Riley is lucky enough to be watching the Twins as i type this...a friend has a slingbox which allows them to watch it real-time. There are quite a few people from Minnesota in our school so i think there were going to be quite a few people over watching. I am home waiting for a few deliveries-one of which just arrived.
In addition to air purifiers, we have been told it is good to have a lot of plants to help with cleaning the air. So last night, the four of us went to a HUGE local flower mart and got 4 large plants with nice pots. we did a little bargaining but i think overall we got a good deal. They look really nice in the house so now the key will be just keeping kellan's hands out of them! He is pretty good-we just have to make sure to tell him NO right away!
Today is the first day of our holiday break.....we had workshops the last 2 days on Understanding by Design (you educators reading this probably know what that is!). anyway 2 days and no time in our room later-we are ready for a break! i think after our next delivery ( a little fridge for drinks) we are going to take off and go down to the pearl market again. we promised kieran we would take him there so he could use the rest of his birthday money to get some toys. Riley decided he and kellan would come as well and look around. maybe we will go over to the Temple of Heaven --we will see how much energy we have.
we are going to dog-sit today. A colleague of mine and his wife and kids are going for an overnight trip and we had told them we would help them out whenever they needed it. They brought the dog over a few hours ago----i thought kellan was going to tackle to poor golden retriever (MIA).....he ran so fast to him! So it will be fun to spend some time with a dog again.....i know it will make us miss Juddy more, but we will still enjoy it.
Tomorrow we are off on a camping adventure with about 40 other people-it should be great fun as long as the weather cooperates. They say it has never rained in Beijing as much as it has the last month--so we will see. It has been cool in the mornings...and warms up in the afternoons. We are all still wearing shorts and probably still will until we could see our breath (I think I could see my breath the other morning when i was running :( ) but winter will come soon enough here. Everyone is tellling us how bleak and dreary winter is...gets us really excited for that! I am sure we will survive.....it will give us the opportunity to go out and explore indoor places i guess.
The corn is in a new phase-i will have to get a picture of it. It is now off the cobs...they use some old machine and enter each cob one by one and then the kernals are returned to the road and s pread across one entire lane to dry. I guess 2 weeks ago they were really worried b/c some of the corn was getting moldy b/c of all the rain. So they ended up covering it at night with a tarp and then taking the tarp off during the day. For the local villages, that is their only means of income and they would not be able to feed their kids if they lost that crop. I hope it all turned out ok b/c it has been dry since.
Kieran and Kellan are doing well. Kieran has a good buddy from school who lives right across the street....they can't get enough of each other. Fight like brothers too! Owen is his name...his parents are from Connecticut. They have been here for a year and will prob ably stay another year and then return to the states. His other good buddy is a girl, Taylor. There are very few girls his age around here-so he feels right at home b/c that is the way it was in Delano.
Kellan is in some playgroups....Tuesdays we have some kids here and a couple other days he goes to the little kids house. Jack, Kya, and Locke are three of his buddies---once again boys boys boys! (yes kya is a boy). It is so good for him and our ayi for him to play with others. Probably breaks up the day for everyone! I think he gets pretty worn out during the day b/c he has been sleeping like a log. i thought maybe putting the boys in one room would cause problems, but i don' t think kellan wakes up at all during the night so that is great!
Riley is doing well...he is in heaven b/c last Sunday he got to go and buy a guitar so he is back to playing in the evenings. He is getting really good-fun to see him progress.
I am doing well also-got to go out and venture with another MN girl, Mary, on Saturday. We went down to a "lake" called HoHai.....just walked around the shops to look around. We even sat and had tea with a few ladies in their shop. I am not a tea drinker at all-but i choked it down! It actually wasn't too bad...some kind of fruit tea. We ate at a pretty good vietnamese place.....where i continued to struggle with chopstix! Then we were going to head towards starbucks to get a hot chocolate to walk around with when we heard some guy singing some really good music so we popped into a local bar where nobody was and sat on the couch, had a drink, and listened to music and talked. It was great--it was a Chinese guy mainly singing American songs. Some Chinese girl came up and took her picture with me and asked meif i was the girl from Prison Break. I don't watch the show so i don't know who she was talking about, but she thought i looked just like her. I got a chuckle out of that!
Sounds like the Twins just lost..too bad:( Oh well....maybe next year.
Gotta go shower before we head out on another adventure!
WE hope you are all doing well...
love
The DuBois' Family
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Hand-me-Downs from Michael Phelps
I thought that would get your attention.....catchy title huh?
We had two used air purifiers delivered to our house today. Air purifiers in China are a must-or so we have been told. WE decided to go top-of-the line and buy some Swiss-made air purifiers called IQ Air Purifiers.....to make a long story short, they are SUPER EXPENSIVE, so we ended up getting a 15% discount by purchasing ones that had been used in the Olympic Village in some of the athletes temporary housing. The guy who we bought them from told Kieran the air filter in his room is the one Michael Phelps had in his room. After reminding Kieran that he saw Phelps swim on TV in the "Americans" --that is what he called the olympics---he got a kick out of it.
so anyway-we finally have clean air that we will be breathing at least during the time we are either sleeping or in our rooms. WE have decided to move the boys to one room rather than having the purifier run in the hallway between the rooms. We will move Kellan's crib tomorrow and hopefully move him into a bed soon. It should be interesting...the two boys in one room. We may have to plan bedtime a little differently. The second air purifier is in our bedroom upstairs. Good investment for our health.
Today in school i got to be a part of something very special. Our ENTIRE middle school participated in what is called the "Terry Fox Run." It is a fundraiser for Cancer Research named after a 22 year-old Canadian who lost his life to cancer while he was raising money running across Canada after having his let amputated. He ran for over 140 days before he had to stop b/c the cancer which was in his leg had spread to his lungs. He later died that year.
It was truely amazing to ssee the spirit alive in the kids. The kids were divided into eight different regious from around the world-and they had colored shirts that matched their region. Each region had a contest to see who could bring in the most money. I was a member of the North Asia group. We will find out tomorrow which region won. The entire student body of the middle school ran two laps around our school's campus. I think someone said it was about a 3K...a pretty big deal for many people to run this far. It was incredible! i didn't bring my camera-but there were plenty of cameras there, so i will have to steal someone's pictures. Tomorrow the Upper Elementary (Riley's class) and Lower Elementary (kieran's class) do the same thing. I think they run 1 lap or a modified course? Riley has his schedule rearranged so he can run with kieran and i think i may try to sneak down there too----then riley runs with his class later that day. ISB was the single largest donator last year to the Terry Fox Run and we are hoping to be again! Truely great to see our learning community give back...we are lucky to be a part of that.
Right now kellan and i are sitting watching Baby Songs....not sure why but he really cried when i put him down tonight. he usually goes right down. I think he has been pretty worn out lately-he has playdates set up mon-thurs which he is loving! i wish i could be here to see him---i think there is one other kid as big as he is but the other 2 are a little younger.
Tomorrow is our last day of school for a while--next week is some type of Chinese National Holiday so we have monday and tuesday workshop days and then wed-fri off. We are thinking of it as an early MEA break!
We are going to go shopping this weekend for camping gear b/c there is a group of about 40 people going camping next week. We are going to try it-we will see. Worst case we end up having to drive back early (or have someone drive us back ---we should have our car by the end of the weekend).
so anyway-we should get a chance to go and venture out inthe next week or so.
WE miss you all and look foward to hearing how everyone is doing!
Love
Kellan and Crew
We had two used air purifiers delivered to our house today. Air purifiers in China are a must-or so we have been told. WE decided to go top-of-the line and buy some Swiss-made air purifiers called IQ Air Purifiers.....to make a long story short, they are SUPER EXPENSIVE, so we ended up getting a 15% discount by purchasing ones that had been used in the Olympic Village in some of the athletes temporary housing. The guy who we bought them from told Kieran the air filter in his room is the one Michael Phelps had in his room. After reminding Kieran that he saw Phelps swim on TV in the "Americans" --that is what he called the olympics---he got a kick out of it.
so anyway-we finally have clean air that we will be breathing at least during the time we are either sleeping or in our rooms. WE have decided to move the boys to one room rather than having the purifier run in the hallway between the rooms. We will move Kellan's crib tomorrow and hopefully move him into a bed soon. It should be interesting...the two boys in one room. We may have to plan bedtime a little differently. The second air purifier is in our bedroom upstairs. Good investment for our health.
Today in school i got to be a part of something very special. Our ENTIRE middle school participated in what is called the "Terry Fox Run." It is a fundraiser for Cancer Research named after a 22 year-old Canadian who lost his life to cancer while he was raising money running across Canada after having his let amputated. He ran for over 140 days before he had to stop b/c the cancer which was in his leg had spread to his lungs. He later died that year.
It was truely amazing to ssee the spirit alive in the kids. The kids were divided into eight different regious from around the world-and they had colored shirts that matched their region. Each region had a contest to see who could bring in the most money. I was a member of the North Asia group. We will find out tomorrow which region won. The entire student body of the middle school ran two laps around our school's campus. I think someone said it was about a 3K...a pretty big deal for many people to run this far. It was incredible! i didn't bring my camera-but there were plenty of cameras there, so i will have to steal someone's pictures. Tomorrow the Upper Elementary (Riley's class) and Lower Elementary (kieran's class) do the same thing. I think they run 1 lap or a modified course? Riley has his schedule rearranged so he can run with kieran and i think i may try to sneak down there too----then riley runs with his class later that day. ISB was the single largest donator last year to the Terry Fox Run and we are hoping to be again! Truely great to see our learning community give back...we are lucky to be a part of that.
Right now kellan and i are sitting watching Baby Songs....not sure why but he really cried when i put him down tonight. he usually goes right down. I think he has been pretty worn out lately-he has playdates set up mon-thurs which he is loving! i wish i could be here to see him---i think there is one other kid as big as he is but the other 2 are a little younger.
Tomorrow is our last day of school for a while--next week is some type of Chinese National Holiday so we have monday and tuesday workshop days and then wed-fri off. We are thinking of it as an early MEA break!
We are going to go shopping this weekend for camping gear b/c there is a group of about 40 people going camping next week. We are going to try it-we will see. Worst case we end up having to drive back early (or have someone drive us back ---we should have our car by the end of the weekend).
so anyway-we should get a chance to go and venture out inthe next week or so.
WE miss you all and look foward to hearing how everyone is doing!
Love
Kellan and Crew
Monday, September 22, 2008
more pictures.....
Left....kieran with emily and hannah merritt...two good friends. Right....Riley being goofy, like usual!
Cheers! Here is to being on the Great Wall!
we could have paid to have this camel bring us up...but we thought that was animal cruelty!
one of purchases....a hand-tapped picture of the wall with our last name and date etched underneath!
LEFT...we all chose to take the ride down-quite fun! didn't go too fast b/c there were lots of cautious people-but it was much better than walking down!
Right...just one of many flights of steps. Did riley and i say we wanted to try to run the 1/2 marathon on the wall? I think we may change to wanting to do the 10 K?? if that?
Sunday, September 21, 2008
A Truly AMAZING Day!
Us on The Wall at Mutianyu
Laurie & Kieran taking in the sights.
Note Riley trying to catch his breath on the way up...
Of all the things I have seen in life that were made by man, seeing and walking on The Great Wall is definately up there... As I write, I still am trying to grasp the enormity of the spectacle that we were able to wittness today...
We boarded a small bus today with a bunch of friends from ISB. On our way, we noticed that there were people from Romania, Venezuela, China, Australia, Japan, England, and the US who were taking part in the adventure.
The drive there was nice, as we enjoyed this completely different world we now call home. We soon entered the foothills to the mountains and could smell and taste the fresh air. As you notice from the pictures, it was foggy and hazy, adding to the mysitque. Then came The Wall.
We pulled into Mutianyu and parked. I just wanted to run up and get onto this thing I've thought about since a boy and see what it really is like... But, as a father of two young boys, I obliged to have a little picnic before our ascend. Tough, but necessary.
After a quick lunch (lovingly prepared by mom), we began our real journey. We were doing this trip with the Merritt's, a family whith two girls around Kieran's age whom we have really bonded with. Liz, Laurie, Emmy, Hannah, and Kieran were going to take a ride up on a ski lift to the top. Matt, Kellan, and I wanted to experience what it was like to walk up there. Please note that I had Kellan on my back.... Trying to be macho... And, little did I know that memories of wearing those weight jackets in Coach Turner's basketball practices would come back to mind....
Us guys bought our tickets and headed off. Matt lead the way and took us through a cave. Some of it was real, and some of it seemed man-made. Anyway, we breezed through that trying to get a good jump toward the top of the mountain. It really was pretty cool to see though.
About 5 minutes into our hike, we came to a spot where we had to show our entrance ticket. Matt showed what he thought was his, but it was the ticket to ride the luge down from the top. Unknown to Matt, his wife Liz still had his ticket. Thanks to technology, he was able to run down and get the right ticket from her. Kellan and I welcomed a rest as I was already sweating profusely....
Matt arrived out of breath from running the whole way and we set off. The next 15 minutes consisted of walking up winding stairs in air that was cool, but seemed to hang with humidity. As I paused to try and catch my breath, I'd look out at the landscape and lose it again. The foothills and mountains below were covered in a blanket of fog/moisture, giving it a surreal look and feel. Adiing to this was the fact that Matt and I were on a hike that few people took. So, it was extremely quiet...
About the time when we were wondering if we were close, The Wall opened up to us before our eyes. The feelings of being tired and worn out immediately dissappeared as we climbed the entrance steps to The Wall... We made it!!!!
Once on the top, I saw and felt an immediate rush of amazement!!! And, until the day I leave this earth, I will wonder how this was ever built. Even if it was built today, with our present technology, I would marvel at it. But to do it when they did???? Truly amazing!!!
Matt, Kellan, and I called the girls and began to walk their way. The wall is constantly sloping and twisting, adding to my amazement... You go from steep steps, to a quick twist, to a guard tower, to a descend down a valley. Very few flat spots....
We met up with the girls and Kieran, and took tons of pics on our journey. I would guess that we hiked on The Wall for a few hours... One funny thing is the celeberty status our kids had up there. People would frequently stop the kids for pictures, and get their hair or skin touched... Kellan has programmed himself to say "Ni hau!" to people and give high fives... Kieran really doesn't like the attention, but goes along with it (like just about everything else).
I tried to soak up every minute of our first trip today... I also thought about how much I would love to take you all up there... It's a place that I could never get sick of....
Our descend down consisted of a winding luge ride down to the base of the mountain.... If we didn't have a lady in front of us who seemed to have her hands on the brake the whole way down, we could have gotten some good speed going.... Kellan and I rode together, and Laurie & Kieran piloted their own. The boys liked it a bunch. I think Kellan would have preferred more speed, but Kieran was content with a lazy ride down the mountain...
Once getting off, there are markets lining the road all the way down. It's your typical tourist trap, full of trinkets. We bought a few things to celebrate the experience. Kieran got a fan, Kellan a stuffed panda, Laurie a silk robe, and Riley a t-shirt (since his shirt was completely soaked from sweat).
Our ride back was rather quiet as the children passed out from their day. All the kids were wonderful. I sure hope that they remember it....
As I write, I still haven't grasped the whole thing yet... Laurie and I both agree that this is our favorite experience thus far... We're worn out, but truly thankful to be able to have done this... As I said earlier, I really hope to bring any of you up there. I though of Grandma Bea and how much she'd love it....
We send our love to you all....
Until our next adventure...
Saturday, September 20, 2008
weekend update-
Saturday night here---we have had a fun/interesting weekend and there is still one day left!
Friday night there was a bus that went bar hopping and all the "veterans" were showing all the "newbies" the cool bars that are frequently visited by ISB teachers. i had an away volleyball game so riley and i didn't start on the bus....but we met up with the bus at the first bar. The first bar is now referred to as "Riley's favorite bar in the whole entire world!" It swas called the Drum and Bell Bar. It is located right next to the Famous Bell Tower where the guy from Minneapolis was stabbed right when the Olympics started. It was pretty somber realizing where we were at first......hard to believe that only happened a little over a month ago.
The bar itself was very cool-i didn't ccheck it out like riley-i just sat and talked on the couches on the roof..i will have riley give a description of the rest of the bar. Then we were off to another little joint where there was a little dancefloor. Looks like a lot of the teachers (especially the single ones) go out dancing quite a bit so it was very entertaining to watch! We then hopped on a bus----with a few coolers full of beer...and headed to another location to check out a few other spots. After about a 10 minute ride we unloaded and headed off to another bar. About 12 people diverted from the bar scene and popped into a local Chinese restaurant where we ate likeKINGS o the top of the building. It was very entertaining....a few people spoke a little Chinese and ordered a bunch of stuff for us. EAting out is always interesting for me b/c i haven't mastered chopstix yet. I was HUNGRY too....so after i "accidently' dropped one of my chopstix on the floor i had to revert to using a little tea-like spoon they give you. It was a much faster way of getting food to my mouth! i do need to practice using the darn things though----i get a good grip and take a few bites....then when i pick up the chopstix again to go at it ---i can't get the same grip back and i end up with floppy stix! Oh well-it is usually worth a good laugh!
We had to geet home by 11:30 b/c our babysitter had an early morning church trip-and that was ok with us.....
Today was interesting. We got up this morning and Riley took Kieran to soccer. He got a little soccer uniform with shin guards and everything! we didn't get a picture this weeke but we will next week. He seemed to have a great time! I headed off to another part of Beijing in a taxi to pick up our plane tickets home to MN for christmas. What an experience ! Luckily---the taxi driver knew where the building was....although he didn't act like he was so sure. So he drops me off at the Gateway Building where United supposedly has their office. Well--all the lady told me was Gateway building Tower A #18. It is a 40+ story building and when you walk in it is MASSIVE And you have to go up 2 escalators just to get to the receptionist. Well since there was nothing else besides #18 on my e mail....i went to the 18th floor----which is under construction and there are not even any offices there! So i went back to the lobby and tried to ask them where #18 was......no clue what i was saying. so they tried to get someone on the phone who spoke english---she told me "not here" so i thought i was in the wrong place. So i proceded to go outside and check out a few of the other buildings in the area. But i was clearly in the right building (HUGE GATEWAY SIGNE ON THE TOP OF BOTH TOWERS) and i know i was in tower A b/c i saw signs......well to make a long story short---i started tgoing to every floor, popping out of the elevator to see the signs of the offices there....i made it to floor 12 and ran into some random guy who i said "english" to. he spoke English and took me back to the receptionist to see where United's Office. Suprisingly it still took nearly 10 minutes for them to figure out that it was on the 15th floor! (so i was only 3 floors away!)
so once i got there--all was good. The lady first issued me tickets leaving 2 days later than what we had originallyplanned, glad i saw that. Then she tried to give me two tickets for kieran and none for kellan....finally the third time was a charm and we got it taken care of. I think most of the time you can have your tickets delivered or get e tickets but b/c we have an "infant" with us we had to pick our paper tickets up.....our next flight home in the summer we will be able to do everything electronically.
well-i have typed a novel...sorry for that. we will have lots more to tell tomorrow as it is our first true trip to the wall. i hope the weather holds out.....and it is a clear day. Until next time.....
Love
Laurie and Family
Friday night there was a bus that went bar hopping and all the "veterans" were showing all the "newbies" the cool bars that are frequently visited by ISB teachers. i had an away volleyball game so riley and i didn't start on the bus....but we met up with the bus at the first bar. The first bar is now referred to as "Riley's favorite bar in the whole entire world!" It swas called the Drum and Bell Bar. It is located right next to the Famous Bell Tower where the guy from Minneapolis was stabbed right when the Olympics started. It was pretty somber realizing where we were at first......hard to believe that only happened a little over a month ago.
The bar itself was very cool-i didn't ccheck it out like riley-i just sat and talked on the couches on the roof..i will have riley give a description of the rest of the bar. Then we were off to another little joint where there was a little dancefloor. Looks like a lot of the teachers (especially the single ones) go out dancing quite a bit so it was very entertaining to watch! We then hopped on a bus----with a few coolers full of beer...and headed to another location to check out a few other spots. After about a 10 minute ride we unloaded and headed off to another bar. About 12 people diverted from the bar scene and popped into a local Chinese restaurant where we ate likeKINGS o the top of the building. It was very entertaining....a few people spoke a little Chinese and ordered a bunch of stuff for us. EAting out is always interesting for me b/c i haven't mastered chopstix yet. I was HUNGRY too....so after i "accidently' dropped one of my chopstix on the floor i had to revert to using a little tea-like spoon they give you. It was a much faster way of getting food to my mouth! i do need to practice using the darn things though----i get a good grip and take a few bites....then when i pick up the chopstix again to go at it ---i can't get the same grip back and i end up with floppy stix! Oh well-it is usually worth a good laugh!
We had to geet home by 11:30 b/c our babysitter had an early morning church trip-and that was ok with us.....
Today was interesting. We got up this morning and Riley took Kieran to soccer. He got a little soccer uniform with shin guards and everything! we didn't get a picture this weeke but we will next week. He seemed to have a great time! I headed off to another part of Beijing in a taxi to pick up our plane tickets home to MN for christmas. What an experience ! Luckily---the taxi driver knew where the building was....although he didn't act like he was so sure. So he drops me off at the Gateway Building where United supposedly has their office. Well--all the lady told me was Gateway building Tower A #18. It is a 40+ story building and when you walk in it is MASSIVE And you have to go up 2 escalators just to get to the receptionist. Well since there was nothing else besides #18 on my e mail....i went to the 18th floor----which is under construction and there are not even any offices there! So i went back to the lobby and tried to ask them where #18 was......no clue what i was saying. so they tried to get someone on the phone who spoke english---she told me "not here" so i thought i was in the wrong place. So i proceded to go outside and check out a few of the other buildings in the area. But i was clearly in the right building (HUGE GATEWAY SIGNE ON THE TOP OF BOTH TOWERS) and i know i was in tower A b/c i saw signs......well to make a long story short---i started tgoing to every floor, popping out of the elevator to see the signs of the offices there....i made it to floor 12 and ran into some random guy who i said "english" to. he spoke English and took me back to the receptionist to see where United's Office. Suprisingly it still took nearly 10 minutes for them to figure out that it was on the 15th floor! (so i was only 3 floors away!)
so once i got there--all was good. The lady first issued me tickets leaving 2 days later than what we had originallyplanned, glad i saw that. Then she tried to give me two tickets for kieran and none for kellan....finally the third time was a charm and we got it taken care of. I think most of the time you can have your tickets delivered or get e tickets but b/c we have an "infant" with us we had to pick our paper tickets up.....our next flight home in the summer we will be able to do everything electronically.
well-i have typed a novel...sorry for that. we will have lots more to tell tomorrow as it is our first true trip to the wall. i hope the weather holds out.....and it is a clear day. Until next time.....
Love
Laurie and Family
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Our First Views of The Wall
Today was truly memorable... Laurie and I can truly say that we've seen The Wall... Truly Spectacular too... I think I can compare it to when I was in the Navy and working on the flight deck of the Nimitz. Seeing the spectacle before me never got old... I think I could see The Wall every day and still think it is a sight to behold...
I was able to tag along with Laurie, Tracy, and Jim (who both work at ISB). They both are amazing people who come from Malaysia and Australia respectively. We had a driver, who drove like a maniac when he knew where we were going... I don't know how it translates, but the spedomoter frequently was over 180 km/hr.... Movin'. Anyway, the purpose of the trip was to scout out a camp where the Grade 8 students would go for an overnighter. It's about a 45 minute ride from here in Shunyi.
As we drove out of Beijing, you could see and feel the air clearing. It actually was a pretty clear day here, so we could see the mountains from my classroom. But, as we got closer, their beauty sure sprang out... So neat, yet so different from the mountains I am used to back in the US.
Jim pointed out The Wall to us as it came into view and it looks as if someone draped a snake over some hills. As we got closer, I realized the magnitude of this thing. I still have no idea how The Wall was built back then with the technology of the day. How grueling this must have been!
We arrived at the campground that lies at the base of the mountains. It's about a 20 minute hike from camp to The Wall. Because our purpose here was strictly business, I did not venture up the trail to see it. We actually are going on a visit on Sunday, so I was fine just checking it out from a distance...
On our way back, we stopped at a roadside fruit stand and purchased some fruit. We've been able to eat a ton of it here, which has been nice. And today, we tried a few new ones. I really don't know the names of them, but one resembles a date... I also bought some ground cherries (as we call them). And, I could feel my Grandpa Harry and Grandma Mabel smiling down at me then. I have fond memories of this fruit growing in their garden back in Sauk Centre... Love you Grandpa & Grandma!!!
Gearing up for a big weekend. We have the Newbies Pub Crawl tomorrow night.. Then Saturday, Kieran begins soccer. Laurie is also going to get our plane tickets home that day. And Sunday is our family trip to The Wall...
Lastly, it's my brother Philip's birthday today. So, I made our first phone call to the States a bit ago and tried to wake him up and wish him Happy Birthday. He was already up though...
We hope you all are well. We send our love to you all!!!
Riley and Clan
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Miscellaneous Happenings
Hello all,
This past Saturday night, I boarded a 21 passenger bus with 24 other men who teach at ISB to embark on yet another mamorable experience... Wheelchair Rugby (previously known as Murderball) was the venue, and we would be watching New Zealand do battle with Australia. A huge rivalry regardless of the sport. To add to the plot, we had numerous Aussies and Kiwis along for the trip. Needless to say, it was definately spirited... Spirited in many ways...
After the Aussies won in the final seconds, we watched the British vs. the Germans. The match was not as fun to watch as the first, but the end of the match was memorable... You see, the Brits had a woman on their team. Josephene Pearson made the team and became the focus of our groups attention near the end. We wanted to see her play, so we began to chant "Jo-Si-Phene.. Jo-Si-Phene.....!" She got a huge grin on her face and some of her fellow teammates joined in on the coaching advice of us "Experts." And... would you believe it? The coach put her in, and the whole place erupted.... So, I can now add to my coaching repoitoire that I have had input into the Paralympics!!!
After the rugby matches, we headed downtown to an area called SanLitoon (spelling?), for a few. On our way there, I just marvelled at the fact that we really are in China. I'd have never thought that I would say that if you asked me a few years ago...
In this first month here, we've also met some amazing people. Some of our fellow teachers have taught in virtually every corner of the earth. And the stories that they have are unbelievable. We are mere rookies in this realm, but have already experienced a ton!!!
These fellow teachers have also been a lifeline for us as a family, and as educators. We couldn't do this without them. It will be nice in the future when we can take new folks under our wings and help them in their transition.
Well, that's enough for now. Laurie and I get to make a quick trip to The Wall tomorrow as she is going to set up for a field trip. The guy who is taking her and I get along really well, and he is letting me tag along!!! So, hopefully we'll have another story to tell. And pics to include too...
Until next time, God Bless and drop us a line!!!!
Riley and Crew
This past Saturday night, I boarded a 21 passenger bus with 24 other men who teach at ISB to embark on yet another mamorable experience... Wheelchair Rugby (previously known as Murderball) was the venue, and we would be watching New Zealand do battle with Australia. A huge rivalry regardless of the sport. To add to the plot, we had numerous Aussies and Kiwis along for the trip. Needless to say, it was definately spirited... Spirited in many ways...
After the Aussies won in the final seconds, we watched the British vs. the Germans. The match was not as fun to watch as the first, but the end of the match was memorable... You see, the Brits had a woman on their team. Josephene Pearson made the team and became the focus of our groups attention near the end. We wanted to see her play, so we began to chant "Jo-Si-Phene.. Jo-Si-Phene.....!" She got a huge grin on her face and some of her fellow teammates joined in on the coaching advice of us "Experts." And... would you believe it? The coach put her in, and the whole place erupted.... So, I can now add to my coaching repoitoire that I have had input into the Paralympics!!!
After the rugby matches, we headed downtown to an area called SanLitoon (spelling?), for a few. On our way there, I just marvelled at the fact that we really are in China. I'd have never thought that I would say that if you asked me a few years ago...
In this first month here, we've also met some amazing people. Some of our fellow teachers have taught in virtually every corner of the earth. And the stories that they have are unbelievable. We are mere rookies in this realm, but have already experienced a ton!!!
These fellow teachers have also been a lifeline for us as a family, and as educators. We couldn't do this without them. It will be nice in the future when we can take new folks under our wings and help them in their transition.
Well, that's enough for now. Laurie and I get to make a quick trip to The Wall tomorrow as she is going to set up for a field trip. The guy who is taking her and I get along really well, and he is letting me tag along!!! So, hopefully we'll have another story to tell. And pics to include too...
Until next time, God Bless and drop us a line!!!!
Riley and Crew
Monday, September 15, 2008
Great Day off!
Laurie's hand-made pearl necklace being made by a respected jewelry lady at the pearl market
Laurie outside of the pearl market
Wheelchair rugby-an event of the paralympics
Riley eating local cuisine at the food court at the pearl market-he is quite good at using the chopsticks!
Kieran and our ayi's son Hong Wei. Hong Wei came with his mom to our house today because he had the day off b/c it was a holiday. The boys got along great!Riley and I had a great day off today! We paid our ayi an extra day's wage to come in and watch the boys so we could go off and venture for a day on our own! we had a great time! We went to the "Pearl Market" which is basically a huge warehouse with 4 levels of name-brand EVERYTHING and unbelievably cheap prices. Many items (probably most) are knock-offs and you can get things next to nothing......but there are some nice items there as well. We ended up getting more than we thought.....a columbia backpack for riley, an IPOD docking statioin for the house, a silk polo shirt for riley, a pair of black leather sandals for Laurie, a leather card-holder (to keep all the cards of the places wer are going), and a few toys for the boys. i guess there is an entire 4-floor building of JUST TOYS!!! we were looking for that but were kindof tired by the time we got out of there. So i told kieran he and i would go there sometime and look. He still has some birthday money left so we may just give hima chunk and be done and let him spend it!
It is so interesting i the market! they start out about 10 times higher than what they will take for things.....then you leave your best price, which is probably still quite a profit for them....they act insulted.....you walk away.....and the YELL at you to get you back. For example i wanted to get kieran a new pair of crocs, but i just wasn't sure of his size. I got her talked down from 280 quay to 50 ...and then decided i couldn't pay 7 bucks for something i wasn't SURE would fit kieran so i tried to walk away. The lady literally GRABBED ME AND WOULDN'T LET ME GO! i thought i was going to have bruises on my wrists! i finally pushed her off of me and continued on my way.....quite the experience.
The best purchase of the day was my pearl necklace! the fourth floor of this building is very quite and there is no bargaining (or very little) that goes on up there. A teaching partner of Riley's sent us there to talk with a jeweler that she has gone to quite often. I got to pick out my own pearl, style, and chain and they made it right there in front of me! i am excited to wear it to school tomorrow!
Riley and i ventured and ate for a buck each at some local chinese food court. i hope we don't get sick tomorrow-but it wasn't that bad. I still struggle using the chopsticks....i need to practice at home. We walked around a bit. the pearl market is near the Temple of Heaven which is one of the notorious landmarks of China. We decided we didn't have enough time to go and REALLY check it out, so we cabbed it home to get ready for hosting our pizza party. (every sunday we rotate houses---but since we had an extra day off, we moved it to today)
We really like the people here....there are several couples we are really getting along with...and we all have kids the same age.
Yesterday was my day to go with the girls for some fun. Three of us (mary from mn and liz and I) went to the wheelchair rugby US vs. Canada and then went out for a spa and dinner afterwards. IT was awesome! only 15 bucks for 80 minutes of foot reflexology. i will be going back there! we also got to explore the area a little bit which was nice. We were more downtown so the scenery was a little different. so anyway-riley and i both got some "fun time" this weekend. back to reality as we are both doing lesson plans late tonight getting ready for tomorrow!
HEre are some pictures from today and yesterday-we hope you enjoy!
love
The dubois clan in Beijing
Saturday, September 13, 2008
pictures sept 14
kieran's favorite costume----he loves to wear it!
typical look for kellan after eating....
families husking...
here is a pile of corn already husked.....notice the cars and bikes going around---that is their lane covered. Luckily there are no cars coming in the opposite direction.
here is one man husking the corn--this is just west of our school one block.
Here is one road that we drive on on the way to school...kind of crazy
Mid-Autumn Festival
We have a long weekend this weekend today b/c of Mid-Autumn Festival. It is kind of like our Thanksgiving back home. The end of the harvest season is celebrated. Celebrations are plentiful and the Chinese typically celebrate by eating these things called mooncakes . I have been warned about these things-but i received two very nice packages of mooncakes from a couple of my students. We sent one box home with one of our ayi's and the other one is at school. I will have to try at least one to say that i have tried one. I guess you bite into them and you never know what you are biting into!
You can definitely tell it is the end of harvest season around here. Our school is on the outskirts of the city--and their are many cornfields on the north and west sides. The corn is combined and then dumped on the side of the road in piles (literally the sides-so cars have to go around!). The Chinese People from the local villages husk the corn and then flatten it out to dry. In a few days they will take all the kernals off and let the kernals dry on th pavement. Quite interesting. I took quite a few pictures on my way to the volleyball game today.....i will post them tomorrow. Riley took the camera with him tonight to wheelchair rugby. Quite a site seeing cars going in both directions trying to drive around the corn and then bikes and people going around it as well......may be a dangerous few days/weeks riding to and from school? we will see.
We won both volleyball games today......i love the girls. Pretty low pressure and commitment compared to coaching in the states. The girls are great though! We practice mon and fri for 2 hours and wed for an hour. it is only for an hour b/c all teachers HAVE TO Attend a weekly staff meeting. Our games are Mon Fri (which means we don't practice) and a few saturdays. In 3 weekends we fly to Hong Kong for the China Cup...should be fun. it is a fri-sun trip and it actually falls the same week as our 8th grade overnight camping trip to the Great Wall. So i will be gone from Thurs-Sun.....Daddy Day-Care will be in full swing! But after that i only have one more week and i am done. in hindsite probablynot the smartest thing coaching the first season here with so much other stuff goin on being new and everything.....but i am enjoying it.
Many of you have asked about our students...i will have to put pictures on of my class. Kids from all around the world. I have 4 different classes of about 22 students-i would say about 60% are "American" meaning their call the USA home. Very few of them are the caucasian american like us-so you may not thing they are american at first glance. Quite a few South Koreans....many of which are the VERY bright students in my classes. Many of my students spent the summer with a math tutor. Quite a lot of pressure to perform well in Math classes. 8th grade here is quite the place at the beginning of the year when the students are placed in 8th grade math or Algebra....We actually didn't know who was in our classes until the night before school started! Usually it works out that there are 4 algebra classes and 4 math8 classes, but this year there are 3 algebra classes and 5 math 8 classses. so i am teachng 3 math 8 classes and 1 algebra class. My algebra class has quite a range of ability within it....honestly some of these kids probably would do better on some tests than me!
Our school has quite a lot of turnover b/c many of the kids' parents jobs require them to move every few years. There are quite a few of my kids that have been in Beijing for quite some time though. It is so interesting hearing their stories----as well as the teacher's stories. It just amazes me to hear where everyone has been and where they all call home.
But anyway----this is turning into a novel. i just had some time so i thought i would write a little about our experience.
Riley is at wheelchair rugby tonight and i get to go to a game tomorrow and then to a spa! I can't wait-i guess the place we are going gives you the royal treatment!
we hope you are all happy and healthy!
love
Laurie & Family
You can definitely tell it is the end of harvest season around here. Our school is on the outskirts of the city--and their are many cornfields on the north and west sides. The corn is combined and then dumped on the side of the road in piles (literally the sides-so cars have to go around!). The Chinese People from the local villages husk the corn and then flatten it out to dry. In a few days they will take all the kernals off and let the kernals dry on th pavement. Quite interesting. I took quite a few pictures on my way to the volleyball game today.....i will post them tomorrow. Riley took the camera with him tonight to wheelchair rugby. Quite a site seeing cars going in both directions trying to drive around the corn and then bikes and people going around it as well......may be a dangerous few days/weeks riding to and from school? we will see.
We won both volleyball games today......i love the girls. Pretty low pressure and commitment compared to coaching in the states. The girls are great though! We practice mon and fri for 2 hours and wed for an hour. it is only for an hour b/c all teachers HAVE TO Attend a weekly staff meeting. Our games are Mon Fri (which means we don't practice) and a few saturdays. In 3 weekends we fly to Hong Kong for the China Cup...should be fun. it is a fri-sun trip and it actually falls the same week as our 8th grade overnight camping trip to the Great Wall. So i will be gone from Thurs-Sun.....Daddy Day-Care will be in full swing! But after that i only have one more week and i am done. in hindsite probablynot the smartest thing coaching the first season here with so much other stuff goin on being new and everything.....but i am enjoying it.
Many of you have asked about our students...i will have to put pictures on of my class. Kids from all around the world. I have 4 different classes of about 22 students-i would say about 60% are "American" meaning their call the USA home. Very few of them are the caucasian american like us-so you may not thing they are american at first glance. Quite a few South Koreans....many of which are the VERY bright students in my classes. Many of my students spent the summer with a math tutor. Quite a lot of pressure to perform well in Math classes. 8th grade here is quite the place at the beginning of the year when the students are placed in 8th grade math or Algebra....We actually didn't know who was in our classes until the night before school started! Usually it works out that there are 4 algebra classes and 4 math8 classes, but this year there are 3 algebra classes and 5 math 8 classses. so i am teachng 3 math 8 classes and 1 algebra class. My algebra class has quite a range of ability within it....honestly some of these kids probably would do better on some tests than me!
Our school has quite a lot of turnover b/c many of the kids' parents jobs require them to move every few years. There are quite a few of my kids that have been in Beijing for quite some time though. It is so interesting hearing their stories----as well as the teacher's stories. It just amazes me to hear where everyone has been and where they all call home.
But anyway----this is turning into a novel. i just had some time so i thought i would write a little about our experience.
Riley is at wheelchair rugby tonight and i get to go to a game tomorrow and then to a spa! I can't wait-i guess the place we are going gives you the royal treatment!
we hope you are all happy and healthy!
love
Laurie & Family
Week 2 Round Up
Our second full week with kids went well on the school front. On the home front, it was eventful...
Kellan has slowly recovered from a pink eye, runny nose, and cough virus. I think he's pretty much bounced back... His big brother, Kieran came down with the same stuff. He was out of school for 2 days with pink eye, then half of another with a temperature of 101. When I took him home from the nurses office, he looked like a zombie. Other than a pesky cough, he's feeling pretty well we believe.
Laurie is currently coaching volleyball vs. a school from Tian Jin. She called and said that they won their first match 3-0, and the girls played well. We're hoping that the second match goes well also...
My kids are doing well. I still think that I have a wonderful lot. Some truly great kids. I also met most of the families as we had a Back to School Night on Wednesday. Some neat people who have neat stories I'll bet. I hope to learn more about them as the year progresses.
We are looking at purchasing a jeep to have here for transportation. I think we've found the one we want to buy. We should know in the next week or so whether or not we buy it.... Until I get my license, we'll probably hire a driver here on weekends to do our business, or go on little explorations....
Back in MN we have closed on our cabin!!!! So excited to have a little piece of heaven. Also, to have a home base when we return for the summer will be so nice. Josh, a buddy of mine who hails from Kimball (where the cabin is at), assures me that we will love the area. I have no doubts as we've been around there a bunch and like the people... We really will love having you all up for a visit, something on the grill, a campfire, and some great fellowship. :)
One funny thing that happened here at the house is worth sharing... I was home with the boys on Thursday night. Laurie was at school for the Middle School Back to School Night. Kellan and I were sitting at the table, and he was doing is normal gorging of food. I gave him a few raisins and was checking email when I noticed him trying to put a raisin up his nose. I quickly scolded him and tried to explain that this was not appropriate or safe. He proceeded to tell me in his language that I should shape up. A few minutes later, I noticed him rubbing his nose. He then cocked back to sneeze... When he did sneeze, a raisin shot out of his other nostril with a great deal of force. in fact, it bounced off his high chair table and onto our dining room table. We both just froze and stared at one another for a good bit of time. He had shoved that one up his nose before he was shoving the one up that I witnessed.... I really hope to avoid anymore ER's. Especially if it would deal with something he stuck up his nose.... Keep your fingers crossed... However, it did spark a rather funny memory of my wonderful brother Isaac and a sunflower seed. If you'd like to hear that one, Isaac would surely love to tell you....
I am heading to a night out with about 20 other male staff members from ISB (International School of Beijing). We're renting a bus and going down to watch Wheelchair Rugby as part of the Paralympics. We'll then proceed downtown to visit a pub or two. Should be a good night.
Until next time, we love and miss you all. Please keep emailing and skyping...
The DuBois Clan
Kellan has slowly recovered from a pink eye, runny nose, and cough virus. I think he's pretty much bounced back... His big brother, Kieran came down with the same stuff. He was out of school for 2 days with pink eye, then half of another with a temperature of 101. When I took him home from the nurses office, he looked like a zombie. Other than a pesky cough, he's feeling pretty well we believe.
Laurie is currently coaching volleyball vs. a school from Tian Jin. She called and said that they won their first match 3-0, and the girls played well. We're hoping that the second match goes well also...
My kids are doing well. I still think that I have a wonderful lot. Some truly great kids. I also met most of the families as we had a Back to School Night on Wednesday. Some neat people who have neat stories I'll bet. I hope to learn more about them as the year progresses.
We are looking at purchasing a jeep to have here for transportation. I think we've found the one we want to buy. We should know in the next week or so whether or not we buy it.... Until I get my license, we'll probably hire a driver here on weekends to do our business, or go on little explorations....
Back in MN we have closed on our cabin!!!! So excited to have a little piece of heaven. Also, to have a home base when we return for the summer will be so nice. Josh, a buddy of mine who hails from Kimball (where the cabin is at), assures me that we will love the area. I have no doubts as we've been around there a bunch and like the people... We really will love having you all up for a visit, something on the grill, a campfire, and some great fellowship. :)
One funny thing that happened here at the house is worth sharing... I was home with the boys on Thursday night. Laurie was at school for the Middle School Back to School Night. Kellan and I were sitting at the table, and he was doing is normal gorging of food. I gave him a few raisins and was checking email when I noticed him trying to put a raisin up his nose. I quickly scolded him and tried to explain that this was not appropriate or safe. He proceeded to tell me in his language that I should shape up. A few minutes later, I noticed him rubbing his nose. He then cocked back to sneeze... When he did sneeze, a raisin shot out of his other nostril with a great deal of force. in fact, it bounced off his high chair table and onto our dining room table. We both just froze and stared at one another for a good bit of time. He had shoved that one up his nose before he was shoving the one up that I witnessed.... I really hope to avoid anymore ER's. Especially if it would deal with something he stuck up his nose.... Keep your fingers crossed... However, it did spark a rather funny memory of my wonderful brother Isaac and a sunflower seed. If you'd like to hear that one, Isaac would surely love to tell you....
I am heading to a night out with about 20 other male staff members from ISB (International School of Beijing). We're renting a bus and going down to watch Wheelchair Rugby as part of the Paralympics. We'll then proceed downtown to visit a pub or two. Should be a good night.
Until next time, we love and miss you all. Please keep emailing and skyping...
The DuBois Clan
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
MID-WEEK UPDATE
Hello everyone....it is wednesday night and i can tell it is mid-week. Good but busy week. Riley is at his back-to-school night tonight and i have mine tomorrow night. Last night Riley went to Kieran's back-to-school night last night and i stayed home -with the boys. Kieran and i made rice krispie bars which he loved doing! was nice to do that with him. He has been home the last two days with pink eye--got it from kellan i am sure. So tuesday i left school to take him to the clinci. It was nice having an ayi at home to stay with kieran when he was sick......so neither riley nor i had to take the day off. Kind of nice. So we have visited the Emergency Room and the Clinic all in about 72 hours! They boys both seem really good today-we rode to a place called the "Blue Frog" for supper. Kind of like a sports bar atmosphere....my meal tonight wasn't great but i was there one other time for lunch and it was great! anyway-it was nice to get out for a while.
Riley got to watch the Vikings game the other night-a friend has something rigged up to watch it on Tevo through some special contraption.....i know he really enjoyed it. Maybe not the game so much but he said they got foot massages while they were watching the game....pretty rough.....I am sure he will write more about that. I got my first massage Sat. night at our clubhouse----so nice! a bunch of the single gals here have been going to a nice spa place every sunday-think i may join in this weekend since we have Monday off (Chinese Holiday---Moon Festival I think?) I was supposed to go to a nearby city, Tianjin, this weekend but the games got moved to ISB which will be nice. I was looking forward to doing some siteseeing but it sounds like every trip to Tianjin by our busdrivers is a disaster!
I think riley and i may go and do some exploring on monday if we can get one of our Ayi's to come to work. I think theyusually take chinese holidays off, but we are going to offer to pay them an extra day's wage...we will see. Otherwise the boys can come or i could get one of my 8th grade students to babysitter.
We have reserved our tickets to come home to MN. We just have to go to the office and pay for them...which we will do this weekend. We will be home Friday night Dec 19 (probably more like sat b/c of all the layovers that happen in chicago) and will be in jasper first, then in kasson, then up around sauk center and then back to Delano (if julie and jamie let us crash with them!). so we hope to find a time to see as many people as we can. If you are going to be around any of those places during that time-let us know-we would love to see you all!
Interesting sites today-some village people are starting to take corn out of the fields and they just lay it out on the side of the road to dry,....will have to get some pictures of that soon...
I think that is about all for now. We hope you are all doing well, being safe, and happy!
WE miss you all! One more plug for skype-free download on the internet-we have loved talking with and seeing people who have it! it is all free and only takes about 5 minutes to download!
good night (or good morning) to you all!
Laurie
Riley got to watch the Vikings game the other night-a friend has something rigged up to watch it on Tevo through some special contraption.....i know he really enjoyed it. Maybe not the game so much but he said they got foot massages while they were watching the game....pretty rough.....I am sure he will write more about that. I got my first massage Sat. night at our clubhouse----so nice! a bunch of the single gals here have been going to a nice spa place every sunday-think i may join in this weekend since we have Monday off (Chinese Holiday---Moon Festival I think?) I was supposed to go to a nearby city, Tianjin, this weekend but the games got moved to ISB which will be nice. I was looking forward to doing some siteseeing but it sounds like every trip to Tianjin by our busdrivers is a disaster!
I think riley and i may go and do some exploring on monday if we can get one of our Ayi's to come to work. I think theyusually take chinese holidays off, but we are going to offer to pay them an extra day's wage...we will see. Otherwise the boys can come or i could get one of my 8th grade students to babysitter.
We have reserved our tickets to come home to MN. We just have to go to the office and pay for them...which we will do this weekend. We will be home Friday night Dec 19 (probably more like sat b/c of all the layovers that happen in chicago) and will be in jasper first, then in kasson, then up around sauk center and then back to Delano (if julie and jamie let us crash with them!). so we hope to find a time to see as many people as we can. If you are going to be around any of those places during that time-let us know-we would love to see you all!
Interesting sites today-some village people are starting to take corn out of the fields and they just lay it out on the side of the road to dry,....will have to get some pictures of that soon...
I think that is about all for now. We hope you are all doing well, being safe, and happy!
WE miss you all! One more plug for skype-free download on the internet-we have loved talking with and seeing people who have it! it is all free and only takes about 5 minutes to download!
good night (or good morning) to you all!
Laurie
Monday, September 8, 2008
New Pics
Our view of the USA women's soccer match... Does it look humid? A
A view from our midfield seats at the USA vs. Japan soccer match.
We ran into a Gold Medal Rower who is Danish after the soccer match...
Outside the Birdsnest during the Olympics
My class on the playground... The Dragon has smoke coming out of it's nose at times...
Our teaching team... An awesome crew!!!
Part of our Playground... The boys from NE Kasson would have been in some trouble here...
Check out the hand painting on the buildings out on the playground.
A view from our midfield seats at the USA vs. Japan soccer match. We ran into a Gold Medal Rower who is Danish after the soccer match...
Outside the Birdsnest during the Olympics
My class on the playground... The Dragon has smoke coming out of it's nose at times...
Our teaching team... An awesome crew!!!
Part of our Playground... The boys from NE Kasson would have been in some trouble here...
Check out the hand painting on the buildings out on the playground.Saturday, September 6, 2008
Our First Family Adventure!!!
It's Saturday night and we are just winding down from our first adventure as a family. Of all the places we'd go, it was to the Emergency Room.... Nothing big, but Kellan is not well, and we missed the Saturday hours at the local clinic. So, our dear friend, Tif, drove us to the the Lido district where we could get Kellan looked at. It actually went well! The staff spoke English, and they loved the boys! The doctor thinks that he has a virus, but gave us antibiotics for an ear infection as well as drops for his eyes, as they have been mattered all day.
Last night, he coughed all night and didn't get any good sleep. He crashed for about 3 hours today, which was much needed. He hung in there all day, and is currently laying in the bath tub as I write.
Kieran was an angel today as well. He just seems to go along with everything. However, dad and son managed to sneak off for a few minutes and secure ice cream cones.... A DuBois thing... :)
Laurie had her first experience coaching volleyball today as her girls played a school from Tian Jin, which is a few hours' drive away. Apparently they play International Rules (whatever that means), so Laurie learned on the job a bit. But, she had a great time and seems to really enjoy the girls she is working with...
Dad and Kieran went on a "journey" this morning. Be biked through the village, and Kieran greeted virtually everyone with Ni Hau! (hello in Chinese). We then went to our school quick to withdraw some $, before heading to the toy store, where we bought Kieran's Halloween coostume. He chose a hand sewn Superman outfit. Stay tuned for pictures. He has put it on and taken it off probably 10 times today... Pretty proud of his purchase...
Last night, Riley also had his first massage in China. We got them pretty late, and I was tired, so I think I slept through 2/3 of it.... The parts that I was awake for were nice... Now, we have to get Laurie in for one as she definately deserves one...
Thank you who have been keeping in touch with us. And, those who have downloaded Skype, it's been great talking to you. If you've ever been away from home, you know how nice it is to talk to those from home. If you get skype, you can find us at laurie dubois . We'd love to chat...
Until next time, we pray you are well and happy. Take care...
Last night, he coughed all night and didn't get any good sleep. He crashed for about 3 hours today, which was much needed. He hung in there all day, and is currently laying in the bath tub as I write.
Kieran was an angel today as well. He just seems to go along with everything. However, dad and son managed to sneak off for a few minutes and secure ice cream cones.... A DuBois thing... :)
Laurie had her first experience coaching volleyball today as her girls played a school from Tian Jin, which is a few hours' drive away. Apparently they play International Rules (whatever that means), so Laurie learned on the job a bit. But, she had a great time and seems to really enjoy the girls she is working with...
Dad and Kieran went on a "journey" this morning. Be biked through the village, and Kieran greeted virtually everyone with Ni Hau! (hello in Chinese). We then went to our school quick to withdraw some $, before heading to the toy store, where we bought Kieran's Halloween coostume. He chose a hand sewn Superman outfit. Stay tuned for pictures. He has put it on and taken it off probably 10 times today... Pretty proud of his purchase...
Last night, Riley also had his first massage in China. We got them pretty late, and I was tired, so I think I slept through 2/3 of it.... The parts that I was awake for were nice... Now, we have to get Laurie in for one as she definately deserves one...
Thank you who have been keeping in touch with us. And, those who have downloaded Skype, it's been great talking to you. If you've ever been away from home, you know how nice it is to talk to those from home. If you get skype, you can find us at laurie dubois . We'd love to chat...
Until next time, we pray you are well and happy. Take care...
Friday, September 5, 2008
more pictures
kieran and kellan teeter-tottering at one of the few local parks in our compound. They are really starting to interact a lot together.....fun to watch.
laurie's homeroom ....great kids! 8-6 is the BEST! Kind of far away for this size picture-but they are kids from around the world.
riley and kellan walking kieran to the bus on his first day of school
looking down a road in our compound.....
after entering our gated compound-this is the front of the clubhouse (usually water is shooting up which the kids love!) in the clubhouse there is a bunch of stuff, restaurant, bowling alley (i haven't seen) racquetball court, pools, sauna, etc.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Our First Full Week!
We have made it through our first full week with our students! Kieran has done an admirable job, Laurie is busy coaching, and Riley is trying to keep up with the rest of the family....
Getting back to Kieran. We're really proud of this young guy. Not only is he flourishing in a new world, he's in school for 4 full days and a 1/2 day on Wednesday!!! That's a big change.We were originally concerned with him just turning 4 and not being in this intense of an academic setting. But Mrs. Cinday, his teacher, is doing an awesome job, and says that he's doing well! For you parents, that sure puts a heart at ease.... One of my favorite things to do during the day is to walk by and peek in on him. He looks very happy and engaged, and tells us about his day when we get home... His favorite thing to do is to play on the SMART board.
Laurie has her first volleyball match tomorrow here at ISB. She really likes the girls that she's working with, although they've only really practiced a few times together. And, she says that the kids in her classroom are great to work with.
Kellan continues to move and move and move. He is growing up before our eyes. Our ie's have been speaking mainly Chinese to him, so we're going to be asking him to interpret for us before long. He now is sleeping well through the night, and generally goes down between 7 and 8 pm without a struggle.
My kids are wonderful. Some true talents here. We took some pics today and I hope that they turn out on this entry...
Time for a weekend in which we hopefully relax a bit. I am itching to go on an adventure, so my friend Matt and I may go off, with Kellan in tow, tomorrow or Sunday and see if we can get into anything....
Cheers!
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