I have a deep gratitude for each Mandarin teacher who has taught me — and in many cases, I also feel attached to their hometowns, as those are often discussed when practicing new phrases — back and forth. Even more so with Clytie, because she filmed her hometown Changshu (常熟) nearly three years ago. Ever since seeing that video, I have wanted to visit those places. And perhaps the way I see Clytie also extends to how I see the city. Because in my mind, Changshu is a friendly, peaceful and well-organized oasis just near frantic Shanghai.

So today I took the day off to recover from working 15 days straight, to move my legs and rest my tired heart. I boarded the early train and fifty minutes later arrived in Changshu — to visit the locations in Clytie’s video. I saw Fang Tower (方塔), which reminded me of the Wanshou Tower (万寿塔) in Jiading. The tower stands in a neat park with limestone in all kinds of shapes (probably from Lake Taihu (太湖), and is surrounded by old alleys with seniors still living there, I visited Yushan (虞山), to see the tomb of Yan Yan (言子), one of Confucius’ students, as well as the pavilion on the peak. And I saw Shang Lake (尚湖) and its red-leafed trees.

I had originally planned to eat tiramisu today, because it’s my go-to comfort food. Its name comes from “Tireme su” (“Lift me up”), and if that little blessing won’t cheer me up, then mascarpone and cacao will. But I found none today — instead, I came across ‘Yushan pine mushroom noodles’ (虞山蕈油面). Like tiramisu, it’s not an easy recipe. The mushrooms are peeled, rinsed, stir-fried, and then seasoned. I didn’t know mushrooms could taste like that, almost like a type of beef. But well, was it the mushrooms or the city? Anyhow, I’m in a much better mood now.