wrapping up April, for the record

Zoom, zoom - there went that month! April was the month that we busted out of our shells and went all over the place. (Or to be more accurate, I guess I should say that since I tend to be the more, um inertially disposed person in the relationship, this is the month that Jane busted us out of our shells and we went all over the place.) Oh, and that post back there in the middle of the month promising many more photos and blog posts and stuff because we were going to have plenty of time from here on out? I lied...

So for all of you chronologically minded folks that are keeping score out there, here's a quick April roundup. (Better bookmark this post, because it's all you're going to get...) The first weekend in April, we took an express train to nearby Nanchong, where we met with other MPC teachers for an Easter gathering and retreat. Highlights: A hike up a small mountain to a cool Buddhist temple, an outdoor tea house laid out on red astroturf by a riverbank, fresh baked breakfast goodies and reflection with our colleagues, and hundreds of people staring at the kids in a very old amusement park.

The next weekend included a very brief meetup with Ellen, a college friend of mine that I hadn't seen in over twenty years. She's in Hong Kong for the year with her family, and we managed to squeeze in an hour or two visit (right after the pandas) during their rock star tour of China. (Don't worry, we'll hear more from them momentarily...)

The next morning was a trip to a moon bear sanctuary to see bears that have been rescued from Chinese bear farms. An amazing organization worthy of a much longer post - more information here.

The middle of next week? Sports days at our college. Which meant classes canceled, which meant we hopped onto a twisty windy bus for six hours for a trip to Kanding, a small town on the border of the Tibetan area of Sichuan. Highlights: Hikes through trails covered in prayer flags, yak butter tea, some amazing people, a family horse ride above a high mountain lake, open air billiards, and only one episode of altitude / motion sickness. (this from Ysa, occurring on my lap two hours into the bus ride on the way back. She still asks me, "Daddy, 'member the time I got car sick on you?" with a giggle. Oh yeah, laugh it up, kid, laugh it up...)

The weekend after that was fairly uneventful, with good wind for kite flying if I remember correctly. Oh, and it was the fiftieth anniversary of Xihua University, which meant that the students were encouraged to participate in all manner of ceremonies, exhibitions, and commemeretive activities, which in turn meant that the traditional three day weekend over May Day was extended to a four day weekend, which meant - hey, wow, we could go visit Ellen in Hong Kong before she goes back to the States! A couple of quick emails and a few checks online for plane fares and before you could say, "There goes the kids' college tuition!", it was decided.

So that brings us to the present, at least kinda sortof. We just got back tonight from a quite wonderful four days in Hong Kong. I'm spending a small bit of time updating the blog instead of planning a lesson for class at ten tomorrow morning, so you'll have to wait a bit longer for more details and photos and so on.