Who Knew The Party Lasted 15 Days!!!

All made out of Flowers, just like the Rose Parade

  Hello Everyone.  I hope this week's blog finds everyone healthy and happy.  I know that at home you had a bit of snow this week.  Still can't say I miss it, except for the sunny days skiing at Badger.  Is it possible to get the good white stuff only at night and then have spring like temperatures during the day.  Well, probably not, but I can wish can't I?  It has been about 72 degrees here everyday.  Hard to like snow when you are enjoying an extended spring.
  Anyway, this week found us back at school and then on our first adventure since Paul went home.  Paul  will enjoy this one, because we went to a place that he had been wanting to go for some time.  So here we go.

More Flowers

SCHOOL:  I know you probably are getting tired of me putting on here that I was not in school, but those of you back home can give me a hard time while I am teaching through June and into July.  This week I reported back to school on Monday and to my surprise I only had two students.  The school neglected to tell me that most of my 10th graders would not be returning until Thursday.  My freshmen were not returning until Friday.  So, I spent the week going to class and swapping stories with the kids about what we had done during the break.  Talk about a nice way to ease into the second semester.  The only real bummer about the week was that we had to teach on Saturday.  The reason we had to teach on Saturday was because the end of Chinese New Year finished on Monday.  This meant that we had to work Saturday to make up for missing Monday.  So if we were to take the Chinese way of scheduling and apply it back home, this is how would work; when the Memorial Day weekend comes in the spring, you must work the previous week from Monday through Sunday and then you can have the Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday off the following week.  Haven't quite figured out this logic, but can't complain since I only had two classes on Saturday.
  Finally, a good laugh for many of you.  We have been asked to stay for next year.  We have told them that we cannot stay and will be going home in July.  The funny part is that one of the directors wants me to stay and fill a new position.  The new position would be Western Principal for the International School.  LOL, LOL.  Alright, that's enough laughing from everyone.  Just because I was laughing doesn't mean you have to keep laughing at me.  You are supposed to laugh with me.  I was flattered, but just don't see myself in that position.  I said you can stop laughing now!!!!!

Now that is one Giant Lantern!!!

ADVENTURES:  This week started out with a small adventure for Cecelia and I.  We went on a date.  Now that is not to say that every date is an adventure, but they usually are pretty spectacular.  Get your minds out of the gutter, we just went to the movie and had coffee together.  The reason this is such a cool adventure is because of another favorite thing we love about China.  We went and saw the new Tom Cruise movie called "One Shot".  If you haven't seen it yet, it is very good.  Anyway, the reason that this was such a great date was because we had coffee, popcorn, water and bought two movie tickets for, wait for it, wait for it, the sum total of about $20.  Not only did we not spend very much, the theaters here are really cool.  They are all stadium seating and when you buy your ticket you get to pick your seats in the theater   The tickets themselves only cost $10.

Chinese Opera on the Street

  Now I know that some of you don't remember when movie tickets were that cheap, but I think the last time I spent that much on going to the movies was in the mid 80's and that was with my friend Michael Jilke.  We went to the midnight showing of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at a second rate movie theater on Corona Del Mar.  Of course this was our fifth time seeing it and the stale popcorn was for throwing at the screen, along with other miscellaneous items like toast.  It's perfectly fine for many of you to have a nostalgic moment with me.  Alright everyone back to the present.
  The weekend brought us to the end of the 15 day Chinese New Year party.  We decided to spend it in Guangzhou.  Some friends told us that to commemorate the end of the holiday, Yuexiu Park had a lantern festival that was spectacular.

Cecelia's neck hurt, just looking at this guy.

  We woke up early Sunday morning and made our way to church.  Church was very pleasant and the priest talked about where home is for all of us.  He discussed how we have different homes in which we are very comfortable.  Cecelia and I were talking about our many different homes and we started thinking about our top five.  So, here are mine.  My first home is wherever Jesus resides.  My second home is where my family parks themselves, currently of course in China.  My third home is in California, either at our place in Oakhurst or at Mom and Dad Kieffers,  My fourth home is of course on the golf course and finally, my family said my last home is at Starbucks.  Can't say I could disagree with them.
  After church we decided to wander around Guangzhou at a leisurely pace.  We had some time to kill before we went to the lantern festival in the early evening.  So, we went to lunch, the book store and then to Starbucks. (My family's idea, not mine).

We then decided to get out from being underground in the metro and being inside the mall so we decided to walk most of the way to the lantern festival.  There is something really freeing about walking the streets of a big city and exploring the sites and sounds.  You also get a feeling of what the city's heartbeat is like.  Guangzhou's heartbeat is joyful and festive.  We saw, flower festivals, singers, street musicians, actors and acrobats.  The weather was great, so it made the environment on the street very alive and active.
  After spending the afternoon exploring the city, we made our way to the Lantern Festival.

  The Lantern Festival wasn't anything like I expected.  I thought we would see hundreds of Chinese lanterns in all shapes and sizes.  To my surprise the lanterns were shaped like fish, dragons, people and Chinese zodiac signs.  There was every shape and vibrant color imaginable.  It reminded us a little like going to the Christmas lights on Van Ness in Fresno.
  We then made our way to a hotel and spent the rest of the evening reading and relaxing.  Of course I forgot to mention there were two fireworks shows that we saw from our hotel room on the 21st floor.  I can honestly say, I never tire of experiencing the sites, sounds and smells of fireworks.

Pandas for Paul and Jess

  The next morning dawned grey with a June gloom like overcast.  This is typical for where we live, because  the Guangzhou area is an enormous river delta.  The cool water from the China sea moves inland and mixes with the warm air to create the cloud cover.  In the afternoons, it tends to burn off most of the clouds.
  To put into perspective how big this delta is, image the bay area river delta extending five times as wide and inland all the way to the foothills of the Sierras.  Fresno would be a major shipping port in that delta.
  After having breakfast at Starbucks, my family's idea again, not mine.  We packed up and headed out to the Chen Clan Family Temple.  The Chen Clan Temple is one part of four parts to the family's holdings in the area during the Qing dynasty.  If Paul were still here he would give you more of a history lesson in detail, but basically the Chen family ruled this particular part of China during the Qing dynasty.  The place we visited was the main hall that was used for worship and holding judgement when people had disagreements with one another.

Chen Clan Academy

  I guess you could say it was the courthouse and Buddhist temple all in one.  Currently it has been restored and is used as an art gallery that showcases all of the talents from the local artisans.  The black lacquered columns, along with the brick work and carved wood on the underside of the ceiling made for  a living, breathing art history lesson.  On top of that, it was very peaceful with the sitting areas and the flower gardens intertwined among the walkways.

 We have wondered many times about some of the relief wood carvings, brick carving and ceramic work that adorns the tops of the buildings in this part of the Guangdong Province.  This place answered all those questions and more.  Not only is the art work unique to this area, some of the finest jade and ivory carving ever done comes from here as well.  This particular place reminded me of an oriental version of the Getty Museum in LA.   I have included pictures this week to give you some idea of the impressive work that has been done in the past.

This work originated in a little town called Shawan

Carved Bricks

Story Teller in the Garden

They haven't done this since 1989

Amazing detail

Who has the patience for this anymore??

     

We Survived Chinese New Year, Whew!!!!

The Great Wall was Spectacular

  The blog this week is dedicated to my good friend and brother Paul.  Unfortunately he returned back to the states this week for the rest of the year.  Paul was part of this great adventure from the beginning, but felt like he was being called back home by the Lord.  We will miss him because of his whit, enthusiasm and the way he embraced and loved the people of China.  I will miss our scooter adventures and learning Chinese together.  The girls will miss him because of the boundless love and affection that he shared with them.  Cecelia will miss him for their talks together and the appreciation that he showed toward the little things in life.  We love you my brother and wish you Gong Xi Fa Cai.
  I am also dedicating this blog to my daughter Claire for showing the kind of maturity that makes a father proud.  You will understand this later in the story for this week.

SCHOOL:  Got a phone call telling me that I need to teach my 10th graders at 2:00pm on Monday.  That's it for now.

ADVENTURES:  Well this week found us beginning Chinese New Year.  Last week, we discovered was mostly about the Spring Festival.  Thus all of the flowers and decorations.  This week was all about the New Year.  Let me say this up front, "We in the United States do not know how to party it up for the New Year."  Last week I left you with the festival of fireworks, that went on all night long.  Someone recently asked me if that was really true, and I replied that it was literally true.  Not only that, but I can report to you that we have seen or heard fireworks everyday since the Chinese New Year began.  Even as we walked through town today, we saw an eight foot long string of fireworks for dedicating a business.  We didn't stick around for the lighting ceremony, but heard it as we walked through town.
  After the barrage of fireworks we decided to be crazed tourists and travel a bit.  There were two things that Cecelia really wanted to see.  She wanted to see a Lion and Dragon dance.  So as we were heading out on our scooters to get on the fast train to Shenzhen she got her first wish and then some.

My Lucky Lion Dancers

  Apparently, businesses will either ward off the evil spirits from the previous year with the fireworks or they will hire a dance troupe to do the Lion Dance.  The Lion Dance consists of two lions, usually a dark and a light one and a trainer.  The lions proceed to act wild and crazy while dancing.  They are then appeased by the trainer and a token of something left hanging from the door frame, kind of like mistletoe without the kissing part.  The lions then enter the business and a decree is read by the trainer blessing the building for the year.  While the decree is being read the owner of the business writes on the tongue and ears of each lion.  The heads are then displayed during the year.
  The cool thing about stumbling upon this show was that it was a small crowd.  The lion costumes were sitting on the ground and kids were getting their pictures taken with them.  We asked if the girls could get a picture with them as well.  On top of getting the picture taken with the head, the troupe had Cecelia, Claire and Taylor get into the costume and they danced around a bit.

Who is that Lion Tamer?

  Paul also got into the act and became the lion tamer for one of the songs.  The people around loved all of it.  They shook hands with Paul, Cecelia and the kids as well as giving many pats on the back for doing a great job.
  After our little side trek we boarded the fast train to Shenzhen and headed for the Chinese Cultural park.  This was the first time for us on the fast train and it really is fast.  When you are on the train, they tell you how fast you are going.  At top speed, Paul and I saw 312 Kilometers per hour.  That is about 170 miles per hour.  We made it from the Guangzhou South railway station to Shenzhen in 40 minutes, and that was with two stops.  The amazing thing about the train is that even though you are going that fast, you don't even notice the speed.
  When we arrived in Shenzhen we took the metro to the park.  We are getting quite good at riding the metro and navigating the public transportation here in China.  To tell you the truth I really have not missed driving a car for the year.  How come we can't figure this out in the United States?  I guess that is a discussion for another time.
  While we were at the Chinese Cultural Park we saw a Dragon Dance.  It is not nearly as entertaining as the Lion Dance.

Chinese Cultural Park

  The Chinese Cultural Park is a park that has demonstrations and displays of all the provinces in China.  It is very entertaining and educational.  We started our visit by watching a horse show that demonstrated the Huns conquering China.  It was entertaining, but we had a hard time following the story because of our limited language abilities.  Basically, the Huns come, storm the castle, kill the king's champion and then move on to the next castle.  Genghis Kahn must have been really good at this, because he ruled a very large area.  Anyway, after watching the castle fall we moved to Tibet.  I really would love to visit Tibet.  Everything about it seems so peaceful and contemplative.   One of my favorite movies is "Seven Years in Tibet" with Brad Pitt.  After seeing the Tibetan temple and how they live, I can understand how it changed him.
  We really enjoyed the park and decided that we had enough time before we went back to school to tour more of China.  So, in the manner that is the Oetinger Adventure Family we decided to tour China.  I have included some pictures to show you where we went.
  The Great Wall was outstanding and seeing the Forbidden City was awe inspiring.  

Absolutely magnificent in its grandeur.

The Forbidden City - Look Closely

  The Three Gorges area was impressive as well.  I think after seeing all of these sights we have pretty much covered all the significant sites in China.  We are going to fill in the rest of the year with some smaller, less known sites.
  Oh did I forget to mention that at the Chinese Cultural Park they have miniatures of all the significant historical sites in China.  I didn't say we jumped on a train or anything, now did I.  I only wrote that we decided to tour more of China, I didn't say how.
  Anyway after spending the day at the park we headed out to find a hotel.  We ended up in a part of Shenzhen that is really awesome.  It is called Sea World.  Not to be confused with the animal water park, this part of Shenzhen is being developed as a waterfront shopping and dining area.  They already have a plaza that has every kind of food that you can imagine to purchase.
  That evening, Taylor convinced us to eat Mexican food.  I wasn't really up for it, but she persisted and we gave it a go.  You need to understand that part of our reluctance for eating Mexican food in China is because of the lack of cheese and refried beans.  As you know, these are two staple ingredients in Mexican Food.  Much to our surprise, we had an outstanding meal that included cheese and refried beans.  Of course the refried beans looked like they came out of a can, but at least they tasted great.
  The next day dawned with an absolutely gorgeous sky that was the color of a robin's egg.  It was about 72 degrees and very peaceful near the water.  It was one of those days that is perfect for just hanging out, so we did.  We ate breakfast in the plaza from the night before, went for a walk along the water front and then capped off the afternoon by having my favorite food, of course you guessed it Thai food.  After lunch we headed for the train to go home.

Where Michael and Bonnie go to Temple

  The following day our friend Michael and his family asked us to go walking with them to a mountain park near our home.  He, his wife and daughter picked us up and to our surprise took us to a temple.  It was an awesome mountain temple that, to Paul's chagrin had a ton of stairs.  Apparently Michael and his wife Bonnie come here every year to pay homage to their favorite Buddha.  So we walked with them to the top of the temple.  Even though it was crowded and we don't really know that much about Buddism, it was very peaceful.  There were people saying prayers, monks blessing people and incense burning everywhere.  When we got to the top, we were given a ball with a ribbon on it to throw into the wish tree.  You write your wish on the ribbon and then throw it up into the tree.  The tree is dressed with thousands of crimson ribbons.  They flutter and sigh in the breeze, much like the butterflies do in Pismo during the Monarch migration.  Anyway, we all successfully threw our wishes up into the tree.  I say successfully, because apparently your wish doesn't come true unless it stays up in the tree.  I can't tell you what my wish is completely, but part of it must of worked immediately because a Chinese guy came up to me, welcomed me to China and handed me an envelope with money in it.  Man, with that kind of service I might just become a Buddhist.(I'm just kidding!!!!!!)

The Wish Tree - It really works!!!

  After the temple we headed out to the mountain park for our walk.  The park was adjacent to the temple.  It had everything that you can imagine in a park in China.  It had a hill with a tower on top of it, with a zig zag walking bridge and a really steep arched bridge.  Michael, Cecelia the girls and I went up the hill, while Paul, Bonnie and Michael's daughter Stephy stayed down by the lake.  It was a nice hike and was very educational.  The tower on top of the mountain was made years ago to be a watch tower during the Japanese invasion.
  When we returned to the lake, we lost Paul somehow so we spent some time looking for him.  While looking around for him I checked out the rest of the park.  It had some really cool small gardens and restaurants that looked out over the lake.  It really felt like spring, because there were families picnicking, bicycle riding and paddling on the lake.  The day had started out cloudy and a little cool, but the clouds burned off and the sun warmed everything up nicely.
  We eventually found Paul and headed home.  When we got home, Paul mentioned that he had been doing a lot of thinking and wanted us to pray for him.  He was really feeling convicted that he should go home.  We talked it over with him and felt that if he was going to go home, we needed to do one last adventure together.
  He felt like he needed to sleep on it and would let us know after we went to Chime Long the next day.
  The next day while Paul was wrestling with his decision, we went to The Chime Long Safari Park.

Lemurs

  Chime Long Safari Park is kind of like a zoo and wild animal park wrapped up in one.  Now, if you have been following along the other blogs, you will understand when I say that personal responsibility is very important at this park.  It is unlike any zoo that I have ever seen.  There are animals to be petted and interacted with all over the park.  The trainers tell people that they can either pet an animal or not to pet it.  At this park, if you pet an animal that the trainer told you not to touch and you get bit, it is your own damn fault.  There is no such thing in China about suing the zoo because you were too stupid to pay attention to the professional.  With that being said, I love this place.  It is the kind of place that really educates and gives an up front idea about what the animals are really like.  The first thing that we saw was a set of baby lemurs.  The trainer let us pet the tail of one of the lemurs.  The girls then fed giraffes and had a chance to pet them.  We then had lunch with the pandas in the Panda Restaurant.  After eating with the Pandas we made our way to the Panda enclosure.  The Panda enclosure was very informative and entertaining.  You can definitely tell that the Pandas are indigence to China.  I remember when it was such a big deal to get to the Pandas at the San Diego Zoo.  There were Pandas everywhere, some eating, sleeping and wresting with each other.  On top of that, they are really close.  You get an up close and personal look at these amazingly low key critters.  They definitely make us look like the stupid animals.  They hang out, laying on their back chewing nonchalantly on a shoot or two of bamboo while they people watch.  They reminded me of a guy sitting in his recliner drinking a six pack and watching football on Sundays.

I like Red Pandas, but are they really Pandas?

  They basically didn't seem to have a care in the world.  After hanging with the Pandas we made our way over to the Koala enclosure.  Unfortunately I have lost some of my warm fuzzy feelings about Koalas after meeting some Australian friends.  They are very cute, but my friends say that they are smelling, nasty critters with a bad attitude.  Most of the Koalas were sleeping when we walked through the enclosure.  The girls, Paul and Cecelia actually got to pet a sleeping Koala.  They said it was very fluffy and didn't have a bad attitude.
  We then made our way over to the safari ride.  The safari ride was really exciting, not only because the animals are so close and the only thing separating you from the lions and tigers is a small electrical wire, but the guy driving the tram thought he was a race car driver.  The trains are apparently made by Mercedes Benz, so the guy drove it like it was a Mercedes sports car.
  After our exhilarating ride with Mario, we headed for the dinosaur walk.  The dino walk was really exciting because it had all these animated dinosaurs from the movie Jurassic Park.  It was so animated and realistic Paul was sprayed, not once but twice by poison from a dinosaur.  Did I mention that we left him there to be eaten.  I would have saved him, but there was nothing I could do for him, I had to save my children and wife first.  The dinosaurs had been tracking our pack for sometime and could tell which of the humans was injured. It didn't really happen that way, but it could have!
  After the excitement of the dino walk and Paul's near demise we were treated to an up close look at a baby Orangutan   It was soooooo, cute.  The girls wanted to take him home, but I had to put my foot down.  I wasn't bringing an animal into our home that is stronger than me as a baby.

Look at that cute face.  No I'm not talking about Paul.

  We were about done with the zoo, but on our way out we stopped at the Tiger sanctuary.  In this Tiger area, they had Snow Tigers, White Tigers and Golden Tigers.  I didn't even know there were that many varieties.  Apparently they are basically from the same family line with slight modifications.  It is your job now to research the difference on your own.  My blog is already long enough as it is and I still have more to tell.  The last thing in the Tiger area was a place that they call Tiger Camp.  It is an enclosure with about five adolescent tigers in it.  They were romping and attacking each other when we arrived.  This was one of the most enjoyable parts of the park.  We could have stayed there for a very long time watching them play, but it was time for us to go home.  
  When we returned to the house, Paul let us know that he needed to go home.  Later that night we checked into going to Beijing and going to the Great Wall for real.  We would have done it but the only problem was that we could get there and have him fly out of Beijing, but the trains coming back home for us were sold out. In the end we decided to go to Hong Kong and ride the Gondola.
  The next morning we loaded up on the scooters one last time.  Michael and Bonnie insisted on taking Paul and the girls to the train station so that they could say goodbye.  Bonnie in particular was saddened by Paul's leaving.  The two of them had really developed a friendship in which they helped each other with learning each others language.
  We took the train once again to Shenzhen and found a hotel near the Hong Kong border crossing.  Let me tell you, the train ride, plus the metro, plus standing in line to cross the border into Hong Kong is a pain in the butt.  Once through to Hong Kong, the train ride to the Gondola was very long as well.  At one point we were almost ready to give up the adventure.  Once we were on the Gondola though, all of the stress of traveling was gone and we were to be surprised with a jewel in Hong Kong.

How big is Big?

  One word about the Gondola first.  Both Paul and I have a problem with heights, so to go in the Gondola is a stretch for us.  Add to that the girls insistence on getting the Gondola with the glass bottom and you have two guys that have to draw on their testosterone reserves to not be shown up by a nine and 12 year old girls.
  Actually the Gondola ride was very pleasant and we had a great view of the Hong Kong airport and the mountain trail on the way to the village that housed the jewel I mentioned before.  The jewel at the end was the NGong Ping village and the giant Guan Yin statue that overlooks Hong Kong.  The village is very quaint and the temple is beautiful, just as many of them have been that I have shared with you, but the most awe inspiring thing is the statue itself.
  The statue of Guan Yin is indescribably large.  There isn't anything in the area that compares to it.  It dwarfs even the temple that it overlooks.  The most amazing and breathtaking thing to me is that it is solid bronze.  It is mind boggling to think of how they got the thing where it is located on the island.  I can tell you that in my short life there are five things that have totally taken my breath away, three of them have even brought me to tears.  The three that have brought me to tears, were the Lincoln Memorial, The Sistine Chapel and Yosemite Valley.  The other two were the Washington Monument and now the Guan Yin in NGong Ping village in Hong Kong.  I am sure that when we go to the Great Wall in the spring it will be added to that list as well.
  Before heading back to our hotel we went to Hong Kong City and ate deli sandwiches and pizza overlooking the Hong Kong harbor.  The beer with my brother was especially good that evening.
  The next day we got up and headed into Hong Kong to drop Paul off at the airport.  I went with him and we said an emotional good bye.  It was hard to walk away from him at the airport knowing that my good buddy was heading home.  I have felt that type of conviction before and needed to support his decision.
  I headed back into Hong Kong to meet Cecelia and the girls.  We were going to spend the rest of the afternoon exploring a bit before we headed home.  We walked around Hong Kong and went to the park in Kowloon Harbor.  It was a very nice time as a family to process Paul leaving.  We ate dinner downtown, got some Starbucks and headed for home.

Dinner in Hong Kong.  So many choices.

  Now I would have ended this week's blog with us going home, but I had to share with you a story about how mature my oldest daughter has become.  Most of you know Claire as a cool, calm and collected young lady already, but what I am going to share with you is going to solidify that impression with you even more.  In China the first thing that you need to understand is that the subways get very crowded and sometimes there is a press of bodies to get on the subway, but not everyone makes the cut if you know what I mean.  So the one thing we have instructed the girls to do, is that if either of them gets left behind to stay put and I will come back for them.  So with that piece of information here is what happened.  We were coming back from Hong Kong and thought we had paid for first class tickets.  When we transferred to the subway that was to take us back to Shenzhen we found the first class car, just before it was going to be leaving.  I asked the attendant if we needed an upgrade and he told us that we had time to check it out.  Well apparently we didn't have time so we made a dash for the subway.  Now, understand the subway is not crowded at this point so it should have been easy for us.  Well, Taylor and Cecelia jumped onto the subway car and the doors were closing.  I was stuck in the middle while the doors were closing so I forced them open for Claire and I to get on.  When I jumped on Claire hesitated and the doors closed behind me.  So, as we stood there peering through the doors at our oldest child standing on the platform all by herself my heart sunk a bit.  Cecelia was trying to get Taylor to be quiet because she was panicking a bit, and Cecelia yelled at Claire to get on the next train.  Meanwhile I was staring out the windows checking off any special skills that I might have like the father in "Taken".  I don't have any special skills other than praying, so I put my skills to use immediately.  I was trying to be as calm as possible for my wife and youngest daughter, but inside I was a bit nervous.  I really got nervous when the next train came before I could go back and Claire wasn't on it.  A nice lady that had been on the train when Claire got left behind came up to us and said that it had happened to her before and not to worry.  She must have been an angel because when we got off at the next stop, she helped me get to the train going the other direction and even got on the train going back with me.  The interesting thing about her is that even at the next stop she stayed on the subway and kept going back the direction we had come in the first place.  When I arrived at the stop in which Claire was left, it wasn't one in which the train had come back exactly the way it had left.  I had to get off and go up and over another passage to an escalator and then down to the original platform.  You cannot imagine my relief when I ran down the escalator and saw my daughter sitting calmly on a bench by herself reading a book.  She didn't seem the least bit nervous about the entire ordeal.  When I finally got to her, I gave her a huge hug and asked her if she was alright.  She said she was fine.  I asked her if she had been nervous at all and she said, "Just a Little".  Then she said something that made me swell with pride.  She said, "I wasn't really scared, because you told me to just stay put if one of us got left behind and you would come back for us.  I just knew you would be coming back for me."
  The two of us jumped onto the next subway to meet up with Taylor and Cecelia.  Cecelia had been timing the time that I was gone.  She said I had been gone 20 minutes.  It was the most difficult 20 minutes of her life.  I can understand how tough it was for her.  I think I would have gone crazy waiting, at least I was on the move.
  After that we headed for home.  On the scooter ride back from the train station, Cecelia and I were worn and out and a bit melancholy.  Obviously it had been a very emotional day with Paul's departure and leaving a child on the subway platform.  I think I slept the best I have since coming to China.
  The next day, all we did was rest.  Thank you Lord!!!
  Enjoy the show, I know this has been a long one.  It is hard to get it all in sometimes.

    

An American during Chinese New Years. Simply AWESOME!!!!

Welcome to The Spring Festival!!!

  This week's blog is dedicated to our Chinese friends that helped us enjoy the Spring Festival and ring in the Chinese New Year.  So, thank you to Michael, David, Ken and Sam.  They did their best to help give us an authentic experience.

  As I bring the blog to you today, I am intoxicated with the sights and smells that greet me on the first day of the Chinese New Year.  

While taking a deep breath of the scent of gunpowder and incense mixed with the exotic Lily smell at our front door,  I am reminded of the line that Robert Duval speaks in Apocalypes Now.  "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".  But other than napalm, I am smelling life.  It is a big and bold life filled with the colors and sounds of The Spring Festival and Chinese New Year. 

They plant them everywhere.

 Despite the stark reality of that scene in the movie, the neighborhood is anything but stark.  All of the flowers create a living rainbow in which the crimson papers from the previous nights fireworks fluttering in the soft breeze are like butterflies searching for sweet nectar.  Chinese New Year is a magical time of doing away with evil spirits or old stuff from the previous year and getting together with family and friends to wish each other much prosperity in the new one.  There are so many flowers of every type, as well as the blooms of fireworks.  It truly is an amazing time to have a fresh start.  

SCHOOL:  Nothing to report.  No work until the 18th.

The dichotomy that is China.

ADVENTURES:  As the week began, we settled back into our home after returning from Thailand.  I played golf one morning and we started getting back into a routine.  While we were gone, the village that we live near began preparing for the Spring Festival/New Year.  Everything was clean and fresh.  Lanterns were hung everywhere and the streets were lined with flowers. Most businesses had flowers and tangerine/mandarin trees standing guard at their entrances.  The mandarin/tangerine trees are covered with fruit.  The golden fruit represents prosperity in the new year.

Flowers ready to be cut for the table decorations.

  Our friend Ken told us the meaning behind the golden trees.  After telling us the story about the trees, Claire politely asked Ken what happens when you eat the fruit off the trees.  She assumed that you share your prosperity with your neighbors and friends.  Ken said the fruit was not for eating, just for decoration.  Claire then asked him, "If you eat the fruit, wouldn't you be golden on the inside as we'll?".  Ken was polite and shrugged his shoulders and with a smile on his face said "Maybe so, I hadn't thought of it that way before."  It sounded like pretty good twelve year old wisdom to me as well.

  So with all the decorating going on, we got into the swing of things as well.  Taylor and Cecelia bought some flowers and decorated our main entrance.  It was still a little sparse so we all went into the village and bartered for more.

Flowers of every color are available.

  On Wednesday, Paul returned from his visit back home to the US.  The first thing he and I did when he returned was, you guessed it, go on a scooter ride to get dinner.  To give you an idea of how much Paul loves his scooter, he traveled for 30 hours and the first thing he wanted to do when he returned other than hugging and loving on his nieces was scooter ride. 

  The next day we went for a ride out into the village and bought more decorations and fireworks.  That's right folks, we bought real fireworks.  Not the mamby pamby kind that we buy in the US during the Fourth of July.  I am talking about the blow off your hand if you are not careful kind.  We initially thought that they were like giant sparklers that popped, but we were to be pleasantly surprised later in the week.

Flower shopping on the scooter.

  On Saturday, which was Chinese New Year's Eve, we were invited to share lunch with our friend Michael and his extended family.  He picked us up at 11:30 and we headed to his mother's home nearby.  When we arrived we met Michael's brother, his mother, niece and sister in law

  The house that Michael's mom lives in is amazing.  It is a combination of their old house and the new house.  The original house was about 400 square feet and consisted of five rooms.  At one point while Michael was growing up in the house there were four families living in the house.  With children and parents there was a total of around 18 people living together all at one time.  

The streets are all decorated like this!

The original home was around 200 years old and had been handed down from family to family.  We actually think it was probably older than that, since they showed us a tile on a building that had a painting of the village and they said it was at least 500 years old.  We also walked over a small bridge in the village that was 300 years old.  It is really difficult to grasp how old things are in modern times, when our country is not as old as the walking bridge.  It truly is amazing how far we have come in America  in such a short period of time.

  At lunch we had a traditional hot pot meal where there was a main pot on a burner that was filled with some broth, chicken parts, beef and mushrooms.  The pot was just short of boiling when we were called to the table.  All of the other ingredients were in dishes around the table.  Everything was fresh and ready to cook while we sat down.  The ingredients that were waiting to be cooked were fresh minced fish, pork dumplings, pig intestines, squid, chicken parts and a huge plate of fresh vegetables.  When you eat, all the things that are on the table go into the pot one at a time.  The ingredients cook and then they are dished out into small bowls that each person has placed in front of them.  Any bones from the food are placed on the table directly.  So as the family eats, everyone shares whatever is in the pot.  The things that our family liked the most were the mushrooms, dumplings and fish balls.  I really enjoyed the squid, which the rest of my family decided to send my way after they tasted it.  We all agreed that the pig intestine was difficult to eat, too chewy and no flavor. 

  While we ate, Michael's mom and brother kept toasting the New Year and us.  We felt very honored to be invited to such a family affair.  After leaving from lunch, we left for the flower market and purchased a nice lily for the front entrance.  Next, we went and met Michael's aunt.  We then returned home.  It was an outstanding afternoon.

  Apparently in China, the people are almost fanatical about getting home for the Spring Festival/Chinese New Year.  On New Year's Eve it is important to be home for lunch and then the family dinner in the evening. 

  To put this holiday into perspective for you, imagine combining, Christmas, Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July together.  To top it all off, you need to be with family members during the holiday or it is bad luck for the family for an entire year.  Man, in the US I don't think we could handle that kind of pressure.  Can you imagine some college kid saying that they are going to another friend's house for Thanksgiving.  He would be cursing his family for the the year, OUCH!!!!!

  After resting for a bit, we headed out to see a fireworks show that my friend Ken told us about.  Of course living in China, the home of firework invention we were looking forward to the show, but it turned out to be unexpectedly awesome.

  Before the fireworks show we had a nice quiet meal at one of the few restaurants we could find that was still open.  We then went and got coffee and headed out to wait in anticipation for the show.  To our great surprise it wasn't really crowded and we got a seat on the edge of the lake where the fireworks were to be centered.  Unbeknownst to us we ended up sitting directly across from the fireworks barge.  It was the closest that I have ever been to the launch sight of a fireworks show.  After what we experienced, fireworks will never be the same.  So let me try to describe what we experienced.

Amazing to be so close!!

  

The barge for the fireworks was about 50 yards away from where we sat.  The show began when a lady MC come out and wished us all a Happy New Year in Chinese.  As soon as she said Happy New Year the barge jumped to life.  Rockets began spewing skyward in a brilliant barrage of red, green, gold and silver.  The explosions were like giant mushrooms in the sky.  The lady then began to tell a story and the fireworks were choreographed to go along with her story.  The next thing that happened was the barge began to spread the fireworks across the sky from left to right and then back again.  The sight was so dazzling that it was as the sun had risen again.  I was shooting pictures with my camera and didn't need a flash because it was so bright.  Next was the shower of small fireworks that blanketed the sky like fireflies.  The rest of the show created emotions in me that I didn't think I could feel about exploding gun powder.  

  It was one of those beautiful opportunities to be thankful for the blessings of the experience.  My heart was pounding in my chest along with the beat of each concussion from the explosives and yet it was so beautiful that I got teary eyed with thanks.  I said a prayer of thanks right there on the edge of that lake.  I was not only thankful for the fireworks show, but also looking at my children watching in awe and my beautiful wife with her arms around them made me appreciate the moment that much more.

  The rest of the show had fireworks that I had never seen before.  There were even fireworks that represented a dragon breathing fire.  These were spewed out sideways onto the lake and continued to burn on the water.  It looked like a crazy techni-colored version of Monet's famous water lillies painting.

Simply Beautiful

  I have included a movie to try and help with my description.  If you have the capability to do so, watched the video with your computer plugged into some really big speakers and turn the bass and volume all the way up.  This will give you an idea of the feeling of the show as well as the visual orchestra that went on with us sitting near the barge.

  We then rode our scooters back to the house and broke out the fireworks we had purchased earlier.  We had big sparklers the size of Taylor.  We also had those little white poppers that you throw at people's feet to make them dance.  Finally, we purchased two boxes of something that had a few sticking out the side and one pack of the fireworks that blowup in a row.  

The Smoking Gun

You know the little ones that go pop, pop, pop for a long time.  A better example may be small versions of M80's all lashed together with a fuse.  We used to be able to buy them when we bought bottle rockets in Mexico years ago.  Oh, I forgot to mention that we bought a traditional row of fireworks that are supposed to scare away the old bad spirits from the previous year.  I am not sure we did that one right, because when we lit it, it kind of all blew up at once.  We saw many of these and they are supposed to go for quite a while, before exploding into a huge finale.  Well, we figure that we will have a great year because we blew all of our demons up at once like Americans.  

  Anyway when we took our boxes of fireworks out at a safe spot we lit the fuse on the side and ran like hell to get away from it.  We didn't know what it was going to do, but were pleasantly surprised to find out that these boxes are a fireworks show in a box.  When I mean a fireworks show in a box, I mean the kind in which rockets fly into the air and explode into huge plumes of colored sparks, like the ones you seen at an organised show in America.  We should have known what to expect, because the warning on the side of the box said to be aware of the flying fireballs.  Be aware right!!!  Not only did the boxes shoot flying fireballs into the air, but they were timed with fuses as well.  It was amazing, the best 20 bucks we ever spent on fireworks. 

  After finishing our little show, we went home to sleep.  Oh, but hold on. This is Chinese New Year in China!!!  It was around 10:30 when some of us attempted to go to bed.  Paul wanted to go out and moto around, so he went exploring.  As Cecelia and I lay in bed reading, we kept hearing fireworks going off in the neighborhood.  I decided to get up because I couldn't sleep and went to find Paul.  I made it to the end of our street just in time to see a fireworks show begin out by the river.  I thought maybe the resort was firing off explosives.  I was wrong.  There were two guys out on the street with a case of the fireworks that we had purchased.  They were firing off the boxes one after another.  It was crazy, cars were driving by without a care in the world.  Car alarms were sounding all over the place and the smoke was so thick that I had to turn my light off on my moto in order to see.  These guys kept at it for about half an hour.  At one point I thought it was so comical that I was laughing like a crazed asylum patient.  It was an amazing celebration.  Along with this impromptu show, there were people setting off evil spirit fireworks in front of their homes and businesses.

  After setting off the evil spirit fireworks people would then light incense to burn for the new year.  Can you imagine how awesome it would be if the priests threw a string of fireworks down the aisle at church before they walked down with the incense, it would be AWESOME!!!!  I don't think the older folks would like it very much, but the kids would get a heck of a kick out of it.   

  I couldn't find Paul so I went back to the house at about 11:40. I went back to wake Cecelia and the girls, so that they could experience the crazed neighborhood.  The girls were too tired and didn't want to get up, so  Cecelia and I went for a short moto ride on the streets of our neighborhood.  I thought I had seen the best of the show in the neighborhood until it struck midnight.  The sound and racket was so loud that we literally thought we were in a war zone, without the damaged buildings and the destruction.  All around the neighborhood, people were lighting off evil spirit fireworks, launching boxes of fireworks into the sky, and running with sparklers down the road.  The sky was lit up in the distance with flashes and you could feel the concussion in the air from the larger fireworks.  The smell of gunpowder was pungent and strong.  It was very much like some of the war movies I have seen, like Saving Private Ryan.  I was happy at one point, because Cecelia began laughing like a crazed asylum patient as well at one point.  It was a very touching moment to share with her that I had done the same earlier.  

  We finally met up with Paul after our scooters had run out of juice.  We shared our experiences and finally went off to bed.  Cecelia and I finally went to sleep at 2:30 am, but the show went on all night and into the next day.  

 I think this is enough for now.  I am exhausted just thinking about it again.  It was so much to take in, that it is going to take some time to process the whole thing.  Later this week, I will share what we did during the week     

Thailand, We are so sad to say Goodbye!!!

Another Family Christmas Photo.  Wait is that Paul on the right??

  This week's blog is dedicated to the crew at Easy Divers in Lamai Beach, Ko Samui, Thailand.  Somkid Phabsing, Markos and Guenther did a great job and made the Scuba certification easy and fun.  I particularly want to thank Somkid for the extra time he spent with Taylor when she had ear difficulties.  I also want to thank him for the extra dive time he gave me as well.

SCHOOL: Sorry no school stories, still out for Chinese New Year.

Sunset from our Bungalow

ADVENTURES:  Well this week found us on the island of Ko Samui.

Our Bungalow

  After the week in Chiang Mai we felt like we wanted to have a week of rest and relaxation.  So we arrived on Saturday evening at The Lamai Bay View Inn.  The first thing we did was throw our bags into the bungalow, throw on our swimsuits and run down to the beach.  The air outstide was a balmy 82 degrees with a hint of humidity.  To our  pleasant surprise when we jumped into the water for our first family swim on Ko Samui we discovered that the water was actually warmer than the air outside.  The girls were in love with Ko Samui immediately.  After our family swim we went up and unpacked.

Our little beach

  Our bungalow was a small two bedroom unit with a bath and wrap around deck that went half way around the building.  The deck faced the ocean and gave us nice ocean breezes everyday.

Mad Blogger at Work.
This is what Steinbeck looked
liked when he wrote wasn't it?

The view was equally gratifying in that it looked down on our own little beach, as well as the long strand of pure white sand surrounding the bay. On the deck was a wicker love seat and a table with two chairs.  Cecelia and I spent most mornings by having coffee out on the deck, watching the sun rise over the ocean and listening to the waves lap up on the sugar fine sand.  With the scent of Ocean and Plumaria mixed together, it was a peaceful and mesmerizing place.

It doesn't get much better.  A beach, a swing and your sister.

   The week went pretty much as planned.  There was a lot of laying around on the beach, soaking up the sun, reading and sleeping.

A little exercise

Cecelia and I did take advantage of the inexpensive Thai massage service.  We both had two during the week.  One at the beginning and one at the end.  Cecelia's second massage was at the beach.  Many of the beaches on Ko Samui have massage stands where you can go and get a massage while listening to the water and feel the tropical breeze that caresses your body at the same time the masseuse does.

Gotta have matching suits

  The only real adventure we had during the week was getting the entire family scuba diving certifications.

Buddies getting ready for open water dive.

We were going to take a snorkeling trip, but when we found out the cost of getting scuba certifications we jumped at the chance.  We had a great time with the Easy Diver Scuba trainers at Lamai Bay.  The first day we did our classwork and pool dives and then the second day we went toward a place called Ko Tao.  The second day the seas were rather rough so we ended up stopping on the leward side of at a rock outcropping in the Thailand sea.

Dive Briefing

We made two dives and the girls got their first experience of scuba diving in the open ocean.

Please have oxygen, oh
Please have oxygen!!!

Cecelia and I got a lot of enjoyment from watching Taylor and Claire become certified divers.  Taylor did a particularly good job.  She learned her hand signals well and communicated with our dive instructor immediately when she was having problems with her ears.

Taylor looking comfortable

Taylor ended up doing the last of her certification at the surface, but not before she dove at about 30 ft. and got to see some of the awesome fish and sea creatures on the bottom.  Unfortunately, the visibility wasn't as good as we had heard about.  The wind had really come up the previous two days and stirred everything up.  Ko Tao is supposed to be famous for the depth of its visibility.  You are supposed to be able see 134 feet.  The dive instructors told us that when we go out to Ko Tao that we had to pay close attention to where he was and don't go below him.

James, James Oetinger!!!

All and all it was a great experience for the entire family.  I thanked Kid especially for making it interesting for all of us.  The two instructors that were with us recognized my previous certification and spent more time with the rest of the family.  It was nice, because I could then instruct and help with Taylor if she didn't understand.  
  We did go on a couple of scooter rides and made a couple of cool discoveries.

I told you it was a huge Buddha

The first was going to The Big Buddha.  It is a temple with exactly as the name describes a Big Buddha.

Claire looks like a Dolphin, Not!!!

I would have called it Ginormous Buddha myself, but I am not a Buddhist.  The other hidden gem that we found was a butterfly garden.  It was amazing and the butterflies were spectacular.  I have included a couple of photos, but the one butterfly I wanted to get a picture of was a black one that was as big as a swallow.

I'm now a dangerous sea creature!!!

 They were huge, but I could never get one to land long enough to get a photo.
 I am adding a number of photos to this blog to show you the beauty of Ko Samui as well.
  Cecelia and I have now put this place at the top of our list for retirement possibilities.

When each of our U.S. dollars is worth 33 Baht, it is hard not to consider this place.  I believe it is more beautiful than Hawaii and not as developed.  You can get a home here for a song.

I told Cecelia that I just want to buy a little island shack and spend my retirement days fixing it up, playing golf and doing activities in the ocean.  I don't think that it would be a half bad lifestyle, do you?
  This next week you can look forward to hearing about The Spring Festival and Chinese New Year.
  See you then, have a great week.