8 April 2011 ~ Dalian for the Day

Today Katy, April and I hopped on the kuai gui and headed to Dalian for a day of play in the city.

No matter where you are in the world...

April in Victory Plaza, Dalian

Katy took us to one of her favorite street food halls and led us down this huge isle introducing us to all the different ethnic foods she adores.

The noodles are looking pretty tasty.

April and Katy

Kimberly and April

These two ladies grabbed April, sat her right down, and started serving up all kinds of delicious food. I love the smile on April's face.

Chinese version of a donut.

Ràng wǒ mén kāi shǐ chī ba!

Big fat noodles...yum!

Pastry with rice inside...delicious!

More noodles

These looked good, until we got a closer look...

Chicken embryos : /

Ahhh, these look better. The fresh strawberries here in China are divine!

Outdoor produce market behind Victory Plaza.

Cherries

Now that's one heck of a durian fruit! Wouldn't want to be around when that one is cracked open! Can you say nose plug?

We hopped in a tiny little taxi with only three wheels to take us to Xinghai Square in Dalian. The driver instantly took us out into oncoming traffic! It was a good thing that car was so small!

Our baby blue taxi

The beach at Qinghai Square

Being silly

We rented this adorable bike.

Katy had never driven before, so April and I gave here a crash course...literally!

She was so adorable trying to figure out which way to turn the wheel in order to go in the direction she wanted. We laughed so much, we cried!

Seals doing their show for the tourists.

Whoohoo!

Ferris Wheel

Theme Park along the sea

Not a very clear day...

We had a hard time saying goodbye to our new little ride, we loved her so!

She even has a cute little personality. Look at that face.

Here's your sign:

Where's Prince Charming???

I loved spending the day with Katy and April.

They are two of my dearest friends here at DAIS. : )

7 April 2011 ~ Rural to Urban

Our second grade China Unit here at DAIS is entitled Rural to Urban and I can't think of a better place to teach this concept than right here in LongShan Valley. It's a harsh reality unfolding right here in our midst. We took our students to the Wolong Bay Visitors Center which has a model of what this area will look like in the next 10 years. Along the way, we stopped to witnesses the changes first hand.

This whole area, just east of our school, used to be a mountain. There are still a few houses left, but the landscape around them now resembles something like the moon.WoLong Bay Visitor CenterModel of what our area will look like in 10 years

It all looks very impressive...until you step outside and see what is being removed to make way for the development.These houses will soon be buried.

We walked the kids out into the neighborhood that will soon be either demolished or buried underground. You can see that there are still homes, but they now sit atop a man-made mesa.

People are still holding out and living in the homes.

This woman is harvesting oyster shells to use as fertilizer.

Hard to believe that this little farm will be replaced by skyscrapers.

This was once a fishing village.

Juxtaposition of the old and the new...Here are our second grade classes with Ms. Gill. She has been here in JinShiTan for the last five years, so she has seen tremendous change and was a wonderful tour guide.

The bus drivers then took us through the fishing villages that still remain.

Hard to tell in this picture, but this overlooks WoLong Bay...those little dots are fishing boats.We certainly learned a lot about progress AND compassion today.

6 April 2011 ~ The Four Seasons

Summer

Autumn

Winter

Spring...hey, where did the trees go???

5 April 2011 ~ Abundant Lighters

Lighters abandoned by travelers before going through security at the Beijing Airport...just a few people smoke here in China!

4 April 2011 ~ Signs of Beijing

This one was in our shower at the hotel in Beijing. Do you think they meant to say, "Slippery When Wet?"

Just simply funny...love the teeth.I've heard of a Four Star Hotel, but...Something one must get used to while traveling through China is the guttural sound of people bringing up phlegm from the depths of their soul and rocketing it through the air...no matter where you are inside or out.