Last ditch effort

I thought I would try to get a blog entry in before the start of the new year. It's been quite a long time, but between feeling that I didn't have much to write about, and the fact that I spend a lot of my time on the computer trying to do lesson plans, I just haven't made the effort. But let's see if I can drum up some interesting tidbits as I reflect on the past year (or at least the past two months.)


Matthias checking out the kiwis that grow around here.

Teaching in China has been a really interesting experience. The students are great, and although I get frustrated trying to manage a class of 70+ students, trying to motivate them when all they really care about is studying for their next exam, and trying to keep the chalk dust out of my computer (and my lungs), I think it's been pretty rewarding so far. I suppose I'm learning more than my students, and exhausting as it is, by the time I get to the 14th rendition of my lesson plan, I think I'm pretty darn good at it.


All of the English teachers on Teacher's Day in September

But enough about me - what can I say about my students? They're marvelous, but it's hard to get to know them when I see about 1,500 of them just once a week. Most are shy when it comes to speaking English. I know they can read and comprehend at a pretty high level (judging from their English textbook and exam papers), but when I speak to them, the majority just stare, say "sorry, I don't know," or "yes" despite the question. Sometimes there's a breakthrough, though, and I get them to laugh about something I said (or just laugh at me!) Then there are a handful who have had the benefit of extra English instruction (small group workshops during spring or summer break) so they can communicate pretty well and are probably just bored in my classes. The students are most interested in learning about western culture - they're dying to know what American students their age do (wish I knew so I could tell them!) And they love to sing! This week we sang Jingle Bells as a warm-up activity, which was fun. But I'm saving the best for last: next month I'll teach them a Michael Jackson song - something at least one student asks for every week. Speaking of the most famous MJ in China (Michael Jordan probably a close second) I've got to say I've developed a new appreciation for the King of Pop while I've been here. But we'll see if I still feel that way after 18 sessions of teaching a lesson plan based on MJ's "You are not Alone."


Class 12, Grade 1

Matthias and I made a few trips to Xi'an over the past couple of months, where we were able to buy some western comfort food for our kitchen, including butter and cheese, which have had the unfortunate effect of reversing the weight loss I experienced after getting here, but also made us feel a bit more comfy. We planned to make some additional side trips, but between a snow storm one weekend, and seperate bouts of the flu (the normal/seasonal kind), we never made it. I still have intentions to visit a nearby temple in January. Hopefully we'll be able to make it.


School campus after the snow in November

Our last trip to Xi'an was particularly special, as we met Matthias' cousin Katja and her friend Simon there for Christmas. It was a blast. We braved the cold and rode bikes along the city wall (something I always wanted to do but could never convince Matthias!), visited the great Mosque (another thing Matthias wouldn't have done without the peer pressure) and ate some amazing Beijing Duck. It was fantastic! And now I can look forward to New Year's in Xi'an. Our school actually has a day off for New Year's (or what they call the Solar New Year.) We're leaving for Xi'an tomorrow afternoon (New Year's Eve) and will meet some other Buckland teachers there, including Katie, who shares my birthday. And I'm betting that Xi'an is one place that doesn't actually close down on the second of January! Yay!


Riding on the Xi'an city wall with Katja and Simon

More photos online at Picasa:
November Photos
December Photos

Zàijiàn!​ (see you!)

The Lost Weekend

Yes, there's still a blog.  Even though I can't see it (blogspot is blocked here), and even though whenever I have time to write, I don't feel like it.  But I'm making myself now, as I indulge in downloaded General Hospital on our awesome dvd/mp4/avi media player.  Yes, technology in China allows us to play all sorts of ill-gotten media, not to mention the dozens of DVDs stashed in our apartment – including 5 seasons of Desperate Housewives, 3 seasons of "24", and 20 seasons of the Simpsons!  I'm in pirate heaven!  Argh maties!

Oh yeah…and I'm an English teacher! I've been teaching, on and off, for a little over a month now.  I say on and off because here in China, the one constant is that things change.  I didn't teach for most of the first week of classes because my students had military training.  Then, I worked through the weekend last week in preparation for the Mid-Autumn holiday, during which (I found out a few days before) I got about 10 days off.  So, about teaching.  It's challenging and exhausting, yet somewhat rewarding.  I might have mentioned that there are around 80 students in each class.  They range in age from about 14 to 16, and although they are quite well-behaved, it's pretty hard to manage the class, or teach in a meaningful way.  I teach 14 classes in what they call Grade I (about 9th grade in the US) and 4 Grade II (or 10th grade) classes.  So, I really only have to do two lesson plans a week (one for each grade), but repeating the class 14 times is a bit trying.  I can't complain, though, as the experience is pretty enjoyable.  I might have mentioned that the students live here on campus (as do we) and are involved in studies from before 7AM until after 10PM, when we still see them in their classrooms!

Being in a small town in China can be challenging, and I suppose we are both experiencing some culture shock.  Matthias is suffering a bit more from his "celebrity status", as it really bothers him when people stare, point, or call out "hello!". And they do…every time we go out!   He said it makes him feel like a monkey in a cage - like they're trying to make him dance.  And, despite having to work so much, the students here all want to be my "friend".  They call (I made the mistake of giving my number during the first few classes) and some even stop by the apartment.   Apparently, the last teacher – who was here by himself and also quite a bit younger (closer to the age of the students) made a lot of friends among students.  So, to make myself at least a bit more available, I eat lunch nearly every day in the students' cafeteria.

So, we just got back from our somewhat last-minute-planned holiday (since I wasn't sure how many days I would have off until just before.)  We decided to go to Xi'an for a few days, and then when we found out I had more than a week off, we added a city called Xining to the mix.  Our goal was good food, which we knew based on previous experience we would be able to get in Xi'an.  The food here in HuaiYa is pretty limited (or at least our ordering ability is.)  They make lots of noodle dishes, which we love, but they add some kind of red hot chili oil to everything, which seems to upset Matthias' stomach.  Now, I don't mind spicy food, but everything here tastes just like the red chili oil, and if you ask them to hold the chili oil, the dishes don't taste like much at all.  Actually, there's an exception – a guy near the market makes a great vegetable/tofu noodle soup (sans the red stuff), which Matthias eats for lunch every day.  And there are dumplings and steamed buns.  Oh, and this yummy pita-like bread stuffed with stewed meat (or veggies.)   Actually…what am I complaining about?    

Now, back to Xi'an.  It was a combination of China's National Day (the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic to boot) and the Mid-Autumn Festival, so we were worried about travel.  We were able to get a reservation at a nice hotel (just a bit more expensive than usual) and although the streets of Xi'an were pretty crowded, we didn't have any issues with travel, or with finding good restaurants!  There are a few pictures on the web album from our favorite place near the south gate, where we ate ribs, veggie dishes (with plenty of garlic!) and good dumplings.  We also found another place that specializes in dishes that they grill in the window, where we had a few beers, some grilled scallops and meat kabobs, and grilled eggplant (again with lots of garlic!)  And, when some other foreign teachers (with placements in other cities around the province) saw us through the window, they joined us for a few more beers and talk of school life in China.

Of course, we did a little bit more in Xi'an than eat.  We walked a lot around the City, spending some time in the Muslim Quarter and around the city walls.  We even tried to go to the local history museum, but the line to get in was overwhelming (probably due to the holiday.)  

Our next stop on our Mid-Autumn odyssey was Xining, in Qinghai province.  Going here from Xi'an didn't really make sense, since we had to backtrack past our neck of the woods to head west into the Himalayan plateau.  But we chose it for a few reasons.  First, we thought it would be interesting to see an area close to Tibet (actually traveling to Tibet requires a special permit and a lot of money.)  Second, at 2000 meters high, it might be too cold to visit later.  And, third, since my passport is still in Yangshuo (where they are processing my work permit) I needed to find a hotel that I could contact in advance – in English - to see if they would allow us to check in using a copy.  

Xining actually turned out to be a great choice.  The city itself isn't beautiful, but the mix of cultures there was interesting and refreshing. After being in a small town where we're the only ones who look different, it was a nice change.   Tibetan Buddhism originated in the surrounding area, and the current Dalai Lama was born in a village not far away.  So, in the bustling and colorful markets you could rub elbows with Tibetan monks, Chinese Muslims, as well as people who looked more like Mongolians than Chinese (at least to us.)  And did we eat??  We feasted on lamb, Mutton, noodles, stews, and even a yummy leg of pork.  Our favorite place was a large food court, where you could order dishes from various stalls, sit inside (where it's warm) and drink beer, and (for a small fee) use the not-so-overwhelmingly-disgusting bathrooms.  The weather was pretty lousy during our three days in Xining – rainy and chilly most of the time – so we didn't make the side trips out to the countryside, but we still managed to have a nice time.  

Now we're back in HuaiYa and waiting for internet access to resume.  We've been without internet at home for a few weeks while the school is in the middle of upgrading its network.  We've been told we'll be back online next week – obviously, this won't be posted until we're back online, so it may be a little dated by the time it's there.  Oh, one more thing – I've lost all access to Facebook (my way around the firewall is no longer working), so my apologies to anyone trying to contact me that way.  Email is best.  

I'm posting this via email and am not sure how to post links, so I'll include a link to the latest photos (October 2009) and hope for the best:
October photos:  http://picasaweb.google.com/jrosenyc/100910#

Cool Change

Hello from HuaiYa! We have more or less settled in to our apartment on campus at HuaiYa Senior Middle school, where I will be teaching "oral English" to Class 1 students - equivalent to 9th graders in the US, I think. Anyway, I don't start teaching until the day after tomorrow (as I understand it) so I'll be able to provide more information about that soon. We arrived here on Tuesday (25 Aug) and have been getting things together, cleaning, and exploring the environs. I haven't posted pictures of the apartment because Aaron - the foreign English teacher from last year - posted them on his blog. I'll include the link below.


One street in HuaiYa, with mountains in the background

We flew up to Xi'an from Guilin on Monday, arriving too late on Monday night to do anything but grab some dumplings and a beer at a nearby night market just before midnight. The next morning, we were picked up by the school's Foreign Affairs Officer (FAO) and driven to the school, stopping for lunch at a great restaurant at the foot of TaiBaiShan. The FAO ordered about six delicious dishes for the four of us, and although we ate until we were stuffed, it looked like we didn't put a dent in the dishes. Also, conversation was a bit slow and awkward. That night, the school's headmaster and a bunch of other VIPs took us to dinner at the same restaurant. Still delicious, and a teeny bit less awkward as the guy sitting next to Matthias was very interested in Germany ("how many people have cars there? How old do you have to be to drive? How are the roads?") It was a room full of men, and since I don't know much about the NBA, I wasn't of much interest to them. Still, each one toasted our arrival with Baijiu (strong Chinese liquor), but we were able to maintain our sanity by taking small sips each time...


Tangyu - nearby scenic spot

HuaiYa is indeed a small village. However, it seems to have everything we need - a small supermarket, a bustling street market, and a number of stalls/restaurants selling hand-pulled noodles and other delicacies. We have already taken the bus to the next town, which has a couple of bigger supermarkets, a bigger street market, etc., etc. And, the weather here is much, much cooler than down in Yangshuo, to my great relief. This morning, we took the bus to TangYu the tourist town at the base of Mt. Taibai (where we had lunch and dinner on Monday.) Nothing so fancy today, though....just a bowl of noodle soup, of course. Tomorrow is the first day of school, but I don't think I'm teaching a class until Wednesday. Supposedly, I find out tonight. By tracking down Lily, an English teacher who brought us shopping on our first day here, I found out that there's 'a meeting' tonight. Not sure if I'm supposed to go or if I'll just learn my fate afterward. Anyway, I'm now reachable by cell phone, internet, and land line. They'll just have to let me know.

Link to Aaron's (former teacher's) blog with photos of our apartment and HuaiYa

Don't carry a red handbag if you're traveling with a lot of monkeys, and other valuable lessons

Buckland school in Yangshuo

I just finished my one-week orientation at the Buckland School to prepare me for teaching in a small town in central China. On Monday, we're leaving for HuaiYa, a village approximately 100 km from Xi'an, of Terra Cotta Army fame. We've been to Xi'an before and liked it, and it will be good for Matthias to have such a large place nearby (2 hours by bus) and it will be a good place for us to go on weekends as well. I found the orientation to be very helpful, and I it prepared me sufficiently to teach a class of 80 students! But I suppose I'm as prepared as most of the others - many of whom are fresh out of college without any teaching experience. Then again, a lot of them took the trouble to learn some Mandarin before they came. That's something I have to work on.


Orientation

We learned a lot about Chinese culture and potential problems we might encounter, and I've poured over the blog of the guy who taught in HuaiYa last year (there is a link to his blog on the left.) Probably a little too much, in that I'm making myself crazy. And that's one thing NOT to do here - just have to let things happen. I've been told that my job is relatively low-stress - I'm just supposed to help students with their spoken English. NOT to teach new grammar, NOT to prepare them for exams...they have other teachers for that. I'm also going to be some sort of a 'public relations tool' for the school - basically there so that they can say: "we've got a foreign teacher!" Works for me. Hopefully I'll be able to help some of the students get more comfortable speaking English (most of them learn the mechanics of the language just to pass exams, helps them advance in school, but never really learn to speak. I remember that from High School Spanish!)


Just a few fellow teachers (and Buckland CEO) at dinner. Watch out China!

Enough speculation - I'll have more to write about my experience once once it actually starts. But so far I'm quite happy with Buckland, which runs a few English schools and recruits foreign teachers for public schools throughout the country. The orientation was comprehensive and somewhat exhausting - starting at 8:30 in the morning and ending at 9pm (with a 2 and a half hour break at lunch.) But that's how just about everyone works here, and the kids go to school for just about as many hours per day, too. We got practical tips from previous teachers, as well as some seemingly sound advice on what we should/should not do here (the red handbag and monkeys story was about someone who had his passport swiped by a monkey (they seem to like red things.) Oh, and Chinese people (particularly men) like to drink, and often have drinking "competitions" (I have already been asked: how much beer can you drink? Not that I have ever found my limit...)It's something to beware of when school officials or other teachers invite us out to dinner. Many toasts, lots of strong alcohol. I had better stick to beer (which is fortunately pretty weak here.)


Something stronger than Chinese beer

More photos are on the Picassa Web Album site. Next posting from HuaiYa!!

Sweatin' it out in Yangshuo

View from the train to Yangshuo

<p>We have arrived in Yangshuo, a beautiful town we visited a couple of years ago, where I will be attending orienation starting on Monday. So far, everything seems to be in order: we were picked up at the train station in Guilin and brought to Yangshuo, where the staff found us a cheap and good hotel near the school. The 22-hour train ride from Kunming was pretty good - we were able to get tickets for the next day out of Kunming in a four-bed sleeper compartment (two bottom beds) and we had the compartment to ourselves until after dinner (which was really good!) And, the scenery from the train was pretty spectacular.

Li River in Yangshuo

Once in Yangshuo, we met some of the other teachers (mostly younger, of course), registered at the local police station, and were left to explore the town at our leisure. Only problem is that it's too hot and humid to do much in the afternoons - then again it's probably not much hotter than NYC at its worst. But, we have walked around town, found the requisite hand-made noodle shop (which happens to be both delicious ND air-conditioned!!), and I got a bike and went for a short ride with some of the other teachers. Starting on Monday, I'm going to be busy with orienation (from 8:30 in the morning until around 8pm) so Matthias is looking forward to some quiet, free time. I'm looking forward to learning how to manage a classroom that has up to 80 students in it!


Yulong River outside of Yangshuo

This morning (Sunday) I went for a bike ride along the Yulong river. There are SO many tourists here (mainly Chinese, but also Western) that even the back roads were pretty crowded with bikes, buses, and trucks carrying bamboo rafts back up the river. The only advantage to that was that I met a young Chinese tourist named James, and we rode along the river together. He is a student from Nanjing and his English was excellent. We talked a bit about travel around China while we pedaled. By the time I met Matthias back in town I was completely covered in sweat (a huge problem of mine here - it's totally embarrassing!) We ate in the air-conditioned noodle shop and now I'm relaxing in the room, getting ready to go do my daily internet check, load pictures, and of course, post this entry. Actually, I'm posting via email so I'm not sure how the formatting/photos will turn out. Let's see....

Chillin' out in Yunnan

We're about at the end of our high-altitude week-long escape from the heat in Dali. Tomorrow, we are taking a bus back to Kunming (still high-altitude, at least) and then we've got to get a train to Guilin, where we'll be back in tropical heat and humidity. Getting a train might prove to be difficult, as the tourist season seems to be in full swing. Never mind the confusion at the train station, although the nice staff person at the Jade Emu Guesthouse wrote out our request for train tickets in Chinese, so hopefully all we have to do is find the right window and hand the note to the attendant.


Courtyard at the Jade Emu

Speaking of the Jade Emu, I can't say enough about how nice it is here. The owners (an Australian-Chinese couple - Dave and Snow) have really created a haven for backpackers (as well as more "mature" travelers.) After weeks of staying in places with limited English at reception, broken or dingy bathrooms,and just generally low standards, the Jade Emu is a refreshing change! They've got everything, including Wifi, BBC, DVDs, good showers, REAL toilet paper, etc., etc. Our room is right off the courtyard/bar area, but still not too noisy, even though the guesthouse is full. We also rented the best-maintained bikes we've had in Asia.


Fishermen at Lake Er Hai

Our bike ride was really nice. Following Dave's advice, we cycled to the lake, through the narrow streets of the village of Cai-Cun, and out into the rice and produce fields, cutting back over to the lake now and then to check out the local fishermen. The next day, we hiked up the mountain, following Snow's directions. The sun was a bit too strong, and although we never found the temple or the actual tourist route, we had a nice secluded hike up and down the mountainside.


Matthias on our hike

I know this is rather late in the post for me to start talking about food, but since the restaurants here seem to be very touristy, I've been letting Matthias drag me to the same noodle shop night after night (they DO have good noodles.) Plus, I know I've got another 5 months to try other Chinese dishes - and hopefully I'll soon learn enough Mandarin to be able to order without seeing what others are eating!


Matthias at his favorite restaurant

I don't know when I'll have internet again, or when/if I'll have access to the blog, but hopefully I'll be able to write again soon about my orientation in Yangshuo and my ultimate placement. 'Till then.

Scaling the Great Firewall of China

We have been in China for over a week now, and have made our way to Dali - a high-altitude, cool, touristy retreat in Southwest China. I think we're somewhere in the foothills of the Himalayas, along the route to Tibet, which is still, I think, a few overnight bus rides away. No, we're not going - we've just got time (and energy) enough to relax for about a week before setting off for Guilin, where I'll attend my teacher orientation and then get shipped out into the hinterlands for my teaching assignment. I also promised Matthias that we wouldn't take any more long bus rides "just to see another Chinese town." He has a point - traveling is not all that comfortable here, and we are lugging a lot of stuff along with us (winter clothes, gifts, etc.) Following is an account of our travels after we learned that we couldn't get a boat from Northern Thailand to China. It's not that the boat doesn't operate anymore, the agent told us that there were just no boats through the end of July - not enough people, she said. And we had to leave Thailand by the end of July or renew our visa.

Matthias on the bus to Chiang Khong

So...from Chiang Rai in Thailand we got the local bus to Chiang Khong (about two hours) and found a place to stay for the night. That was a mistake, actually, since after we booked the room, we found out there was a bus to Meng-la, China leaving early the next morning from Huay Xai, Laos. Huay Xai was just across the river from where we were, but we would have to spend the night there in order to make the bus early the next morning. So, since the bus runs only every other day, making the next available bus two days later, we decided to stay in Chiang Khong an extra night, make our way over to Laos for another night, and then get the bus to China. I don't recommend spending much time in either Chiang Khong or Huay Xai, especially in high summer, as there's not all that much to do. We were able to rent bikes one day in Chiang Khong and took a nice ride along the Mekong, before the intense afternoon heat set in.

Catfish beach on the Mekong

We booked the bus (including 'taxi' to the ferry, ferry to Laos, and transportation to the bus station in Huay Xai) through an agent in Chiang Khong - probably overpaying, but we wanted everything taken care of as the heat was starting to take its toll on our moods. Anyway, we had lots of time, and we ended up paying about half of what the boat up the Mekong would have cost.

Matthias on the bus to China

The bus to Mengla (ordinary, non-air-con bus) left the Huay Xai bus station at 8:30 in the morning, stopped in Luang Namtha for lunch at around noon, and arrived in Meng-la at around 4pm (China time - 1 hour ahead of Laos time.) We had enough time to catch a bus on to Jinghong, where we wanted to spend a few days, but decided to stay in Meng-la overnight. The hotel right at the bus station was quite nice (save for the squat toilet - though it was clean, and part of an otherwise very nice bathroom) and cheap, so we got a room and went out to get some dinner. After what seemed like quite a search, we ended up at a noodle shop right near the hotel, where the hand-pulled noodle soup thrilled Matthias. And when Matthias is happy....

The next morning we got the bus to Jinghong, a town on the Mekong River (we were supposed to get the boat here). The bus ride was smooth, but by the time we walked to the College Hotel (recommended in Lonely Planet), we were dripping with sweat. And the a/c in the room wasn't all that powerful. Actually, we were quite disappointed with the room (I was, until I found the DSL Internet cable.) Jinghong was probably a good (re-) introduction to China, but it was a bit too hot and humid in the afternoons to really enjoy roaming around. So, on our second day, we decided to spend another two nights and then head on to Kunming. After we bought our bus tickets (two days in advance, we happened upon a hotel right next to the bus station - we checked it out and found it to be nice, so we decided to spend the night before we left there, so as to be closer to the bus station. When we checked in the next day, they gave us a two-room suite for 60 RMB (about 10 bucks), with butt-kicking A/C, cable TV (one english channel), water heater, tea, etc. - all but internet.) Had we known it would be so nice, we actually would have hung around a few more days, just to eat more of the delicious noodle soups! For anyone looking for a place to stay in Jinghong, China, it's called the Traffic Hotel, just to the right as you exit the long-distance bus station.

Best noodle soup so far - in Jinghong

We took an early bus to Kunming - it was actually a sleeper bus with beds - as opposed to an overnight bus because, as Matthias rightly pointed out: (1) we can see more during the day, (2) we never get a good night's sleep on a bus, and (3) we don't save that much money by not getting a hotel. The bus was comfortable, but without bathrooms. I haven't found a blog about China yet that hasn't complained about the horrid conditions of public toilets in China, so I won't go into that now. The bus took about 3 hours longer than we expected, and we arrived in Kunming as it was getting dark. Luckily, we happened upon a decent hotel not far from the bus and train station (I'll see if I can find the name.) Very little English spoken, but pointing to the phrases in our Lonely Planet book, along with our handy picture book did the trick at check in.

Sleeper bus to Kunming

Kunming was, as advertised, much cooler than Jinghong, but as a city of 1 million, it wasn't as laid back" as I had hoped. We spent a few days walking around town - looking at stores, parks and markets - and of course trying all the food. I had the best dumplings yet from a food court stall we happened by. Can't wait to have them again when we go back (on the way to Guilin.)

Central Kunming

After a few days of exploring the city, we got the bus to Dali, and we have finally found a place to chill out for a while. It's really touristy here - the "old town" seems to have been torn down and rebuilt to cater to visitors - and the streets are teeming with (mainly Chinese) tourists. That's okay, we'll get enough of the 'real China' once we're living here.

Street in Dali

For now, we'll enjoy our super-comfy, wifi- and BBC-equipped hotel and the quiet and cool surroundings. I even figured out how to access facebook and Picassa (at least for now) so there are new photos which can be accessed by clicking the following links:

July 2009 album (new photos added at the end)

August 2009 album (new)

That's all for now. Better post this while I still can.

No Boat to China

This is my first post-via-email (thanks, Stu, for setting it up for me) since I can't access the blog from China.  Yes, we're here in China - not the way we planned it, as we learned that the boat up the Mekong River wasn't running (at least that's what we were told.)  So, we took the alternative route by taking the bus and ferry to Laos and the bus to China.  I'll write more about that in the next post.  Right now, I just want to make sure that the email-to-blog thing works.  For now, we are in Jinghong, China, heading to Kunming (where it is supposed to be much cooler - yay!) tomorrow.  I'll write more from our next Internet-equipped accommodation. 

Shoo-Fly Pai

It's our last day in Pai before heading farther north toward China. We spent a week in this little "backpacker village", which has somewhat of a dual reputation. Many people say (or write on the internet) that Pai is just too touristy, full of backpackers, and not genuinely Thai anymore. Others say that it's their favorite place on earth. And I can understand both perspectives.

View from the top of Pai Canyon

Fortunately, it's not the high tourist season. That's not to say that there aren't a lot of tourists (yes, mostly young backpackers) here. There are tons of hotels and restaurants, along with travel agents touting local tours, elephant rides, and motorbike rentals. There are also lots of places offering cooking courses, which is how Matthias found someone to provide additional food and soap carving lessons. So, after one day of exploring the area on bikes together, Matthias started another round of carving lessons.

Matthias learning to carve soap

While Matthias was hard at work learning the art of soap carving, I rented a bike and explored this laid-back, beautiful area. One day, I tried to ride out to a waterfall, but the continuous (though gentle) incline and the old-fashioned one-gear bike, along with the blazing sun and humidity forced me to quit before I made it all the way up there. A couple of days later I rode out past the elephant camps, which was a nicer ride.

Elephant hanging out outside of Pai

The time Matthias spent taking lessons, or practicing on pumpkins in our hotel room, also gave me plenty of time to try to come up with a good "Pai pun" for the blog. All the good ones were already taken, of course - the I-Pod music download store here is called "Apple Pai", there are guesthouses called "Pai in the Sky" and "Pai-radise", and someone already named their blog "a slice of Pai..." So, after days of mulling it over, I thought I'd name the blog after the people in the market who wave plastic bags to keep the flies off of the food they are trying to sell. I'm sure I'll come up with something better after I post this.

Vendors "shooing" the flies away from the food

Now Matthias is practicing his art and I'm going to pack up as we're leaving early tomorrow morning. The journey takes us over the mountains back to Chiang Mai (about 3 hours) before we catch another bus up to Chiang Rai in the north. That's where we'll celebrate MATTHIAS' 40TH BIRTHDAY on Sunday.

I added more pictures of Pai to our Picasa gallery (link on the top left of this page) or here.

Spicy and Sweet

Greetings from Thailand. I can't believe we've been here almost two weeks already. On 28 June, we embarked from Berlin, stopped over for 8 hours in Helsinki - where we caught closing time at the fish harbor market and scored a plateful of delicious fish - and then got the overnight flight to Bangkok. We stayed two nights in Bangkok to relax and recuperate from the flight, and then took an overnight train north to Chiang Mai.

Part of our reason for coming to Thailand before showing up for work in China (other than great eats, of course) was so that Matthias could try out fruit and vegetable carving. He had seen ads for lessons last time we were in Chiang Mai (about two years ago) so we thought we'd check it out. We went to one of the many cooking schools here and were able to book private lessons. The teacher, Aor, was great. Not only is she a skilled carver, she is an English teacher at the University here, so her English and her teaching skills were excellent.

They started by making a lotus flower out of a small tomato, then moved on to pumpkin butterflies. Not too difficult (for Matthias) so far. Next was a pumpkin rose...a bit more difficult. But Matthias did well, and really enjoyed the class. That is, until he came home and tried to do it again!

Matthias completed four two-hour sessions, during which he made various flowers out of pumpkin and two pretty amazing watermelon carvings. The next challenge (should he choose to accept it) is to practice without teacher's guidance. They both made it look easy, but it most certainly is not!

In between lessons and practicing (I was the official photographer) we did a lot of walking around Chiang Mai, visiting temples (Wats) shopping malls (to escape the heat and humidity) and markets. The weather is indeed hot and humid, with rain showers almost every afternoon. Fortunately, markets and food stalls are prepared with canopies and umbrellas, so the rain hasn't 'dampened' our enjoyment of local food - noodle soups, curries, and spicy salads. My new favorite is a local dish called Kao Soi - chicken curry with egg noodles - YUM!

Tomorrow we're off to our next destination - the mountain village of Pai. We're ready to leave Chiang Mai, but not so keen to vacate our comfy hotel room, complete with A/C, cable TV and unlimited internet access. Not sure what we'll find in Pai, which is supposed to be a more laid-back backpacker/nature-lover's retreat (I sure hope there are some A/C and cable TV lovers there as well!)

Link to trip photos on left and here.

Out of the fridge and into the fire

Just a quick note to let everyone know we're leaving Germany today for Thailand (out of the cold rain and into the hot monsoons!) I'll update when I've got new stories or photos to share.

Wilkommen in Deutschland!

Why is it that when I have little to do, I get so little done? I've no excuse for not updating the blog, as I've had practically unfettered internet access for the past month and not a whole lot to do. Anyway, better late than never, I guess.

Let's see...if I can remember where I left off more than a month ago...

We rode out of Austria through Bavaria, continuing along the Via Claudia Augusta bike trail, and freezing our butts off, particularly at night and in the morning at the campsites. Because it was so cold, our bikes had seen better days, and we were lugging stuff from Crete that we really didn't need on a bike ride (including this laptop computer), we decided to take the train to Matthias' parents' house once we reached the end of the trail in Donauwörth. Then, since we were so early in Germany with time to kill (we were expecting visitors in June), we decided to get the bikes fixed and go out on the road again for 10 days.

We took the train to Dresden on the 1st of May, a big holiday in Germany, with our bikes and "bob, the bike trailer" with our air mattresses, chairs and various other amenities. We spent a couple of days in Dresden (nice campsite - close to town) and enjoyed gorgeous weather, street fairs and beer gardens on the River Elbe. Our (loose) plans were to ride into the nearby parklands, perhaps into the Czech Republic, and back along the Elbe to Gommern. The weather took a turn for the worse, and once we reached the Sächische Schweiz (or the "Switzerland of Saxony" I think) we ended up morphing our excursion into more of a hiking than biking trip. We took short (but hilly!) rides from campsite to campsite, and spent a couple of days hiking around each area. The scenery there was simply gorgeous - huge sandstone formations jutting out from lush valleys. And, except for one day, the rain tended to hold back until nighttime.

We came back to Gommern on the 11th of May, went to various doctor appointments, firmed up plans for our trip to Asia, and secured an apartment in Berlin so we would have someplace to stay for cousins' Harry and Charlene's visit, while we secured our visas for Asia, and followed up on my German citizenship application. But first we had a quiet few days in the Harz, where we had a nice visit with Matthias' cousin Katja.

And, speaking of my German citizenship application....as we boarded the trail to Berlin, my mobile phone rang - it was the lady from the goverment office that processed my paperwork saying that we could pick up my new Staatsangehörigkeit (my new favorite German word!) We picked it up the next day and immediately applied for my passport, which I received last week. I am now a dual citizen. And strangely enough, my German citizenship has nothing to do with the fact that I married a German; rather, I got it (and was able to keep my US Passport) because my ancestors had to leave Germany because of the Nazis. Now we can leave the country and not worry about keeping my residency, and (at least in theory) I can now work throughout the EU and not just in Germany. Anyone know of any jobs in Andalucia? Oh, never mind, I just saw a report that unemployment in Spain is at 18%!

So, we're now in Berlin, awaiting our visitors and looking forward to seeing my CELTA (EFL) classmates again. Then, we're leaving for Thailand on the 27th of June, where we will travel around the Northern region (Matthias plans to learn fruit carving there) and then head into south China where I will attend an orientation for my English teaching gig. Not exactly sure where in China we will end up, but I requested one of two towns: one in Shaanxi not far from Xi'an, or another in Sichuan province about five hours from Chengdu. I won't know for sure until we get there. Either way, we're both pretty excited!

Breaking Away

Yet another dream come true as we’ve been cycling through Italy for about a week. It’s even more of a “biking culture” than I expected, and I had to swallow my urge to say “ciao bella!” to every bike rider who passed by – like the guy in that 70’s movie Breaking Away. Yes, I dreamed I saw Team Cinzano in every group we passed – apologies to anyone who doesn’t get that movie reference. But the good news is that the bike routes are great, and (contrary to what I expected), the Italians (at least the Northern Italians) seem to be very careful and courteous drivers. We had a bit of trouble finding our way as we left the campsite in Venice – and for the whole first day for that matter – but got on the right track after a while. We passed Treviso without going into the old town for a peek (too stressed and tired) and spent the night in a nice little hotel (no campsites in the area) in a small town. The next day, the ride was much more straightforward, and more beautiful, although the route did follow a fairly busy road. We stopped in Feltre- a beautiful old city - and looked for a place to stay, but finding nothing that lived up to my standards (and limited budget) we carried on to Fonsazo, which was a smaller, cuter town, with a decently priced (50 Euro) and charming hotel.

The next day, the ride got immeasurably more beautiful and peaceful. We rode along bike paths and quite country roads, through narrow valleys and along a rushing river (the River Sugana Valley). Hopefully, the pictures – YES, THERE IS A LINK TO THE LEFT! – will do it justice. We were exhilarated and exhausted as we arrived in Lago Caldonazzo and found our campsite. I’d like to say that I was so tired that I didn’t notice that it was SO COLD AT NIGHT, and particularly in the morning. But obviously we survived.

The next day we set off for Trento, and my map was less clear about how to get there. Apparently, a new bike route is planned, but in the meantime, there is a hilly, not-so-clear route from Pergine to Trento. But at least it was much hillier (uphill, that is) going the other way, although it nearly did us in. We found our “campsite” outside of Trento, which turned out to be a one-star hotel that had a back yard…right up against the train tracks. At least there weren’t too many trains during the night, and we did have our privacy, if we lacked hot water. And, the Albergo (hotel) had a nice little bar where we had a couple of glasses of red wine. Nice.

For a complete change, we rode along a flat bike path that followed a river to Bozen (Bolzano) in South Tirol – the German-speaking part of Northern Italy. We found our campsite and WOW, what a difference. They actually have four-star campsites – with soft music playing in the sparkling clean bathrooms! And you pay….20 Euros for the two of us. And somehow, the ground is just as hard as it was in the last campsite. Anyway, we stayed there, in Bozen, for two days while we decided whether to ride our bikes up over the alps or take the train (this was the last junction) over the two mountain passes. Given the state of our bikes (my brakes, Matthias’ gears) and the load we were carrying, we decided to take the train. First, though, we took a side trip to Meran (Merano), a lovely spa town where we got new brakes and gear adjustments

Which brings us to today, when we took a series of trains to Austria, over the Brenner pass, through Innsbruck (and part of Germany) to a small Alpine town called Bichlbach (in Austria) where we found a great room for 30 Euros. And I mean a GREAT room – I’ve been looking at the Alps through my window all evening. Also, I recommend the train ride for anyone who’d like to see the area without driving – it’s absolutely spectacular! So anyway, we’re at about 900 meters high, and although the rest of the ride is technically “downhill”, we’ve still got some climbing to do to get out of here.

Again, I hope the pictures do the ride justice. There is a link to the left. Ciao!

Due Vino Rossi

Woo hoo – our ferry docked in Venice and we realized we were nuts not to stop here. Luckily, we found a campsite outside of town (27 Euro per night!! and I mean that’s expensive for a tent!) with a good bus connection into town. I’m writing this now from a bridge over one of the many canals here. It’s quite a magical town.

Our ferry arrived at 9AM this morning (our sleeping area was dry and fairly comfortable) and after trying to get some tourist information etc, we rode out of town and found a campsite on our own. Then, we took the bus back into Venice and started to enjoy the beautiful day. Decided to splurge on lunch and had good seafood near the seafood market (near the Rialto Bridge, for those in the know.) I had some nice squid in ink with polenta and Matthias had the ‘menu’ of seafood. It was good. Then we took the obligatory walk over the Rialto Bridge to San Marco Square – all flooded with tourists. We continued on over the bridge to Acadamia and through the less-crowded streets toward the bus station. (Stu, Ed and Cathy – I’m thinking of you and remembering our last time here!!!) So….as it was nearing cocktail hour, we decided to stop somewhere for a glass of wine. We found a nice bar, drank our glasses and held our breath for the check….it was…2 Euros (total!) Of course, as we left, I took a picture of the place in case we’re ever here again!

Just finished eating again – a couple of pizza slices, which were quite good. Now we’ve got to get the bus back to the campsite. We’ll start riding tomorrow toward the Alps. Great pictures to come soon!

On the Road Again

Yes, I now have something to write about that might be of interest to those other than relatives and my good friend Mark S. (thanks for reading!) We left Pitsidia on Wednesday, 08 April and got a much-appreciated ride over the mountain to Heraklion from our good friends Hans and Isabella. It wasn’t just that I was being lazy (though I am prone), but the road that goes over the 620 Meter high pass is narrow, curvy, and busy with buses and trucks. Anyway, we arrived safely in Heraklion and took the ferry that night to Pireaus (Athens) where we boarded a train for Corinth – once again, I wasn’t up to the challenge of riding around busy Athens.

And yes, we did eventually start riding, from Corinth to Patras, where we caught the ferry (which we are aboard right now) to Venice. After spending the night in a campsite outside Corinth, we set off along the north coast of the Peloponnese peninsula. We cycled about 60 km the first day to a campsite at Akara Beach. The scenery was lovely – we rode along the sea (or was it a bay?) with a view of the mainland and snow-capped mountains all around. And, despite the forecasts, the weather (during the day) was quite good. On the second day, we rode only about 40 km to a campsite we knew was between Akara Beach and Patras, where we would catch the ferry the next day. The site was gorgeous, but not quite “open” and ready for the season. So, as I lay in the tent listening to the waves, praying for dry weather, and trying to keep warm – I nearly enjoyed myself. When we woke up in the morning, to a bit of sunshine, I started to feel better. The secret is to keep reminding myself….I’m riding my bike through GREECE! AND I’M GOING TO BE IN ITALY IN COUPLE OF DAYS. What could I possibly have to complain about?! Well, I always find something.

The next day’s ride to Patras (only 30 km) was pretty easy, thanks to a strong tailwind. Our ferry to Venice didn’t leave until midnight so we had plenty of time eat, find an internet café, and get on each other’s nerves. The ferry, we thought, was a bargain. Only 49 Euros each for the two-night journey to Venice. Sure, we have to sleep on the floor, but we do that in the tent anyway. But then, after we awoke from a nice toasty-warm night’s sleep, we were flooded out of our sleeping area (Matthias noticed it nearly on time – his sleeping bag only got a little wet.) So, after three nights of worrying about keeping dry in our tent, we ended up with wet stuff from the ferry. Oh well…as they say (quite often) in Greece….Teenakanama (what can you do.) And I’m still in denial that our plan involves riding our bikes OVER THE ALPS to Germany. I’m just holding on to the excitement of riding through northern Italy – the rest will take care of itself (I hope.) Life is good.