China Day 3 - Guitar and DaMing Lake

Boats on DaMing Lake

Power walking group at the lake.

China – Day 3

Our University liaison, Eva was back again today to help us.  We had left the apartment to meet with another couple that came to Jinan with us and saw Eva as we were about to leave campus.  We weren’t sure that she would come to help us on Saturday, but she was there.  We had no success getting David’s iphone unlocked to use in China, so we had to go buy two cell phones.  Some of the apps are in Chinese, but since you can choose a language on there, most are in English.  

Then, we saw a place that sells guitars and since David planned to get a cheap guitar here rather than transport his expensive one from home, we found a guitar store and bought a nice one for about $100.  It has a nice sound and they threw in a strap, capo and case for that price.  We felt like it was a good deal.  As David had to try out the guitar, he was strumming and playing some of our favorites.  At one point, we had a little crowd gathered around on the outside to hear us.  The guys in the store loved to hear us sing and play and one of them wanted to give us the gift of this nice little electronic tuner because he liked us so much.  It was a fun time on the streets of Jinan. 

Eva helped us get the rest of the teacher things moved over from the apartment that we had left yesterday.  Then we picked up Stan and Nancy Pace and she drove us to DaMing Lake here in the center of Jinan.  We spent an hour or so walking the free part of the park and it was beautiful.  Notice the pictures!  We plan to sometime take a ride on the boats that are there.   The large building was built during the Yuan Dynasty and a famous Chinese poet lived there for a long time.    

At the park, we were standing in a square admiring the lake, when all of the sudden a guy leading a rather large group of people that were walking fast and two by two motioning for us to stand back.  We did when we saw what was about to descend upon us.  They were not menacing in anyway, they were exercising!  They probably walk this square every night and some of them had fun each time they walked past at first saying “Hello” to us and we said “Ni Hao” back to them.  They thought it was great that we were responding to them.  As you can see, I got their picture.

We did some shopping on our own today without the assistance of Eva and we are starting to feel a little more confident.  We saw some steamed buns that people were buying and Nancy wanted to know what was in them.  We asked some young people near us.  They didn’t know the words for pork and shrimp, so I brought out my little cue cards and pointed to the words that I thought they were saying (it was pork) and then we had to find the word for shrimp!  It was a fun adventure and I am sure if they write in their journals as I do in my, this incident will be recorded by them as well as me!

Supper turned out to be KFC and that was another fun experience in ordering.  They have a plastic covered menu at the counter.  I was able to point to what we wanted (they only had pepsi to go with a combo meal and we wanted some of the black current juice that they also offered for a little price more), so I was able to make our choices.  There was a problem with what we chose in that if was going to take 10 minutes to cook.  They wanted to let us make a choice of either ready-made chicken sandwiches or to wait for it.  The girl was totally frustrated in not being able to tell us that and not finding someone who worked there that would talk to us, she took out a napkin, wrote “10 min” on it.  I totally got it and we were so hungry by this point that we just took the ready sandwiches.  Communication may be frustrating at times, but if you are patient, you can do it!  Kind of a metaphor for life…

Shandong University - Central Campus where we will be teaching.  I have one class in this building and I am hoping it is not on the top floor unless they have an elevator in this building.  One of our colleagues on another campus has to climb 7 flights of stairs to get to her classrooms.

Pagoda at DaMing Lake.  

Visitor Center at DaMing Lake

Part of the lake.

Building that was on the east side of the lake.

All the little children that are not potty trained wear these pants that are open on the bottom.  Not sure what they do when they are just tiny and have to go, but this is what they do here.

The new gymnasium on our campus.  Haven't been inside yet, but they say it is huge with a lot of amenities.

Interesting tree in the park at DaMing Lake.

China Days 1&2

Dear Everyone!

We finally have internet to let you all know that we have survived our first two days in China!  We were super tired after 24+ hours of travel.  We found the bed in our apartment fairly comfortable.  At first, we were okay temperature wise, it is very humid here and very warm, but then the electricity went off and we sweltered for what was left of the night.  We came to find out that you have to pay for your electricity in advance.  We are not quite sure why it came on when we were first there, maybe there was enough left from the people who had used it before to run for a few hours, but we had to buy some more before the end of the next day. 

The next morning we had to be ready to meet our liaison from the college at 9 a.m.  We were glad that we had thought to bring some breakfast bars with us so we had something to eat.  Eva (aka Zhuang Xinhong) was there right at 9 and she was going to take us to the local police station so that we could get registered and there for be in the country legally.  When we got to the police station, we were informed that the person who handles those things would not be in today and we would have to wait until tomorrow.  After that, Eva showed us where to go and how to go shopping for food and other things we would need.  She went above and beyond the call of duty by staying with us the entire day.  (Some of the other couples only had a few hours of their liaison’s time, glad that wasn’t us!)  We had lunch at a KFC and then for dinner, after she showed us the campus, we went to a REAL Chinese restaurant.  The menus were in pictures and Chinese characters, so Eva read off everything to us.  It was actually a Suzhan style restaurant where ALL of the food is spicy!  She helped us choose dishes that were less spicy (thank goodness!) and then we had a nice meal.  Different regions of China are known for different styles of cooking. 

Maybe we were rather naïve, but we didn’t take a lot of cash money with us but we were also told that we could use our ATM cards in the airport and get Yuan there.  I’m not sure if we were told the wrong information or if we just didn’t find the right place to do it, but we could not get them to accept our cards and they did not have an ATM machine that we saw.  (Of course we were working on little or no sleep at the time and the people directing us to places in the airport were only concerned that we got on the correct next flight or to a hotel), but we left Shanghai before we could find an ATM and there were none in the airport in Jinan.  The people that were there to meet us from the university were mostly interested in getting us to our apartments and then getting home themselves for the night.  So the next day, we also set out to find a way to get money, but all the banks we went to turned us down.  Eva lent us some and the next day the university forwarded us some to be paid back when we get our first pay from them.   So, we are set for a little while now. 

We were supposed to be living in a complex for foreign teachers and have another couple from the BYU China Teacher Program living below us, but their university decided to have them live on campus (and in much poorer conditions than the apartment would have been.  We were concerned about where they were and Eva was able to find out where they were located.  The apartment they were supposed to go to contained a lot of things that had been set up and saved for those in the program (cell phones, printers, cooking equipment, linens, etc.), so we got the manager for the apartment to let us in to get some of the stuff.  We were hurriedly trying to get everything we thought was most useful out of the apartment and into ours, when the manager (doesn’t speak any English at all) told Eva that there was an apartment on our campus that was available.  We were first told months ago that there were no apartments large enough on campus for a couple, only singles, so that is why we were being sent to the complex that we were sent to.  We went to look at this apartment.  It was a little smaller than the one that was set up for us originally, but it still had two bedrooms and enough room for us and it would also make it easier for them to register us on the campus than off the campus, so with all things considered (the traffic for the commute to the campus probably being the biggest one) we decided to move to the one on the campus that we are teaching at.  That process took most of the day today.  If you EVER see the traffic in China, you will thoroughly understand why we decided to forgo the commute to campus every day!  I will try to get a video of it sometime.   I am learning not to scream while riding in the car-…

ALASKA!!!!

 David and I took a trip of a lifetime last week to Alaska!  The weather was amazing to us, only rained on one day while we were still on the ship.  The rest was sunny and fairly warm.  We had prepared for lots of rain and cold, but didn't have to use all the gear we had brought.  I know we just lucked out, but I am so grateful that we did!

We left Seattle on August 26.  I will add here that cruising is a whole new experience and there were a lot of things that I didn't know that I do now.  Not sure if we will cruise again, still trying to decide on that one, but we did have a great time.  The long days on the ship where hard, but the informative talks on the places we were going and things we were going to see that made the time on board worth it.  And the fun people that we met.

We hiked in Juneau to the Mendenhall Glacier.  The glacier has receded in the last 40 years so that you can see the exposed rock that shows just above my head.  

Close-up of the Mendenhall Glacier

We rode the tram up to the top of  Mount Roberts in Juneau.  That is our cruise ship below.  It climbs 1800 feet in a matter of 5 minutes.  Yes, my ears were popping.

On our hike on Mount Roberts in Juneau, this plant was new to David and I.  The leaves were huge and when David went to lift up a leaf,  he was poked by a spike.  We learned it was Devil's Club and it can cause infections.  Fortunately, it didn't break David's skin and he was okay.

This is part of the hike that we took around the top of Mount Roberts. We did the 1/2 mile hike in about 10 minutes, stopping to look at some plants and the view.  

When we were in Ketchikan, we went on a crabbing expedition.    David was the one to pull up the crab cage up from 90 feet down.  That must have made him so hungry that he was ready to eat one without cooking it!  (j/k)  After we came back from the crab hunt, we had a crab feast of dungeness crab!  Fresh crab is the BEST!!

In Sitka, we had the fun experience of sea kayaking!  That is our cruise ship in back of us.  It was a fun day with the sun shining so warmly.  Great day in Sitka! 

One of the many eagles that we saw in each port.  This one was in Sitka.  They are such beautiful animals.

Another part of our Sitka experience was hiking and biking on the island.   We biked to the Thimbleberry  trail and  then hiked from there.

A waterfall on the Thimbleberry Trail.

This is a "petrified" whale at a park that is called (of all things)  "Whale Park."   David was determined to stay on as he rode!

About mid tide in the George Strait where we went to catch dungeness crab.

The crab cage that David pulled up.  They used a red snapper and a salmon head as bait to catch them.  Interesting day.

We hunted Humpback Whales in Juneau

You will never know how hard it was to catch this shot!  With the bouncing of the boat and the  difficulty of  keeping my camera trained on the spot that I was sure the whale would come up next, I almost gave up getting it.  Success!

One of the unbelievable sunsets on the ocean.

The sun just turned this whole evening silver!

This is the glacier we saw in Tracy Arm.  The only day that we had rain and it was cold.  The rest of the time was really warm for Alaska!

In Juneau, we toured a mine and then they taught us to pan for gold!  David got pretty good at it, but I got more than he did.  He had about $1 worth and I got $3!  

Minnesota and Hiking

We took a quick trip to Minnesota to see my family there.  We stopped at David's brother's house in Nebraska first, then Mom and Dad's and Brent's in Minnesota, then Kadie's house in North Dakota and then home.  

Here is Evan with Grandma and Grandpa Petersen.

This is Merilee, Adell, my Mom and I.  Had a fun visit.

 Annalisa was being cute and putting on someone's sunglasses while we were at Kadie's house.

David and I decided that during this summer we were going to do a hike each week.  We started with a hike to Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove, UT.  Then we had a hike at Willow Flats Springs in Idaho.  We next decided to see Stewart Falls in Provo Canyon, UT.  It was a beautiful hike that was mostly shady in the morning.  Rachel tagged along with us.

My wonderful, handsome David on the trail.

Just one of the spectacular views of the mountains that we saw.

Then we decided to take on a hike to what we call "Corner Canyon," but the books officially call it "Dry Creek Canyon."  It is a pretty steep hike, mostly up and then mostly down for 5.5 miles.  We hadn't looked it up before we left, but after we did, we found out that is was considered a pretty strenuous hike, not meant for beginners.  It was a great accomplishment for me!

This is what we were hiking to.  Horsetail Falls!  Beautiful!  It was worth the hike!

Evan and his friend, Amber made the hike with us.  This is the view out to the valley from where we were.

Yes, I made it to the waterfalls! But, David didn't get it in the picture like I asked...

David at the falls.

It was just so gorgeous up there.  Not a hike for beginners though.  We started out just before 8 and got down just after noon.  

Summer Fun

We have had a lot of fun so far this summer and it is only the end of June!!  First, we took all the kids  to the Cub River Guest Ranch Lodge  near Preston, Idaho for a little reunion.  We rode horses, swam and hiked and played LOTS of games and just had a good time all together again.

Annalisa and Nathan in a hugging moment.  It was so cute to capture this candid moment when they just hugged.  Kissing cousins, you might say.

David playing with Annalisa and Nathan.  Alisa was in on the action also.

Alisa, Evan, Tiffany and me on horses.

Tiffany's horse was a lunch-mouth, so we lagged behind the others.

Rachel having fun with Evelyn, Megan and Micah.

We had a hike up to Willow Flat Springs, where it comes right out of the mountain.  Here are Ammon, Preston, Megan and Micah with various people we don't know in the background.

Caleb and Bethany took an adventure on the ATV with Aleeyah under the hat.  Evan hiked up to the Springs with her and she loved the whole hike!  Yea for future hikes with Aleeyah!

This is all of us together.  It is so hard to get 25 people to all look great in a shot, but we did pretty well.  On the left end is Seth's family, then Kadie's, then David and I with Rachel, Evan and Alisa, then Caleb's family and then Ammon's.  Tiffany was our photographer and did a great job arranging such a large group.  Alisa's friend, Harley, was there also to take a few more shots and make sure the camera went off after Tiffany got in.

And here are David and I with 12 of our favorite people in the whole world, our grandchildren!  Little Nathan who is in back of David was just having a great time being on Grandpa's back.  They were all getting pretty tired and so I bribed them with the promise of a taffy if they all smiled and looked at the camera.  You should have seen all the people in back of the camera trying to get the babies to smile and look at them.  As Dash states in The Incredibles, "I love my family!"

Catching Up

This is Ahnalee, born in March to Ammon and Tiffany.  It was so fun to add a little girl to their family of three boys.  They all love her.  This is on her blessing day with the dress made by Great Grandma Cox. 

David and I had the adventure of going with the Sons of the Utah Pioneers group on an excursion to see where the pioneers had traveled from Fort Bridger Wyoming to the Salt Lake Valley.  This is a monument at Big Mountain, one of the last stopping places before they entered the valley. 

These are some of the ruts from the wagons left here over 150 years ago.  They can still very much be seen when they were cut so deeply.  It was rather steep here and just thinking about trying to get a wagon full of supplies up and down these mountains is amazing to think on.  David and I both had ancestors that traveled on this trail and made these deep ruts.  It was humbling to think back on all they suffered to get here.

David and I went on the first hike of the summer to Battle Creek Falls.  It wasn't a long hike, just rather steep, but worth the hike to see it and then get cooled off in the spray.

Aleeyah made her appearance a few weeks early in December to proud parents Caleb and Bethany.  She is wearing the blessing dress made by Great Grandma Cox.  It has been such fun to have Caleb and Bethany living with us to watch this sweet little girl grow.  We are sad that they are moving to Ohio, so far from us, but happy they are moving on with their lives and Caleb is going to get his Master's Degree there.

We wanted to have a family dinner in one of our favorite places to go, West Canyon, before Caleb and Bethany left.  The request was for my Dutch Oven BBQ Ribs, Chicken and then strawberry-rhubarb cobbler.  All of it was so delicious- should have taken the photo of the cobbler before it was all gone...

And, here is everyone enjoying the time there.  Evan in the foreground... eating... something he likes to do ; )