to see it again, once the olive season is in full swing.