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Published: November 19th 2011
Duff Man 001
Who loves the Simpsons more than Geoff??Heading into the month of November, we are thinking of snow, wind, long underwear and heavy coats. Oh for the bliss of first year when we didn’t know what faced us in winter! But, compared to current temperatures of places that the people we love, we are in a heat wave in the low teens. Blizzards in the Maritimes, frigid temperatures in Peace River and skiing in Whistler makes us grateful for the prolonged fall that we seem to be having.
On top of that, there is actually heat in the apartments! Heat is a relative thing though; with no control over thermostats, we take what they give us and have our own heaters going most of the day and night. Geoff’s place on the girl's campus seems to be nice and toasty without heaters still.
Halloween is just passed and it was a fun event for the young. The students loved getting dressed and also seeing their teachers in crazy costumes, which many wore all day. Somehow, without the hype and small children that make the day so fun in Canada, it was lacking a bit, but a good time was still had by all. Especially
PingYao
The ancient walled city in Pingyao is supposed to be the best preserved in China. The south part of this wall was restored in 2004, but the rest is original from 1370. by Duffman at the staff Halloween party on Saturday night.
Rick and I passed on the costumes this year for the first time and opted for a quiet evening at home playing tunes on the guitar and singing the old standards. Dana / Patrick – we love the guitar camp book, and use it often- we think about you every time we pull it out.
It has been a few weeks since we got back from our National Holiday week, so figure it is about time to put a few pictures up. My camera broke on the trip so I’m very thankful that Geoff had just purchased one before we left – he is responsible for a lot of the pictures we have.
This fall we decided to do the trip that we missed last April when Rick was in the hospital. We visited the province of Shanxi (not to be confused with Shaanxi – the province immediately south), hoping to visit the City in the Clouds that we saw in the power point. We ended up seeing a great Hanging Monastery, but no City in the Clouds. A bit disappointing, but still saw
Tai Yuan Kui Guesthouse
You could ( well, I did) get lost in the twists and turns of the walkways leading to different courtyards in this beautiful guesthouse. This is what Lonely Planet says: Pingyao Tian Yuan Kui Guesthouse is a four-star folk guesthouse ... It is located in the middle section of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Street, the most prosperous street in the Pingyao Ancient City. Five reception halls whose Chinese and western restaurants are constructed in antique style spread out along the street. Walking through the lobby are courtyards with old houses which seems like a miniature of The Grand courtyard of the Qiao family (the family courtyard of a famous Shanxi merchant). Narrow lanes paved with flag stones connecting the antehall, aisles and each courtyard, with groups of stone carvings scattered at corners. The stone carvings, representing auspiciousness, are in elegant decorations and precious antiques some great sights.
We started out after work on Friday flying to Shanxi's capital city, Tai Yaun. We left school about 4:15 to catch a 6:20 flight. The normally one hour drive got delayed by traffic so we were in a real panic when we arrived. There was at least a 30 minute line up to check in and our flight check in was closing in 5 minutes. So we had to pull the Chinese trick of going right to the front of the line and butting first in line. Felt bad, but had to do it. Next time we are booking a later flight!
Anyway after a short flight we arrived in Tai Yaun with a driver waiting to take us to Ping Yao, a city known for having the best preserved ‘ancient’ walled city in China. A lot of restoration work has been done there, but because we can’t read characters, was hard to appreciate the history of the place. One side trip took us to 1400 year old Zhongbi castle which has an amazing system of underground defence tunnels.
Coal is the main industry in shanxi and we were amazed and the constant
flow of trucks loaded down with shipments destined for all over the world. There are 3000 coal mines and 1/3 of China's coal output is from here. You can imagine the pollution and coal dust everywhere.
From Ping Yao we took a bus to the northern city of Datong, where we visited the Hanging Gardens and the amazing Yungang caves. Unfortunately, we were in the midst of the National holiday and were part of literally millions of tourists all trying to enjoy these sights, so the crowds took away somewhat from the enjoyment of the places, but still worthwhile.
From Datong we flew back to Beijing where we stayed again at our favourite 365 Hostel; Geoff particularly liked being back where there were other young travellers that he could hang out with. We tried to relax here, but you can never relax in Beijing – so we rented bikes one day, spent another looking at books in foreign language book stores and another day visiting the Olympic Bird’s nest and a Science Museum (so – so at best).
The thing about a week traveling is that you are almost more tired when you get back
Cave Houses
About 3 million people live in cave houses in Shanxi province. The ones we saw near PingYao were fairly nice looking homes, but on our trip to Datong, saw several scattered throughout the hills that were pretty basic. You can see the chimneys coming out of the ground behind the entrances - as when you left. We also have decided that we are just about done with temples and our next holiday will involve beaches and something not in China – too many people during our holiday times.
Otherwise things are rolling along here. I am counting weeks to the end of semester and the winter holiday – foolishly because I know the work that awaits when I get back -with a new program of grade 9 students entering our department. Rick spends a good deal of his time on discipline, but overall is enjoying his job. Geoff is off to a hockey tournament this week in Shenyang. When they after school yesterday it was pouring rain with forecast of snow there, but this morning is a beautiful blue sky. So hope it all goes well for them. Next is a December tournament in Harbin and one is in the works for another in Hong Kong. What a circuit.
Geoff has just finished doing a month of Science 10 at the high school and just loved it. It was a temporary job while the new hire got his visa approved. Now that he has seen other than his
Zhongbi Castle tunnels
There are about 10 km of underground tunnels that were used to defend the castle and surrounding village 1400 years ago. Only about 1 km are developed, and were lucky to have an English speaking guide to lead us and explain the significance of places in the 3 levels of tunnels - 1500 meters underground. junior high students he is anxious to get into the high school again in the next semester, where he has been verbally offered a job. The thing he will miss about the junior high though is going in every morning at 10:00 and having an extra 45 minutes at lunch for ‘nap time’. What a life!
Just talked to Chris this morning who is doing a major reno to his condo, trying to get it ready before January when he is going to BCIT to get his apprenticeship papers. He is doing a beautiful job - but is exhausted. He is really looking forward to being in Vancouver for a couple of months and away from the 18 hour days of two full time jobs.
Today is Saturday – market this morning, trip to Dalian to pick up my camera then stop in KaiFaQu on the way home to pick up a couple of things. Tomorrow is the grade 10 parent day, and I am nervously preparing a speech, part of which I am going to do in Chinese. My mandarin in definitely picking up and I look for every opportunity to practice it.
There is a recruitment fair on today with universities from all over the world here to nab students for their schools. Switzerland is big because of it's hotel industry, Australia, Japn, but the majority from Canada and US. Small colleges and large universities - recruiting is a really big business here.
Christmas is coming soon- because it is on a Sunday it is just a regular weekend, but still hope to do a few small preparations. No Kempinski Hotel in Dalian though.
That's all for now.We think about all of our friends at home often- especially those of you who are retired now! Happy times to all of you.
More pictures below.
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Diana Strid
non-member comment
it has begun!
you're certainly taking it all in! wow! i'm so glad you're doing this travel blog. i love the pictures, and love the commentaries. this may be as close as i get for some time.... my chances of making it to China this year are less than zero. i can't afford a free lunch right now. and rumor has it that utility costs could double over the coming winter. but i'll travel vicariously with you. thanks! i sit in my little condo with the dog napping at my feet and the (electric) fireplace doing its best to cheer, the weatherman promises we'll go down to -29 tonight, and we already have 8 inches of snow. the increase in the paper of employment ads for tradesmen suggests we're heading for another boom here, going into winter. realtors and people in the oilpatch tell me that's where we're headed. Christmas lights are beginning to go up and the city puts on its festive face. Habitat for Humanity is moving towards a regionalized structure, instead of the current situation with 73 separate charitable societies across the country, so we're joining with Edmonton. seems like a good thing for us, though not all affiliates feel that way. they've even hinted at giving me a raise, which would be awfully nice. if not, i'm going to have to look for another job that pays better. i hope your (however short) holidays are blessed with good food, good friends and good times. hugs and blessings Diana