Blogs from Daxing, Beijing, China, Asia

Petit message pour saluer les élèves de la classe de 6e année de Sophie (femme de Eric ) de l'école Émilie Gamelin qui suivent notre voyage par le blog dans le cadre d'un projet sur la Chine. Encore une fois excusez mes erreurs de frappe, à l'heure que j'écris et avec le correcteur, je me rends compte que parfois il se glisse des erreurs dans le texte. Lisez le contenu et ne vous arrêtez pas aux lettres. Aujourd'hui course de vélos sur les remparts de Xi'an et visite d'une fabrique de jade. Ensuite je crois qu'on a un souper théâtre.......on verra une chose à la fois!!!! Ni Hao... read more

An August thunderstorm As we near the end of training for the day, the typhoon that caused minor chaos in Japan and the Philippines finally approaches our abode. Remembering what you do in the event of a thunderstorm, I headed for high ground climbing the ladder to get on the roof. The wind was whipping up. The tall thin trees were being swept to aside. Bent over, I wondered if they might snap but they were supple and flexible just like the way of the Tao and the ideal martial arts technique. I climbed down from the roof. The rain started up. I stood out in the rain. A friend of mine once told me she was suspicious of people who are afraid of thunderstorms - what had they done wrong to have so much to ... read more

It has been another wonderful visit to China… we’ve certainly experienced some exceptional hospitality from our friends here. After teary farewells to parents in southern China, we trained to Jinhua, the city we once studied in. The locals, including our friends that work at the University, the bike repair-man (Callum’s new best friend since he daily requires work on his bike!), the international phone-card man, the fruit and street-food sellers, all appreciate our yearly visits. We enjoyed many afternoon swims with friends in big reservoirs in the country areas out from the University. We also made another hike to the top of the small mountain at the back of the Uni. The boys were very busy with their social schedules here, catching up with lots of friends and making new ones. Their favourite part of the ... read more

On May 9 we began the Cup with some introductory sessions to begin the training, and on May 10 we began teaching in earnest, concluding on May 11. The sessions were packed, since over 130 teams and all of their official timekeepers and coaches were in attendance. One thing FLTRP does not lack is ceremony, as one can see from the layout of the venues. ... read more

No trip is complete without shopping, and we needed to stock-up on the latest in food and fashion if we were going to survive our week in Daxing, so we headed with Cecilee (Li Xi) and Jingkai (Jingkai He) to the Brilliance Fresh City Shopping Mall. Since it was my birthday, we also enjoyed some festivities. We had lunch at the grand opening of the Golden Hans. This fine establishment is a cross between a German Biergarten, a Brazilian Churascarria, and a Chinese Buffet--German on the walls, beer steins, sausage on a stick, and men in cowboy gear and Marlboro hats wearing face masks in commemoration of Swine Flu. That evening we returned to the compound for dinner on June, our host, who presented me with a beautiful cake and birthday noodles, and the team a ... read more