another sleep over afternoon activity.

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Yesterday, Wednesday afternoon, the girls came to my apartment for a sleep-over.  We went out to take some pictures, the girls like to use my little “point and shoot” camera, and since film (sic) is so cheap we take dozens of pictures put them on the computer and laugh and delete and actually keep a few.

So here are photos, shot by the one absent from the picture.

 Lydia and I are in a little oriental (surprised you with that one huh?) park/garden that is in the court yard of my apartment building that my deck looks down on.

 And here Julianna and I are in a pavilion in another little oriental park/garden in the courtyard of the next building over.  (Each building has its own courtyard  or looks down on a  courtyard.- so there are lots of them)

 And here are the girls posing when I took a picture.  It is obvious they have seen lots of Chinese young people pose.  They copied the gestures and actions perfectly.

 And here is on of me having one of my ears removed.  I did have ample opportunity to learn about a lot of things. 

 Actually I did have a few moments of just walking, and had a wonderful companion as these last two suggest.  Julianna documented most of the afternoon.

We had a great evening too.   The three of us cooked in my and Patt's apartment, scrambled eggs – done by Julianna in a wok, and grilled cheese done by Lydia on a George Forman type grill.  The dinner was quite good, the company excellent and we even Skyped to Patt who was preparing for work back in the US of A.

more construction watching

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This afternoon, the kids and I went for a walk to check out the construction site.  As is obvious, it did not disappoint.  We were enthralled.  

 We watched a long time.  There was of course discussion and speculation regarding the progress being made.

 The tear down of the scaffolding was taking place right in front of us.  For a while we interrupted progress as these guys stopped and looked at us.  Upon the kids waving, they waved back which thrilled the kids.  And gave us more to talk about.

 It really was interesting, watching the workers take loose a piece of piping, and then throw or let it fall to the ground in a more or less guided fashion.  Had some good sound effects too as they landed on an a growing pile of them. 

 Though  we  were relatively unbothered by spectators, -- people watching us, not the workers, there were these two women who wanted to confirm which building I lived in.  

 My ability to speak Mandarin Chinese, is still not up to full time conversations, (my teacher’s fault )  but Julianna managed the discussion for us. 

 And we had to have a group photo after becoming such good friends.  Julianna was the photographer.  Something she really likes to do.  Of course I indulge her.  

Tien Fu square

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Today after  Mandarin Class – I think I like saying that—I stayed downtown again and went to TienFu, the main square in town, replete with monstrous  statute of “the Chairman”.  I of course got someone to take my picture and then sat on a curb along with a host of others and did some serious people watching.  

 We have your grandfather and grandmother taking some pictures of grandchild.  This went on for quite a while.  Mom, just almost out of the picture seemed tired.

 We had happy groups, this photo may be entered into a contest as I think it may be the only one in existance taken with in the past several years of a group of young Chinese on an outing where there is not even one person doing the “peace” sign of two fingers held up palm out and thumb over the little two fingers. 

 I really liked Mr. Cool here, he was really doing some serious movie star poses and though I was in his direct line of sight, never saw me taking pictures of them.

 And discovering a “Coke” bag in one of my photos of people taking pictures of the Chairman was just to poetic.  Of course the Cartier, Louis Vitton, Burberry, Armani stores surrounding the square in the lower floors of the big hotels were a bit over the top.  And then the Porsches, Lexus, and big Buicks sorta set the stage too,  Whatever must the Chairman think -- and these people too.  


Before I forget--  when the dancing water features started playing, there was some syrupy music being played on loudspeakers all across the park.  I can not remember the artist but he was one from several years ago that many people made fun of because his saxophone - violin - piano music was so sappy.  Nice but sappy.  If you say his name - I will know it.  I asked one of the foreigners there whose music we were hearing and they recognized it but also could not recall the artist.

 Next week is the “National Day” celebrating the Communist Victory over the Kuomintang and flower things were being built around the square.  This one in the middle of a road is done.  It was not hard to get someone to take a photo.  There were numbers of people taking photos.  Oh and I saw a few other loaweis today in the TienFu square area too. ( Leave a tourist area and you are alone.)  

 And just a couple of blocks away at a “Peoples Park” we have the peasant soldier.  It seems they are all "Peoples Park"  Mr. Peoples must have really like funding all these parks.  And how did  I know this soldier was a peasant?  One I have read history and know all the soldiers were peasants and their cause was just.  Also he had one of those conical straw hats on his back held there by a strap around his neck.  Oh and this is not the first peasant soldier in bold pose I have seen either.

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Looking of my balcony window into the construction going on in our complex right next door is entertaining and interesting.  These guys are dismantling the framework that goes around buildings.  The metal frameworks principle purpose as far as I can tell is to hold up the green netting that does something.

 Not sure what he was using the cutting torch on, perhaps a rusted in place bolt?  I have seen this framework going up and they do some serious tightening.

 The big blue truck is a fixture on roads here, and it is large---  sometime I will get a close up -- the rough looking buildings in the background are construction site buildings, house workers, store stuff and seems like lots of short term economic activity.

 lots of ground level work on roads, walks, underground piping (gas, plumbing, electricity ?? ) and note the two wheeled wheelbarrow.

 and they will plant trees and do complex landscaping in a heartbeat.

 and this excavator is a favorite of Isaac especially, often asking to go "see the excavator".  He knows his construction equipment.  Julianna kept reminding me that the guard at our apartment complex entrance had reminded us to not get to close to the construction.

a tourist thing

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went to a local tourist thing today not too far from where I am studying Chinese.  The place was crowded.  We are talking Thursday, no holiday and not terribly nice weather either.  This is one of the entrances, look under the arch, see all the people, and yes I went in.  There was the occasional lao wei, (foreigner), but they did tend to get lost in the crowd.  I had gone for a whole day on numerous occasions and seen no other westerners except relatives --yesterday for example - and I was downtown too.

 the place was of course a replica, think Colonial Williamsburg, except a couple of thousand years older replica -- the time frame being represented, not the buildings which were very new and almost smelled of fresh paint.  Did I mention the crowds.  Lots of souvenirs and trinkets, think Cherokee or Gatlinburg.

 There was one restaurant where some really pretty oriental sounding - duh - music was being played.  I went in, intending to perhaps sit, have a drink of tea (did not see any beer, but could have enjoyed one), the idea of staying and having a tea was abandoned when I saw the crowds who also heard the music and wanted to document it.  Notice the poor guy at the right trying to enjoy his tea -- fat chance of that one Jose.  Did I mention the crowds?  and with cameras too.

for the record, I did not buy any of the trinkets, though I did inquire about price a time or two in order to try out my new language skills.  They are less than good, apparently they do not get my accent - because I sure do not have their tones.

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Don’t ya wish you know what he was thinking sometimes.  I am talking about Isaac here (but it could fit for Matt too on occasion).  I mean we are in what  I would refer to as a bit of a strange place, and it all will be part of normal for him I guess.

 More from our trip to buy foam.  Foam is used as a mattress topper.  The mattresses are FIRM – no make that hard.  The foam takes it to a firm rating.  Anyway foam is appreciated by us wusses.    Foam is also used in furniture manufacturing.  Like in making couches seen here

 Next door to the cutting machine was this shop taking used wood, building a frame and tacking fabric and foam over it and bingo, a couch.   and it was not all that loud, but Isaac was being proactive -- a good thing.  

 It was not High Point or Thomasville or Hickory by a long shot.  Out in the street of course there was a noodle stand.  That is the glass structure to my back as one of the three wheeled motorcycle taxis goes by,  There are not many of either in North Carolina.  I am talking about the taxi and the noodle stand, though we could use both.

 The boiling pot was pig parts, like in parts – partially identifiable parts.  Flavor I reckon.  

 On the way home we got stuck in one of the great traffic jams I have been in.  Crabtree at Christmas is a drive down an empty country road early on a Sunday morning.  The cause – ignoring a stoplight and every vehicle  maneuvers for itself.  Matt got out, left me to drive – I can do this !  and he went up ahead to try to straighten out the intersection.  Another woman joined him and together they got traffic moving. 

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yesterday, Matt, Isaac and I went to a very interesting part of town.  It was not the normal touristy place one would go, nor was it a place where you might find students or any of the other types of people we normally tend to be around for extended periods of time.

 We went to buy some foam, as in a large sheet of foam that you could put on a mattress.  We saw this machine slicing foam into thin layers from large blocks of the stuff.

 Isaac was not so sure he appreciated the hum of the reciprocating saw that was part of the machine that cut the material

 Prior to cutting our slice we had to wait for the completion of a job earlier lined up for the machine.  We watched it being loaded on a motorcycle truck.  Quite common here, not so typical of North Carolina trucks that I have seen.

 Seeing an off center load is not so unusual here and this one is actually almost balanced.  You would be amazed at what actually seems to stay on a truck.

 While waiting we toured a furniture plant where sofas were being manufactured (another post) and when we saw the cushion stuffing operation, Isaac pitched in to help.  These guys can flat out cut foam, and stuff cushions at an incredible speed.