九眼桥(Jiuyanqiao or Nine Eyes Bridge), evening rush hour   The summer weather has been strange: stifling hot one day, cool and rainy or drizzling the next. Always, the humidity saturates the air, and the leaden sky hangs over the city like a wet blanket. The rare sunny day leaves the eyes burning as people scurry toward small patches of shade or hide under umbrellas. The academic year is finished, and now the summer session is in full swing.  ILTC is filled with summer students, and more foreign teachers than I’ve seen in one place since coming to China. I’m teaching ten class periods a week, mostly in a going abroad program for university teachers from Wuhan. Today I will meet a group of students at Wangjiang Park for English practice – thankfully the temperature today isn’t stifling. I continue to do IELTS exams three weekends a month.      evening reading   On a recent evening, I ventured outside for a walk, exiting campus through the tiny Little North Gate, which is simply a narrow opening between buildings, with a metal barrier that forces one to squeeze through the gap sideways. I followed the First Ring Road to Jiuyanqiao (Nine Eyes Bridge) as the city began to cool off for the night. I followed the narrow street beside the river, lined with bars and music places, to the Anshun or Marco Polo Bridge, then crossed over to the Shangri La Hotel. I stopped at Starbucks for an evening coffee, then

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