frauke at large

Last year I missed them by a few weeks, this year I have finally managed to see them in all their glory, live on campus: Nelumbo nucifera – the lotus flower.

Often used to represent Buddha in Buddhist symbolism it’s easy to see how this magnificent flower also symbolises elegance and grace. Had to catch them quite early this morning as they close their flower heads when it gets too hot during the day – was well worth it! – despite having to put up with several building site workers shouting: loawai at each other, because they had obviously never seen a foreigner before … welcome to China! You’d think that after working on campus for the last few months, erecting the new student dormitories … obviously not.

Anyway, all over, campus is bursting with colour and exotic plants, it’s getting very hot – the other day the temperature went up to 38’C and the humidity is unbearable – and for some reason the sky is blue on most days, even featuring the odd white cloud … you could almost call it paradise, if it wasn’t for the incessant pestering of millions of mosquitos and the lack of mozzarella, tomatoes and olives … oh and it could do with a hammock in the shade under palm trees and a good book …

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