5 days and counting!

Only 5 days and we will be in the air on our way back to MN--we can't wait!
here are a few thing that have been going on recently-
last night (sat) ISB had their Holiday party at a hotel in downtown Beijing (right next to the Birds' Nest and Watercube!) It was an unbelievable party! in riley's words, " I have never been to anything so nice in my entire life!" free flowing champagne, wine, and pop so many people had a bottle or two to themselves. Live music for 1/2 of it, then a dj for the other half-it was great seeing so many staff/faculty out there tearing it up! It is the one night when everyone truely lets their hair down. There were door prizes as well-i would guess about 50 of them with the biggest prize being flight and 3 day/ 2night stay in hong kong. neither riley or i won that, but i did win a massage from a really nice place! too bad i can't use it! my doctor said yesterday no more massages of any type-including foot or head massages---i guess there are pressure points that can trigger contractions. riley was happy to hear that as now he can use my two massages!
Really though-the party was unbelievable. Our ayi's brother in law had a mini-van from the people who he drives around-they are gone foro the holidays so he drove us in the mini-van instead of our jeep. it was much more roomy!
Friday riley and i took the day off of school to go to the doctor. 17 1/2 weeks-all is well with the baby. i was a little frustrated b/c my chinese doctor told me to watch what i eat so my babies aren't so big. Kieran was 8lbs 13 oz and kellan was 9lbs 3 oz--and i delvered them just fine! in her words ," Chinese women cannot deliver such big babies," well guess what, I am not chinese! so i am laughing about it now-people told me the chinese doctors and nurses are very blunt and i am finding that out!
After our dr. appt-we went out to finish holiday/souviniear (spelling i know) shopping. we had a very nice day. ate at a newer sports bar where we were the only people in there. The waiters are so curious so we ended up spending 1/2 our meal asking/answering questions. (Riley is the more inquisitive one-always wants to know everyone's story!) It was a nice meal and nice staff. They took 19Rmb off my bill b/c i didn't likemy soup! then they ran after us down the escalator b/ci forgot my xmas shopping gift! that wouldn't happen everywhere!
Last weekend we went to a holiday party with my coworker Duff. He has a very nice place closer to downtown. It was a nice little party where we did a goofy gift exchange where people could steal one another's gifts--we ended up with some pretty nice gifts in the end which was nice.
The weekend before that was when riley was in Xian. on sat night i got a babysitter and went out to a movie with a friend (from mn) mary! it was the newer james bond film. I have never sat and watched a james bond film beforee but she was super excited to see it --and we were pretty limited on choices of english movies. I didn't even notice the whole thing was subtitled in chinese-i guess i must be getting pretty used to that by now.
What else-the boys are doing well. kellan is starting to get put in time-out-mainly for hitting his brother when he tells him no. the little bugger wouldnt' stay ont he steps a month ago-but he sits there pretty well now. we haven't started the timer yet but we may have to break that out soon. Kieran got his lettr to santa ready-all he wants is these stupid things called bakugans. we have gotten him almost all the knock-off ones you can get here-but it is hard to find real ones. i am hoping to find some mmore back in the states-otherwise i don't have much for him. kellan is a little easier to shop for at this age.
This past wednesday night-Duff (the other 8th grade math teacher) and i started a new tradition by putting on a Probability Night in one of our gyms. We were wrapping up our probability unit, so the kids had to create a unique game and do some calculations, design a billboard, and actually design the game so people could play it like they were at a casino. we had money printed up with our faces on it---duff is canadian so we had canadian and american dollars. we tried to get my picture on a 1RMB but it got sent back to us from our printing press saying it was illegal to copy chinese money! i thought i would be arrested since it was my picture on it! kind of funny we both thought. the night was a HUGE success-we had an incredible turnout-donations galore-both food and prizes.....it was great! i will try to include some pictures next time.
we are starting to pack for the journey home. we don't plan on bringing too much stuff home to mn-but will return to china with lots of american goodies! we can't wait!
we hope to see you all soon!
until next time-
love
the dubois' family

Xi'an Pictures

Weekend in Xi'an

Before this incredible experience for us began, I had never heard of a place called Xi'an. I didn't know that it was once called the largest and most modern city in the world.I would probably tell you that I have seen a picture of the Terra Cotta Warriors, but would not know anything about them. Well, last weekend, I was able to get up close and personal with these warriors in the ancient Chinese city called Xi'an (she-on).
Laurie, being her selfless self, told me to take a weekend off and go along with a fellow group of teachers on this trip. So, I flew down there the last Friday of November to spend the weekend by myself in this truly different and interesting place...
Hunter Shang, a native Chinese citizen who teaches at a similar school to ISB, organized the trip. Not only is he a great guy, but he made the trip so easy. I didn't have to mess with tickets, hotel rooms, or even getting good Chinese food. In the words of a fellow traveler on our departure from Beijing. " You're not gonna have to think again until you get home on Saturday." Those words rang so true....
We arrived down in Xi'an in time to check into our hotel room. The Bell Tower Inn is located in the heart of the old part of Xi'an. We were literally across the street from the ancient Bell Tower, and right down the street from the Drum Tower. Honestly, I do not know that significance of these structures yet, but know that they are of some historical importance. You may remember the tragic news about the stabbing at the Drum Tower in Beijing during the Olympics. This is also a historic place in an old part of Beijing that is neat to see...
Anyhow, we arrived and headed out for some local food and drink. I enjoyed a quiet evening in a smokey bar with a few fellow teachers. Then, went back to the hotel and had a great night of rest in the hotel.
Saturday morning, we woke up, enjoyed a great buffet breakfast of western and Chinese food, and boarded a small bus to visit a few places. Our first stop was the old wall that surrounded the heart of ol' Xi'an. The structure, as it is today, is about 600 years old. It's also the largest wall protecting a city that stands in China to this date. We rented bikes and rode the 14 kilometer route on the top of the wall... It was a beautiful day with comfortable temps and sunshine... A truly peaceful ride. I frequently stopped and observed the daily life going on below me. Things such as locals gathering to play unique instruments and sing. Other things I observed were a bit disturbing. Seeing complete neighborhoods that had been knocked down in the name of modernization. I'd see people sifting through the ruins trying to salvage bricks that could be reused. I wonder what they'll do with them and where they'll end up???
After the bike rid on the wall, we headed to a factory that makes Terra Cotta Warrior replica statues. This was sort of a touristy thing in which they tried to sell us overpriced souviners. My pocketbook escaped unscathed other than a $3 coffee.
After this stop, we headed on an hour drive out to where the real Terra Cotta Warriors are being excavated. On this drive we went through some amazingly interesting country. I am guessing that this soil is heavy on the clay (hence the materials for the Terra Cotta Warriors). The observation that triggered this belief was the homes that were carved into the hillsides. There were areas where it appeared that people lived in cave-like creations. I would have loved to stop and have a look.
We arrived at the base of the mountains where the tomb of an ancient emperor lies. We were told that this emperor spent nearly 40 years building his 53 square kilometer grave (the largest known one in the world). Part of this grave are the thousands of terra cotta warriors that had been buried and forgotten for 2000 years. A local farmer discovered them while digging for a well back in 1974.
It was amazing to behold this site. It's definately a tourist attraction that is supposedly crazy busy during the peak tourist season. We found it pretty calm. Other than the local peddlers trying to aggressively sell you their wares. But, when you stand there and marvel at the magnitude of this piece of history, it throws you for a loop... It would be neat to go back there in 25 years and see the progress that they have made in their excavations. They continue to put together the shattered pieces of warriors that are still being uncovered.
After this experience, we headed back to our hotel, found a local Chinese restaurant where we ate a wide variety of food that was new to me, and headed back to our rooms. After dark in Xi'an, the streets come alive with street vendors. I tried some sort of warm juice that somewhat resembled apple juice. Not quite sure what it was.
I also ate some sort of bread on a stick. It was spicy and had the consistency of meat, but Hunter said that it is bread... The jury is still out in my mind on this one.. Thankfully, I didn't get sick and can chalk this up as "part of the experience."
The next morning, after breakfast, I walked to the other side of the Drum Tower where Muslim Street is located. I arrived just as the street was awakening. It's famous for the little shops and vendors that try to sell you about anything you can think of. The smells of the foreign food were neat, and seeing what sorts of things you could buy was fun. After it was all said and done, I bought a painting of a terra cotta warrior, and an embroidered cloth from southwestern China's Meiow people. The man who sold it to me said that his mother created it... ??? Regardless of who did it, the piece is beautiful and will hang in our home here soon.
Our group met and went to a Museum of History. This interesting place had many examples of arifacts that dot the colorful history of the Xi'an area.
After the museum, we went and participated in a tea ceremony. These are like being in a virtual commercial. They let you sip a few different types of tea and then try to sell you some... I had bought some on Muslim Street, so I didn't purchase any.
Our last stop before flying back to Beijing was the Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist Temple. Quite a calm and interesting place. And, other than the high pressured sales pitches, it was great. I climbed up to the top of the 7 story temple and enjoyed a nice view of the surrounding city.
All in all, Xi'an was a nice trip. Relaxing for sure, educational as well. And the expending of minimal brain power on what to do or where to go was a welcome relief.... Thanks Hunter!
As I close, we're overjoyed to welcome Hutton Isaac DuBois to the clan! Isaac and Heidi had him yesterday and all went well and continues to be well... Thank you Lord..
And, we down to under 2 weeks before returning to Minnesota for a brief Christmas vacation. We hope to see as many of you as possible...
Until next time....
Riley and Krew

Eli and I at Simitai!

If you've ever been away from home and have had visitors come and see you, then you may know the excitement that I felt in anticipation for Eli's visit. He's a good friend from just down the block back home, who was out here visiting his girlfriend Anna.
For the past three weeks, I had been getting ready to hang out with these guys. Last Saturday, we met at Forbidden City to check it out, as well as Tiananmen Square. The only problem is that I woke up that morning feeling like I'd been drug behind a truck from Kasson to Mantorville. Or, maybe I felt like I'd been out with McEldowney and Greene back in our glory days. Either way, I felt horrible.
I made my way there and had no trouble finding the six foot five friend of mine. I was struggling and took an early leave. And, for the next three days, I fought this flu bug and was mad for being a bad host.
But, it all changed on November 26th, my birthday....
I woke up and felt as good as I've felt since the previous week. Eli made it to my school where we met our driver Jeff. Jeff skillfully navigated his way up into the mountains to Simitai. This is where we would be dropped off and get on to the Great Wall. Jeff then drove to our pickup spot at Jinshanling, about a 4 hour hike away...
Eli and I enjoyed some local Chinese food, and humorous attempts at conversation with the gals who ran the restaurant. Good food that provided a perfect start to an amazing experience.
The day was crisp, and perfectly clear. The air felt great, tasted better, and was manna to our lungs. You may have, and in the future probably will, hear us talk about air quality in our posts. It may not mean much to you, unless you've been to Beijing. People talk about the air here in the same manner that they talk about the general weather back home... It's "that topic" that seems to always end up in conversation.
Anyways, we set off and climbed up to the wall and go on. For the next 4 hours, we enjoyed peace, great conversation, breathtaking scenery, and (for me anyway), personal moments of reflection and thanks.... I'll also add that this happened to be my 36th birthday. So, spending it at a place like the Great Wall, with a friend such as Eli, and having great weather, was a true blessing....
A frequent thought that I had revolved around questions... "How did they do this?" Also, "Was this really needed?" The wall is so massive and built in such desolate country, that I marvel at the expense of labor, material, planning, and actual exectution of such a huge project. I know that it was not all built at once, but it did end up creating quite a long fense by the time that it was all said and done...
The actual hiking, I might add, is a true workout. This part of the wall is not your typical touristy area. Mutianyu and Badaling are the parts of the wall to go to for that. I am sure that Simitai has been fixed up plenty in some spots. But, there are many that seem untouched by efforts to make the wall more "user friendly" as we now say. Add the steep slopes that cameras do not do justice to, and you get a good burn by the end of the trip. This forces you to stop, catch your breath, collect your thoughts, and behold the landscape that you are part of...
As I looked out, I couldn't help but notice the modernization that is creeping in. On either side of the wall, I could see a big highway that is being built. There are also bridges in the process of being made, and dammed up rivers. In the same view, I saw a local farmer following his herd of sheep as they foraged through the low mountains for food. He's walking on a path that may have been the same path his ancestors walked on hundreds of years ago... What does he think of all of this? What does he think of me when I yell "Ni Hau!" from the distance... He stops and looks at me, give a quick wave, and gets back to work...
There's also the terracing. In many of the places, the farmers have tried to carve out a life by terracing and creating farmland. The sweat equity invested over the years is mind boggling! These folks really have to work to scrape by...
Eli is the type of person who really loves adventures such as these. A person with broad horizons like him (and a friend to boot), always adds to experiences such as these. We had a great time and will talk about this in the future when we are partaking in different endeavors...
Tonight, after school, I embark on yet another of such. Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors...
I'll close and get ready for school. Last night, we had Thanksgiving dinner with some new dear friends the Merritts. Matt has quickly become a great friend who has been awesome to be around. We had a nice night, great food, and good fellowship. Of all the things to be thankful in life, I believe that the love of family and friends is at the top of my list. So, to all of you family and freinds who have toiled through my ramblings here, I thank God for the blessing of you in my life. And my family's life as well....
Love you all!
Riley and Fam...

Tibetan experience

It's been a while.... Not due to a lack of action though... We've had a bug go through the boys, dad, and is suspected to be bugging momma's tummy right now. But, we've been busy none the less.
Last Friday, November 21st, I (Riley), joined a group of ISB teachers for a night at a warehouse that specializes in Tibetan-type furniture. Not really well versed in that culture, but I was interested and went. An experience is definately what this was.
After an hour and fifteen minutes in traffic, we arrived in a village-like place and were lead through a bunch of corridors. As they opened the gate to the warehouse, we were greeted by men who were dressed in thier native Tibetan garb. We knew then that this would be a big deal...
We were lead into one of the prettiest rooms I've ever been in. As soon as we got in there, a new scent entered my registry. Turns out that this would be yak milk.... This is a big part of their culture I guess. Yak sweets, yak milk tea, yak butter, yak everything.
Being someone who wants to try things and see what they're like, I tried things that they had laid out for us. The first was a sweet. It looked a bit like a spritz cookie, but smelled worse than a sweaty shoe... I tried it, and can confidently say that I will never eat anything like that unless I am about to pass out from starvation. For the rest of the night, I had this musty smell/taste in my mouth...
On to better things.... After our social hour and meeting our host, we were paraded through this massive storehouse to look at the pieces. Now, Tibetan furniture generally has a very rich red tone to it and may be brightly painted. In our case, we purchased sort of an end table that is beautifully painted on the front.
They also have a wide variety of rugs there. Piles and piles of them to overwhelm a person.... I went there thinking that I get a rug for our house, but gave up trying due to overload. With so many to choose from, I figured that I would ask Laurie to help sometime...
In the end, this was an awesome place to visit. Besides becoming an admirer of Tibetan furniture, I have made up my mind to steer clear of yak products... Been there done that I guess.

dressed and ready to go!

wednesday after school riley and i ventured with 2 other guys and a friend who speaks chinese to a local taylor...what an adventure! we climbed to the third floor of an apartment building and opened the door to an apartment turned business full of sewing machines and fabric! This particular day was the workers one day out of 2 weeks off so the machines were sitting idol. we went into one of the back rooms and started looking through books for pictures of tuxedos, suits and dresses. We were told that we could get clothes made here for a fraction of most of the taylors that expatriats go to. So we all ended up picking out fabric and getting measured for the big holiday part that our school puts on in december at a hotel downtown. we did get some pictures with somebody else's camera...we will have to try to get them on the blog soon. For around $200 TOTAL riley got a full suit including pants, jacket, shirt, vest, tie and laurie got a dress (that will expand if necessary since the party is 4 weeks away!). most of the places we looked at going to it would have cost about 200 bucks apiece for a dress and for a suit! so we are very happy to have saved money for outfits we won't wear very often. Riley's suit is very nice so he could definitely wear his again. he really wanted to get a chinese-style tuxedo but he went witha more traditional look-he will look sharp! we will have to take pictures of the results...it was quite an experience! we may try to go back and have some dress clothes made in the future.

I just finished 2 days worth of conferences. of my 90 kids, i had about 68 conferences packed into the two days thurs/fri. Conferences are scheduled every 10 minutes for math teachers b/c so many parents want to talk to them. The other teachers get a really good turnout as well but teachers don't feel quite the urgency to talk with them like they do with the math teachers. I learned a lot about the culture/expectations here during the two days. Many parents want to know exactly where their kid sits in the class as far as grades go, do they need a tutor (or in some cases another tutor), can they get more work for them, and many other interesting questions. All and all the conferences went very well and it was great to meet so many of my students parents. I gained much insight into many of my students' lives...where they have been...how often they have moved, how long they are planning on staying, their interests outside of school, etc. it was very exhausting from 10-5 both days, but nice to get most conferences out of the way. a few more conferences next week.

Riley is off this morning meeting up with Eli, a friend from kasson. His girlfriend is here working so he came for the week. Both boys (kieran and kellan) were sick with the stomach flu and diarrhea all week and riley said he thought he may be getting the bug.. he didn't look good but he was going to try to venture off to meet up with Eli and Anna at Tianamen Square and then to the Forbidden City. We are hopefully going to go off to a local chinese restaurant tonight after kieran and i go to yet another 4 year old birthday party!

all is well..we are getting anxious to come home. Will really miss everyone the next few days as we think of everyone gathering back home celebrating Thanksgiving! We are celebrating Thanksgiving with some friends Thursday night and then the boys and i iwll go to another set of friend's on Saturday night even though riley will be off on a trip to see the Terracotta WArriors (i know i murdered that spelling)
well...gotta go kellan is done with breakfast an i think we are going to head to the clubhouse to t he playland!
we miss you all!
The DuBois' Clan

a couple quick pictures

Our ayi, Li Xien came over and babysat saturday night and brought her son with her. The boys treated themselves to a sucker and were mezmorized by some monkey show on tv.

The entire 8th grade went to the Ethnic Park (located next to the water cube and birds' nest). This is my homeroom class as we are getting ready to board the bus after spending the day at the park. GREAT KIDS...go 8-6!

Kellan is working on making a new animal species...a cross between a giraffe and a horse! THis is one of this favorite things to do is to stack animals in this position?!?!?!? He gets very frustrated dwhen they don't stay on top of each other. We thought this picture would make everyone laugh think....."and they wonder why they are pregnant...what are they teaching their kids!"

ALL IS WELL.....

It has been quite some time since we last wrote...but all is well for the DuBois family here in China. Seems like we are becoming quite used to our routines here and all of the out-of-the-ordinary observations we made when we first arrived here are now somewhat normal to us. Life is certainly easier/more convenient now that we both have our license and can run little errands around the area when we need to. We had (actually riley had thought) that we would continue to ride our bikes to school through the winter even when we got our license...well we have been driving quite a bit (which i love....too cold in the morning!) I have to be nice to my husband though as i honestly have not driven a meter yet....i am a little concerned about my stick-shift driving ability. Riley's truck was a stick shift in college...and i drove it then...but that was how long ago? the IKEA crew was here delivering a couch and bunkbed a few days ago and i couldn't even move the darn jeep out of the driveway! (I killed it twice!) so one of the guys moved it for me!
so the last two weeks havve been pretty normal....last weekend riley and kieran scouted out a church for us...and we went there again this week. It was really nice to be in church again. I think we will continue to go there..they have a good program for the kids and the praise and worship is great! (not that i am singing---i would scare people away).
Yesterday we ventured to the pearl market to do some Christmas shopping. It was quite a successful trip as we got many people gifts to bring home. Last weekend we went to yashow to get kieran a few more long sleeve shirts and i ended up doing some bargaining for some christmas presents there as well. it is fun bargaining but a very tiring. you really learn from one little hut to the next how cheap you can get things...they won't sell it to you if they will lose money...but they also start about 5-6 times higher than what they are willing to take for it! it is quite comical. then they act like you are ruining their day when they decide they will give something to you for your price...and they still try to squeeze one or two quay (30 cents) out of you! anyway-i have had enough for a while. we may have to go back one more time to get a few last items...but we will see.
One of Riley's friends (Eli) is coming over to visit at the end of the week. His girlfriend Anna came over last night for a while. We went out to eat and then Anna and I went to the compound next door to get massages...it was nice! I know riley is getting anxious for Eli to get here. He will be here for a week. Riley is going to take next wednesday (his birthday!) off as a personal day so he and Eli can venture out. I am sure we will get together this weekend as well---i think Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City are on the agenda for Saturday?
School is good for all...riley had conferences last week and mine are this week. The kids are released early and then parents come for the middle school from 10-4:30. i guess for math EVERY SINGLE PARENT wants to see you! i used to enjoy parent conferences in Delano b/c it would be a time for me to get some work done....but it will be full steam ahead on thurs/fri. i can't even fit all myparents in in the 2 days scheduling them every 10 minutes...so it is first come first serve! i even had 2 parents at church today ask me about their child's grade! Should be interesting.
i think that is about all i can remember for now.....just wanted to update quick. we have taken some pictures but i really need to get some schoolwork done so i am not going to upload them now.
we hope all is well for everyone back home! We miss you all and are starting to count the days until we can see everyone!
Love
The DuBois Family

A weekend full of adventure

Momma and her boys...

Kellan trying a Chinese version of candied apple (with Mandarin oranges). Tasted pretty good...

Kieran is not quite sure about thos sharks...

With Halloween beginning our weekend with a bang, we didn't let up on either Saturday or Sunday... We are quickly learning that our firstborn, Kieran, is developing quite the social schedule. The past two Saturdays have had copious amounts of time budgeted in for his soccer as well as birthday parties. The difference this weekend though, is that his ol' man had his official Chinese drivers license and drove him to soccer. So, I can officially say that I've "joined the fray" out here. And I mean this when I say this... I've NEVER experienced anything like driving in China. You really must see it to believe it... I'll say no more.

After watching the 4 year olds run around chasing one another (and sometimes a ball), for an hour, we headed home for the birthday party. Kieran and Laurie attended this, while Kellan and I stayed home and napped... :) We had to prepare for our next adventure. Yashow market. Where you could buy the finest in imitation clothing, great souviners that are sure to break in less than a month, massages, and pedicures. All of this is in the same building too, I must add.

We headed to Yashow with the idea of getting the boys some clothes. Our first impression of this was similar to the other markets of this sort that we've visited. Many people, salesfolk who grab you and ask you the same questions.. "Hello friend, you want a shirt? Come have a look." Over and over again...

Laurie had some recommended places from other gals, so we bee-lined to the third floor. There, we haggled for 17 pieces of clothing that cost us around $100 American. Not bad...

By the time that we were done with the boys, they were done with Yashow. So, we headed out and calmed our tweaking nerve endings with some soothing Coldstone Ice Cream!!! My friend!!!

After we cabbed back to our home, we headed over to our friend and neighbor's home for dinner and fellowship. The kids played, we talked, and had a great, relaxing time...

Sunday, Laurie gave me the green light to go back to Yashow to look for a few long sleeve shirts that I could wear to school. I've never been much of a packer, and it definately shows... I have a ton of short sleeve shirts, but neglected to think that Beijing actually does get cool during the autumn and winter... So, I had to arm myself.

I've been reading an awesome memior that an American man wrote titled River Town. Peter Hessler recounted his two years as a Peace Corps volunteer in the heart of Sichuan province on the Yangtze River. He writes of trying to see what living in China is really like. This has really helped me to open my eyes personally and come to grips with what I want for us while we are away from home. We're not some random visitors who are spending time visiting China. We're going to be living here for at least two years. Why not try and get the full flavor of this place.

With that said, when I set out for Yashow, I wanted to try and venture around a bit, try and talk to the native Chinese folks more, try to look at this place not as someone whose just visiting, but someone who is living here... Enter the Minnesota boy making a buffoon of himself..

Yashow is not the place to try and culture yourself. It's full of waiguoren (foreigners), like me who are looking for no more than a good deal... But, when I did begin to haggle with the salespeople, they always asked me "Where you from?" This opened the door, as I reciporcated the question. Not one of the workers in there was from Beijing. They most likely were from some rural area that I had never heard of... I also tried to throw in the few Chinese words that I knew whenever possible. This got them laughing alot, but showed them that I am trying... I've found that those whom I've tried to communicate with in Mandarin have been very patient. So, in the future, I'm going to continue to try and do this... It's the best way to improve.

After haggling for as long as I could stand it, I left Yashow and walked down to Workers Stadium. This is where I saw the US women play Japan in soccer during the Olympics. The stadium looks as if it had a quick coat of paint slapped on it. And, a pretty sculpture depicting a few people who could have been action figures, showed cracking and wear when I looked at them up close. Never the less, it was a beautiful day for a walk.

The other side of Workers Stadium was my destination. Here at the Blue Zoo, I'd meet Laurie and the boys. The Blue Zoo is and aquarium that seems to be under some river that goes through Beijing that actually was really cool. The boys loved it, and the visitors loved the boys. The stares and the attention that we have gotten are beginning to not feel so wierd anymore. But, consider walking down the street with a few handsome children along with you. 99% of everyone else looks strikingly different than you. As you walk by, many just stop and stare at you, often saying things to their buddy that you cannot even begin to comprehend. Or maybe a young lady will walk over to you and ask to have her picture taken with your son. This in turn, begins a crowd of curious onlookers possibly inspiring another person to ask for a picture with you boys... Very different, intense, and wierd when you are constantly the center of attention...

The trip that day was a complete success for all involved. We spent some great family time together, the weather was great, and Riley had a little time to try and taste true China. The only deviation that I made from this was a quick stop at KFC for some popcorn chicken and a Pepsi. But, even in there, everyting tastes a bit different. I'm not going to think about that anymore since I try not to analyze the food here too much.. It could lead to sickness... :)

We love and miss you all! Drop us a line when you have the time...

Until next time,

The DuBois'

Friday night--Happy Halloween!

We had an eventfilled weekend...so we will take it one day at a time.

Friday was Halloween. Kieran and Riley were not allowed to dress up for school...but the middle schoolers were not told they "couldn't" so quite a few kids got pretty into it. Even a few teachers showed their Halloween spirit. After school i went on a halloween bag/candy hunt since i am one of those mothers who leaves everything til the last minute. Luckily there were 4 pumpkin buckets left at the local grocery store....they were free as long as you bought candy. the candy here is very different than back home. This was good for me b/c most of the stuff here i am a little leary of...but back in the states i would have to "screen" kieran and kellan's candy for the ones I liked. Snickers and M & M's are about the only things i really recognized. Quite a bit of Chinese candy...and several people giving out single gummy worms...there were so many kids i think a lot of people either ran out or were trying to ration their candy!

So we had our Ayi, Li Xien, her son and nephew over. We had Papa John's pizza and then headed out for trick or treating about 5:45. It was a beautiful day....i made the boys wear sweatshirts unde r their costumes just to make sure they were warm enough...and they were plenty warm.

As you will see from the pictures.....kellan was a clown and kieran was of course spiderman. The two little boys that came with us were batman and spiderman...great kids...and they absolutely loved trick or treating. for one of them, it was his first time!

Once kellan figured out what was going on....he was leading the charge! he would run from house to house trying to be the first one to the door. Afer a while he lost interest and went on daddy's shoulders. There was one house...where one of my team teachers lives....where he sat outside of his house dressed up and scaring kids while handing out candy. Kieran wouldn't even go around the corner to see him he was so sccared. Riley made kellan go and get some candy and after leaving...kellan put his head on daddy's head and said "I'm scared."

After about 1 1/2 hours of trick or treating around the compound..kellan and i headed home to relieve our ayi who was there handing out candy. we must have had 200-300 kids at our place b/c we ened up having to go through kieran and kellan's candy and pulling out all the nasty chinese candy and we "re-gifted" that to those junior high kids who were still ringing the doorbell late! One of kieran's classmates (who is from America) took a bite of a chinese piece of candy last year at Halloween and ever since then....he doesn't eat anything except m & M's! Good way to discipline your kids...let them try (or give them) nasty candy so they get a bad association to candy.

We were all pretty shot by the end of the night and ready to hit the sack. We had lots of plans for saturday...which will be the next blog entry...until then...stay tuned!

Another Fun/Interesting Weekend

pictures of all the family....

yes upper left is our newest dubois child at 10+ weeks. Boy or girl, who knows?

upper right....kieran and riley carving one of our pumpkins at a neighborhood pumkin carving party. Kieran lost interest pretty quickly but riley finished the job!

Middle......kieran had a birthday party to go to this weekend-at A-Z kids.....man it was a kids dream! we were there 3 hours and could have easily stayed longer. many of the kids in this picture are in his EC4 class at school

Bottom...kellan gets into EVERYTHING! Shortly after this picture was taken....he yacked up all his day's worth of milk and fruits and vegetables. not sure if he had a bug or if it was the milk? milk isn't the easiest thing to find around here---as i am sure you heard in the news...

Yesterday....saturday.....kieran and i spent the afternooon at the birthday party. Kieran had a blast shooting rubber balls at othr kids and climbing around the huge playland. we didn't even make it into some of the other rooms before the actual party had to start where they had games lined up for the kids...it was fun. Riley took Kellan and ventured off to the "Dirt Market" ....he LOVES going on these adventures---and doesn't even hesitate to take Kellan with him. I will let him fill yoou all in on his adventure---he came home with some interesting treasures for people back home!

The rest of Saturday Riley and i spent cramming for the driver's test that we had to take sunday morning.

Everyone on the bus this morning was studying like crazy----it was like college finals week all ov er again. you just have to seee some of these questions to believe them....for example...

If you run into a person whose intestines are hanging out do you a. put them back in b. leave them out c. find a clay pot to cover them in and wrap a bandage around them or d. do nothing I didn't actually get this question on the test...but it is in the list of questions! i did get the spitting question...if yyou have to spit should you a. spit out hte window b. spit on the carpet c. spit in a towel and then when you stop throw it away d. spit on the passenger's side (ok maybe i made up letter d but it was s omething like that). you just have to see some of these questions to believe them! ok...well i had to explain the test before i tell you all that Riley got a 99 OUT OF 100!!!!!! No i didn't believe him ....as i have learned over the years, but he claims he is serious! anyway-with a test like that i can see why he did so well (ha ha --love you riley!). anyway-i got a 90 out of a 100 which was the lowest you could get to get a smiley face at the end of your test. there were a few people who got a sad face at the endof their test (they got below 90) but they still passed them.....we came as a big group from ISB...maybe that helped? anyway-i think everyone that went passed. i am sure if you did terrible they wouldn't pass you , so i am glad i studied. so now we can officially drive that jeep that has been sitting in our driveway for the last month! we didn't get any paper proof of passing so we will wait to drive until we have something IN HAND. I need to go out on the roads around here and practice driving a stick shift. has been nearly 10 years since ihave driven one! and those of you who have been to China know.....driving here is a mess anyway! i would get rearended in a heartbeat if i killed th car trying to shift! so i am in no hurry to drive....just glad we both passed.

we got home and relieved our ayi who must have worn kellan out b/c he took a 3 hour nap which was good since we had a pumpkin carving party to go to tonight. that was a blast....lots of great food and great company! i made special K bars which were a hit for those foreigners who had never had them...and an even bigger hit for those american's (mainly minnesotans) who haven' t had them in a while!

so now i am procrastinating doing my lesson planning for tomorrow....so i will keep going on and on and on....no i wont do that to you all. I hope you enjoy this and PLEASE....if you every plan to come to china....come visit! free place to stay and we could hook you up with a driver to all the sites!

we hope all is well for everyone!

Love

Laurie, Riley, Kieran, Kellan, and Baby

Beijing Marathon!!!

Laurie givin er a go at the beginning of the run. Notice Forbidden City in the background. To the left is a pic of a gal who was sort of a cheerleader. They had music going and she was doing some sort of aerobic thing.

Up above, a Chinese Dumpling expert whipping up a batch for us.

We're ready to roll!

The soldiers kept people from sneaking into the starting area

THe Minnesota Crew ready to roll!

Laurie and I... :)

We were lucky enough to have yet another eventful weekend. Sunday, Laurie and I got up real early and headed into the city to run the 10k as part of the Beijing Marathon. We were part of a group of 6 runners who rode together down there. A rather funny thought occurred as we were driving though... All six of us runners were from Minnesota! The only couple was Laurie and I also, so it proves that it's truly a small world!!!

Just getting up to the starting line proved to be a story in itself.. We were not allowed to just cross the street to get to Tiananmen Square (where the race began). We had to walk underneath the road where there were guards and soldiers. They wanted to see our numbers and were randomly searching people. Some made a mad dash only to be checked again and possibly again before emerging on the other side of the road. Quite a comical scene...

We arrived up on Tiananmen Squrare to be greeted by thousands of runners preparing to run distances from a 5k up to a full marathon... Some estimates said that there were around 30,000 runners in all. Alot of people...

The elite runners began at 8:00, followed by the marathon, half marathon, and then us. By the time we reached the actual starting line, the race clock said something like 21 minutes... So, we took off and headed out by The Forbidden City (as you can see from the pics). It's quite amazing that they shut down such a huge and busy street in the middle of Beijing. I have frequently stated that I will never again whine about traffic in the US after being here. Unbelievable... And then to shut down a major artery for a race just adds to the jumble...

The race went great. Laurie and I ran together along with Josh, a friend from MN who decided to run the night before... He's a trooper and did great.

After the race, it took us about 2 hours to get home. A combination of getting our bags, finding taxi, communicating to taxi driver, getting him to drive us out to Shunyi, then navigating through traffic, is what this entailed... A typical day in the neighborhood. And it's all part of the experience!

The day before (saturday), I went to an electronics market and purchased a new camera. Jim, a great man who has done a ton for our family, organized the trip for us and attended. He also took me around the back to find a Chinese delicasy. Chinese dumplings... They tasted quite good, even though I am not a fan of gooey bread stuff... I must also mention that 3 servings of dumplings and a big beer that was shared between 3 of us cost about 2 dollars... Not bad eh?

Laurie finished up her volleyball season with a tourney on Saturday night. So, now she's off until the spring basketball season...

We love you all and hope things are all well for you...

The DuBois Crew

Laurie's long weekend away

One activity.....balance 10 nails on top of 1 nail.....this group got it (after a few hints) One of the kids in the picture had to go to the hospital after he broke his thumb screwing around with the volleyball....
This is the best of all my pictures of Hong Kong at night. A bad camera combined with a smoggy night equals bad pictures. i did get some good postcards though.
Here is my volleyball team.... we are pretty happy after winning our last game and taking 3rd place! GREAT GIRLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

kids were busy doing team-building activities all day long. This group was pretty proud b/c they won one of the competitions.

above: HKIS is getting new turf on their field. This view is from the road pulling into their school. You can see the school to the right of the football field. The picture on the right is taken looking out one of the balconies of the school. How would you like looking at that view on you way to class? i wonder if many students skip?

picture of a few of my volleyball girls with "Flat Stanley" in Times Square...notice how much taller i am than them. The girl on the right in the photo is one of my middle hitters!

things are finally slowing down after i was away thurs morning until sun night....my 8th grade class went on an overnight mentoring trip to a nearby ski "resort" and then i had to have a driver pick me up friday morning to bring me to catch the plane to Hong Kong with my volleyball team.

The mentoring trip was great. they tried to get me to return to school that afternoon b/c they though i would miss my plane the next day....but i said "no i think i need to stay with the kids." Well about 1 hour after i COULD have left----and just after we set up our tents....it started to POUR! most kids put their tents up pretty sloppily so many o fthem ended up getting rain intheir tents. I was in a 3 bedroom tent with two other females and we weren't even done putting up our tent when it started to rain. We survived though. it actually rained at a good time-if it was going to rain. we ate supper after the rain stopped and then ended up having a rain free night. had a big bon fire---which the workers kept THROWING kerosine on....over and ove.r then the kids roasted marshmallows and they said they tasted like kerosine. YUK! That night it was FREEZING .....i would guess in the 40's----i had lots of layers on! but it was an experience.....like riley says to me all the time "It is all part of the China Experience!" The next morning i got up had breakfast and then a driver came to pick me up. I was bummed b/c friday was a BEAUTIFUL smog-free day and one of the activities was climbing to the wall ........another time. The kids said it was great!

Fri was a long travel day-----4 teams checking into a chinese airport isn't the easiest thing....but the kids were great. 3 hour flight to hong kong was needed for me -----i slept the whole way! that night we played Shanghai American School and won easily. That night the girls all stayed with host families and some of the coaches and I went out and checked out a few local bars. I had a beer and was ready for bed, but i stayed out for a while to peopl ewatch. we had a bit to eat on the street an dthen a couple of us headed back to our hotel---i had my own room which was nice! slept like a rock!

Sat was interesting-we played Hong Kong International School (HKIS)and then a local Chinese school and got killed. They all serve overhand hard.....and 6 of my 9 girls serve underhand so needless to say we didn't do very good at serve receiving..... so we lost both those games. we got done early so i got to walk around a little before the tourney started taht afternoon. hard to explain where HKIS is. It is on Hong Kong Island--but it is on the opposite side and on the top of the mountain where all the buildings are. it was an unbelievable school---built on the side of the mountain. i took some pictures of the views. nowhere to walk around there as there is basically one road that winds like in the Black Hills and there is no shoulder. Anyway-that afternoon we had to play HKIS again and lost big.....so we were done. My team and i headed to Times Square to eat and do some shopping. Interesting being with 9 15-16 year olds. One of my girls is a HongKong native so she took us around. Then we went to "The Peak" where all the famous Hong Kong pictures are taken. WE went to see the light show but it was a little smoggy so the view wasn't as good as we would have liked. Then i drove with 2 of my girls to their homestays b/c they didn't want to get in a cab alone. Over an hour winding around the mountain.....i was so carsick by the time we dropped the last girl off...i actually cleared out one of my shopping bags b/c i felt so sick! so when i got back to the hotel i crashed!

Sunday-up and at em----we won our game today! great way to end! then we had a luncheon and awards ceremony before heading ot the airport. We ended up being in the airport for 3 1/2 hours before our plane left so i got to do a little shopping for the boys. Krispy Kreme donuts were a big hit for all the kids---and me too! i brought some home to share...and got the boys both some toys. The school gave me a per diem and i had some $$ left-so basically the school bought my kids toys! Got home that night and the boys were all in bed....tried to wake them up but nobody wanted to stay up.

Monday i got to see the boys for a bit before i was off to school-and had another volleyball game after school (terrible timing) so finally at 6 i got to spend some time with the boys! One more week and volleyball is done! i love the game and the girls-just tired of being away!

so riley and boys stayed busy-----don't thinnk they even realized i was gone? Amazing how much they change in 4-5 days! Kellan is getting a little attitude and throws some fits.....Kieran is still sweet as ever.

well-this novel is about to end...sorry i got a little long-winded. i will add some pictures---the ones from Hoong Kong didn't turn out great-our camera is pretty crappy! i think riley is going to get a new one this weekend!

we hope all is well with everyone back home! we miss you all and love hearing from you!

love

laurie and family

Tianamen Square and The Forbidden City

Kieran in front of the Main Entrance to The Forbidden City. Notice the pic of Chairman Mao..

Getting ready to go in!! We're on Tianamen Square here...

Kieran enjoying himself..

My boys...

Check out the architecture...

Kellan always ready to rock n roll...

Bubby leading the charge..

Quite the exit eh??

As we walked out of Forbidden City, this was our view.

Kieran loved these Olympic characters on Tianamen Square. Are western kids popular you ask??? Just look...