From Grits to Chopsticks

Terrorists with long knives burst into our local train station last night at 9:20PM and stabbed travelers, killing at least 28 and wounding over a hundred more.  Such a sad, senseless act reminds us of the brevity and uncertainty of our lives, even in a place that seems relatively safe.

We pass through this station each Sunday morning on the way to our international fellowship:It is usually very crowded, with overflow seating still in place from the surge of passengers during Spring Festival:We grieve with the families of those whose journey came to an end earlier than they expected, both young and old:

It’s that time of year again – time to go to the local zoo and enjoy the cherry blossoms.  It was a beautiful day on Sunday, so we headed over after our morning fellowship — along with thousands of others (my tall head is slightly visible between the distant umbrellas):

The main activity is photographing the cherry blossoms:

And taking photos of your family members in front of the pretty trees:

All of that photography can build up your appetite, and there are plenty of food vendors to remind you of your place on the food chain:

Some of the many tasty treats include steamed quail eggs:

fried tofu and stinky tofu (which lives up to its name!):sweet potatoes and boiled peanuts:fried fish:

and our favorite, barbequed things:

Once you buy a snack, it can be difficult finding a suitable (available) spot to squat and eat:

Some people don’t seem to have a problem relaxing in a crowd, just roll out your blanket and create a 10′ x 10′ square of solitude:

Kids also don’t have any problem enjoying themselves in the crowd:

After a snack, it’s time for a ride on the dragon coaster:

This guy standing nearby had amazingly tall hair:

It is true that there are animals at the zoo, and if you can look past the crowd, there is a tiger in this cage:

We wandered past the carnivorous beasts toward the kinder and gentler creatures:We figured that this sign was directing us toward the vegetarian animals that travel in large groups, like this gazelle sharing some watermelon with a bystander:

We are thankful that we’ve had some beautiful days lately with unusually clean air!

Last week as we were preparing to return to China, the Atlanta area got hit with another blast of winter weather.  Sleet and freezing rain fell all day Wednesday, shutting down the city and the airport:

An inch or more of snow fell during the night:

On Thursday morning, it was quite beautiful:

As the temperature rose and wind picked up, the ice melted, creating a rainstorm under the trees (click IceRain for video):

The cold weather seemed to pursue us around the globe.  The temperature in our “Spring City” was almost 60 degF when we went out to meet a student for lunch yesterday.  But by the end of the day, snowflakes were falling here too.  It was cold enough to last through the night, with a coating on trees and cars this morning: Without central heating our apartment is quite chilly, so we are looking forward to warmer weather (or climate change, whichever comes first)!

Here are a few recent photos from our travels around the US.  We’ve had the privilege of spending a good bit of time with our daughter and grandsons:

It was freezing cold when we left PA, but the sun was shining with a temperature above 70 degF when we passed through SC and stopped by my old university:

Over the weekend, we met up with newlyweds Timothy and Caitlyn and my sister and brother in law in Chattanooga:

Here is another sibling photo, this one from back in December while attending our nephew’s wedding in Connecticut:

On a different weekend down in Georgia, we climbed Mt. Yonah with Stephen and Jessica (and found some geocaches):

We plan to return to China in about 10 more days, so we are very thankful for the time that we’ve been able to spend with family and friends on this side of the planet!

As you browse the internet, you will occasionally see a list of “things that you should do before you die,” lists that appear to be compiled by adventurous people with unlimited resources.  But for the rest of us, those who enjoy a good “B-grade” vacation, there should be a list of “one hundred ‘dorky’ things to do before you die.”

Like most people on the east coast, we’ve driven up and down I-95 many times:

I-95 through the Carolinas probably qualifies as one of the most boring stretches of highway in the nation (just pavement and pine trees):

Just before you succumb to highway hypnosis, a colorful sign will pop into view:

There are almost 200 of these signs, stretching from NY to FL, tempting you to stop at South of the Border.  Although we’ve resisted the urge for decades, we decided to pull over and join Pedro for a meal:

Since we visited during the off-season, many of the exciting attractions seemed to be poorly attended:

With a history stretching back to 1949, a visit to South of the Border would certainly be on our list of 100 dorky things to do before you die.  Feel free to let us know your ideas for other things that should be included on this list for us common folk!

On the weekend of December 21, 2013, we traveled to Pine Bluff, Arkansas to share in the wedding of our youngest son Timothy and his sweetheart, Caitlyn.  Many friends from far away joined in this celebration, including a few from Asia:

Friends from Honduras:

Family from South Carolina (relaxing before the wedding the Arkansas way):  

Brothers and sisters from GA and PA:

The grandsons also came along from PA to spend time with shushu (uncle) and CaiCai (Caitlyn):

We even had guests from the far-away country of Texas:

Here are the bridesmaids and groomsmen:

The traditional wedding cake was decorated with the Chinese character for love while the groom’s cake reflected Timothy’s passion for Krispy Kreme donuts:

The bride and groom rejoiced that this moment finally came:

We also rejoice that God brought them together and are excited to see where He takes them next.

As a child, I remember when the crew came to dredge the silt from the lagoon near our house at Barnegat Bay.  With a large pumping rig mounted on a rusty barge, they sucked up the gooey stuff, piled it on the deck, and floated it away.  It was a pretty efficient process.

But in the labor-rich land of China, they have a different approach (which we witnessed while walking through town recently).  First, you divert the flow of the river:

Then, crews of women fill bags with mud:

Then, a chain of people drag the bags across the river:

The strong guys hoist the jelly-like, sludge bags to the top of the bank:

Then, an assembly line moves them into position for removal:

And that’s how you dredge a river in China!

PS.  Notice the guy in the middle smiling and waving as we took his picture.  I think that he’ll be working on this project for a very long time…

On Sunday afternoons, we try to take time and relax from our busy week.  Last weekend was cold, so we made a rare stop at a Starbucks for a hot drink.  It is interesting to note that very few restaurants in our city have an “A” rating – not even Starbucks:

After our coffee, we walked to the nearby museum, currently hosting an international art exhibition.  Alongside the street, there were the usual vendors selling very cheap socks (about 50 cents each):

and a woman happily feeding her son to a creepy monster:

At the museum, there were some beautiful works on display, including Korean embroidery: 

seascapes that threatened to douse the observer:

an unplanned contrast in perspectives of peace:

artwork that reminds us of young children we’ve seen crossing dangerous streets here:

fun-loving minority girls picking apples:

and then, there was the American “art” display which seemed a bit “grade-schoolish” to us (we’re obviously not art aficionados):

Of course, if you knew the minimal level of protection provided for your paintings, you might not want to send your best works to this exhibition!

From our city in southwest China, it’s only a 90 minute flight to ChiangMai, Thailand.  We recently had the opportunity to travel there to visit with some of our students and to help a friend with a medical visa need.

We visited during the busyLoi Krathong festival which limited our hotel options, so we stayed on the edge of town for the first night.  We weren’t able to see the group-release of lanterns in the old city, but our student was there and took this photo:

It was a bit less spectacular when Susan and I launched our one free lantern.

What goes up, must come down.  Here are photos from the next day:

On the twin beds of our rural hotel, we were greeted by elephant towels:

The next night, we joined our students for a very crowded parade downtown:

Most floats depicted traditional Thai mythology and temples:

On the floats, the hands of Thai dancers glided with slow, haunting movements (see video here:  ThaiFloat).  In a blend of old and new, here is a crowd of photographers capturing an elephant rider in front of the Starbuck’s Coffee shop:

Most of all, we really enjoyed visiting with our students. We ate together at some “interesting” restaurants:

Thai food isn’t always what you might expect.  Susan ordered the shrimp fried rice:

and I opted for the sweet and sour chicken:

Thai food is okay, but it made us thankful for our “normal” Chinese food.  Other than food, a big difference between China and Thailand has to do with transportation.  There are no city buses – instead, you ride a “red car” (20 Baht = 65 cents each):

Very few Thai people walk (at least, in the city), choosing instead to ride motorcycles or red cars.  As such, they seem to have very few sidewalks (but they do have 7-Eleven stores):

Thailand is saturated with Buddhism.  Large temples are everywhere, like this one nearby our hotel:

At the concession stand next to the temple, you can buy an idol to take home:

There were some young monks coming out of this temple:

Many homes and businesses have a “spirit house” on the corner of their lot.  Some are fairly simple:

while others are very ornate:

Although we find this aspect of Thailand to be disturbing, the county has a lot of natural beauty.  Even the main campus of ChiangMai university (725 acres) has beautiful lakes and gardens:

The tropical environment of Thailand seems to promote development of large ant mounds, just asking for a curious person to look inside:

We are thankful for a nice visit to Thailand!

As a child in America, I was strongly warned to stay away from the railroad tracks.  Gruesome stories were told about those people who wandered onto the track, unaware of the grave danger approaching.

Things are much different here in China.  The railroad tracks are used for many things other than train traffic.  Kids walk to school on them:

Older folks sit on the rails and enjoy the sunshine:

Groups gather and chat:

and now that we live here, you occasionally see a foreigner walking along the tracks:

Just be careful to get off and on the tracks at the right time!

There’s plenty of space for planting a garden:

In order to water their gardens, people have made good use of old hard hats:

Scooping water from the ditch alongside the track may be as risky as interacting with a train.  It is filled with runoff from the drainage sump of a duck processing plant and the “HFM” fertilizer used on the gardens (which explains the high concentration of flies):

Finally, the tracks are not only used for “passenger traffic,”  but also for “carrying freight”: