End of Semester

The semester has come to an end, and after grading exams we celebrated with a vacation to Cambodia. We're looking forward to spending the summer in the US and Canada before returning to China for our last term.

Students writing exams.

Angkor Wat, the largest Khmer temple complex in the world, was built in the 12th century ...

 ... and dedicated to the god Vishnu and later Buddha.

 Some older temples nearby are overgrown.

 Most visitors are tourists, but there are a few monks.

 Faces at nearby Angkor Thom.

Apsaras, beautiful nymphs who are superb dancers, adorn the temples.

And as a post script, the blogger will be taking an indefinite holiday.

Street & Beach

Summer is here; days are either wet or hot and sometimes both.

  

 Lots of Durian in the market, a fruit known for its size, odor, and thorn covered husk.

 Moms and kids out shopping.

 At San Naing Wan beach, ready to see the dolphins. 

 We loaded up in boats and raced out to the bay to watch frolicking dolphins.

 Harvesting tiny oysters, which we ate at lunch.

When I'm 64

Last week we celebrated two events -- the end of our co-teaching and Daniel's birthday.

 Here's our great group of colleagues.

While we're the foreign English teachers, most English classes are of course taught by Chinese teachers. We co-taught everything from western etiquette to intensive reading ...

 ... from English majors to geography majors. 

And then it was time for birthday cake, appropropriately decorate with a crane and peaches for longevity and prosperity.

Here's the birthday boy surrounded by his gifts ... flowers, pottery, Chinese knots, and a large disc of tea.

Faces

There are lots of interesting faces here.

This is a local general; you can see his house has cloud designs on the roof, indicating his status.





And these are the faces of our Foreign Language Department at the recent university choir contest. Everyone gets a matching shirt/dress and sing either folk or patriotic numbers. Our choir came in second!

David, our Spanish-teacher colleague, with two women from the local TV station; we had camero roles as his foreign friends.

For only $12 you can get a wax model made, so Daniel had to try it. 

So this is what he'll look like when he's bald.







Now on with the hair. 

And voila! There he is, preserved on his 64 year.

Dalu Village

We visited the ancient Dalu Village, a few hours away through rice fields and wandering water buffalo and pigs.

Dalu was built in the 16th Century, Qing Dynasty, as the ancestral home of the Lao Clan. It has good feng shui - including water in front, 300 year old banyan trees in the back, and perfectly laid out rooms. 

The Village is known for couplets on either side of all the doors, renewed each new year.

Grandmother and grandson. It's not unusual for grandparents to raise their grandchildren while the parents go out to work.

The bat (in brown) is a popular symbol on buildings, as the word for bat and the word for good luck have the same sound, fu.

 Local worker taking a break with his home-made water pipe.

 The Village Clinic (Does the satellite dish indicate telemedicine?).

We had lunch at a local farm house. The wood chip-fired stove had a huge wok, and the cook producted an incredible meal ...

 ... green bean soup, corn and pork, bitter melon, pumpkin, pumpkin flower soup, eggs/greens, picked cucumbers, and fresh duck and chicken).

 We dined el fresca and then took pictures with our gracious hosts.

Dessert was freshly picked lychees.

Port and Nanning

The week highlights were a visit to the Guangxi Qinzhou Free Trade Port and the provincial capital, Nanning.

The coastal area of Guangxi is slated as China's southwest import/export port.

Complete with model and speeches, the port will focus on vehicle import/export, imported wine/spirits, crude oil storage and trade, nonferrous metals, seafood, and agricultural products.

An agreement was signed between the Port Authority and the University; we were present as the foreign guests. After pictures and gift exchange, we were treated to a celebratory dinner.

We headed off to the provincial capital of Nanning for the weekend to meet up with our Amity colleagues.

Lena (Swedish) and Connie (American) have taught in China 15+ years and are moving from the south to the north of China this summer.

 We checked out the Science and Technology Museum, complete with robotic band.

And of course Daniel celebrated the WC of Man.

On Campus

We're over half way through the semester and realized we hadn't shown you the campus - so here it is.

 Statue on campus of Chinese educator with English teachers.

 Campus map -- 10,000 students.

Various traditional exercises are always in practice - this one with swords. They compete with the ever popular table tennis and basketball.

 Ceramics Department teacher Mr. Wang and his newest customers.

 High humidity + no A/C = streams of mold in various shades of green.

 Geography students practicing their craft.

Getting ready to enter the world of work!