and it was a beautiful morning!

I forgot to mention -

I spend a lot more time complaining about the weather here than being thankful - but this morning it was sunny and warm - I actually came back inside to take off my long underwear because it was so nice! I didn't check the temperature, but I'd say it was like a late-September day in the midwest. And I love fall weather!

-alan

Holiday madness

This week saw the holding of two Christmas concerts and a staff Christmas party. At the upper school concert, it was funny watching a group of Korean boys singing "You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch." I wonder how well they understand it...

Our friend Zack also debuted a movie he created with his 3rd grade class. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it was good. It nice having talented people around at the school.

But I must say the talent highlight of the week was a group of Korean parents who played for the staff at the party last night. 4 flutes, a cello, piano, and a powerful baritone whose music sunk to the depths of your soul. It was beautiful, and I am thankful that they came to perform for us.

Tonight, Rachel is going to the high school dance. It is unofficially a Sadie Hawkins dance, and she didn't ask me to go...so I'm taking the hint and will go to hang out with some other friends and play video games!

-alan

Go NU!

(image thanks to Hailtopurple.com)

It is official! Northwestern will be headed to San Antonio for their bowl game against Missouri. Is it too late to put Chengdu-San Antonio tickets on my Christmas list?

I am hopeful for a good game - the Big 12 is vastly superior to the Big 10, but the fact that Mizzou got stomped by the Big 12 elite leaves me hopeful for a competitive (and seemingly high scoring) game. I can't wait!

-alan

Christmas in China

Upon leaving for Hong Kong on the day before Thanksgiving, the holidays were the furthest thing from my mind. Chengdu is far enough from the Western sphere of influence that the Thanksgiving/Christmas festivities have not fully penetrated the city. So without the ads promoting sales, decorations in stores, and non-stop Christmas music radio stations feeding us reminders, it was hard to get in the spirit. Add to that the balmy weather in HK, and you get a Thanksgiving holiday that just didn't feel quite right.

But we did see some signs of Christmas when we were there! First, they were putting up trees in the malls and public parks - here is a huge one!
The amazing thing is how elaborately the hotels and office buildings around town were lit up at night.

And Rachel loves those snowmen!

Since we've gotten back, Rachel has pushed the thinking on Christmas by investing in a modest tree - a little 1.2m artificial tree that is sitting next to our TV. It doesn't have much in terms of decorations (and our string of lights has already gone out!) but it is a reminder of what is coming. (pictures to come)

We watched "White Christmas" after our big dinner this past weekend, which gave it a family-get-together kind of feel. Then on Sunday at the International Fellowship we heard a talk on the meaning of Handel's Messiah - which is certainly related to Christmas. I got so interested in it, I want to listen to the whole thing now.

And now....I voluntarily put Christmas music on!

I guess there is hope I won't be a complete scrooge this year!

-alan

a satisfying multi-lingual weekend!

On Friday, we attended a production of Our Town at our school. It was not sponsored by CDIS - it was a Korean, student-run production drawing from several schools in the city. So even though the whole thing was in Korean, we wanted to see it because several of our students were acting and the proceeds went towards earthquake relief.

That being said, it was a bit strange to see a famous American play, set in early 20th century small town New England, being presented in Korean. I thoroughly enjoyed watching my students act, but I can't really comment too much on the production itself - I haven't even seen it in English!

Then this morning, we went to the Catholic church in downtown Chengdu to watch the wedding of one of our Chinese colleagues.
There was only a short service - not a full mass - but it was still almost entirely in Chinese. So even though more words were familiar (unlike the Korean play) I still couldn't tell you too much about the substance of the event. Best moment - following the wedding, the bride did a bouquet toss in front of the church. The excited crowd assembled, and shrieked as she tossed the flowers into the air - several feet past all of them and into the waiting hands of the (male) bus driver. He raised his hands in victory, and we all laughed.

We came home and huddled in bed for awhile (the church was unheated) before heading off for a Christ-giving meal (fusion of Thanksgiving and Christmas) with many members of our staff. Turkey, duck, pork, beef, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, veggies, fruit, stuffing, and more...Rachel got thirds on dinner, and I took seconds on dessert. We were stuffed and happy.

Add on to that a late-Saturday game of Catan (which I won!!) and you have a full, fun day. Phew!

Tomorrow, people will be over to watch the Florida-Alabama game. I am hoping it is a competitive match!

-alan

More about Hong Kong

The first day back from the short break is over and done, and considering the circumstances, the day went well. Now, Rachel is out shopping (I think she's getting a Christmas tree....oh my!) and Colby is happy to have someone to play with at night (though as I blog he is sad to be tied up).

But let's get to it. Hong Kong.

We were there for a teacher conference, which was located at the new campus of a Christian international school in town. The school was breathtaking. As a teacher, create a wishlist of every single thing you would possibly want in a school - and they've probably got it. It was hard not to get a little jealous, I must admit...

The conference had its ups and downs, but there were some notable speakers at the large group sessions - including Dr. Gary Chapman, the author of the "Love Languages" books. Hearing from him and some of the other authors was certainly uplifting.

Outside of that, here's some highlights:

Our hotel was right along one of the many waterways that circles the islands of Hong Kong. Every time we left the hotel, we were able to walk along the river to go to eat, to shop, and to get to the train.
The hotel itself was quality, but we didn't really spend too much time there (other than the afternoon nap I practically had to FORCE Rachel to take). The only remarkable thing was that we got a room with 2 beds - which Rachel immediately pushed together. We slept. We left. We returned, to find the beds split up. Rachel pushes them together again. We slept. We left. We returned again to find them yet again split. If I was nice, I would have helped - but I guess I derive too much pleasure from watching my wife work so hard :)

The thing we did the most of on this trip was walk. A lot. All over the city. My feet are still tired! We saw a lot of sites downtown, including the building from Batman: Dark Knight where Batman got the Asian guy.

Usually the walking was either to go eat (we had yummy Japanese, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Italian, and American food - thanks to Bubba Gump Shrimp for the last one!) or to go shopping. Shopping was a bit of a chore at times, because finding the right spot was tough. Hong Kong is known for its alleys and alleys of cheap knockoff purses and watches and other trinkets.

Unfortunately, we have lost our taste for the uber-low quality of these cheap wares. On the other end of the spectrum, there are plenty of high-end European boutiques that we couldn't dream of affording. What we needed was right in between - and there were certainly a few malls that provided some fruitful finds. And good news - Rachel did get one pair of brown shoes! Hooray!!

But the highlight has to be our trips to view downtown. Victoria peak is a mountain that overlooks the harbor and downtown, and the view was so good, we went there twice. The first time, we took a cable car tram to the top - and it was steep!

The second time we went at night and took a city bus. And I'm glad that it was dark, because watching us navigate skinny mountain switchbacks from the top of a double-decker bus was nauseating enough without being able to see exactly how far we could tumble to our deaths...

And at the top, of course, were more shopping malls. Of note was the EA Experience store, which had a dozen video game stations to play. Somehow, Rachel snagged a free Madden station and we played a full game. I was the Lions, so of course I lost as she beat me with the Bears.

And from the top, we got some great shots. Here's what the harbor looked like at night.


Finally, asking Rachel what her reflections were - she said "food food food!!" We ate well, and I really liked the snacking. Mrs. Field's has descended on HK in full force. We stopped for cookies 3 times, and came home on the plane with a full bag. (its all gone already though!!) Mmmmm...

So I have a few weeks to rest and relax before our next trip - Rachel is just like her Dad, in that they are both hyperactive tour guides that never ever stop. Ever.

-alan

back home

It's Sunday night. We arrived back at our apartment around 8pm - it is 9pm now, still not unpacked. We had to play with the dog and inspect the (minor) damage and messes inflicted in our absence.

Now, we're both exhausted and ready for bed. A day off from school tomorrow would have done wonders for our health and well-being. But alas, it is not to be. Ironic thing is, the conference theme was "Quest for Excellence." Well, I can guarantee you that not too many teachers are going to be energetic enough tomorrow to do a whole lot of questing for excellence in their lessons. We'll see. Perhaps my colleagues have been inspired.

All in all - good trip, great city.

Now to settle in and get some sleep.

More on the trip (and more pictures) to come.

-alan