Off to Guizhou went Ellie...

It's always interesting seeing a new place through another's eyes.  

What did they think was worthy of a picture? 

On their first day in Guizhou, Ellie's senior class visited a Chinese

high school, supposedly to talk to and help the students with their English.

In her own words, "If I had 5 kuai for every time someone wanted to take my picture, I'd be rich!"

 It's been a phenomenon that strokes the ego... "Excuse me, could I take your picture?"

It's happened even to the older ones in our family (and I didn't even have to pay them to say that!),

but it happens most to our blonde daughters. 

It's been mentioned more than once that it will be missed once we move back to the U.S.

Then we'll just have the memories of being unique and beautiful.

While Alice visited an area that is unusually dry and sunny this year, (and hence the sunburn);

Ellie's area was unusually rainy.  

 Apparently good luck comes if you throw money on the floating turtle rafts.

 And Alice wasn't the only one to try new exotic foods.  This area had lots of

fish and such--squid, crayfish, etc.

Make your selection and the street vendor fries it in oil

 Oh, yeah.  And little crabs.  We're becoming more used to eating "street food".  

As long as it is cooked, it's okay.  And quite tasty.  But don't add in any lettuce or other uncooked things or you might be making a close, long, acquaintance with a toilet.  And western toilets

aren't very common (sometimes available at McDonalds).  Otherwise, you

get to use what we fondly call a squatty potty.

 But western civilization is encroaching everywhere!  Just look!  Ice cream!!

Even the flavored, soft-serve variety (notice the sign above).

Or Ellie's decadent-looking cone, (below).

 This area is known for the flowers, and for a dollar or two, you can have a fresh-flower

crown.  But having one of Ellie's Korean classmates model it is even better.

(And every picture with the Koreans has a peace sign, or a "live long and prosper" sign.

Point a camera and it's automatic!)

 Did I mention that it was rainy?  And cloudy?

The seniors traveled several hours by bus, then hiked up into the mountains, before taking a

tram up to the top.  And once they got there, what did they see?  A stunning vista?

 Hardly.  Ellie has a picture of the view--solid gray.

 Still, the area was interesting, and many signs proclaimed their

pride in the fact that it was part of the inspiration for the movie "Avatar" (with the blue people).

 Ellie had a good time.  She came home with some fun clothes from local tradesmen and a woven blanket.  But the best part of course, are the friendships made.

Returning to the U.S. in 3 weeks as she prepares for college will definitely be bitter-sweet for her!

Alice's Spring Trip to Kunming, China

For a year now, we've heard about "spring trips", and it was one of the reasons we 

chose Tianjin Int. School.  Each grade level takes a different trip:  the freshmen always

go to Kunming.  The seniors always go to Guizhuo.  

And for 9 days, Kevin and I got to be empty-nesters.

The cost of the trip is part of their tuition, which is paid by the company.

All we had to do was send along some money for souvenirs.

Alice's class (the freshmen) flew to Kunming in southwestern China.

Their group did a LOT of hiking.  They stayed in youth hostels.

They ate local food.  (And that got interesting!)

 They got a boat ride across a shallow lake, propelled by "poling".

Everyone wants a water buffalo... but if it's very muddy, maybe no one wants to really

touch it--except it loved having its head rubbed. 

 I got a text one evening--"Just finished a scary hike.  I love the mountains!"

A mom likes to receive those kinds of messages, especially after the scary part

is over and all is well.

Tiger Leaping Gorge.  One false step and there was no way back up. 

 Kevin and I have decided we really need to go see this place.

Before the hat was purchased,

the sunburn was well under way.

The group had several bus rides to different localities, along with over-night train rides.

Plane, train, bus, and foot!

 Rice paddies and terracing for tobacco plants (with plastic to protect the new plants).

 And more hiking.  

 Alice determined to be adventurous in trying all the local foods.  And she did it!

The chicken foot is basically chewed on, then you spit the bones out.

The dried lizards were crunchy.  

The group also did a day of service at an orphanage,

 and attended a Christian church service with a minority group, the Miao's.

The only other text I got all week:  "We had church for 3 hours, all in Chinese.  The music was really beautiful."

 The women have long hair that is put in a bun on top of their head to show 

they are married.

 But the joy on the face of a toddler, when being entertained, is universal.

 (not a real elephant)

The view from the hostel they stayed in.

So now the spring trip is over and done, and next May is a long time away.

But the memories will last a lifetime.

Gardening Fever

The weather in our part of China does an amazing change from winter to summer in

April.  Suddenly blossoms pop out of all kinds of trees, and 

it's time to go to the gardening store.  That's done a little differently here.

First, I needed some containers, and ceramics aren't expensive here

so we went to a vendor that has been fair in the past.

Her shop is just one small section of the building.  If I see a pot in the next aisle

that I like, I have to deal with a different vendor.  And of course, there are 

no listed prices, so you have to ask the price for each piece.  And then ask for the "friend" price.

We had a woman with us who is from Singapore, but of Chinese heritage, and suddenly the prices of everything were about half of what they were when we were just Americans (who are all "rich" and therefore should be charged more than regular Chinese.  I would agree that most Americans are better off than most Chinese, and I don't mind paying a little extra, 

but it never feels good to feel "taken"). 

 This young woman tied together my purchase,

 which made it home safely.  I filled the back of the minivan with plants (for inside to

help purify the air), and bedding plants: petunias, verbena, marigolds, coleus, etc. 

Having some dirt to play in has probably been the most important thing for me (next to having my kitchen stuff) to feeling content in my new home.

I keep looking out on my growing plants and I'm happy!

Having the new flowers all around the city has helped as well.

I was very excited to see the landscaping commence

 for the new buildings across our courtyard.

 The process was eye-opening.  Holes for the trees were marked, then

the trees brought in on a truck with small root-balls, and just dumped.

But it looks like the trees are living--at least all the ones that have been

watered.  Then came planting peonies:  hundreds of them.  Again, they were

just dumped in the area to be planted.

Bedding plants aren't put in flats and cute little 6-packs here.  They are in individual

soft plastic containers, with dirt that looks like gray cement.

Not every plant survives, but with hundreds planted, apparently, that's no problem.

I'm looking forward to the finished landscape.

Alice is 15!

 With the letters Ellie had used in her video,

I surprised Alice with "happy birthday".

We had fresh strawberries, whipped cream and an confetti angel food cake

to celebrate.  The birthday present will be waiting in the U.S. in June.  (She

wants the Millennium Falcon Lego kit).

It has been a good year for Alice.  

When I think about our lives last May, as we were trying to prepare to move 

without letting anyone know we were going to be moving, and how stressful everything was, I'm glad that's all over and gone.  

What a crazy time it was as she and Ellie did their joint recital. And went to a week-long

Especially For Youth in Minnesota.  And a week-long Girls' Camp.  And a 3-day youth conference.

Wait a minute!  I guess they had it pretty easy--they were always gone!

Then there was Packing.  And going to Idaho and Colorado. 

And then to China.

It is amazing to think we've been here 10 months.  

Alice and Ellie were a bit apprehensive in starting a new school, but

didn't take long to begin enjoying friends.  There were

many willing to include them.  I guess international schools tend to be

more inclusive--no one's been there long enough to be clique-ish.

Alice has been thriving like a transplanted flower thrives when

put into a bigger pot with rich soil.  

She is blossoming!   

You never know what you'll see on an outing...

On a recent Saturday, while the girls went to a KTV place for karaoke with the other

youth from church, Kevin and I had some time to kill, so

we walked down Tianjin's equivalent to 5th Avenue:  BinJiang Dao.

The stores are upscale, but there were also some cheap places.

Kevin got a leather wallet for 58 kuai--or just under $10.

But we are not real shoppers.  

It's more fun just seeing

what everyone else is doing on this walking street, 

which by the way is somewhat of a misnomer because "trolleys"  

--small trucks with benches in the back for tired pedestrians--come barreling through 

and you'd better be aware of them and get out of the way!

Suddenly, in the middle of the walking street appears

a couple, dressed to the max, with a couple of stuffed giraffes.

I'm not sure if they were modeling for a brochure or if these were their wedding photos.

Weddings are a REALLY big deal here

and the wedding business are huge. 

You can rent Cinderella's carriage, 

unless you'd prefer more traditional transportation.  

This is an enclosed chair carried by 4 men.

I didn't get the picture until after the bride had entered

the Buddhist temple (this was at Drum Tower Street).

We often see wedding caravans of rented red cars (red means good luck), with a

minivan leading the procession--with the back open and 

a videographer recording the whole thing.

Rich people might have red BMW's (or even red Porsche's), but usually they are Toyota Camry's or Corollas.  Depends on how much you want to spend.

And in the end, you are just as married if

you spend a little or a lot.  To my way of thinking, I would

rather have the money for setting up a nice household,

A few more memories of spring break...

None of us had eaten pineapple on a stick before, but now we have!  The vendors cut it in a spiral

shape to get all the brown "eyes" off.  You have to be careful buying street food

so you don't end up with a painful attack of e.coli.  So fresh fruit, peeled is good. 

But just before handing the fruit to us, the vendor dipped them in water.

and we didn't know if it was clean water or not.  (The only clean drinking water in China is 

bottled water--the water in the taps is not filtered or chlorinated).

Still, we chanced it, and it was alright in the end.

 I find old Chinese architecture always fascinating.

 The bells at that Bell Tower were immense and not at all like the bells that

hang in cathedrals or the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia.

 The Forbidden City,

 in much better weather than the last time we were there!

 It was fun seeing things in sunshine, rather than rain, and in blossoming springtime.

 And to end off the day in Beijing,

we went to the Pearl Market.  

Nathan was the first to discover that the ceilings were mirrored and

very entertaining.

We thoroughly enjoyed having family come to visit.

We'd be happy to have host more family or friends!