corner art

-

This afternoon I spent a couple of hours walking around my neighborhood – the nearest intersection is fairly large by Raleigh or Charlotte and certainly other towns in NC.  The overhead highway is the airport expressway.  Highways on top of another are very very common.  As is true for many, not all, but many intersections, it is graced by what I call public art.  


a side note crossing this or any intersection is a work of survival skills to test anyone.  Cars can and do come from any direction, the colors of the stop light are merely suggestions, and pedestrians had best be quick about their moves and always yield because that car is not going to.  Also note, it is a long long way across that baby.  Fortunately this is one very lightly used intersection due to there being a dead end just behind me.

On one corner there is a big red stone like carving of a dragon and two athletes (?) or dancers (?) or who knows.  

Just next to this is a huge mural, stone looking, but I think concrete too.   It apparently traces Chinese civilization from the dawn of time to the space age.- reading from the right going to the left- of course - who doesn't ! 

Close detail shows strong men riding horses, studying things and making progress.  It is amazing how strong and noble the models for these structures look.  

The extreme left end is replete with a host of space and computer like stuff.

the middle shows advances in science and education and even a Western node with the alphabet

Close examination of the middle panel shows that out artist needs a little work on his ABCs.  To the lower left of the alphabet is a man at a computer and to the lower right is a man looking at an abacus with what are other scientific symbols I think.  The alphabet is an indicator of some of the English translations one can find.  there are some great efforts at translation, but it is certainly not native English by any means.  Just a little example, the railing on the steps at our apartment building has a Chinese admonition and this statement that "climbing forbidded"  

Some day when the internet is a little faster - this has been one slow post -  I will post about the art on the other three corners of this intersection.  It is an eclectic mix of subjects.  


and you all thought all I was doing was studying language.  You can see now what Patt is missing.   

language lesson on the last day here.

-

yesterday (Thursday for those of us who struggle with the concept of days of the week ) (note when it is your Thursday night it is our Friday morning if you want to make it even more fun )  anyway, back to yesterday.  It was Patt's last full day here and the grandkids were all over her.  Julianna especially took an interest in helping Patt learn Chinese.

 Now Chinese is not so simple and has tones so there is no mispronunciation of a word, you either said it or you did not.  Tones rise. are high, low or constant.  You got this information from a non-linguist so it may or may not be technically correct.  But it does pass for information and is in the spirit of the subject.

 Counting is also done in sign language, sorta like deaf hand signs except most are with one hand and have motions.  Patt's teacher used a total effort, head bobs, hand signs, facial support, full body moves, and of course tones.

 Patt is very good with tones, she learned Thai, also a tonal language quickly and well.  She was an excellent student and can count very very well --  in Chinese -- she has been able to do so in English as long as I have known her.

 Lydia participated for a good while.  Then joined her Mom and Isaac for a Cat in the Hat reading session.  I wish I had started photos earlier in the language lesson as both student and subject were quite animated and as the lesson went along and Patt was able to count up pretty high.

 You can get just the slightest feel for the intensity of the lesson from these pictures (I have a lot more if you would like to see)

We are all going to miss Patt -- also known very very well as Grandmama, who is at this moment on a flight headed towards the US of A.  

yes they do have another life

-

This is to prove that the kids have a life outside of Patt and me -- all be it brief.  Isaac did get to take a promised ride on a neighbor 's motorcycle.  He does like to ride a bike.

 Matt. of course had some last minute instructions, and the neighbors wife and young son were very interested observers.

Laura gets to read too.  Complete with double attention and double talking.  Goodness there is talk in the house.  We had sorta assumed that Isaac would not talk because his sisters talk so much.   Nope, he is in the discussion.  So this is actually a quiet moment.

 Speaking of Isaac, he tries so hard to catch a ball, eyes tightly shut and all.  But he does try.

 now you tube of Mary Poppins is a sure fire attraction.

 I mean you can get some serious attention.

 And a walk on a campus too.  (the uniforms are students who have just left the athletic fields where military training (marching and such ) is done.  All Freshman appear to take part in this activity.  More on colleges later.  They are BIG.

Sleep-over

-

The great sleepover event of 2011 occurred the evening we celebrated Lydia's birthday.  We had cupcakes, of course, for desert at Laura and Matt's.  The world map behind me is a frequently used part of the house as the kids frequently need and ask for references of where who or what is.  They will not be ignorant of geography.  (nor much else if you ask me).  Anyway I digress.

after cupcakes it was time to move the girls to our apartment.  Among the things you get to do is try on Grandaddy's slippers, and use the i-phone camera.  (Julianna, really likes the i-phone and i-pad, she was the photographer for this action shot of me on the couch and Lydia on display.

another thing done was a lesson in knitting.  Patt, as is her custom, knitting for a future Grandchild, and Julianna was desirous of a lesson.  Not being one to deprive a grandchild, Patt taught and when one child gets attention,-- who else needs a little attention.

 Bedtime came, (just a little late Laura) and I read not one but two chapters of Wind in the Willows - or "wiwos" as Isaac calls it.  (We enjoy listening to him).

The next morning Matt & Laura, brought Isaac as they were off on errands.  Well we played Leggos, or weggos depending of who is doing the talking.

Julianna also spent some time writing an email to her parents.  The text consisted of a series of names.  Full discussions of issues of the day will be the subject of future emails .

 

and then it was back to Wind in the  wiwos. 

 

---

Such a grand time.

If you look out the window you can see some of our neighbors.  We are on the 12th of 17 floors.  A tour of our apartment will come soon.

sometimes we just attract attention

_





Patt and I now have a Chinese phrase book, borrowed from Matt and Laura, and given a phrase book, I become one of your basic bi-lingual (or try-lingual ) people.  -- Patt is getting good too.  One of our newest advantages is that Julianna is teaching and helping us with pronunciation.  She is also stepping in when we are struggling- see second photo below-

Well Patt and I took the kids to the grocery store and armed with "yo mei you"  and a dictionary we could find out if the store had most anything on our list.  Finding helpers to help understand me and find something and look at the kids was not hard.  It was a slow day at the store and the multiple helpers where busy helping me/us -- it was becoming comic.  (this particular store has helpers like old time department stores did in the US.

Patt left me and my linguistic ability working through the particular knotty problem of finding honey (the word was not in the dictionary and my imitation of a bee did not help the clerks/helpers understand what we wanted at all.   Patt had gone to find one of the few items which we knew beforehand where it was.  She returned and saw me surrounded.  Did she offer to help, no she asked for the camera.  

Later Patt was recounting to Julianna why she had brought one kind of a drink instead of the preferred when Patt responded that the shelf was being restocked and she could not see the entire selection.  Julianna then said "  Grandmama, you should have said  "___ ____ ____ ____ ___ _ ___ "  (the dashes stand for Chinese).  Patt then said well how would that have helped.  Julianna said, it means "move, I need to find the mango drink"  Julianna is getting to be quite the helper.

yo mei you" -- with proper pronunciation means "Do you have "_____?

noodle shop

A Great  Dinner.

After our trip to the mountain for our hike – walk, we returned to the big city, picked Laura up and went on to a restaurant that Matt knew of near one of the Universities where he has visited.  Patt and I had been asking to go to a restaurant for handmade, noodles of a style we associate with this City.

This place did not disappoint -  it is located on a street sorta like Franklin or Hillsbourgh – with emphasis on the “sorta”.  While an area that definitely catered to students – and next to a university, and specializing in food options, it was different, yet somewhat similar – emphasis on the somewhat, but you would get the idea.

We enjoy watching the noodles being made by swinging and pounding the wheat dough and stretching it.  Somehow magically it turns into strands which are then thrown into the boiling pot with other stuff.

And we do like it.

And Julianna is a pro at using chopsticks and has noodle eating process down better than yours truly.  Our styles are very similar- and appropriate too I might add.  Lydia too is adept at eating in the local style though chopsticks are a work in process.

Now Isaac is just learning how to use chop sticks.

Here is a series of photos in order as taken by Matt.  These repeat some that were in Laura’s blog earlier but I like the whole series so here you are.

Yeah I admit I think he is cute too

trip to a mountain

Matt, Patt, the kids and I went on a trip to a near-by mountain-tourist destination. We drove a couple of hours on an interstate limited access toll highway that was very nice.  There were rest areas that were the nicest I have ever seen.  Think the one in Maryland on I-95 that is between the north south lanes- only larger, cleaner, newer, and a very different variety of stuff for sale.  Tour buses and other travelers were of course stopping and guess what created a stir. (bear with me on this blogging, I am using Laura's computer - mine is not yet able to penetrate all the security necessary to use a "social" page yet.

 one of the things that always impresses me about this place is the combination of old and new.  These construction carts were just along the side of the path at a building being renovated.   I thought they were interesting - also seen on the tourist path were porters with huge loads on their back carrying supplies up to the vending, service areas in the national park we were visiting.

 The girls braved the second half of a swinging bridge by themselves.  (would have loved to have heard their conversation - they started out not holding hands) -- the bridge had a swinging bounce to it as you walked, even for the kids.

 Matt, Patt and Isaac were apt watchers of the girls, (me too)

 And no mountain hike (well walk) is complete without a stop for a snack.  one of the snacks purchased at this overlook contained the following - "product name:  strange taste horsebean ( deep fry food) ingredients:  housebean, white granulated sugar, edible oil, edible salt, montasodium glutamate, spice, Food additive tartrazine"  and that was that -- actually the kids liked them better than me.  A biscuit type cookie I preferred, perhaps because the bag had not English on it.  Anyway for you players of scrabble, horsebean is a word, and a content of food packaging along with edible oil - which I much prefer to the other types for my food.

Patt hardly has any ears left, they have been talked off.  Amazing how many words come at us, especially the Grandmama. 

Yes we are here, and yes we have neighbors.  As in lots and lots of neighbors, but given our location, this should not be a surprise.  This view is from our deck of the apartment that we have.  twelfth floor, of seventeen.  Our building is shaped like a giant "U" in a complex of many buildings looking a lot like this one.

 

 Like this, I have no idea how many building there are in our complex, and more being built as it is brand new.  It is the next apartment complex to the one where Matt and Laura live.

 We are right next door, -well almost, just across this street and into their complex.  Just a four- five minute walk -- and we have already made it more than once.  We had a quick 28 hour trip door to door and are doing very very well.

we are spending a little bit of time reading and playing -- well actually lot of time reading and playing.

 and we are enjoying it very very much.  especially me.

 Yesterday Patt and I took the kids to the grocery store.  A short walk, through the neighborhood.

 and even at a Harris Teeter we would have created a stir.  Here we were a cause for much attention, as kids were running around helping us find what we needed.  A grand adventure.