We've been in Beijing now for a while and I still don't feel completely settled. I work more than ever here, which I guess it's a good thing and I should feel lucky to have a job given our world's economy right now. Anyways, I just don't seem to have the time to explore all the places to shop and buy things that we need. I just need to do more nesting...
So the other week, I joined the Beijing Organic Consumers group on Yahoo and have found out about a marvelous way to get Organic groceries! Organic Farm, Ltd. has been in operation since 2000 and they send you groceries every week. Twice a week if you want it! It includes most veggies, fruits, dairy, grains, and eggs. So that's how we'll be getting most of our groceries from now on.
This is a sort of luxury we could never afford in the US, but in China with the way labor is, it's very feasible. And I have the comfort of knowing we are eating healthy because in Beijing when we go out to restaurants, which is 4-5 times a week, we don't know the quality of the produce they cook with.
Also, I'm going to the Green Cow Organic Farm Festival this afternoon to do more research about the green food movement in Beijing and maybe pick up a few groceries, soaps, etc.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Orang Utans in Borneo
The hotel we stayed at was attached to an Animal Reserve that helps rehabilitate orphaned or injured Orang Utans. We got to see four out of the seven three year olds they had. We watched them for almost an hour. Here are some of the highlights. They moved with so much ease in the trees and really resembled humans in their facial expressions, humor, body language, and emotions. There was one named Yoda who's big thrill was just get on tree limbs and just swing and generate momentum. He would often crash into branches but you'd find him a few minutes later doing the same thing a few trees over. They stayed mostly above our viewing platform, well aware they were on show. The tour guide for this adventure works with them on a regular basis and so one particular ham stayed close to him, hugged him, and climbed over him as he held on like she was a baby. I got the "mommies" for sure as their faces are like infants. Oh those eyes....
Often, orphaned Orang Utans (wow, that's some good alliteration) will overly show their affection by clinging to each other as they would their mother (sometimes for up to 7 years). Here are two babies trying to get the upper hand in grabbing and holding on to each other.
Look closely, yogis, the Orang Utan is in Yogi Nidrasana!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Pictures of the clouds
Here are some pictures of the clouds I talked about the other day. The sun was behind a set of clouds and somehow the rays were angled to make these beautiful neon streaks. The camera doesn't quite capture the light, but it's still just so remarkable that these colors are found in nature.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Flora and Fauna
Yesterday we decided to go on an organized tour of Mount Kinabalu Park (where the tallest mountain in Southeast Asia is) and to Poring Hot Springs for a dip in hot springs and a rainforest canopy tour.
First off, I'm sick. I got Chase's cold and so I slept almost all of the 2 hour journey to the Hot Springs. We first stopped off at a village. And here's a cool pic from the village market. They love their salted fish.
Next we arrived at the hot springs only to find it super packed with Malays on vacation. It's the end of Ramadan and a couple of nights ago was Eid-Il-fitr so there's no school for a week. There was no way to even maneuvre around to get in. So we hiked to the canopy tour which was packed as well. We waiting in line to get on the bridges you walk across for almost 1 hour!
Here's Chase and I on the first leg of the canopy.
It was beautiful but we didn't see any wildlife except for butterflies and insects. At the end of our hike we were told that some Raffelsias were blooming near by. The Raffelsia is the world's largest single flower (it can be up to 1 meter in diameter) that grows primarily in Borneo and some parts of Indonesia, the Phillipines, and sometimes in Thailand. We paid a hefty fee to enter this family's "private land" and we saw these two beauties.
The Raffelsia is actually a parasitic flower. It gets its energy from the decaying matter on the rainforest floor. And supposedly it's supposed to smell like rotting flesh. The two we saw were only 40-50 cm in diameter but still the largest flower I've ever seen.
We stopped by the Kinabalu Park and got a tour of some of the rare flora of Borneo including rare orchids. This one pops up on the illegal flower market for 1500 Ringits a plant.
Then we saw the Santa Claus orchid, known for it's uncanny resemblance to St. Nick's beard. Here's a picture of me with the orchid. Chase says I look like one of Santa's elves.
On the way home we saw some great rainbow streaks in the clouds. I have never seen anything so beautiful, reds, greens, neon colors, purples, blues, and yellow. We have no idea what caused this strange phenomenon, but I hope you can get an idea of how spectacular it was through these pictures.
Today we are going to the Nature Reserve at the hotel to view the Orang Utans. I am thrilled!
First off, I'm sick. I got Chase's cold and so I slept almost all of the 2 hour journey to the Hot Springs. We first stopped off at a village. And here's a cool pic from the village market. They love their salted fish.
Next we arrived at the hot springs only to find it super packed with Malays on vacation. It's the end of Ramadan and a couple of nights ago was Eid-Il-fitr so there's no school for a week. There was no way to even maneuvre around to get in. So we hiked to the canopy tour which was packed as well. We waiting in line to get on the bridges you walk across for almost 1 hour!
Here's Chase and I on the first leg of the canopy.
It was beautiful but we didn't see any wildlife except for butterflies and insects. At the end of our hike we were told that some Raffelsias were blooming near by. The Raffelsia is the world's largest single flower (it can be up to 1 meter in diameter) that grows primarily in Borneo and some parts of Indonesia, the Phillipines, and sometimes in Thailand. We paid a hefty fee to enter this family's "private land" and we saw these two beauties.
The Raffelsia is actually a parasitic flower. It gets its energy from the decaying matter on the rainforest floor. And supposedly it's supposed to smell like rotting flesh. The two we saw were only 40-50 cm in diameter but still the largest flower I've ever seen.
We stopped by the Kinabalu Park and got a tour of some of the rare flora of Borneo including rare orchids. This one pops up on the illegal flower market for 1500 Ringits a plant.
Then we saw the Santa Claus orchid, known for it's uncanny resemblance to St. Nick's beard. Here's a picture of me with the orchid. Chase says I look like one of Santa's elves.
On the way home we saw some great rainbow streaks in the clouds. I have never seen anything so beautiful, reds, greens, neon colors, purples, blues, and yellow. We have no idea what caused this strange phenomenon, but I hope you can get an idea of how spectacular it was through these pictures.
Today we are going to the Nature Reserve at the hotel to view the Orang Utans. I am thrilled!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
First Impressions of Malaysia
We arrived in Kota Kinabalu yesterday and were whisked away from the airport to our hotel. The hotel we are staying at is the Shangri-La's Rasa Ria Resort.
Our hotel is beautiful. It's my first time to stay at an all-inclusive style resort. They have everything here... pool, volleyball, horse riding, cooking demonstrations, etc. Everything is planned for you if you want to be a part of it. The resort is on 64 acres and they have a nature reserve rehabilitating Orang utans.... They only have babies though... 7-8 year olds. So we are going to check it out this afternoon. And they have their own private beach 3 km beach. We went walking on it this morning and I plan on practicing yoga on the far side tomorrow morning. Our room faces the ocean and we leave our window open so we can hear the beautiful sound of waves crashing.
It's amazing that in one short month (2 for me) we have become such city-dwellers. For example last night, we became so excited when we looked up and could see stars! I know. And we can hear birds in the mornings! The only birds Beijing has to offer are magpies and they only come to the playground at my school because the children feed them every morning. Beijing has a lot of greenery and trees of course, but no hills... well, there are mountains outside of Beijing that you can apparently see on a clear day (Chase says he has seen them from his language school which is on a top floor of a building downtown.... but only once), but I have never seen any. We also saw several geckos around the hotel last night and had fun looking at the hermit crabs and sandpipers on the beach this morning.
We are definitely in such a relaxed mode. We are so grateful to be here. Here's the view from our room.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Since it's called the Great Wall of Blogging...
I might as well post some pics of the Great Wall!
Chase and I visited the Wall on the day of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Probably the worst day to go because it was Sunday and everyone else in China had the same bright idea as we did.
But here are some gorgeous pics. I can't wait to go back to a different section of the wall. There are so many good hikes all around there with great views (on a good pollution day of course).
Gorgeous!
This section is called the Badaling section. Look at the crowds we had to maneuver around.
On our way back down.
The beautiful ceiling of the Ming Tombs. 13th Emporer of the Ming Dynasty.
Chase and I visited the Wall on the day of the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival. Probably the worst day to go because it was Sunday and everyone else in China had the same bright idea as we did.
But here are some gorgeous pics. I can't wait to go back to a different section of the wall. There are so many good hikes all around there with great views (on a good pollution day of course).
Sitting on the Wall
Gorgeous!
This section is called the Badaling section. Look at the crowds we had to maneuver around.
On our way back down.
The beautiful ceiling of the Ming Tombs. 13th Emporer of the Ming Dynasty.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Golden Week
Well, Golden Week vacation started yesterday. Golden week is the week to commemorate Mao creating the People's Republic of China. So I have the whole week off from school. It's the equivalent of Spring Break here. Every family who can is traveling in and out of China. It's hard to believe I have been with the children for 3 weeks now. And what progress they have made!
The first week, the returning children were in shock that a teacher was being so thorough, precise, and expecting so much from them. Most of them haven't had an adult in their lives so far behave this way. So many of them tested and rebelled and pretty much told me "No" anytime I asked them to work. There was a lot of trust-building that I had engage. And they learned that when I spoke or asked something of them, that it was the truth and I had the final authority. Montessori isn't always about "authority" in the sense that the teacher gets to tell the children everything they must do. But the children simply didn't have boundaries set for them. They aren't what Montessori termed, "normalized." So I had to show them where these boundaries are. There's been so much improvement. And now I can relax.... a tiny little amount.
Relax only a little because the new children have been arriving. They are babies- two of the 6 new children will be 3 next month. So.... babies. But they are doing better with not having toilet accidents. And I just have one child who can't follow simple verbal instructions or feed himself. Well, no, feeding times and lunch, that's a whole different topic. The children at the school all eat lunch. So that means I (with one assistant) supervise 22 children eating lunch on real dinnerware so far! And my, children in this country are just not used to eating with silverware. So they are constantly spilling all over themselves, the tablecloths, and the floor. It's a cultural thing but whenever soup is served, it's cute to watch them just pick up the bowl and drink like it's a gigantic cup. So I have been teaching them to use their spoons. So then they don't understand when I ask them to not put their spoon in their milk! You drink your milk and then you spoon your soup! It's a challenge. And I never liked doing lunch at Casa, so now it's been taken to a new level and I just have to take it in stride. We do compost at the school though, so that's nice.
Yesterday, we had our first field trip. It was fabulous. Imagine that your first field trip of your entire life was to Tiannenmen Square! And then to Ritan Park. Wow, Beijing is a cultural minefield. These children have so much around them in terms of history and culture and arts. And it was my first time to the square. It's a tourist zoo- rows and rows of charter buses, tourist groups, and people carrying little tour guide flags with tourists bunching up against them to hear their voice. We parked pretty far away and had to make the children walk for 15 minutes just to get to the middle of the square. They were puttering out 3/4ths of the way there. But it was a beautiful day and they had fun in the park afterwards. Field trips are always nice because I get to act differently around the children. I don't have to be so stoic. I can have fun with them.
Well, Chase and I are sticking around Beijing until Tuesday and then we are off to MALAYSIA! Woohoo! We are going to the eastern side of the country, the island better known as Borneo. Most of Borneo is Indonesia, but the northern part is Malay. I am so excited to see Orangutans, probiscus monkeys, the Raffelsia (largest flower in the world), and Pygmy Elephants. Some of you may already know, but last Christmas, Chase adopted several members of his family, endangered or threatened animals from WWF. He adopted me a Pygymy Elephant and now I get to see one. So it's going to be great! We are really looking forward to relaxing, snorkeling, reading, waking up late, and eating Malaysian curry. Our time in Beijing has been busy busy busy.
The first week, the returning children were in shock that a teacher was being so thorough, precise, and expecting so much from them. Most of them haven't had an adult in their lives so far behave this way. So many of them tested and rebelled and pretty much told me "No" anytime I asked them to work. There was a lot of trust-building that I had engage. And they learned that when I spoke or asked something of them, that it was the truth and I had the final authority. Montessori isn't always about "authority" in the sense that the teacher gets to tell the children everything they must do. But the children simply didn't have boundaries set for them. They aren't what Montessori termed, "normalized." So I had to show them where these boundaries are. There's been so much improvement. And now I can relax.... a tiny little amount.
Relax only a little because the new children have been arriving. They are babies- two of the 6 new children will be 3 next month. So.... babies. But they are doing better with not having toilet accidents. And I just have one child who can't follow simple verbal instructions or feed himself. Well, no, feeding times and lunch, that's a whole different topic. The children at the school all eat lunch. So that means I (with one assistant) supervise 22 children eating lunch on real dinnerware so far! And my, children in this country are just not used to eating with silverware. So they are constantly spilling all over themselves, the tablecloths, and the floor. It's a cultural thing but whenever soup is served, it's cute to watch them just pick up the bowl and drink like it's a gigantic cup. So I have been teaching them to use their spoons. So then they don't understand when I ask them to not put their spoon in their milk! You drink your milk and then you spoon your soup! It's a challenge. And I never liked doing lunch at Casa, so now it's been taken to a new level and I just have to take it in stride. We do compost at the school though, so that's nice.
Yesterday, we had our first field trip. It was fabulous. Imagine that your first field trip of your entire life was to Tiannenmen Square! And then to Ritan Park. Wow, Beijing is a cultural minefield. These children have so much around them in terms of history and culture and arts. And it was my first time to the square. It's a tourist zoo- rows and rows of charter buses, tourist groups, and people carrying little tour guide flags with tourists bunching up against them to hear their voice. We parked pretty far away and had to make the children walk for 15 minutes just to get to the middle of the square. They were puttering out 3/4ths of the way there. But it was a beautiful day and they had fun in the park afterwards. Field trips are always nice because I get to act differently around the children. I don't have to be so stoic. I can have fun with them.
Well, Chase and I are sticking around Beijing until Tuesday and then we are off to MALAYSIA! Woohoo! We are going to the eastern side of the country, the island better known as Borneo. Most of Borneo is Indonesia, but the northern part is Malay. I am so excited to see Orangutans, probiscus monkeys, the Raffelsia (largest flower in the world), and Pygmy Elephants. Some of you may already know, but last Christmas, Chase adopted several members of his family, endangered or threatened animals from WWF. He adopted me a Pygymy Elephant and now I get to see one. So it's going to be great! We are really looking forward to relaxing, snorkeling, reading, waking up late, and eating Malaysian curry. Our time in Beijing has been busy busy busy.
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