My Mom included in an email today that they just went out and bought a Wii.
It just seems wrong when your parents have better video games than you do...(even if they are buying it for "exercise.")
-alan
[PS - Have fun with it, Mom!]
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Mystery solved!
Hey all,
Rachel here, I'd like to tell you one of the exciting highlights in a week of sadness and many tears...
I got a box in my mailbox at school...I wondered, what could it be??? I'm not expecting anything and especially not a box of Chinese milk (the type of box). Who might send me a package in China?????
I quickly remembered with some level of disbelief that this could be the final chapter of the Eva Chow shoe mystery...this could be the long lost shoes from Angela. I excitedly tore open the box and discovered the contents!!!! 3 new pairs of shoes that fit!!!
For those of you who are not avid readers of our blog, these shoes were purchased in August in Beijing, travelled with Angela to Shanghai, were sent to my school in Chengdu with the wrong name (Eva Chow), sent to Beijing to Eva, sent back to Angela's aunt in Shanghai, presumably stayed in her aunt's house for months (I'm not aware of any other travels), and then were recently sent to me by Angela's sister! Wow. Thanks to Angela's family for being persistent!!!!
Now I really feel spoiled. I came to Chengdu with one pair of shoes suitable for work and now I have more than I ever had before thanks to shopping in Taiwan and this fun package!
-rachel
Rachel here, I'd like to tell you one of the exciting highlights in a week of sadness and many tears...
I got a box in my mailbox at school...I wondered, what could it be??? I'm not expecting anything and especially not a box of Chinese milk (the type of box). Who might send me a package in China?????
I quickly remembered with some level of disbelief that this could be the final chapter of the Eva Chow shoe mystery...this could be the long lost shoes from Angela. I excitedly tore open the box and discovered the contents!!!! 3 new pairs of shoes that fit!!!
For those of you who are not avid readers of our blog, these shoes were purchased in August in Beijing, travelled with Angela to Shanghai, were sent to my school in Chengdu with the wrong name (Eva Chow), sent to Beijing to Eva, sent back to Angela's aunt in Shanghai, presumably stayed in her aunt's house for months (I'm not aware of any other travels), and then were recently sent to me by Angela's sister! Wow. Thanks to Angela's family for being persistent!!!!
Now I really feel spoiled. I came to Chengdu with one pair of shoes suitable for work and now I have more than I ever had before thanks to shopping in Taiwan and this fun package!
-rachel
they're really coming!
Mon, Mar 30, 2009 Chicago, IL (ORD) to Beijing, China (PEK) | ||||||||||
| United 0851 | Depart: ORD 12:41 PM | Non-stop | Fare basis code: |
| ||||||
| Mon, Apr 13, 2009 Beijing, China (PEK) to Chicago, IL (ORD) | ||||||
| United 0850 | Depart: PEK 4:10 PM | Non-stop | Fare basis code: |
| ||
We got this email the other day from Liz and Eric Weddle - friends from Chicago - who will be visiting us during our spring break. Hooray!! Our first international visitors! And they landed good tickets - nonstop from Chicago to Beijing will be pretty sweet.
[We had a brief non-international visit earlier this week, when Christina Liao - a college friend currently teaching in western China - came through Chengdu. She spent an afternoon with us, and got to eat Papa John's pizza with us. A little slice of NU here in Chengdu!]
So to get the process going on accepting visitors, I ventured out in the cold on Saturday to go back to the "bulk market" in Chengdu. I may have blogged about this previously, but to remind you, the market is huge - multiple warehouse-sized buildings over a few blocks - sells everything imaginable, and is very busy. My purchase was some new fabric to make sheets for our futon. I had many choices, but the stacks of silky Chinese prints particularly caught my eye...who wouldn't want to sleep on red dragons? Or white flowers? Or black bamboo?
Walking through endless corridors stacked with bulk wares, it often feels like everything is a blur and I just try to focus on not getting run over by the Chinese men carrying enormous bolts of fabric to and fro.
The nice part of the trip was the chance to get my scooter back on the big roads of Chengdu in a serious way. Winter put a serious crimp in my scooter riding, and I was worried that its battery life was not what it once was. Thankfully, my scooter did fine - unlike my travel companions, one of which had to be towed by me most of the way home due to battery failure. You're welcome, Zack...
-alan
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thanks to all who have sent their regards. We appreciate your thoughts and your love. :)
Because I don't want to end a post with it, I'll start with a picture of Colby at the end. It's sad to see him like this, but thankfully it was only the last day that he was really like this. He looks so much older than his 6 months really are!
Perhaps by Providence, I grabbed the camera last weekend before going out on a walk with Colby. We had wanted to take pictures in front of some flowering trees in the neighborhood, and I just kept snapping pictures along the way. It was a beautiful weekend, with warm weather and sunshine, so it was great to be outside.
And really, the three of us going on walks provided some of the best memories I will have with our dog. I loved being outside, being able to see the neighborhood, and watching him happily scamper from tree to tree to sniff every inch of the outside world he could get his muzzle to. He was getting pretty big, so we had to be sure to hold on REAL tight!
And now that the brunt of winter is over, I am reminded of how fortunate we are to be in China and have a beautiful neighborhood to live in. We will have to keep those walks going, dog or no dog.
Since Chinese New Year, Colby had been really afraid of loud noises. Cars, motorcycles, and buses were the worst - but really anything could send him into a frightful spasm. But there was one odd thing that always freaked him out...
Perhaps by Providence, I grabbed the camera last weekend before going out on a walk with Colby. We had wanted to take pictures in front of some flowering trees in the neighborhood, and I just kept snapping pictures along the way. It was a beautiful weekend, with warm weather and sunshine, so it was great to be outside.
And really, the three of us going on walks provided some of the best memories I will have with our dog. I loved being outside, being able to see the neighborhood, and watching him happily scamper from tree to tree to sniff every inch of the outside world he could get his muzzle to. He was getting pretty big, so we had to be sure to hold on REAL tight!
And now that the brunt of winter is over, I am reminded of how fortunate we are to be in China and have a beautiful neighborhood to live in. We will have to keep those walks going, dog or no dog.
Since Chinese New Year, Colby had been really afraid of loud noises. Cars, motorcycles, and buses were the worst - but really anything could send him into a frightful spasm. But there was one odd thing that always freaked him out...Hmmm...who'd have thought that Chinese babies sitting on bumblebees that play "It's a Small World" could be so terrifying??
And while we're showing videos, here's another of the adventurous Colby riding to school in a pedicab with Rachel.
And while we're showing videos, here's another of the adventurous Colby riding to school in a pedicab with Rachel.
So of course we are sad to see him go, but we appreciate the happiness he brought to our lives these last months. Rachel had never had a dog she really liked, so I'd say he did a pretty good job winning her over so quickly :)
Whether we will get another dog - I couldn't say. But I know that I learned some good lessons from the experience and am willing to just live without for the time being.
And to close - one last bit of nostalgia for our own sake. Those of you who asked for more Colby content - you better get your fill now.
Our first few days with the little guy.
"I won't chew your sandals this time, I promise!! PLEASE let me in!" His porch was his daytime home, and were unfailingly greeted every afternoon with his nose pressed to glass, tail wagging, giving us those eyes that gave us no choice but to go open the door and play with him.
Get that toy!...unfortunately, our fierce puppy mistook our nice plush carpet for a bathroom a few too many times.
Colby's first girlfriend...use your imagination. (I hope this picture doesn't come back to haunt this poor girl when she's older!)
Sleeping puppy.
He always managed to find a spot on the couch with us.
Bye!
Whether we will get another dog - I couldn't say. But I know that I learned some good lessons from the experience and am willing to just live without for the time being.
And to close - one last bit of nostalgia for our own sake. Those of you who asked for more Colby content - you better get your fill now.
Our first few days with the little guy.
"I won't chew your sandals this time, I promise!! PLEASE let me in!" His porch was his daytime home, and were unfailingly greeted every afternoon with his nose pressed to glass, tail wagging, giving us those eyes that gave us no choice but to go open the door and play with him.
Get that toy!...unfortunately, our fierce puppy mistook our nice plush carpet for a bathroom a few too many times.
Colby's first girlfriend...use your imagination. (I hope this picture doesn't come back to haunt this poor girl when she's older!)
Sleeping puppy.
He always managed to find a spot on the couch with us.
Bye!-alan
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Goodbye, pup...
It's a sad day.
In my busy week, I had been putting off a post about Colby. He had been kinda sick for a week or so - coughing, sneezing, and less energetic than normal. Over that time, it was actually kind of cute because he was more lovable than ever - always wanting to come sit on our laps and let us pet him.
We had taken him to the local vet previously, and they were not concerned. We chalked his illness up to a mere case of kennel cough, and let him try to rest it off. Then on Wednesday, he was sneezing more than normal, so we took him back to the vet. He had a fever and was producing a lot of mucus. They did a few tests, and found out he had distemper. Distemper is a virus that affects the nervous system of dogs and some other wild animals. It is incurable and pretty nasty as far as diseases go. And Colby had it.
He had been vaccinated as a puppy, but apparently they are not foolproof. We're not sure where he picked it up - he could have gotten it from his time in the kennel, or when out on walks sniffing around in the bushes. Who knows...and ultimately, I find it unproductive to play the blame game.
So after receiving the diagnosis at our local vet, we called a Canadian vet in town whose children attend CDIS. He gave us a recommendation for a clinic to go to. I took Colby down there this afternoon after lunch, but it was not an encouraging ride - his nose was running like a faucet, and he had started twitching more (muscle spasms caused by the virus). When I got there, as I feared, it was too late for them to realistically do anything to help him. So, we decided to have them euthanize him.
That was just a few hours ago now as I type, and I am sure it will take some time to sink in. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable (and because they are disease-ridden) we are quickly gathering up his toys and belongings and cleaning up the house.
We have some nice pictures we took with him a few days back. I'll post those tomorrow once I download them off my camera.
-alan
In my busy week, I had been putting off a post about Colby. He had been kinda sick for a week or so - coughing, sneezing, and less energetic than normal. Over that time, it was actually kind of cute because he was more lovable than ever - always wanting to come sit on our laps and let us pet him.
We had taken him to the local vet previously, and they were not concerned. We chalked his illness up to a mere case of kennel cough, and let him try to rest it off. Then on Wednesday, he was sneezing more than normal, so we took him back to the vet. He had a fever and was producing a lot of mucus. They did a few tests, and found out he had distemper. Distemper is a virus that affects the nervous system of dogs and some other wild animals. It is incurable and pretty nasty as far as diseases go. And Colby had it.
He had been vaccinated as a puppy, but apparently they are not foolproof. We're not sure where he picked it up - he could have gotten it from his time in the kennel, or when out on walks sniffing around in the bushes. Who knows...and ultimately, I find it unproductive to play the blame game.
So after receiving the diagnosis at our local vet, we called a Canadian vet in town whose children attend CDIS. He gave us a recommendation for a clinic to go to. I took Colby down there this afternoon after lunch, but it was not an encouraging ride - his nose was running like a faucet, and he had started twitching more (muscle spasms caused by the virus). When I got there, as I feared, it was too late for them to realistically do anything to help him. So, we decided to have them euthanize him.
That was just a few hours ago now as I type, and I am sure it will take some time to sink in. Not wanting to prolong the inevitable (and because they are disease-ridden) we are quickly gathering up his toys and belongings and cleaning up the house.
We have some nice pictures we took with him a few days back. I'll post those tomorrow once I download them off my camera.
-alan
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
ugh
That time of year already?
It's progress report time. Add in a few extra meetings, and this makes for a crazy, busy week. Problem is, I hadn't entered any grades until yesterday, because at the beginning of the semester, we were told we would be changing grade programs.
Come to find out, the program is not ready. Oh well...
-alan
It's progress report time. Add in a few extra meetings, and this makes for a crazy, busy week. Problem is, I hadn't entered any grades until yesterday, because at the beginning of the semester, we were told we would be changing grade programs.
Come to find out, the program is not ready. Oh well...
-alan
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Strange lunch
Today I went with some colleagues to The Bookworm, a charming English-language bookstore/library/restaurant in Chengdu. It was my 3rd time there, but the first time I went for something other than a special event. It was a lunch to remember.
My salad and sandwich were good, as expected. The food was not the issue, though. It was the "show." As a backdrop to our after-church lunch, we were witness to a gathering. A gathering of men. A gathering of mostly European, rugby-playing men. A gathering of European, rugby-playing men all wearing showy red dresses. Red dresses that didn't leave much to the imagination. And they were loving every minute of the attention they were generating.
Come to find out, there may have been some kind of fundraising event associated with this, but still that doesn't make up (in my mind) for the sight of very very large, hairy men in skimpy dresses strutting through the restaurant during lunch.
And perhaps that wasn't the strangest part.
As we were getting ready to leave, our exit was blocked by a ladder outside. A man was posting a banner, advertising an upcoming meeting. Of the "Sichuan-A Esperanto Asocio." So, despite the fact that the wannabe-universal language is hardly a mainstay in China, we happened upon the meeting of an Esperanto club in China. Who'd have thought.
If anyone can translate Esperanto, please let me know when their next club meeting is. (just kidding!) Hey, does Babelfish translate Esperanto?
-alan
My salad and sandwich were good, as expected. The food was not the issue, though. It was the "show." As a backdrop to our after-church lunch, we were witness to a gathering. A gathering of men. A gathering of mostly European, rugby-playing men. A gathering of European, rugby-playing men all wearing showy red dresses. Red dresses that didn't leave much to the imagination. And they were loving every minute of the attention they were generating.
Come to find out, there may have been some kind of fundraising event associated with this, but still that doesn't make up (in my mind) for the sight of very very large, hairy men in skimpy dresses strutting through the restaurant during lunch.
And perhaps that wasn't the strangest part.
As we were getting ready to leave, our exit was blocked by a ladder outside. A man was posting a banner, advertising an upcoming meeting. Of the "Sichuan-A Esperanto Asocio." So, despite the fact that the wannabe-universal language is hardly a mainstay in China, we happened upon the meeting of an Esperanto club in China. Who'd have thought.
If anyone can translate Esperanto, please let me know when their next club meeting is. (just kidding!) Hey, does Babelfish translate Esperanto?
-alan
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
I Love my City!
The Sichuan tourism bureau has put out a new promotional video for Chengdu. The idea is to lure more tourists back to Sichuan to help bring in more money for the rebuilding effort. The song is performed by a former Chinese American Idol, so it's got a bit of star power to it. The good news is, I actually recognize a lot of the places in the video!
There's enough English in the video that you'll get the gist of it.
-alan
There's enough English in the video that you'll get the gist of it.
-alan
Monday, February 9, 2009
More happiness today -
The trees outside the teahouse (where the ladies go dancing at night) were in bloom! No leaves yet, but there were pink and white flowers all over the branches. The bees were buzzing around, the air was warm, the sun was shining (kind of), and the sky was blue(ish). What an afternoon! While a lot of the plants stay green all year here, it is nice to see these early signs of spring.
Also, tonight is the Lantern Festival, which marks the end to Chinese New Year celebrations. It is traditional to begin and end the year with a bang, so there are lots of fireworks to mark the occasion. We don't have the best view (a lot of the explosions are hidden behind other buildings) but some went off right across the street.
Fun!
-alan
The trees outside the teahouse (where the ladies go dancing at night) were in bloom! No leaves yet, but there were pink and white flowers all over the branches. The bees were buzzing around, the air was warm, the sun was shining (kind of), and the sky was blue(ish). What an afternoon! While a lot of the plants stay green all year here, it is nice to see these early signs of spring.
Also, tonight is the Lantern Festival, which marks the end to Chinese New Year celebrations. It is traditional to begin and end the year with a bang, so there are lots of fireworks to mark the occasion. We don't have the best view (a lot of the explosions are hidden behind other buildings) but some went off right across the street.
Fun!
-alan
Happy news for CDIS?
One unintended consequence of working for an international school in China is that you find yourself paying more attention to minor stories that come across the economic news wire. As we are dependent on foreign business to keep our school afloat, we are always looking hopefully for signs of potential growth.
From this week's news - Intel will be closing its plant in Shanghai and shifting all its people to Chengdu. There's 2,000 employees at their facility there (including Chinese, I believe)....and surely some of those have some families who can swing our way during the next year. Fingers crossed!
-alan
From this week's news - Intel will be closing its plant in Shanghai and shifting all its people to Chengdu. There's 2,000 employees at their facility there (including Chinese, I believe)....and surely some of those have some families who can swing our way during the next year. Fingers crossed!
-alan
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Improved quality of life
First, a piece of old news from January - Colby is out and about! Here's a video of our new afternoon activity, taking walks together through the neighborhood. Colby is quiet (no barking!) and very friendly, so it is nice to go around and meet people with him. We do, however, need to work on teaching him to "heel."
Which reminds me - there are still Christmas decorations up at school. Seems like the holiday season should be over by now...
-alan
And now since we've been home from vacation, it is NICE to be outside. The weather is fantastic, considering it is early February. It's in the mid-50s and will be up to 60 this week, so it is fabulous to be able to go outside with a sweatshirt and not be freezing. Today, the sun even tried to come out....
Finally, Chinese New celebrations are just about over. The fireworks are dying down. I wonder how long the lanterns will stay up in our complex...
Finally, Chinese New celebrations are just about over. The fireworks are dying down. I wonder how long the lanterns will stay up in our complex...
Which reminds me - there are still Christmas decorations up at school. Seems like the holiday season should be over by now...
-alan
Thursday, February 5, 2009
School begins again
We returned from break and have started school again. I'm glad this is only a 2 day week, because I am already tired!
Though we have had a break, some things never change. The first morning back, my 1st period freshmen boys gathered around the mini-basketball hoop affixed to my classroom wall and resumed their morning ritual. I won't call it a game, because there are no teams, no rules, no scoring system. Here's how it works, as far as I can tell - the boys stand in a semi-circle around the hoop. Whoever has the ball shouts the name of an NBA player, moves towards the hoop, and shoot/dunks the ball while the onlookers emit various primitive grunts and noises. My suspicion was that they were mimicking the NBA dunk contest - but soon I realized that there was no connection between the name shouted and the action that followed.
So for a good 5 minutes, this is all I hear:
"Ohhhhh Gasol! Ughhhh. Yeahhhhhh! Ko-beeeeeee! Hrrrrrmphah! Ahhhhh--GARNETT!" And so on...
Oh teenage boys...At least the advantage of this type of communication is that everybody - Koreans, Americans, Chinese - can be included in the fun. Leave it to the NBA to unite the world.
-alan
Though we have had a break, some things never change. The first morning back, my 1st period freshmen boys gathered around the mini-basketball hoop affixed to my classroom wall and resumed their morning ritual. I won't call it a game, because there are no teams, no rules, no scoring system. Here's how it works, as far as I can tell - the boys stand in a semi-circle around the hoop. Whoever has the ball shouts the name of an NBA player, moves towards the hoop, and shoot/dunks the ball while the onlookers emit various primitive grunts and noises. My suspicion was that they were mimicking the NBA dunk contest - but soon I realized that there was no connection between the name shouted and the action that followed.
So for a good 5 minutes, this is all I hear:
"Ohhhhh Gasol! Ughhhh. Yeahhhhhh! Ko-beeeeeee! Hrrrrrmphah! Ahhhhh--GARNETT!" And so on...
Oh teenage boys...At least the advantage of this type of communication is that everybody - Koreans, Americans, Chinese - can be included in the fun. Leave it to the NBA to unite the world.
-alan
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
The Borders disappointment
One of my rekindled loves in the past year has been that of reading. It all started last year - I was no longer teaching full time, which gave me extra free time to play around with. Because I was also taking master's classes at UIC, I had access to the university library and the ability to borrow books at will.
This year, because I have less housework to do (thanks Xuemei!), I still have free time to spend with some books. I brought a few books with me but finished them all by Christmas. [if you want to know more, I update a page on the book network site Goodreads every now and then with what I have been reading]
Unfortunately, there's not much in the way of English bookstores in Chengdu. Thankfully, I got Hot, Flat, and Crowded (which I just started) from my sister Sharon for Christmas, and we picked up a few more books in Hong Kong and Taiwan over the holidays.
But the Borders in Kuala Lumpur has been in my sights for awhile now. Touted as the largest in the world, I drooled at the thought of all those books waiting for me.
That's where the story turns.
First, we don't even step foot in the door for a day and a half, leaving us less time to browse.
Then, they don't have the 1 book that Rachel REALLY wanted. (The Ayatollah Begs to Differ)
The book I REALLY wanted was ordered by Rachel on Amazon, and is on its way back to Chengdu thanks to Jenny, our trans-pacific pack mule. So I didn't need to buy it there. (In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto)
I wanted the February National Geographic, but it wasn't out yet. (on Feb 2?)
After 30 minutes of browsing, I picked up 3 books I liked. One of them was expensive, and I know the library at church has it (Heaven by Randy Alcorn). Another looked good, but Rachel told me the school library has it (Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded). The third was a popular science book that would be good as a teacher reference, but not something I wanted to buy with my own money.
So in the end - Total number of items purchased in the bookstore: 0. Number of items purchased in the bookstore coffee shop: 1.
And to put an exclamation point on the Borders disappointment, we happened upon another bookstore in another mall, run by a Japanese company. I didn't look at the prices, but the selection was way better...
Oh well. I've got plenty to read. And really, we were out of spending money anyway :)
So maybe it was a good thing!
Now, off to bed. School's back in session tomorrow!
-alan
This year, because I have less housework to do (thanks Xuemei!), I still have free time to spend with some books. I brought a few books with me but finished them all by Christmas. [if you want to know more, I update a page on the book network site Goodreads every now and then with what I have been reading]
Unfortunately, there's not much in the way of English bookstores in Chengdu. Thankfully, I got Hot, Flat, and Crowded (which I just started) from my sister Sharon for Christmas, and we picked up a few more books in Hong Kong and Taiwan over the holidays.
But the Borders in Kuala Lumpur has been in my sights for awhile now. Touted as the largest in the world, I drooled at the thought of all those books waiting for me.
That's where the story turns.
First, we don't even step foot in the door for a day and a half, leaving us less time to browse.
Then, they don't have the 1 book that Rachel REALLY wanted. (The Ayatollah Begs to Differ)
The book I REALLY wanted was ordered by Rachel on Amazon, and is on its way back to Chengdu thanks to Jenny, our trans-pacific pack mule. So I didn't need to buy it there. (In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto)
I wanted the February National Geographic, but it wasn't out yet. (on Feb 2?)
After 30 minutes of browsing, I picked up 3 books I liked. One of them was expensive, and I know the library at church has it (Heaven by Randy Alcorn). Another looked good, but Rachel told me the school library has it (Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded). The third was a popular science book that would be good as a teacher reference, but not something I wanted to buy with my own money.
So in the end - Total number of items purchased in the bookstore: 0. Number of items purchased in the bookstore coffee shop: 1.
And to put an exclamation point on the Borders disappointment, we happened upon another bookstore in another mall, run by a Japanese company. I didn't look at the prices, but the selection was way better...
Oh well. I've got plenty to read. And really, we were out of spending money anyway :)
So maybe it was a good thing!
Now, off to bed. School's back in session tomorrow!
-alan
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Finishing off the trip - Kuala Lumpur
We had two days at the end of our trip to enjoy Malaysia's capital and largest city, Kuala Lumpur. We stayed at Berjaya Times Square, a huge hotel and shopping complex downtown. The room was huge - the bathroom alone was easily twice the size of our entire room in Singapore. It was so big that Brian and Katie stopped to stay with us for a day on their way home from Bali, and it was not at all cramped. We didn't do anything cultural or historical in KL - we saw the Petronas Towers, and we shopped. Our hotel had a movie theater, bowling alley, restaurants galore, and amusement park, the world's largest Borders, etc - so we didn't need to go out much.
The only downside was an unfortunate pickpocketing incident...but we won't let that color our overall vacation experience. It was fun to spend a couple weeks with just the two of us, touring through the cities we visited. I didn't have to think for a second about work, so it was truly relaxing. I don't know how many places like this we will be able to travel to later in life, so I happy to take advantage of the opportunity now - even if, as Brian says, "it means we are broke for the rest of our life."
-alan
The last couple days in Singapore
We're home in Chengdu now (yay for my own bed!) so there's no more excuse to avoid blogging about the second half of the trip.
In Singapore we met up with our old Northwestern friend Chye, and went to the "Night Safari." Since it is a famous Singaporean spot and it came recommended by Sharon, Danielle, and Jenny we had to go.
It was fun to see the variety of nocturnal animals that you don't normally see awake and active when you go to the zoo. In particular, we liked the flying squirrels, fruit bats, leopards, and civets. We rode a tram through the park to see the larger animals, and also walked around the paths a little (including going in the bat and squirrel cages!)
From the shows, here are a couple videos that show a little of what we saw. On the left is a group of fire-breathing "tribesmen" (I don't know much more than that) and on the right is a video of recycling otters struggling to get that trash put away! Aren't they cute?
Later on we ate roti prata (friend flatbread served with curry sauce) and feasted into the wee hours. Thanks Chye!
The next day we toured through Chinatown. We went to a local history museum and learned about the various plights of Chinese immigrants to Singapore through the ages. They had a full-size reproduction of 1950s-era tenement housing that the majority of Chinese lived in (dozens of people crammed in tiny spaces), and so it was amazing to see how far modernization has taken Singaporeans in half a century since then.
Throughout the week, we have seen troupes of lion dancers (I think we saw 6 or 7 performances in all) celebrating the new year. But in Chinatown, while on the search for Slurpees and egg tarts, we came across a unique performance:
I'm not sure how that guy didn't break all his teeth.
Here's some more sights from the Chinatown streets, including Rachel's new dress:
Later that night, we met with another old Singaporean friend, Mun. We had a fun night on the town, from the English pub downtown to a Mexican restaurant in Holland Village, to live music at an American-style nightclub. I never went out to hear live music all that much in America, but it was therapeutic to sit there and soak up the sound all around me.
We thought we flew out at 7am the next morning, but it was actually 9pm (though there was a brief scare due to the misreading of 24-clock that made us think the flight was at 7pm, but that's another story) so we had another day free. Mun was kind enough to take us out for chicken rice (another local favorite). I'll miss the variety of food that we had there!!
So bye bye to Singapore! In all, the city/country was a lot of fun. We saw a lot of the island, ate a lot of good food, and enjoyed the diversity that is there. It was reminiscent of America to see the melting pot of people all around, and how the variety of people adds a positive dimension to the society.
-alan
In Singapore we met up with our old Northwestern friend Chye, and went to the "Night Safari." Since it is a famous Singaporean spot and it came recommended by Sharon, Danielle, and Jenny we had to go.
It was fun to see the variety of nocturnal animals that you don't normally see awake and active when you go to the zoo. In particular, we liked the flying squirrels, fruit bats, leopards, and civets. We rode a tram through the park to see the larger animals, and also walked around the paths a little (including going in the bat and squirrel cages!)From the shows, here are a couple videos that show a little of what we saw. On the left is a group of fire-breathing "tribesmen" (I don't know much more than that) and on the right is a video of recycling otters struggling to get that trash put away! Aren't they cute?
Later on we ate roti prata (friend flatbread served with curry sauce) and feasted into the wee hours. Thanks Chye!
The next day we toured through Chinatown. We went to a local history museum and learned about the various plights of Chinese immigrants to Singapore through the ages. They had a full-size reproduction of 1950s-era tenement housing that the majority of Chinese lived in (dozens of people crammed in tiny spaces), and so it was amazing to see how far modernization has taken Singaporeans in half a century since then.
Throughout the week, we have seen troupes of lion dancers (I think we saw 6 or 7 performances in all) celebrating the new year. But in Chinatown, while on the search for Slurpees and egg tarts, we came across a unique performance:
I'm not sure how that guy didn't break all his teeth.
Here's some more sights from the Chinatown streets, including Rachel's new dress:
Later that night, we met with another old Singaporean friend, Mun. We had a fun night on the town, from the English pub downtown to a Mexican restaurant in Holland Village, to live music at an American-style nightclub. I never went out to hear live music all that much in America, but it was therapeutic to sit there and soak up the sound all around me. We thought we flew out at 7am the next morning, but it was actually 9pm (though there was a brief scare due to the misreading of 24-clock that made us think the flight was at 7pm, but that's another story) so we had another day free. Mun was kind enough to take us out for chicken rice (another local favorite). I'll miss the variety of food that we had there!!
So bye bye to Singapore! In all, the city/country was a lot of fun. We saw a lot of the island, ate a lot of good food, and enjoyed the diversity that is there. It was reminiscent of America to see the melting pot of people all around, and how the variety of people adds a positive dimension to the society. -alan
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