Spring has arrived!

While I still despise winter, the best part of living in places with a 'real' winter (meaning a place with daily below freezing temperatures and snow), is joy of walking outside one day in March/April/May and realizing that spring has finally arrived.

Well, that day arrived sometime last week in Beijing. Instead of the sad, barren, empty trees I'm used to see lining the streets, now there are trees with little specs of green dotting the branches and others have even blossomed overnight.

Since this weekend is a long weekend (I have Monday & Tuesday off for Qingming Festival, the festival during which you traditionally pay your respects to your ancestors), today I went over to Yuyuantan Park to view their famed cherry blossoms. These cherry blossom trees, like the ones in Washington, D.C., were a gift from Japan to China as a offer of peace and friendship. Looking at the blossoms, it undeniable spring is here, and hopefully to stay for a bit.

I hope an equally pretty spring has arrived for all of you as well. And if it hasn't, I hope it comes soon!