I only took one day off. Sorry to disappoint all those commenters out there (you know who you are) who predicted I had swine flu.
Today is International Day at CDIS - so this afternoon all the school's families and guests from the neighborhood will be here to eat food, play games, watch some performances, and learn about the different cultures represented here at this school. It is a big event, and I am thoroughly impressed with how professional things look. I'll take some pictures.
The highlight for many of you will be video of Rachel doing a country line dance on stage. It seems she is finally accepting her Southern roots - so she's got her jeans and boots on, and she's ready to boogie.
-alan
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
No fun
Last night I got sick - fever and aches and pains. It was no fun and all. Thankfully, Rachel took good care of me, and I took the day off from school today to recover.
That makes this an even shorter week - we have Friday off from school for the Chinese May holiday.
Maybe I will upload some video later today from the lock-in - there are definitely some fun things to see!
-alan
That makes this an even shorter week - we have Friday off from school for the Chinese May holiday.
Maybe I will upload some video later today from the lock-in - there are definitely some fun things to see!
-alan
Friday, April 24, 2009
1 hour left...
We finished the movie, and I tried to get some sleep...only to be interrupted by kids asking to go to the bathroom (why they ask I don't know), kids talking about their video games, and kids in the cafeteria making lots of noise due to the sugar they were hyped up on.
The most unfortunate was waking up to the sound of vomit. Junk food and no sleep make a bad combo. This marks the 3rd weekend in a row of vomit-related fun. Why me?
Now they are performing some skits they made last night, to a very bleary-eyed audience. Average sleep was somewhere in the 0-3 hour range. I would say I got no more than 3-4 hours, but non-consecutively.
Time to go home and take a nap...
-alan
BTW, thanks Rachel and Zack for leaving early and letting me clean up the mess! :P
The most unfortunate was waking up to the sound of vomit. Junk food and no sleep make a bad combo. This marks the 3rd weekend in a row of vomit-related fun. Why me?
Now they are performing some skits they made last night, to a very bleary-eyed audience. Average sleep was somewhere in the 0-3 hour range. I would say I got no more than 3-4 hours, but non-consecutively.
Time to go home and take a nap...
-alan
BTW, thanks Rachel and Zack for leaving early and letting me clean up the mess! :P
Getting late...
It is hour 11 of the lock-in. After many hours of sports and 2 futile games of capture the flag, it is now after 2am and things are settling down. I still don't think anyone is asleep, though.
The kids played 2 games of capture the flag, which lasted a total of 2.5 hours. Both games were a draw. In both games, the kids knew where the opponents' flag was, but made no real effort to get it. Both played a defensive game and so nobody mustered enough of a charge to get the flag. From our perspective, it was quite frustrating.
In all, the kids seem to be having fun. I would call it a success - and considering they are leaving fairly early in the morning, I cannot imagine what could go wrong. (let's not jinx it, though!)
-alan
The kids played 2 games of capture the flag, which lasted a total of 2.5 hours. Both games were a draw. In both games, the kids knew where the opponents' flag was, but made no real effort to get it. Both played a defensive game and so nobody mustered enough of a charge to get the flag. From our perspective, it was quite frustrating.
In all, the kids seem to be having fun. I would call it a success - and considering they are leaving fairly early in the morning, I cannot imagine what could go wrong. (let's not jinx it, though!)
-alan
It begins....
It is 5pm. We are two hours into the Middle School Lock-in. The kids in my room are playing "Yank 'em," which is a variation on musical chairs which involves lots of boys flinging girls, and vice versa. They are having fun!
Only 16 hours to go!
-alan
Only 16 hours to go!
-alan
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Busy weekend ahead, but still wasting time...
We have been looking in the past few days at other MUN conferences around China and beyond. A little too much of my time has been spent plugging seemingly random letters (MYMUN, SHAMUN, BEIMUN, etc.) into google, and hoping that I will come across another inexpensive conference that we had yet to hear about. Our hopes are to expand MUN at the school, and get some more opporunities for the better students to showcase their talents at more conferences.
So MUN fever struck. We need to think now about whether to register for some more selective conferences next year, which requires us to think ahead more than I would like. So, we'll meet with our students this week and see how committed they really are.
That being said, there are really more pressing matters to deal with. A month from now, we will be with the entire middle school on a trip that still requires a decent amount of planning.
And this weekend, there is a middle school lock-in, high school dance, bridal shower, solo and ensemble festival, and orphanage trip all scheduled for a 32 hour period on Friday and Saturday. While Rachel would probably do them all if she could, I'm not sure how much we will be able to squeeze in!
-alan
So MUN fever struck. We need to think now about whether to register for some more selective conferences next year, which requires us to think ahead more than I would like. So, we'll meet with our students this week and see how committed they really are.
That being said, there are really more pressing matters to deal with. A month from now, we will be with the entire middle school on a trip that still requires a decent amount of planning.
And this weekend, there is a middle school lock-in, high school dance, bridal shower, solo and ensemble festival, and orphanage trip all scheduled for a 32 hour period on Friday and Saturday. While Rachel would probably do them all if she could, I'm not sure how much we will be able to squeeze in!
-alan
Sunday, April 19, 2009
MUNiSC - a success!
Reflecting back on MUNiSC (Model United Nations - International Schools of China), Rachel and I have a lot of positive things to say.
1) All of our students spoke at the conference (and it is not easy - you need to be persistent and raise your placard OVER and OVER again in the larger committees, and hope that you will be called on. One student raised his placard 10+ times in a row, but had to have all the surrounding countries send notes to the chair begging her to recognize him before he actually was called upon.) But given those difficulties, most were able to give multiple speeches.
2) Almost all of them loved the conference experience and would like to do it again next year.
3) The MUN program at the host school in Qingdao is amazing - and gave us good ideas for how to grow the MUN program at our own school. We are already thinking about starting an elective class, fund raising to attend more conferences, sending kids overseas, and all kinds of crazy ideas of what we can do with this in the future.
On a non-MUN but still travel-related note:
4) Give Rachel dramamine before any and all flights and/or bus rides in the future. There was some PV (projectile vomit) on the very bumpy flights home that resulted in soiled pants, animal-like cries, and loads of embarrassment (having to sit with the students for 30+ minutes during the approach for landing).
So now, after spring break and this trip for MUN, it is back to semi-normal life. This week, there is a middle school lock-in, put on by the student government. Let's hope this one goes well too!
-alan
1) All of our students spoke at the conference (and it is not easy - you need to be persistent and raise your placard OVER and OVER again in the larger committees, and hope that you will be called on. One student raised his placard 10+ times in a row, but had to have all the surrounding countries send notes to the chair begging her to recognize him before he actually was called upon.) But given those difficulties, most were able to give multiple speeches.
2) Almost all of them loved the conference experience and would like to do it again next year.
3) The MUN program at the host school in Qingdao is amazing - and gave us good ideas for how to grow the MUN program at our own school. We are already thinking about starting an elective class, fund raising to attend more conferences, sending kids overseas, and all kinds of crazy ideas of what we can do with this in the future.
On a non-MUN but still travel-related note:
4) Give Rachel dramamine before any and all flights and/or bus rides in the future. There was some PV (projectile vomit) on the very bumpy flights home that resulted in soiled pants, animal-like cries, and loads of embarrassment (having to sit with the students for 30+ minutes during the approach for landing).
So now, after spring break and this trip for MUN, it is back to semi-normal life. This week, there is a middle school lock-in, put on by the student government. Let's hope this one goes well too!
-alan
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Back home
It's raining here, it's 1:30 AM, the trip home was full of delayed planes, turbulence, vomit, shrieks, and tears...but we arrived with all 10 kids we left with, so it's not a total loss.
Goodnight!
-alan
Goodnight!
-alan
Friday, April 17, 2009
We are here in sunny Qingdao for a conference, but the Qingdao students run the show, so we have some time to see the city. Yesterday afternoon, we went out to see some of the sights.
As you can see, we were pretty happy to be out in the sun!
The architecture and the "feel" of the city is VERY different than of Chengdu. Some of the downtown neighborhoods retain influences of turn-of-the-century colonial Germany, and they actually reminded us a lot of neighborhoods in New York.
The presence of a large, Gothic-style Catholic cathedral certainly makes this city stand out!
And though the oceanfront areas were bustling with people, the residential and commercial streets we walked through were surprisingly not crowded. Also very unlike Chengdu.
We visited one famous pier, which is pictured on China's famous Tsingtao beer.
It was interesting to see people scouring over the coast, looking for shellfish. With so many people, it is hard to imagine that there is much still alive there! Also, in the background, notice part of Qingdao's new skyline - which extends along the coastline for many kilometers (not pictures).
Here is the Olympic Sailing center.
The Chinese love kites - and we saw some great ones here. Hawks, jet planes, and squids (below).
This is the May 4 Square - and an artistic monument to an uprising against the Japanese from early 20th century.
-alan
As you can see, we were pretty happy to be out in the sun!
The architecture and the "feel" of the city is VERY different than of Chengdu. Some of the downtown neighborhoods retain influences of turn-of-the-century colonial Germany, and they actually reminded us a lot of neighborhoods in New York.
The presence of a large, Gothic-style Catholic cathedral certainly makes this city stand out!
And though the oceanfront areas were bustling with people, the residential and commercial streets we walked through were surprisingly not crowded. Also very unlike Chengdu.We visited one famous pier, which is pictured on China's famous Tsingtao beer.
It was interesting to see people scouring over the coast, looking for shellfish. With so many people, it is hard to imagine that there is much still alive there! Also, in the background, notice part of Qingdao's new skyline - which extends along the coastline for many kilometers (not pictures).
Here is the Olympic Sailing center.
The Chinese love kites - and we saw some great ones here. Hawks, jet planes, and squids (below).
This is the May 4 Square - and an artistic monument to an uprising against the Japanese from early 20th century. 
-alan
Spring Break - Part 2
After returning home from the overnight trip to the mountain, we slowed the pace a bit. The non-stop coming and going of Mon-Thurs drained our energies a bit.
Friday, Eric and I played tennis (not very competitively, unfortunately, but we played nonetheless) and the four of us ate jiaozi (dumplings). We bought some new plants from "plant street," including a small indoor trained tree that is now at home on our enclosed balcony.
That evening, we went for hot pot at the restaurant we were introduced to by our Chinese friends - it is down the street, on the other side of the highway, down an alley, and between two automobile garages. That being said, the service and food are quite good. We usually go a little early, around 5:30 - and since the restaurant is not busy yet, ALL the waitstaff (~25) are standing at attention by the entrance ready to greet us. Can you say intimidating?
In other food-related news, we had some other good experiences over the weekend. One of our local favorites is shao kao, which we can get in the night market in our neighborhood. It's so simple - grab a tray, and fill it with whatever meat and vegetable goodies you would like.
They cook it and spice it up, and voila!
It's even on sticks, which is helpful for non-chopstick users :)
Liz and Rachel also baked a cheesecake - though due to the temperamental nature of our little oven, it did not turn out as planned. Don't worry though, it all got eaten in the end!
Other observations from the week:
For all the double-scooter riding we did, there were no crashes!
Spring here is nice! For all the clouds we had over the winter, there has been a surprising amount of sunshine and blue sky.
Finally, Rachel is now the new most popular foreigner on the block. No one else is daring enough to go out and try this:
Friday, Eric and I played tennis (not very competitively, unfortunately, but we played nonetheless) and the four of us ate jiaozi (dumplings). We bought some new plants from "plant street," including a small indoor trained tree that is now at home on our enclosed balcony.
That evening, we went for hot pot at the restaurant we were introduced to by our Chinese friends - it is down the street, on the other side of the highway, down an alley, and between two automobile garages. That being said, the service and food are quite good. We usually go a little early, around 5:30 - and since the restaurant is not busy yet, ALL the waitstaff (~25) are standing at attention by the entrance ready to greet us. Can you say intimidating?
In other food-related news, we had some other good experiences over the weekend. One of our local favorites is shao kao, which we can get in the night market in our neighborhood. It's so simple - grab a tray, and fill it with whatever meat and vegetable goodies you would like.
They cook it and spice it up, and voila!
It's even on sticks, which is helpful for non-chopstick users :)Liz and Rachel also baked a cheesecake - though due to the temperamental nature of our little oven, it did not turn out as planned. Don't worry though, it all got eaten in the end!
Other observations from the week:For all the double-scooter riding we did, there were no crashes!
Spring here is nice! For all the clouds we had over the winter, there has been a surprising amount of sunshine and blue sky.
Finally, Rachel is now the new most popular foreigner on the block. No one else is daring enough to go out and try this:
And because everyone loves animals, here's some more videos to see!
-alan
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Quick Qingdao update
I'm sitting in the Security Council, which has reached gridlock over the issue of peace in Gaza. USA has vetoed the resolution that has just been debated for the past 2 hours. I guess even in the Model UN the US is a bully.
On a brighter note, the conference is serving chocolate covered raisins, which are VERY yummy.
-alan
On a brighter note, the conference is serving chocolate covered raisins, which are VERY yummy.
-alan
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Off to Qingdao!
Many many thanks to Eric and Liz for coming to visit! We had a few more adventures to report on, but that will have to wait. The last two days have been BUSY - because we are getting prepared to leave for Qingdao on Wednesday.
We have been heading up the Model United Nations club at our school, and we will be taking 10 students to a conference in Qingdao this week. I'm looking forward to it.
Qingdao is a city on the ocean in eastern China, roughly halfway between Beijing and Shanghai. Its claim to fame is that it is the home of the 2008 Olympic sailing competition; it was a former German colony prior to WWI; and China's most famous beer brand is brewed here (under the alternate Romanization of "Tsingtao".
I assume we will have internet at the hotel, based on the rate they are charging us! But if not, more blogging on all the vacation and traveling fun will have to wait until we return.
-alan
We have been heading up the Model United Nations club at our school, and we will be taking 10 students to a conference in Qingdao this week. I'm looking forward to it.
Qingdao is a city on the ocean in eastern China, roughly halfway between Beijing and Shanghai. Its claim to fame is that it is the home of the 2008 Olympic sailing competition; it was a former German colony prior to WWI; and China's most famous beer brand is brewed here (under the alternate Romanization of "Tsingtao".
I assume we will have internet at the hotel, based on the rate they are charging us! But if not, more blogging on all the vacation and traveling fun will have to wait until we return.
-alan
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Mid-vacation update
What a week it has been! There are many stories to tell, a few of which you can hear in more detail at the Weddles' blog. [Note: Eric and Liz have not actually updated their blog in regards to their stay in Chengdu. If you know them, feel free to heckle them until they do.]
So for now, think of this vacation at a "Week of Firsts."
1) First time having an expensive piece of hopelessly lost electronics returned to me. Any pictures from this past week - other than the one below - do not actually come from me, they come from the Weddles camera. That is because on Saturday, when their visit just got started, the camera got accidentally left behind in a pedicab. We did not realize it was lost right away, causing quite a bit of confusion about the incident. So we searched and searched the next day, but came to the conclusion it was gone. On Tuesday, we asked a random pedicab driver if he had heard anything about a camera, and of course he did not. We were out of town for a couple days, and just returned a few hours ago. As we are walking back to our apartment, the pedicab driver - the one we talked to before - runs after us excitedly. Somehow, he tracked down the original driver and got our camera. He pedalled away to get it - leaving us in delicious suspense as to whether it was really our lost camera that he had at home. He pulls up, thrusts a plastic bag towards Rachel, who looks inside and announces that the prodigal camera has returned home. Thank God for the honesty of the good people of out town!
So below is the kind man who brought BIG smiles to all our faces earlier today.
2) First visitors to stay in our China home. Welcome to the Weddles! It is very nice to have visitors here, for obvious reasons. But also, it is nice to have an excuse to go around the city and be tourists for a while.
AND it is nice to get care packages from the US!
3) First visit to the "Intangible Culture Park." Very near our school, there is a large park with a strange English translation for its name. I have no clue why that is its name. It has open green space, which on this sunny Saturday was FILLED with people. They were flying kites, playing games, fishing for tadpoles, and doing all kinds of fun things.
Also in the park is the shell of a European-style street. There is a church steeple and a row of storefronts, all of which are only facades.
This fake street seemed to attract brides like moths to a lightbulb. There were dozens of couples walking around, taking pictures in every possible nook and cranny. Tired brides littered the nearby grass, as they waited for their marathon picture sessions to end.
4) First time Amanda saw our apartment; first banana pudding in China. Thanks to Liz, Rachel got motivated to cook, and made some yummy pudding for us to share!
5) First trip to the tailor to have clothes made. Before this, though, we had to take a visit to the bulk market to buy fabric. If you have ever wanted confirmation about China being crowded, this is the place to come. The streets are PACKED!
After a few hours of wandering, we finally found some nice suiting fabric for Eric. This fall, he will be the handsomest UofC business student around!
Everyone purchased some fabric, which we brought to the other side of town. At the gate of Sichuan University, there is a small, nondescript shop with a GREAT tailor. She has worked with foreigners a lot in the past and I am confident we will be getting some nice stuff.
6) First trip to see the pandas. Just outside the city is the Chengdu Panda Research and Breeding Center. It is the #1 destination for anyone travelling to Chengdu, but we had not been yet.
It was lovely! The weather was perfect - sunny and not too hot. We went in the morning, when the pandas were all out and active. And very, very cute.
7) First time to drink yak butter and eat yak meat. We went to the Tibetan neighborhood to walk around and eat dinner. Tibetan food is not well known worldwide...for a reason. When your diet is dependent on the yak and on barley, you do not end up making a lot of culinary delights. That being said, the yak was tender and food was decent.
The best part, though, was the restaurant view. Third floor restaurant with old-style wooden windows that opened on to the street below:
8) First time to see a Daoist temple in Chengdu. This week we also visitied a Buddhist mountain that had some temples, so overall we experienced some of the older religious culture of China. I do not love visiting temples, but I appreciate how they preserve the architectural style of China. You miss that a bit being in the big city. Sorry, no pictures - most places it is not allowed.
9) First real domestic trip outside of Chengdu. We have been to Hong Kong (which the airline industry still considers an "international flight", Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. We went on a weekend retreat with our staff to Dijiangyan, but that was forced so I don't really count it either.
So what did we do? We went on an overnight trip to Emei Shan, a famous Buddhist mountain in southern Chengdu. We went partly to scout a potential hotel site for an upcoming school trip, but also for the experience of seeing some of the natural beauty in Chengdu. It was quite lovely!
Nice paths and steps led our way through the mountains to see waterfalls, plants, bridges, gorges, and the mountains on either side of us.
The water was crystal clear. I see now why so many bottles water companies use "mountain spring" or something like that in their name. I will be happy to come back here in May with CDIS and spend a few days.
10) First train ride in China. We had reserved seats, so my fears of standing for hours on an overcrowded train were quickly relieved. It was a fairly painless was to travel. My seatmates passed out the whole trip (drool on the table and everything!) but it seemed like Rachel had some good conversations across the aisle.
11) First time to be given VIP treatment at a hotel. We stayed at a Catholic hotel on a Buddhist mountain. We were VIPs because we stayed and ate for free - and simply because we were the only guests there! The hotel was under renovation to prepare for the spring travel season. It was a little dirty, but a nice place that will serve our school trip well.
12) First time to feed monkeys.
This mountain contains lots and lots of Tibetan macaques. The are semi-tame and a big attraction. However, they are a little scary, because they are very aggressive. One man had his bottle stolen out of his backpack. With a little effort, the macaque was able to get it open and drank the whole bottle in one go.
Vendors sold food fo you to give the monkeys - little packages of corn and dried seeds. The snatch it as soon as they can see it, and run off to eat before a larger monkey can take it away.
13) First time Rachel has to be carted off a mountain by a porter. Unfortunately, Rachel came down with a short-term malady that negatively impacted her gastrointestinal tract. She did not have a fun night. Since she did not eat the whole day, we arranged for her to exit the mountain via pedicab pickup. The pedicab pickup is kind of like the all-purpose vehicle for the Chinese, a way of transporting food, merchandise, luggage, garbage, or in this case, dead weight.
13) First long-distance public bus ride. The train was full for the ride home, so we took a bud. Again, we were nervous - but the bus was much nicer than expected. Nothing like Greyhound - it was way better!!
So now we are home and resting for most of the day. Tonight - hotpot!
-alan
So for now, think of this vacation at a "Week of Firsts."
1) First time having an expensive piece of hopelessly lost electronics returned to me. Any pictures from this past week - other than the one below - do not actually come from me, they come from the Weddles camera. That is because on Saturday, when their visit just got started, the camera got accidentally left behind in a pedicab. We did not realize it was lost right away, causing quite a bit of confusion about the incident. So we searched and searched the next day, but came to the conclusion it was gone. On Tuesday, we asked a random pedicab driver if he had heard anything about a camera, and of course he did not. We were out of town for a couple days, and just returned a few hours ago. As we are walking back to our apartment, the pedicab driver - the one we talked to before - runs after us excitedly. Somehow, he tracked down the original driver and got our camera. He pedalled away to get it - leaving us in delicious suspense as to whether it was really our lost camera that he had at home. He pulls up, thrusts a plastic bag towards Rachel, who looks inside and announces that the prodigal camera has returned home. Thank God for the honesty of the good people of out town!
So below is the kind man who brought BIG smiles to all our faces earlier today.
2) First visitors to stay in our China home. Welcome to the Weddles! It is very nice to have visitors here, for obvious reasons. But also, it is nice to have an excuse to go around the city and be tourists for a while.
AND it is nice to get care packages from the US!3) First visit to the "Intangible Culture Park." Very near our school, there is a large park with a strange English translation for its name. I have no clue why that is its name. It has open green space, which on this sunny Saturday was FILLED with people. They were flying kites, playing games, fishing for tadpoles, and doing all kinds of fun things.
Also in the park is the shell of a European-style street. There is a church steeple and a row of storefronts, all of which are only facades.
This fake street seemed to attract brides like moths to a lightbulb. There were dozens of couples walking around, taking pictures in every possible nook and cranny. Tired brides littered the nearby grass, as they waited for their marathon picture sessions to end.
4) First time Amanda saw our apartment; first banana pudding in China. Thanks to Liz, Rachel got motivated to cook, and made some yummy pudding for us to share!
5) First trip to the tailor to have clothes made. Before this, though, we had to take a visit to the bulk market to buy fabric. If you have ever wanted confirmation about China being crowded, this is the place to come. The streets are PACKED!
After a few hours of wandering, we finally found some nice suiting fabric for Eric. This fall, he will be the handsomest UofC business student around!
Everyone purchased some fabric, which we brought to the other side of town. At the gate of Sichuan University, there is a small, nondescript shop with a GREAT tailor. She has worked with foreigners a lot in the past and I am confident we will be getting some nice stuff.
6) First trip to see the pandas. Just outside the city is the Chengdu Panda Research and Breeding Center. It is the #1 destination for anyone travelling to Chengdu, but we had not been yet. It was lovely! The weather was perfect - sunny and not too hot. We went in the morning, when the pandas were all out and active. And very, very cute.
We also saw that they live up to their reputation - lazy. They lay back in a semi-reclined position and eat and eat and eat. After awhile, bamboo shavings littered the ground around them.
It is definitely a place worth going back to!
It is definitely a place worth going back to!The best part, though, was the restaurant view. Third floor restaurant with old-style wooden windows that opened on to the street below:
8) First time to see a Daoist temple in Chengdu. This week we also visitied a Buddhist mountain that had some temples, so overall we experienced some of the older religious culture of China. I do not love visiting temples, but I appreciate how they preserve the architectural style of China. You miss that a bit being in the big city. Sorry, no pictures - most places it is not allowed.
9) First real domestic trip outside of Chengdu. We have been to Hong Kong (which the airline industry still considers an "international flight", Taiwan, Malaysia, and Singapore. We went on a weekend retreat with our staff to Dijiangyan, but that was forced so I don't really count it either.
So what did we do? We went on an overnight trip to Emei Shan, a famous Buddhist mountain in southern Chengdu. We went partly to scout a potential hotel site for an upcoming school trip, but also for the experience of seeing some of the natural beauty in Chengdu. It was quite lovely!
Nice paths and steps led our way through the mountains to see waterfalls, plants, bridges, gorges, and the mountains on either side of us.
The water was crystal clear. I see now why so many bottles water companies use "mountain spring" or something like that in their name. I will be happy to come back here in May with CDIS and spend a few days.
10) First train ride in China. We had reserved seats, so my fears of standing for hours on an overcrowded train were quickly relieved. It was a fairly painless was to travel. My seatmates passed out the whole trip (drool on the table and everything!) but it seemed like Rachel had some good conversations across the aisle.
11) First time to be given VIP treatment at a hotel. We stayed at a Catholic hotel on a Buddhist mountain. We were VIPs because we stayed and ate for free - and simply because we were the only guests there! The hotel was under renovation to prepare for the spring travel season. It was a little dirty, but a nice place that will serve our school trip well.
12) First time to feed monkeys.
This mountain contains lots and lots of Tibetan macaques. The are semi-tame and a big attraction. However, they are a little scary, because they are very aggressive. One man had his bottle stolen out of his backpack. With a little effort, the macaque was able to get it open and drank the whole bottle in one go.
Vendors sold food fo you to give the monkeys - little packages of corn and dried seeds. The snatch it as soon as they can see it, and run off to eat before a larger monkey can take it away.13) First time Rachel has to be carted off a mountain by a porter. Unfortunately, Rachel came down with a short-term malady that negatively impacted her gastrointestinal tract. She did not have a fun night. Since she did not eat the whole day, we arranged for her to exit the mountain via pedicab pickup. The pedicab pickup is kind of like the all-purpose vehicle for the Chinese, a way of transporting food, merchandise, luggage, garbage, or in this case, dead weight.
13) First long-distance public bus ride. The train was full for the ride home, so we took a bud. Again, we were nervous - but the bus was much nicer than expected. Nothing like Greyhound - it was way better!!
So now we are home and resting for most of the day. Tonight - hotpot!
-alan
Friday, April 3, 2009
They're here!
Well, not here exactly. I'm at school, working on a Saturday. It feels wrong. My body and mind is pretty well convinced that it is Friday, though...so maybe I should just temporarily change my calendar so that I will not feel bad.
And it's not all bad. We've done some good things this morning, and I've eaten 3 cinnamon rolls. I'd say that alone makes for a good morning!
Eric and Liz are at home - I think. Liz has a earache. I hope it was just flight-related and goes away soon!
We'll go out to dinner tonight and rest - then tomorrow get in to town and see some sights.
Time for lunch. The cafeteria is trying out a new menu item - Tacos and Cashew Chicken. How those go together, I'll never know....
-alan
And it's not all bad. We've done some good things this morning, and I've eaten 3 cinnamon rolls. I'd say that alone makes for a good morning!
Eric and Liz are at home - I think. Liz has a earache. I hope it was just flight-related and goes away soon!
We'll go out to dinner tonight and rest - then tomorrow get in to town and see some sights.
Time for lunch. The cafeteria is trying out a new menu item - Tacos and Cashew Chicken. How those go together, I'll never know....
-alan
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Success!
I discovered the elusive wireless password, so the Macbooks are now online at home. My first impression - they are definitely slick, and user-friendly. The key will be learning the Mac equivalents of all the PC shortcuts and routines that I had been used to. I figure that most of this school year, I will rely upon my PC for class. So the real test will be next year, if I can force myself to leave my PC at home and switch over to Mac for all my teaching needs.
Today is parent teacher conference day. It is 2 hours old, but I still have only talked with 2 parents. I figure the afternoon will be busier. I should be getting more things done, but with the Weddles arriving tonight and spring break next week, my motivation is low!
In other news, I saw that the indictments against Blagojevich have been issued. Hmmmm, will this mean that Illinois politics will finally be cleaned up?
(I doubt it.)
-alan
Today is parent teacher conference day. It is 2 hours old, but I still have only talked with 2 parents. I figure the afternoon will be busier. I should be getting more things done, but with the Weddles arriving tonight and spring break next week, my motivation is low!
In other news, I saw that the indictments against Blagojevich have been issued. Hmmmm, will this mean that Illinois politics will finally be cleaned up?
(I doubt it.)
-alan
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Earth Hour Celebration 2009
This past Saturday, we took the time to observe Earth Hour. The fact that we had guests over while playing a complicated game did not make it easy - but since I had advertised the Earth event in all my science classes, I figured that I should show the integrity to participate. Had you been here, this is what it would have looked like:
Looking at it again, it is a little too reminiscent of a seance. Or we're just REALLY dorky. Eek.
Now, it's approaching 11pm and I should be in bed. We got the new Macbooks today, but I could not get mine connected to the internet....because I forgot our password. I'm not really sure if I ever knew our password. I could reset the router, but we needed help getting it set up in the first place because the admin site is in Chinese.
What to do?
-alan
Looking at it again, it is a little too reminiscent of a seance. Or we're just REALLY dorky. Eek.Now, it's approaching 11pm and I should be in bed. We got the new Macbooks today, but I could not get mine connected to the internet....because I forgot our password. I'm not really sure if I ever knew our password. I could reset the router, but we needed help getting it set up in the first place because the admin site is in Chinese.
What to do?
-alan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
