Spring has sprung

Not surprisingly, this being April and all, spring has arrived in Shanghai. We had a heat wave in March, bringing the first plum and magnolia blossoms and the beginning of the redbud buds. Then it got cold again, and how we suffered! But spring appears to be in full flower now. The palm trees have shed their burlap winter coats. Begonias, petunias and primroses have replaced the winter plantings of ornamental cabbage and chard, and many of the former pansy beds and boxes that kept us cheered up all winter are filled with newly-planted annuals such as poppies, ranunculus and stock. The stick-like plants in planters along the elevated highway, which surely bloomed during the summer (how soon I forget!), appear to be something like forsythia. Azaleas are in bloom, as are a variety of shrubs I don’t recognize. Spring breezes help blow away the air pollution, and westerners have started wearing sandals again. The Chinese believe that it’s not good to be cold, so many of them are still wearing turtleneck sweaters, wool jackets and boots, but nice weather is upon us and we are happy.

We were here last April for a week, but due to the rigors of jet lag, bad weather (cold and rainy) and Mao’s revenge, I don’t remember flowers except in Fuxing Park on our last day. They must have been here; on the other hand, we stayed way downtown, away from the parks and the flowers, so who knows?

Bill has gone back to California for his last trans-Pacific junket. He took with him 2 big suitcases filled with winter clothes and books we can’t bear to leave behind. He also has our last expat shopping list: Peet’s coffee, dark chocolate, ibuprofen and vitamin C. This is the time of year when families nearing the end of a two- or three-year contract start talking about the next assignment or about going home, and when teachers at school say, “I understand Julia won’t be with us next year.” It is now possible to look at the next two months on the calendar and realize that the calendar is reaching its end and that after a certain date there will be no more Chinese classes, coffee mornings, ladies’ lunches, architecture walks or lectures on Chinese calligraphy. This is when we have to buy what we want to buy, get rid of what we no longer need, solidify friendships and prepare to say goodbye.