In the Canyon

         We went with Berry and Beth Stratton and a driver, Michael, to get out of the city on Saturday.  We went up into a canyon by a reservoir where we could hike a little and enjoy a fresh fish lunch in the early spring sunshine.

    Our driver oversees operations as our fish is headed for the kitchen.  He asks if we want it served raw or cooked.  We went with cooked.  This is a favorite thing for locals to do.      Michael told us, "You can't read about it in books."  In other words, it isn't advertised for tourists.

The fish is immediately killed and cleaned

Catching the fish Michael chose for us.

Wedding Photograher for Hire

OK, I learned that our little camera can't be turned on its side to take videos. It's easier for you to turn your computer than for me to do what it takes to show it upright.  I almost didn't post this but it's cute. Sorry!  : )

Wedding Parade - 2

More pictures from the wedding:




The groom leads his modest bride to the palanquin, where her face is covered with a red veil.





Then the parade is off again. The chief clown, with gong in hand, was happy to show off for the camera.







The lady pictured seemed to be in charge, telling people what to do, when to stop and start--and dancing all the time in between giving orders.





The ceremony, as we've heard described, is very simple. The bride and groom invoke heaven's blessings, and then bow to their parents and to the north, south, east and west.








The parade made its way back through town, no doubt headed to the dinner.

Wedding Parade

This was SO much fun! An old-style wedding party, complete with musicians, paraded by our apartment yesterday, so we ran down and followed them.



The happy groom rode on horseback to pick up the bride at her apartment building. Musicians and attendants carried banners--the Year of the Dragon--a good year to be married. They danced along the streets to the constant music.



There were firecrackers, of course, and the entertainers danced and clowned around some more while waiting for the bride to come out.



We only got a brief glimpse of her before she was veiled and seated in the palanquin. Then they were off again, through the streets of town.



It was fun, seeing all the onlookers grin happily as they watched or passed by.

Cave Dwellers - Chinese homes

When we took the 2-hour Express Train to Laoluong, we passed green farmlands among small, low cliffs. "What are all those caves?" I kept asking. It looked to us like people lived in them.

Sure enough, it's common. From what we've read, it's the kind of thing this fast developing country would like to improve upon, so cave homes aren't discussed much. They may not want to brag about them, but they're wonderfully sustainable. Rog found this LA Times article today.
Photo: photography-on-the.net

Biking on the Old City Wall - Xi'an

This week we rode bikes up on the Old City Wall. It's 10 miles square, the oldest intact city wall in the world. Here's a map, and other people's pictures. In the early 1980's, most of the ancient wall was re-bricked, and they dredged the moat that surrounds it, and made lovely parks most of the way around.


The Wall is 40' wide at the top, plenty of room for cars, but there are none--just bikers and walkers. This time of year it's been GRAY, but it has warmed up enough that it felt good to get out.

FYI, inside the Wall, it's business as usual, with traffic, and apartment buildings, stores (Walmart, etc.) and government offices. It does hold several major landmarks because Xi'an was China's capital for 13 dynasties.




Afterwards, we took a bike-cab home. That's an adventure all by itself!

Back to Work

It's pretty amazing. Everyone in China is on the move during the New Year holiday. A HUGE migration.

Train rides for our students can be 19-24 hours, standing up because they couldn't buy a seat. Of course, some live closer to Xi'an or can afford airfare, but most do not.

(Our classrooms are new and nice. The heat is turned off on March 15, but students are used to wearing their coats in class.)

Amanda DeLange

This is Amanda. She has been a mainstay in our branch. An amazing woman, the one who founded Starfish Foster Home; we wrote about it here. While we were traveling we learned that Amanda had gone to the doctor with some problems. In fact, she was hospitalized. It's not good. It's not good at all. She's having chemotherapy. After our trip we told her we had learned to make Thai food and she asked us for some, so that's what we did on Wednesday.

Bankok English Speaking Ward

Nice to be in a normal church meeting in a country where we're allowed to talk about the Gospel.

Actually, there are Thai speaking wards, but this one was English speaking, so members were from Cambodia, India, England, USA, China, Ghana, etc.

The Gospel is so new in these countries that these people are pioneers. Touching stories of their faith. One man drove for two hours with his sons to get to church. One family fled their country because the father's life was threatened, one of their sons kidnapped, etc. He had to abandon his prosperous business and escape with his wife and children.

Lijiang

On our winter travels we were out in the old city of Lijiang, on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau.  You can see the mountains in the background.  Wonderfully picturesque!

Fish for Dinner

Our last day in Krabi, Thailand before heading to Bangkok and "home" to Xi'an.

We docked on the bank of the river at one of the fish farms. We could choose our fish--grouper and crab--and they cooked it and served it for us right there. Yummy!

One of the men pulled a blow fish out of the water and we watched it puff up right before our eyes. I was worried at first that he expected us to choose it for dinner, but he was just entertaining us.

Koh Phi Phi

From Krabi we took a cruise for a pleasant day trip to beautiful Koh Phi Phi islands, where we could swim and snorkel. The popular destination meant lots of boats and lots of people, but it was still gorgeous scenery.