Breathe...keep breathing...

It's another crazy week here at Yogademia, being that in the space between Sunday and Thursday I have to complete my language "exit test" (to quantify exactly how many things I've forgotten in the last year), write another several thousand characters' worth of final essays, do the normal homework, pack up the majority of my room, write a 30-minute lecture with powerpoint to deliver Thursday night, say goodbye to friends who are leaving and fit yoga in somewhere. Oh yes, and breathe. Forgot about that.

Of course, this being Beijing, it's become insanely hot for this early - up to 35 apparently today (95 Fahrenheit) - AND I've gotten another strange allergic reaction to some unknown Beijing element. These started happening last year when I got caught in the rain without an umbrella, and afterwards my top lip swelled up like Angelina Jolie's and developed prickly little bumps. It seems to happen every few months, lasts about a week, has no other effects, and then disappears. I blame weird pesticides and other things that shouldn't be in the rain, much less on fruit and vegetables. Meds do nothing; just have to keep slathering on thick coats of lip balm and ride it out. (On the bright side, I do now have quite the sensual pout.)

In preparation for leaving at the end of the month I practiced an episode of Yoga Today from May 28 on preventing jetlag. I was pretty fatigued this afternoon when I finally made it home, and a nap just wouldn't take, so I quit wasting time and popped the yoga on. Ahhh...great little pranayama practice, couple of sun salutes, gentle twists, modified inversions. The pranayama was especially helpful, despite my pollution-clogged sinuses, and now I feel much closer to my normal self. Which is good, because it looks to either be a late night or a very early morning...