Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I think the Canadians have the date right - yellow leaves falling, crisp air, sunny afternoons.
Given that I'm the only canuck on our Lhasa team, I decided to invite some friends to a Canadian Thanksgiving! Of course, there are no turkeys in Lhasa (if not all of China, except for the human kind...) so off I go to buy a few fresh chickens. This meant a bike ride to 2 BaiYi supermarkets, and the local outdoor vegetable & meat market; after only finding 2 chickens, I locked my bike and took the bus downtown to 2 more BaiYi stores and the large Potala Market (more on that on another post). Since most vendors only kill and pluck one chicken at a time, I had to settle for 2 fresh and one frozen chickens, complete with heads and feet.

    This is a large market 2 km from our school.

The ladies thought I was crazy taking photos. Yes, those are live chickens, ducks, fish, fresh pig hooves, and a tub of turtles. I wonder which of the hens will be next?    I bought this one: she weighed it, then cleaned it and wrapped it in a bag..

Guess what this is! An electric de-featherer! Those rubber plugs vibrate as the whole drum rotates.

At home, I inspect the feet - very plump!

         But off came the head and feet.      

I couldn't resist - almost time for Hallowe'en.

I had to decorate the room, then stuffed and cooked the chickens for 3 hours. (I didn't remember to ask someone to take photos of me on my chair basting the birds).

 And - tada! Thanksgiving Feast, complete with gravy, stuffing, Tibetan Plum sauce, and Chris' apple pie. Others brought potatoes, beans, buns and squash casserole.

Of course, Thanksgiving isn't complete without soup the next day... delicious if I do say so!

Thanks for being part of my Thanksgiving, because I am very thankful for my family and friends and the one who created this wonderful world!

Sunday Picnic out of Lhasa

We boarded a #15 bus and wound through narrow streets,

past cows and street sweepers,

to the last house at the end of the line.

 We wander through fields, already harvested,
(can you see the Potala in the background?)

along a path dotted with boulders

across a stream strewn with prayer flags,

Even a yak was afraid of us.

But the cows were curious.

Then back down again,

Ah, what a relaxing day, quoting Ps. 36:5-6; and Ps. 121

Leaving the yak to enjoy his grass.

Beautiful students

Sept 17th, 2013
Beautiful students! I have 30 third year students, and 29 first year students.

Did you know that Tibetans don’t have family names? Many children are named after a day of the week plus one or two syllables from a small bank of names. Fortunately I don’t have any duplicates in my class, but 2 Bai, 2 Ci, and a few Dan Zongs. They speak very quietly, and gently giggle when I massacre their names. They really aren't as unhappy as the photos shows - they are just shy.
The overhead projector is unfortunately not useable, but chalk board is large! This class has all their subjects in this room - the instructors come to them. They stay in the same class for 3 years, so know each other quite well, often better than their family.

These 2 boys were in a ceremony to dedicate a statue of Confucius.

Ten Things You can do with Duct Tape

Sept 14th
Yup, we have extolled the wonders of duct tape for years. One year ELIC Camp China did a skit on duct tape...
Well, I've found 10 ways to use it in my apartment!
Duct tape held the window above the door together, until they fixed it this week - no more flies! Yeh! (The duct tape still holds the internet wire, though).

 Bathroom sink no longer leaks!

The original, inside door has a broken lock, so duct tape keeps me from getting locked inside. Fortunately there is a strong outside metal door - very safe!

Laundry day. Actually it looks better now with cute towels.

Yup, the hose broke apart on the washer, but it now works fine!

 Duct tape keeps the water from leaking onto the hallway floor. (In case you haven't used squatty potties before - this is also my toilet.)  I'm looking for a new nozzle for my hand held shower.....

 Duct tape holds the wires together outside my window. (Do you see the purple exercise equipment used as a clothes line?)

Yeh! now I can keep my kitchen floor dry, with a little duct tape on the drain!
Last night the hose from the propane tank to the burners came loose (with a loud hissing so I asked Chris to ask a neighbour to look at it - the neighbour was happy to reconnect it and check with a match!) so now it is held in place with a piece of duct tape too!

Another piece of duct tape also holds the hinges on my bed, but I'm not tempting fate by opening it for a picture..
How many ways can you use duct tape???

Aug 26 My Apartment

Aug 26 Lhasa Teachers’ College.
Welcome to my residence!

My 3^rd floor apartment is cozy and interestingly furnished by years of teachers. This morning I bought bleach, unclogged the vacuum cleaner and filled a pail with cement dust. The squatty potty is so narrow I can clean it and the sink while I shower! The kitchen has 2 propane burners, a small fridge, a microwave;  and the wide window brings in beautiful south light. I think I’ll spend a lot of time reading on my bed in the sunlight. You can see the Potala in the distance.The last picture is the view as you step into my front door (yes, that's plain cement - easy to sweep and the water from the shower sits in puddles there. The WC was added quite a few years ago (hence the sliding glass doors which are thinner than 10" cement walls)- there are still outside washrooms next door which were used before they installed inside plumbing!

Each morning I awake to marching music over the loudspeaker of the middle school across the canal. I make oatmeal or eggs each morning, then have lunch in the teachers cafeteria.  I'm getting used to the propane stove and have made a few dinners; often Chris and I go to one of the tiny restaurants outside the gate.

Things you see in the post office

 Well, actually, this was a package in the local Wumart.

 Yes, you can buy a sub-health digital rehabilitation Apparatus at the post office!

 And this was on the shelf below....

Jiaozi made fresh in the hut near our hotel. Yum!

We've arrived in Beijing

 We've arrived! Home of 22 million people (most with cars!) The Beijing RuYi Business Hotel will be our home for 4 weeks. Erika is a great room mate.

The latest styles: lots of pink, and "Beijing bellies" (it was 90*)

While getting used to the subway, we found a friendly (or not so friendly) chess game. Back to classes! We are taking Asian Culture and Communication, TEFL Methodology, and Classroom Dynamics from Wheaton College