Visitors!

Mom and Dad arrived safely last night, after over 14 hours in a plane from Chicago (with, I'm told, great views of Siberia along the way!) They're recovering quickly from jet lag and have already been on a school and neighborhood tour. This afternoon, we took the bus into the city to see the Jing'an Temple (a Buddhist Temple dating back to 247 A.D. - though it's been through several renovations since then.) It's situated right in the middle of skyscrapers and shopping malls, making for interesting juxtapositions. On the schedule tomorrow... Old Town Shanghai and a New Year's Eve dinner!

Philippines Recap

We're back from our whirlwind four-day, three-night trip to the Philippines, feeling rested and so glad that we went. We started the trip on Mactan Island, near the city of Lapu Lapu (named for the Filipino warrior who killed Magellan on that very island.) There, we stayed at a nice hotel, with a room overlooking the ocean. We soaked up the fancy-ness of it all, enjoying meals and drinks at the resort and taking time to walk to a neighborhood "restaurant" for lunch (really just one woman, cooking out of her home. We had a choice of whatever she'd chosen to cook that day. It was delicious!)

The next day, we headed into the city of Cebu, where we explored Fort San Pedro, a 500-year old Spanish fort, and a basilica, busy with people celebrating Christmas, before boarding a bus to the town of Moalboal, 90 kilometers and about 2 1/2 hours away. The bus ride was an adventure. The scenery was incredible - sea views and mountain landscapes - but the company was equally interesting. We were squished in with dozens of other sweaty bodies (it was in the 90's that day), many of whom had hopped on to sell snacks and other goodies, and at least one excited rooster. (Beyond roosters being common in rural areas anywhere, cockfighting is very popular in Cebu, so we got used to seeing men walking with their roosters to the local arenas.)

Once we arrived in Moalboal, we hired a tricycle (a moped with a sidecar) to take us to the little resort that would be our home for the next two days. The resort only had eight rooms and was right on the coast, so was absolutely idyllic. The highlight there was definitely the snorkeling (I know that we already posted about this, but it was so great that we'll both be talking about it for years. I only wish we'd had an underwater camera! It was like "Finding Nemo" in real life!) But, we also took plenty of time to enjoy the food, beer, people, and sunshine.

Our last night there, we walked into the village of Moalboal to check out the public market and wharf. And, on our last morning, we went to an orchid farm to see a huge variety of flowers (and, for whatever reason, caged monkeys and exotic birds.)

All in all, an amazing trip - what a luxury to have this experience! I've included a few pictures in this post, but if you have time and interest, there are plenty more on our photo site. Look here: http://hsinchina.shutterfly.com/ for the photos (three albums) and here: http://hsinchina.shutterfly.com/videos for a few videos from our trip (one from the Noche Buena celebration, one from snorkeling, and one from our tricycle ride to the orchid farm.)

An Underwater Christmas

Merry Christmas, all! We spent ours snorkeling around the incredible coral reef that lies just off the coast of our hotel. There was live coral as far as the eye could see (the reef actually runs for 5-6 kilometers) and tropical creatures everywhere we looked. Definitely a memorable, if not a typical, Christmas!

Noche Buena!

Merry Christmas Eve from the Philippines! We made it here safely
yesterday morning, after flying all night, and have been taking it all
in since then.

Yesterday, we stayed in a hotel on Mactan Island, near the city of
Lapu Lapu. (The first picture is the view from our 18th-floor sea-view
room!) Today, we took a shuttle bus into the city of Cebu, did a bit
of sightseeing with our luggage in tow, and then hopped on a bus to
the town of Moalboal. (A 2-3 hour ride across the island of Cebu,
including incredible sea views and a trip up and down the island's
small mountains.) We arrived at the very small resort (only 8 rooms)
where we're staying for the next two nights and, tonight, we were
treated to the traditional Filipino Christmas Eve "Noche Buena"
celebration. This included lots of food (including the unlucky pig in
the second picture) a sangria-like drink, and observing some
traditional singing and party games.

Other reminders of Christmas have included decorations and groups of
Filipino carolers (all with a guitar for accompaniment.) Without
those, it would be even more difficult for this Midwestern girl to
feel like it's really Christmas in 80 degree weather!

Merry Christmas Eve Eve Eve

In a few hours, we're off to the airport, headed for the island of Cebu in the central Philippines (and a safe distance from the Mayon Volcano.) In the meantime, we're busy finishing up a day of work and packing to go. Here's a picture of Jeff showing off the gifts that his students had given him today - they really love him!

Painter Street

After visiting the hospital for Jeff's ear vacuuming on Saturday, we strolled through the neighborhood to seek out a Christmas market that we'd read about. While the market turned out to be unremarkable, we were excited to stumble across this little "Painter Street" alley along the way. As its name implies, it's lined with painters, hard at work and selling their wares. Though we didn't leave with any treasures, it seemed like it'd be easy to find some!

Jeff's Medical Adventures...

There are two things that I (Jeff) have become an undesired expert on – infections and antibiotics.  The latest installment of "What's wrong with Jeff?" deals with the wonderfully complicated and ever so necessary ear.  Here's the recap of what has been an interesting two weeks.  It started with an ear ache that slowly turned into my gradual loss of hearing in my right ear.  I took ear drops from my school's clinic, attempted an assortment of home remedy solutions, had my ears professionally cleaned (which was both awesome and gross), and gradually came to the awareness that I had a serious problem.  I went to a hospital near the school, and even though there was a wonderful international wing where everyone spoke English, I decided to head upstairs and chat with a Chinese doctor in the ENT room.  After looking in my ear he prescribed my three days of IV-antibiotic injections.  He said it was bad.  After my three hospital visits, my ear felt better, but my hearing felt worse. We decided to stop by after my third IV and see the doctor.  Good news for those who love this stuff.  He proceeded to use a mini vacuum to suck out of my ear the nastiest things I have ever seen.  On his final vacuum, he went in deep; got something and pulled it out…I could hear again! 

Memories to last a lifetime.

Work Holiday Party

The school threw a holiday party for all of the foreign teachers last night at a steak house, where there was an all-you-can-eat buffet (mostly meat and comfort food - mac n cheese, baked potatoes, butternut squash soup) AND a mechanical bull. The latter was fun until someone lost a fingernail while falling off - it was one tricky bull! There was also a raffle - the prizes were "cheese," "better cheese," and a bottle of Courvoisier. Neither of us won big, though we did go home with consolation prizes of chocolate and candies. The pictures show a few of the teachers during the raffle and the two of us on the bus to the restaurant.

Dinner With Friends

We were pleasantly surprised to learn that our friend Matt, from college, and his wife, Jenny, would be in town for a few days, as a part of a business school class that Matt's taking. We were able to meet them for dinner tonight and enjoyed catching up on all we've been up to since our CMC days. This picture is from the lobby of the People's Square Radisson, where they were staying.

Island of Misfit Toys

Little mechanical animals seem to be really popular here - the kind that can be found outside of drug stores and can be ridden for a quarter. They're all over here, and I often see dazed-looking kids riding them, with some spotting from a parent or grandparent. However, this sad group of creatures has seen better days. I spotted these huddled up in a driveway in our neighborhood while out for a walk this past weekend. Let's hope that they can find someone to appreciate them, quirks and all!