Snowy Day

I'm told it rarely snows in Qufu. This morning I awoke to see heavy flakes falling from a gray sky and immediately began making plans for a walk across campus after getting ready. I was disappointed to see that the snow had changed to a dreary drizzle while I was in the shower. However, an hour or so later, the temperature must have tipped back to freezing, and we've had snow ever since. Excited, I walked out with my umbrella and camera to wander the campus, dusted with a cold, slushy white. The snow was wet at the time and threatened to return to rain. I nonetheless enjoyed both my walk and the snack I got at the market: twisted sweet bread and coffee-flavored bubble tea to enjoy while watching the snowfall out my window.

It is now early afternoon and the snowfall is at its prettiest so far today. Large, feathery clumps are falling in a curtain and even beginning to stick to the wet streets. It looks like Christmas eve. In an hour, troops of rosy-cheeked students will make their damp, giggling way into my apartment for a free talk, and we will enjoy the particular pleasure of being cozy inside with good friends while the snow cover gets ever thicker outside.