Spring-Like

Yesterday was the first spring-like day we've had in a while; so some of us headed to West Lake for a friend's birthday to enjoy the weather and ride the boats. Unfortunately, in true spring-like fashion, it rained in the afternoon.
Below: With my friend Sky

And, apparently, no price is too high for that perfect wedding picture... Yes, she is sitting on the dock... in the rain... in her wedding dress.

First Week Back

Matt's classes started Monday; and although Amy's classes haven't begun yet, her students are trickling back with their suitcases in tow. Already, we've had some great lunches and hang-out times with some old friends, as well as some new ones!

We came into this semester really anticipating and hoping for a great first week, and we definitely feel like we've gotten it!

I know we're all familiar with the "old-fashioned" taffy-making machines of Gatlinburg. But something tells me that this Chinese method was around a bit before their time.

Home, Sweet Home

We are back at our house in China and very glad about it! Matt's classes start on Monday, and Amy's classes start on February 23. Still no students around, but they should begin arriving on Saturday. We are looking forward to seeing your friends again as they make their way back to the campuses in town.

Still in Western China...

We've added a few pictures to the photo album. Click on the picture to see more!

If it doesn't work, click this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/shortames/Desktop#slideshow

Western China

We may be stuck here in Western China, but not all is lost. It's nice to see a very different part of the country. And... Matt was happy to see one of his lifelong dreams come true during our bike ride through the mountains today...

A first-hand encounter with a water buffalo! :-) Seriously, he was VERY excited.

Oh, China...

After a really good time of relaxation and renewal, we flew back into country today, although not to our hometown. We are in the west part of China. We have been planning for the past several months to visit a good friend in his village to meet his family. We spent a great deal of the past few weeks planning and buying train and plane tickets (as his village is about 1200 miles from where we live). Imagine our surprise when we landed in China and gave him a call to learn that he is not home, nor will he be returning home before school begins! So, here we are in the west part of China with train tickets to his hometown and no plane tickets out until 9 days later; and, yes, we already tried and are unable to change them at a feasible rate. Oh, China...

Luckily, the west part of the country is lovely with lots of mountains around. In other good news, we are not really upset with our friend, as his reason for being away from home is very admirable and exciting to us. And, as we sat on a bus getting this information by text message, we realized how much China has mellowed us. Never before, and in no other country, would we have shrugged off the news with a laugh!