Settling In - Qujing 10-1 to 11-1

We become accustomed to our new home in China and venture forth into the neighborhood.

Unbelieveable Beijing 9-29 to 10-1

We anticipated much in Beijing and we believed that Tiananmen Square would be impressive, but both Beijing and the Square exceeded our expectations. This moving statue of the Chinese people is but a small part of the Square but the most memorable. Then it was on to the Forbidden City, where again I expected beauty but I got more than I could have dream for. The beauty and the wonder just kept on. We could have given dozens of pictures, probably more heavenly than this one, but in the background is the palace and there were crowds of people, but behind us were hundreds of buildings supporting 10,000 people who were there for the emperor.

Qujing 9-21 to 9-28

I'm giving up trying to arrange the pics after I write what I want to say. I'm putting the pics in first and then typing to fit the placement of the pics. This is more of life in Qujing. The nice lady Tai Chi sword dancer is typical of so much that we see, especially in the morning or the evening. Ladies and to a lesser degree men will doing various types of Tai Chi and other forms of exercise. It is also done in the courtyards of the ubiquitous apartment complexes. This lady had just talked w/Marion admiring the baby cap that she was knitting. She was practicing before the rest of her troupe came to workout. The 2nd photo is one of contrasts with widespread use of bikes versus the influx of motor vehicles. The streets of less affluent cities are not congested, though they have many taxis, buses, scooters, and bicycles. If you work for a company, you might deliver goods in a small truck, but if you are an independent seller/vendor deliveries will usually be by bicycle, many use this three-wheeled variety which allows much more to be transported, sometimes with an unimaginable load. The 3rd photo is in one of the parks that we call Dragon Park b/c of this magnificent statue. The park, like every park in the city is meticulously maintained - it is always clean and always in full bloom! China seems always to be a country of contrasts; so much is clean & beautiful and so much is dirty and in need of repair. More on that later. The last picture is one of our residence. This is one of eight 7-story buildings comprising our complex. It is very typical of apartments all over Qujing, though just a little bit nicer. All the apartments under construction appear to better than or equal to ours. The standard of living is improving rapidly, at least for city folks. Perhaps China's biggest problem is the huge number of poor farmers and how to raise their standard of living. Pics of farm life coming soon.

Qujing 9-13 to 9-20

As you can tell by the last post blogspot & I aren't arranging the pics very artistically. Nevertheless, Sep. 13 saw us back in town ready to teach. We see these stairs, plus two more flights inside as we start our day teaching. What you see is the nice part. Inside is rather dirty and could be depressing if one gives in to that kind of mentality. Eating is always spicy, but we are getting better at ordering non spicy dishes. Here's a special Bar-B-Q vendor that serves delicious mutton, but around the city are hundreds of these w/pork, chicken, chicken feet, goat, tofu, mushrooms, almost anything you'd want. Also, you'll often see umbrellas but not always for rain. The sun is intense here so you'll see locals use them on sunny days too. Look carefully at the small trinkets in this clothing shop window. Yes, you're right. If you said that's "Cocky" on the left you're right! 12,000 miles from South Carolina, a small clothier has a GAMECOCK and you can also see a Kentucky wildcat and orange and black Tennessee suspenders!! Surprises are never far away if you keep your eyes open.

Ancient Lijiang & Shangri-La 9-8 to 9-12

On 9-6 we were told that beginning on the 8th we had a week off b/c the Ed. Center hadn't organized our teaching at the college, so we were off the evening of the 8th to one of the top tourist destinations. The old city of Lijiang, about 450 Km from Qujing, is a world heritage site b/c of its many old city structures. Its beauty at night was perfect for revelers, but we were "old fogies" and off to bed at 10 pm. It is also home to one of China's minorities from Tibet, the Naxi who performed a colorful "symphony" for us. We then hiked a mountain & I got to ride a "Tennessee" yak on a glacial run-off lake. Notice my form; I did get more precarious, but not wet!Then a local shaman let us take a picture for good karma. A mountain mudslide almost derailed our plans in reaching Shangri-La. Our driver was very well prepared for problems w/spotters who reported on developments. While visiting a Buddhist temple I had to turn this 25 meter prayer wheel! - not an easy task but w/help. As you can see this last pic wild, primitive & beautiful. It is called Tiger Leaping Gorge & if you look closely Marion is pointing to the tiger on the other side of the gorge with the yellow river rampaging on!

Life in Qujing 9-2 to 9-6

Week two has focused on the routines of everyday life. We needed someone to cut our hair. What we found three blocks from our flat was a meticulous, young entrepreneur who gives us a haircut, shampoo, head massage, and a shave (if I want one) for $1.30! She was also so proud of being able to do our hair that she took our picture, framed it and hung it prominently in her business. America seems to represent wealth and the modern world and having Westerners as customers appears to be seen as a prestigious event. No shopping pictures, but eating is an important routine. Here we were invited by new friends who had just killed a deer and wanted us to share this with them. It was very spicey so we didn't eat as much as we would have; however, they were liberally making toasts with strong liquor (while Tim used a local beer he has grown to like)so Tim joined in with toasting our new guests. As you can see we all eat Lazy Susan style and w/chopsticks which we are getting proficient with. Other than the spiciness of the local food, we are enjoying the tastes. We have a few bakeries and vegetable and meat markets that are good, cheap, and of quality, though different from what we use in the West.

Welcome to Qujing 8-26 to 9-2

The first week in Qujing was hectically calm! We didn’t do very much, but here you see I'm trying to catch the fish that got away before the little boys gets it. This is Marion at the entrance to the beautiful park we go to every week for English Corner to talk with any locals, from 4 to 40, who want to practice their English. Unfortunately for most of this week we were kept in the dark about most work-related requirements of our job, so we wondered why we were waiting, read a lot, and got to sight-see a couple of parks.