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

they're really coming!

Mon, Mar 30, 2009 Chicago, IL (ORD) to Beijing, China (PEK)
United 0851	Depart: ORD 12:41 PM Arrive: PEK 3:15 PM Arrives next day Mar 31	Non-stop 13h 34m 777 6,579 miles traveled	Fare basis code: KXCN01 Booking class: K Economy 6,579 Award miles Lunch, Lunch	Seats:37D, 37C

Mon, Apr 13, 2009 Beijing, China (PEK) to Chicago, IL (ORD)
United 0850	Depart: PEK 4:10 PM Arrive: ORD 4:30 PM	Non-stop 13h 20m 777 6,579 miles traveled	Fare basis code: KXCN01 Booking class: K Economy 6,579 Award miles Dinner, Lunch	Seats:38J, 38H

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

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...

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.

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!

-alan

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

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

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

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