From Grits to Chopsticks

We’ve already mentioned how the oversupply of rental bicycles crowds the sidewalks in our city:In spite of that, another company has added their bicycles to the mix:These blue bicycles emblazoned with “Hello Bike” actually say “hello” in English when you unlock them:  The number of city-owned rental bikes is also rising:Unfortunately, these bikes must be returned to a city-managed bike rack with an empty slot, something that might be unavailable near your destination.  Bike parking continues to be a problem: And now, we have blue bicycles “parked” in unfortunate locations: But for a short ride on a short bike, I’m willing to pay 1 RMB (16 cents)!* PS: the answer to last week’s blog question is “Donkey Skins!” Fortunately for me, it is said to be good for a woman…

This week, we received three special gifts.  One of our expat friends crocheted this amazing afghan for us, and it is a perfect match for our (fake) Ikea sofa:Some local friends gave us this container of special treats from their hometown:Guess which of the following best describes these individually wrapped morsels:  mouse pellets, cocoa beans, donkey skins, or cricket heads?  Leave a comment with your guess and we’ll followup later.

Of course, the best gift of all came while we were sitting in the local police station on Friday morning, registering our new residence permit.  We received the following message from our son on WeChat (instant messaging app):

Our first granddaughter arrived healthy and hungry on Thursday night (March 22nd) in America!We are so thankful to God for such a beautiful gift of life and grace!

Chinese language contains many four-character idioms.  One is 人山人海 (rén shān rén hǎi), meaning “people mountain people sea.”  It refers to huge crowds of people, like we experienced last week at the zoo-park:

Almost every year, we travel to this park to see the crowds taking photos of the cherry blossoms:

We’ve posted photos like this before, but here is another chance to find Susan in the crowd (or me in the first pic):

You can click on the pictures to expand them (hint: she’s in the back, waving).  In addition to cherry blossoms, we were also able to watch a puppet drama (click Puppets to watch):Later, we sat on a rock to eat our snack and saw this boy take his little brother to the toilet:

The monkey exhibit is always interesting, largely because people toss food (and other things) to the residents (click to watch Monkey catch):This year, it looks like the cat population among the monkeys is increasing:In spite of recent efforts to eliminate chinglish, we still see signs that could benefit from some grammatical assistance.  Based on this sign, we assume that it is OK to climb the healthy trees:

Speaking of grammar, this year, I have been asked to teach “Business English” to a group of students from Thailand.  Yesterday, we played a simple business game and discussed English words about bargaining (click to watch Thai Bargaining):

While some things don’t change (like crowds at the zoo), we are still amazed at the other changes that come our way (like an American teaching English to Thai students in a Chinese university).

Here in China, “Lantern Festival” caps off the Spring Festival holidays after Chinese New Year.  Traditionally, people would light paper lanterns to celebrate:But things have come a long way since the old days.  At the shopping mall across the street, there was a big production with a continuous stream of dancing groups (click here to watch Lantern Dancing): It was a festive atmosphere with busy amusement rides,lighted balloons,fireworks outside of our 16th floor window (click here for Lantern Fireworks 1),fireworks from nearby rooftops (click here for Lantern Fireworks 2):and fireworks from everywhere in the city!In fact, the fireworks continued late into the night. It is quite amazing – but then again, so is the air quality as morning dawns…

From China, we would like to wish you a happy “Year of the Dog”:We returned from the States four days after the official new years day, but continue to hear fireworks outside of our apartment every day and night:Click here to view: Firecrackers. There are still many for sale on street corners, so we expect the celebration to continue:On Sunday afternoon, we visited the Kunming Expo park.  They also have some firecrackers:and a bunch of other huge new-year displays (look for Susan in this one):The arrival of the new year reminds us of the passage of time.  This week, we begin our ninth year of life in China:

2009

2018

We are thankful for the many good friends and special memories during this chapter of life.

This year, our family had the opportunity to gather together for a late Christmas celebration at our son’s home in Park City:Park City is a beautiful place to walk and play in the snow: To escape the cold, we visited a nearby children’s museum, and the Alf Engen Ski Museum at Olympic Park.We also enjoyed hanging around the house with books, games, and grandchildren, and of course, we traded Christmas gifts (including some goofy ones):One day the girls got pampered,and on another day, the guys went skiing:We are so very thankful for a loving family and precious memories!

As we reach the end of the year, it seems appropriate to post a few more random pictures (since we live a very random life).  A sweet Chinese friend organized a birthday dinner for Susan and bought this cake, loaded with fruit, etc:When the restaurant owner noticed it was a birthday dinner, she presented Susan with a traditional bowl of “birthday noodles”:with a fried egg on top to represent longevity:By the way, fruit is the most common snack we and others serve.  The photo below shows guava, avocado, oranges, and jam thumbprint cookies baked by Susan:One more food photo: a recent dinner featured this dish of spicy fish soup:Now that December is here, the “fall colors” have emerged in our apartment complex (the most exciting color is the blue sky in the second photo): The temperature is also dropping, most noticeably indoors:Although the weather is changing, the nearby Thursday market continues to attract large crowds:Last week, Susan bought a new Chinese jacket for 69 yuan ($10) from this seller:While she was buying Asian fashion, the locals displayed an interesting blend of modern black leggings and traditional shopping baskets:We recently climbed to the top of the nearby mountain where three huge statues keep a stony watch over a large cemetery while pre-recorded Buddhist chants play in the background:On the way down the mountain, we saw a man shooting his slingshot at targets on the opposite side of a ravine:This sport seems to be growing in popularity, with numerous targets hanging from trees along the mountain road.  Back at our apartment, a construction project has begun to transform the vacant lot outside our window:It will be interesting to see what they build … stay tuned for more photos in the future!

On Sunday afternoon we visited the Kunming Flower Market on the southeast side of town.  70% of the flowers grown in China come from our province (about $5 billion USD/year), and many of those flowers pass through this market.  Every day, farmers deliver their flowersand pile them onto the loading dock;they are then sorted and placed in racks for evaluation and auction to wholesalers:Retail customers can buy them as well.  A student on the subway told us that you can get 50 roses for 10 RMB (about $1.50):There is also a huge retail market for potted plants:and countless tables with amazing arrays of succulents:We came to the market to visit a small business owned by one of my former students.  Her retail store is in this big building full of similar shops selling preserved and dried flowers:She tries to differentiate her business based on high quality and good customer service.  Most of her business is on-line, much of it to international customers:The day that we arrived, she was beginning to fill a large order for several thousand items (in the glass tube on the lower right of this picture):

Her grandmother is helping her with the business:A couple of months ago, we were graciously given this beautiful shadow box:It’s exciting to see one of our students with a budding business!

Two weeks ago, we launched our University’s first Winter English Camp (with the usual speeches):29 English teachers came to the camp from 16 different vocational colleges. Our objective was to help them improve their oral English and their English teaching skills:Since the first Thursday of camp fell on Thanksgiving Day, we used that opportunity to talk about holidays: Holidays provide a unique opportunity to have special English lessons with student involvement: This year was also a special time for birthday cakes.  I received a cake and flowers from our foreign affairs office:two cakes from our on-campus English corner:and another cake from some special friends:  It’s been a very busy period of time, but hopefully, one that was meaningful to everyone involved.

In order to celebrate my 60th birthday, we took a break from our overloaded schedule and flew to Hong Kong for a few days.  Upon arrival, I bought a temporary SIM card for my phone and read the “simple” instructions: Once I got it working, it was wonderful to use the “CityMapper” app for transit directions.  Hong Kong is the most densely populated place on earth, but it also has some wonderful parkland.  To prepare for our hike, we bought some fruit at a typical Chinese market:and rode the bus to “Shek O Country Park”: There are some steep ledges, enabling the obligatory “jumping off the edge photo”:We had a wonderful time hiking and enjoying the amazing views.  The trail eventually descends to the beach:where we observed a couple having their wedding photos taken:On our second day, we visited the Hong Kong Geopark and rode a slow boat out to “Sharp Island”:

Even though these tropical islands are very close to the city, they feel quite isolated and peaceful: Back on the mainland, we watched the local fishermen pull their boats alongside the dock to sell their catch: and we ate dinner at this restaurant which has a variety of options: Each morning, I had the typical Chinese breakfast foods:and before we left Hong Kong, we ate the local specialty – Dim Sum (which was delicious):It was very nice to spend this birthday together in Hong Kong before returning to our busy lives!(reading my birthday book on the return flight)