Things Cody likes
1) Spring! After a few weeks when it looked like spring was just around the corner but during which Beijing kept throwing at us sandstorms, snows, smog, and other miscellaneous wintry shit, today was the first day in quite some time that I'd describe as "sunny and warm". Like, I could walk around in a t-shirt levels of warm. I took a walk along the Yuan Dynasty City Walls park - no actual walls anymore, or almost none, but a pretty canal and lots of people smiling, flying kites, playing chess, singing opera, or generally chilling.
2) Singing! I always forget how much it improves my mood to be singing. The chorus is doing African Sanctus, so there is much Latin and awesome rhythms albeit with a rather uncomfortable tinge of Orientalism about the whole thing. We had rehearsal this morning, and I think it markedly improved my mood for the rest of the day. (Question: Can you use the word "Orientalism" to refer to Africa? Is Orientalism in the sense I'm using it geographically-neutral, and if not is there a geographically-neutral or Africa-specific equivalent?)
2) Singing! I always forget how much it improves my mood to be singing. The chorus is doing African Sanctus, so there is much Latin and awesome rhythms albeit with a rather uncomfortable tinge of Orientalism about the whole thing. We had rehearsal this morning, and I think it markedly improved my mood for the rest of the day. (Question: Can you use the word "Orientalism" to refer to Africa? Is Orientalism in the sense I'm using it geographically-neutral, and if not is there a geographically-neutral or Africa-specific equivalent?)