Beach Treasures

Mo' money, mo' money. If sand dollars were actual currency, we'd have $22.
But my favorite beach treasures are the miniature hermit crabs. Who says bigger is better?



And my dad? Well, he's still out there catching treasures...


And tomorrow it's back to reality...

In the name of Vacation...

Bea is bored. Capital B-O-R-E-D. I don't think we will be bringing her back until she has learned how to swim, is tall enough to stand in 2 feet of water, is old enough to understand that sand is not her enemy, and has learned to go without TV for more than a day at a time. I have learned, however, that my child is intuitive enough to work an iPad. Or else the iPad is intuitive enough for a 21 month old to use. However you want to look at it is fine... Either way, she is addicted. She has been furiously slicing fruit, popping bubbles, and talking to Tom the Talking Cat. She still refuses to let her feet touch the sand.

Yesterday I hid the DVD player, insisted that my mom and sister put away the iPads, and tried to force Bea outside. Yeah, we were all pretty much miserable. By 10 a.m. the iPads were back. By 4 p.m. my mother was begging for the DVD player. And her feet never touched sand. "But it's vacation... Let her do it."

She is also filled to the brim with candy and other sugary treats, like soda. And we wonder why she can't sit still. But, then again, it is vacation.

Don't Bust a Nut...

What do the Lamb family, a tire iron, and a bunch of old coconuts have in common?

Remember to KEE LEF

I used to think that our cousins the Brits were the only ones who drove on the "wrong" side of the road. But three years ago I realized that the UK wasn't the only island nation to do so. Japan also drives on the left, which is completely understandable since they read backwards as well. ;-) But now I can add the Bahamas to that illustrious list of left-hand-right road warriors. Ali, we could seriously use your skills anytime we go out. (And you wouldn't even have to worry about getting pulled over for a burned-out tail light. I don't think anyone here cares.) Zach is the only one brave enough to drive the predator van, and my mother occasionally yells from the 4th row backseat, "You're on the wrong side of the road, hon!" when he occasionally drifts right. Who needs a sign when you have Ella?

Check out our sweet ride. --->

Imagine cruzin' the island in that beaut. Just so you can get the full mental picture, this is what you would look like from behind, wind in your hair (because there is no A/C) and interior ceiling fabric flapping in the cool island breeze:


Or perhaps you prefer the backseat:


Or, if you visit one of the outlying cays, cars are passe. Instead, here is what you get:


Even Bea was itching to drive it. Although we need to teach her to keep her eyes on the road.

Bahama Mama Day One (and Day Two...)

6 months of planning. 1 week of packing. 4 a.m. alarm. 7 hour trip. 1 gate at the Bahamas airport. 2 immigration officers. 1 circa 1990 Dodge van.

And we are here...

I almost thought we wouldn't make it. Our rented van looked like we could have outright bought it for what we paid to rent it for the week. We thought we might find a few day laborers taking a siesta inside the van, which is apparently held together with (literally) duct tape and thumb tacks. I guess vehicles are hard to come by on Abaco Island. Correction: running vehicles. The good news is, if our van breaks down, there are about a dozen abandoned cars and trucks littering the 20-mile stretch of wilderness between here and the Marsh Harbor airport that we could scavenge for parts.

But when I really thought we were in trouble was when I saw this:

Instead of a GPS, or hell, even Mapquest directions to our villa, Mandy had a compass and a road-less map of the island printed off the internet. A compass. The original GPS. GPS 1.0.

But we made it.

And it was raining.

Now, rain was a welcome sight for our sore, drought-plagued Texas eyes. But perhaps the faction of our party that just experienced flooding in Tennessee would argue otherwise. The sound of rain on the rooftop and the ocean lapping on the beach just outside our window made for a restful night's sleep. And in the morning we were welcomed by a rainbow!

The house itself wasn't quite what we expected. But then again, when has a rental house ever really been exactly as advertised? The back story behind this trip, for those of you who don't know, is that Zach bid on and won this trip at a charity auction for Hand in Paw. We were told that this house "rents for $8,000 a week." I think the truth behind that statement is more like this: someone, somewhere, at a charity auction got MORE drunk than Zach and bid $8,000 on a trip. I hope that man (and we know it HAD to be a man) lived the beating his wife gave him and actually got to come and enjoy his little slice of paradise. The house is lovely and clean. The towels match and look somewhat new. The kitchen is amply stocked with pots, pans, cooking utensils, dishes, and glasses- only some of which look cast-off like you would expect to find in a rental beach house. The view is spectacular! But admittedly $8,000 is a stretch!

Speaking of what things cost, milk is $8 a gallon. Yes, this was a shock for us Texans who are used to complaining that milk is $2.49 a gallon at Target, up from last year's sales of $0.99 a gallon. My brother, however, who lives on an island, would not find this unusual. Anyone want to take a guess at what a Dairy Queen ice cream cake cost at the local grocery store? If you guessed $59.00, you were right.

This morning the rain broke long enough to enjoy a little time on the beach, taking a walk and talking to the neighbors. We waded out to a sandbar and found a gigantic starfish. Bea found the first sand dollar. There are conch shells galore. Grampy set up his salt water fly rod, and Grammy (predictably) did laundry. Here are a few photos:

Questions Answered... maybe

A Japanese science class

So, you guys actually asked me questions this time when you posted on the blog. Cool! Now I have a little direction on what to write about. So, here we go:

Felicity asked:
"Don't you wish the students here were as well behaved as the ones in China? I do, sometimes. But the uniforms were hideous. Seriously."

Answer:
Yes. I wish you guys did behave better. Here's my question to you. Why don't you? Several of you made comments on the behavior of the kids, and even mentioned that you wished American teenagers were better behaved. That's totally in your control. Don't get me wrong- the Japanese kids that I visited yesterday seemed to be having a lot of fun at school. But they also worked hard. They laughed and smiled and joked. They were probably the giggliest group of girls I had ever met. We had about a 45 minute talk with a group of about 20 Japanese juniors and seniors. They were fantastic. They were really interested in American teenaers- especially in the whole concept of dating. Japanese teenagers don't really "date." At least not in the American sense of the word. (Oh, and Mrs. Davis, they don't have a prom either!) They have group "dates" and group study sessions with both boys and girls. And this leads into another question that you asked:



Venacia asked:
Also, are sports important in their school, the way it is in our school?

Answer:
Sports (and clubs) are considered important, but in a very different way. First, I think it's important to point out that joining 2 or 3 (or 6) different clubs and playing more than one sport is a concept that does not exisit in Japan, like it does at our school. Think about how many of you guys are in multiple clubs- Beta Club, Anchor Club, SGA, FCA- and then play one sport in the fall and another in the spring. Well, the Japanese consider clubs and sports to be part of their students' "moral education." They believe you should choose one thing and focus your energy on being good at that sport or committing yourself to that club, not spreading yourself thin over many different activities. In contrast, American students try and fill their resumes with as many different things as possible. It's an argument of quanity vs. quality. What do you guys think about that?



Oh, and let me point out that I was told in China that art was not considered an important subject. Slap in the face to me. But it's different here in Japan. The fine arts (and especially music, Mrs. Pace and Mr. Gipson!) are considered very important subjects. In fact, it's part of the core curriculum. Both art and music. Kids have to take, and test, in both.

Estzer asked about the government in China and Japan, paritcularly about the Emperor.

Answer:
China no longer has an Emperor. Japan has an Emperor and a Prime Minister. The Emperor is like the Queen in England, just a figure head. The Prime Minister is like the President. I think I have that right, but I will ask some of the history teachers tomorrow.

Spencer asked me about sucicide rate in Japan. I will try and ask the guide about that tomorrow and get back to you on that. I know they have such a thing as "Sudden Death" which is where overworked adults either committ sucicide or have heart attacks/strokes. A lot of times the families will then sue the companys.

Lastly, you asked me to look up Lolitas and J-Rockers. I will look that up now. I would almost bet that Mrs. Brock and I have pictures of both!

I did ask the kids to write down the names of the bands that they listened to, so that I could take the list and go and buy some CDs for us to listen to in class. The first band they said was Green Day. I told them that you guys would be so mad if I went to Japan and all I brought you back was a Green Day CD! So here are some of the bands they suggested: Rad Wimps, Bump of Chicken, SMAP, Perfume, Hyde, Aiko, and L'arc~en~Ciel. Do you know any of these bands? I bet Priscilla Han does!
And Felicity Swafford!

Well, to close today, I will leave you with a cool photo. It's not artistically the prettiest photo, but there is a neat story behind it. We brought a lunch to eat on the bus yesterday before visiting the high school, but we arrived early enough that we voted to have a picnic lunch. It was a bit warm, and some of the teachers wanted to stay on the bus to eat. But a few of us got off the bus and were going to take our lunches to a nearby park. On the way to the park we came into a clearing and there was an old Shinto shrine. There was no one around, so we sat on the steps of the old shrine and ate our noodle bowls. For those of you who don't know what Shinto is, it's the native Japanese religion. To worship at a Shinto shrine is very easy. You just walk up to the shrine, bow twice, clap your hands twice to alert the kami (the spirit that lives in the shrine) of your presence, pray and ask the kami for your wish, and then you bow one last time. Tada!

China Catch Up

I haven't posted to the blog in a few days, and there is so much to catch everyone up on... at least all the adults reading. If the kids are actually reading this, they aren't posting!

Environmental Issues
Mrs. Long asked me to check into the environmental issues of each of the areas. Well, now that I am out of China, I am a little more uninhibited about what I can say. I think Beijing would make a fascinating environmental study- the effect of the recent Olympics on the environment. I got the real impression that China didn't want to loose face during the 2008 Olympic Games. They underwent massive changes in their intrastructure. I believe that before the Olympics there were 2 highways that ran through Beijing. Now there are 8. (Don't quote my exact numbers, but you get the general idea). They converted all their buses from diesel to natural gas. They planted "green spaces" all over the city, and while we were there we witnessed them digging up those green spaces. (Such as in Tienemin Square).




If you look closely at this photo you will see that all the trees are in plastic buckets, like when you first buy them from the nursery. (If you don’t see what I am talking about, look closely behind the couple who are getting their picture taken under the huge portrait of Mao. Remember, if you click on the photo, you can enlarge it.) What I didn’t get to show you, but really wish I had, was a photo of the guards and the workers who were digging the trees up out of the ground and loading them onto a waiting flatbed truck. As they lifted the trees out of the ground, they still had the brown burlap wrapped around their root balls. It was obvious they never intended to keep the trees there. It was all show for the Olympics. During the Games, the farmers in the surrounding area went through an extreme drought because they were diverting all the water into Beijing. If there is one thing this country can’t afford to loose it's a crop of food.

Beijing has taken some other measures to become more eco-friendly. They instituted a traffic law that only allows you to drive 4 out of the 5 days of the working week. It’s all according to the last digit of your social security number. On your “off” driving day, you are encouraged to share a ride, use the subway, bus, bike, or walk. It’s not hard in this city, since you have all forms of public transportation available. Bikes share the road equally with cars. In some places they have their own full-sized (or over-sized, even) lanes. In other places bikes and cars and trucks coexist in the same lanes and intersections and traffic jams. So the problem isn’t that there aren’t ample and economical options available for transportation other than cars. The problem is the sheer number of people. I’ve seen hundreds, nay, thousands of bikes and scooters since I have been in China. They are everywhere, parked crammed into any and every available space. They litter the sidewalks. And, in all reality, they don’t use them to be green- like, say, the residents of Portland, Oregon or similar. No. They use them because that’s what they can afford.

I would take this opportunity to talk about the price of gas in China, but I haven’t seen a gas station with Western numbers on the sign, yet.

But since we are talking about pollution, the environment, and the Olympics, let me post an interesting photo. Witness the Bird’s Nest on a typical Beijing Friday:
---OK, so I wrote this and went back to insert the photos, and I realized I couldn’t get them off my camera. I have an 8-minute video of the Chattanooga teachers eating seahorses on a stick in the market and a 45-minute video of a lecture by a famous Beijing calligrapher (the same one who painted the Olympics characters). For whatever reason, my camera doesn’t want to let go of the videos and the pictures that came after them…--- I will upload my horrible photo of the Bird's Nest later. It's so hazy, you can barely see it in the distance.

I don’t want anyone to really get the impression that I am dogging China too much. The truth is, they are a wonderfully rich culture full of interesting (and very nice) people. But they certainly do have their problems. The environment (despite their efforts- or the appearance of) is one of them.

Speaking of rick and interesting culture, let me post a few nice photos before I go to bed. These came from a hudong- a traditional Chinese neighborhood.





Tomorrow we go to visit a Japanese middle school and a high school. When I get back to the room tomorrow, I will try to report back on man purses, fashion, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the temple of Heaven, the list goes on and on!

Good night for now!

Compare and Contrast

So, Andy asked a good question. Goofy, but good. He asked if I was the tallest person here. Haha. Google Yao Ming. Anyway, I will interpret this question to mean, “Do the Chinese fit the stereotype?” Well, that depends… Today let me tell you about my visit to the Jingshan School.

Jingshan is a K-12 magnet school in the heart of Beijing. I sat through two classes today- one English class and one Chinese class. Here are some of the differences I noticed. For starters, the kids stay in the same room, and the teachers move from class to class. (Bingo! No tardies!) The rooms in this school were old, but clean. Paint was peeling off the walls, yet they all had Smart Boards (or the Chinese version, at least).

When the teacher was ready to start class, all the kids stood up. The teacher greeted the students, and then the students all greeted the teacher in unison. The kids raised their hands to speak, and when their teacher called them on, they stood up to answer. They did not chit chat in class. They all looked like they were paying attention- even if they weren’t. They get an hour’s free time on campus in the afternoon unsupervised (yes, unsupervised). Oh, and there is no detention. I asked the teacher about cell phones in class. She said, “They have them, but are not permitted to use them in class.” Ah, but do they? She said it is rare that she sees a kid texting in class, and when she does catch one, she just has to remind them that it is the school policy not to use them in class, and the kid puts it away. She said she doesn’t have repeat offenders. Hmmmm… I want some of you to think about that. She said they do not have to discipline many kids. When they do, their homeroom teacher acts as a guidance counselor and calls them in privately to discuss their behavior. If this doesn’t work, the school calls the parents and that stops the bad behavior. Because of this, they get very far with their studies. To be fair, she did say that not all Beijing schools are like this. Some schools do have behavior issues, and the students’ grades on the entrance exams reflect it.

To illustrate, check out this photo of the Chinese kids about 2 seconds after the teacher told them to read a passage in their book:


How are teenagers in China like American teenagers? Well, take a look at this kid’s desk in homeroom:



Also, they hate their uniforms. The teachers say the kids complain about them. A lot. They remind me of basketball warm-ups. (Which, btw, they are obsessed with the NBA here.) Look at them. Recognize those colors from anywhere? Despite the fact that they complain, they ALL wear the uniform, and the teachers have no problem getting the students to comply.

Speaking of basketball, look at this guy’s shoes. Number 23. Do you remember who was #23 in basketball? Michael Jordan.



For those curious readers who have been following my man bag story, I did ask Li (the Jingshan teacher I ate dinner with tonight) about them. She said that Chinese men are tender and show their affection by carrying their girlfriend’s purse. But then I asked her about all the guys who were not with girlfriends, yet still had the purse. Her reaction? “Men do that?!” My reaction? “Well, have you taken a look around lately?!” She said she would get back to me on that one. News at 11.

Also, I asked her about the crazy hair on all the guys. I don’t think I mentioned this in my blog before, but all the guys here have this bizarre, sticky uppy sort of hair. I can’t tell if it’s on purpose or just a really bad case of bed-head. Or a cowlick. I will post a picture after I get some good ones from Mrs. Brock. Anyway, Li’s explanation was that a few years ago Japanese and Korean TV shows became very popular with Chinese youth. This is a very popular haircut in Japan and Korea, and has since become popular here. I have a feeling I can get some really great hair pictures next week when I go to Japan.

Send me some more questions. I would love to answer them! Start thinking about questions for the kids and teachers in Japan. Students, by the time you read this again, that is where I will be. Teachers and family, send me questions anytime! (Oh, and Mrs. Long, wait until you see the photos I took of the biology lab at Jingshan!)

I want to end this post with a little reminder to all you out there in CHS cyber-space: MRS. KIDWELL IS READING THIS BLOG, TOO. If you don’t know what it means when someone types out all uppercase letters, go ask Coach Shaw.

Rules for Shopping

This morning we headed out to an old “restored” fishing village just outside of Shanghai. Tongli was not exactly what I had anticipated. I thought it would be sort of like Williamsburg- people in period costumes reenacting an old way of life in the name of preservation. Instead, it turned out to be more like Gatlinburg- a beautiful setting with lots of potential and lots of crap for sale. Don’t get me wrong. I bought my fair share of crap this morning while wandering through town. But I didn’t like how you were bombarded by shop people calling out, “Hello! Hello! You like? Hello!” It got a little old if you were just in the mood to window shop. It also reminded me a little of “Welcome to Moe’s!”


Rule No. 1: It is the custom here to bargain for prices. Our tour leaders said to offer the store keepers 10% of what they were asking. I have a hard time doing that. Yesterday, a lady offered me two terracotta figurines for 50 yuan. I offered her 30 yuan (which is way more than 10%). She laughed in my face, and said, “No, lady. I offer you best price I got.” Like a fool, and afraid I had insulted her, I forked over the 50 yuan (which is equalivent to like $7). Today Mrs. Brock and I found the same stinking figurines for 5 yuan a piece! When the woman told us the price, I got mad, didn’t say anything, and walked away. She followed us shouting, “No good? I give you cheap! 3 yuan! 3 yuan!” So, that’s the secret. No matter how interested you are in whatever the wares may be, you walk away. Fear of missing a sale will cause them to follow you. And if they don’t, there is another vendor just around the corner selling the EXACT same thing who is willing to offer you a better price.

Rule No. 2: You have to be careful. A better price doesn’t necessarily mean that you got a good deal. I’m still learning how to negotiate in the markets here (and can’t wait to get to Japan where you don’t have to bargain!). Today I walked into a shop where the man carved some sort of nut into beads shaped like Buddha heads and made them into bracelets. I absolutely loved them. I asked him how much, and (not speaking English) he pulled out his calculator and typed in “680” meaning it cost 680 yuan. That’s like $115, so of course I said, “Boo ya,” which means “don’t want.” (Boo ya isn’t spelled “boo ya,” by the way. That’s just how I remember how to say it.) The next store I went in had the same beads. The man who ran the shop and I went back and forth until we agreed on the price of 215 yuan, which is like $35. Much better price! When I got to lunch, I realized they were plastic. I was so caught up in the moment, excited that I was bargaining, that I didn’t pay attention to the quality of what I was buying. Buyer beware.



On a different shopping front, we flew to Beijing today. Out hotel is just off Tiananmen Square and adjacent to a huge pedestrian mall. Right on the corner, just outside our hotel door, is a McDonalds. Yeeeessssss!!!! I had not eaten much since my potatoes and spaghetti for breakfast- yes, spaghetti, don’t ask- so I was starving. I ate two large fries and a chocolate milkshake for dinner. It was heaven!





Then a few of us went walking through the shops.

Rule No. 3: Always carry your man bag. It truly is a cultural phenomenon here! And I got confirmation that they are not just carrying their girlfriends’ purses. I saw several groups of all guys, and many of them had very feminine looking man purses. Granted, many of them also had small versions of the messenger bag, but I did spy several pink leather knock-off purses as well. Let’s play I Spy, shall we? Let’s see if you can spot the man bags in the pictures below:













Here are a few more pictures from today: