We had an exciting November, especially Thanksgiving, keeping us quite busy. Kyra went to nursery for her first time. She did great except for when Nathan threw a toy at her. We had talked to Nathan several times about Kyra coming to nursery and how he could help her enjoy it. Oh well! The kids all have excellent church teachers and we really appreciate that.
Nathan has become a whiz on the computer. He can turn it on, type the password, wait patiently for it to start up, go online, and go to his favorite websites, all on his own. He also has learned to push the chair to the sink, turn on the water and wash his hands all by himself!
Amber is caught up in kindergarten and is learning to read. Her most recent progress report showed her meeting the standards in all subjects. Today she read, "And it came to pass" in the scriptures all by herself.
We have shopped at Piggly Wiggly, a local grocery store, a couple of times. Going through the store, Nathan says "Piggly Wiggly!" every time he sees a picture of the pig. There are a few different items in stores here in the south such as self-rising flour. We don't remember seeing that in Utah. We also see deep-frying oil in big boxes, the classic southern rocking chairs to go on the big long porch, and a lot of football fan items to cheer for your team. Everyone here in Athens cheers for UGA.
We drove to Missouri for Thanksgiving. We left 5:14am Monday morning. It's about a 13 hour drive so we only stopped for a few minutes about 4 times and made it there late. Driving through Arkansas particularly stood out to Heather: run down trailers, run down homes, no lawns, clutter--junk and trinkets-- in the yards, a lot of poverty, a lot of churches, gun stores, flea markets, antique stores. She'd heard about Arkansas but it was a little more than she expected.
We stayed with Jared's older brother Peter, his wife Caryn, and their 5 kids ages 10, 8, 5, 2, 2. They recently moved in with Caryn's parents on the farm where Caryn grew up, in the middle of nowhere down 2 miles of dirt road. It's a big house where Caryn grew up with her 7 older brothers and 1 sister (the oldest). On their farm they have goats (they drink goat milk every day, it tastes about the same as cow milk and it didn't make us sick), chickens (their chickens lay eggs in different places every day so we had to hunt around for the eggs), a horse, and two ponies. They had a cart for us all to take pony rides. Heather even drove the pony cart (with her niece sitting next to her to help). She milked a goat (just a little) and Nathan fed the chickens. They also have a garden and what looks like over a year supply of canned food. Caryn said that if she needed to she could feed her family completely from what they have on the farm without ever going to the store. We had a good crash course in self-sufficiency while we were there!
One of Jared's other older brothers came down from Iowa with his wife and kids ages 7, 6, 3, 1. The girl cousins had their little club where they played dress up and taunted the boys. The boys had a little club too where they played and jumped on their blowup bed and banged on the girls' bedroom door. It was fun for Amber to be included with the girls although it was a bit much for her. They are 10, 8, and 7 and Amber doesn't really have any experience hanging out with older kids so it was overwhelming for her. The first day there, the girls went out tree climbing and Amber's foot got stuck in a tree so the girls had to take her foot out of her shoe to get her down. We discovered a few hours later that Amber had a sprained ankle. She just didn't know how to express the problem. So she spent the next 48 hours crawling or being carried. I think she sort of enjoyed it. All of our kids were hanging out with kids bigger than them. Nathan couldn't handle sleeping with the boys who were much bigger and roughhousing on the air mattress so he slept on the couch where it was safer. Nathan had a lot of fun playing "waterfall." He had his BYU blanket (a gift from Heather's younger sister Ashley when he was a baby) and he slid down the stairs with the blanket, over and over. Some of the other kids joined in as well. We also went fishing at the pond on their property of almost 50 acres. We rode the pony cart, saw the animals, and played tether ball.
We had DELICIOUS food every meal! We had crepes, pizza, German pancakes, johnnycake with fresh fruit in it, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, Hawaiian haystacks, and lasagna. In the evenings after we sent the kids to bed, we played games with the other adults which was a lot of fun!
Jared's brothers are into guns a lot, so that was another activity, shooting at targets and clay pigeons. Heather actually went out and shot guns too. She shot a .22 handgun, a .22 rifle, a 20-gauge shot gun, and a Russian 9mm handgun from the 40s. She shot the target 8 out of 8 times with the rifle but wasn't very good with any of the others. She admitted to enjoying the experience but is not about to purchase a gun anytime soon.
It was so fun spending time with Jared's family, getting to know them all better, and for my kids to grow up knowing their cousins. We wished we could have stayed longer but the rest of us were ready to head home after five full days of nonstop fun! We drove back home all day Sunday, arriving late. The day after we got back from our trip we put up our Christmas tree and decorations!
Jared finishes his exams for the semester this week and then is off to California for a conference for a few days. Heather is excited her parents are returning home from their mission and have a long layover in Atlanta so they will drive up here and spend the night at our place. Looking forward to the rest of the Holidays!
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Thanksgiving in Missouri!
Jared's brother (left) brought a couple of rockets for us to shoot off. Here is the assembly team!
All the kids wanted a turn to shoot off the rockets.
BLAST OFF!
Nathan & Megan, the two youngest, were the only two that hung around until all the engines were used up.
Pizza party the day before Thanksgiving!
Loading up to go fishing!
Amber trying out this fishing thing!
The girl cousins always sat together!
Kyra is really into food, literally sometimes.
The Thanksgiving Feast!
Cousin Hyrum and Amber playing together. Apparently, Hyrum was the prince and Amber was the princess.
Jared engaging in a vigorous game of tether ball with his older brother.
Time for pie!
Heather enjoying her pie with Kyra!
Nathan playing on the stairs with cousins Megan and Brigham.
Caught nine of the twelve cousins in front of a movie!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Fall
With fall weather in full swing and a huge tree hanging over our driveway it is hard to keep the driveway leaf clear and in fact, it is hard to see the driveway at all! The past month has been busy and fun for us.
Football is a big thing here. If there is a home game, we basically avoid Athens altogether that day. People from all around come flocking into Athens that weekend and serious tailgating is happening all throughout gameday. Even if Jared wanted to get into school, it would be a nightmare since all parking space is set aside for the football game.
Jared submitted a grant this month to help fund is PhD. School has continued for him and he remains busy with classes and research. Heather and the kids balance time between school, library, shopping, playing at home, playing with neighbors, and enjoying life.
Early in October, we dropped the kids off at another member of our ward's (church congregation) home and drove the three and a half hours to the Columbia, South Carolina Temple. It was a great day and we enjoyed spending it with each other and other ward members.
Over the past weekend, Jared went out on a short trip to Northern Georgia and North Carolina collecting plant tissue for various species that they will be working on in the lab for his research. It proved to be a good trip and he got to spend lots of time with his advisor and became more familiar with the plant species they are working on.
Jared arrived home in time for Halloween. Heather dressed the kids up (see below) and took them out in our neighborhood. Jared remained home to pass out the candy. It turns out that our neighborhood is a popular place for trick-or-treaters. Several cars arrived from elsewhere with load of kids . We will definitely be prepared next year for the masses and Jared has a year to think of proper ways to motivate the older trick-or-treaters to earn their candy (i.e. sweeping leaves off the driveway, answering biology questions, etc.)
The three kids ready for trick-or-treating.
Amber the giraffe.
Nathan the Dalmation.
Kyra the Hula Girl.
Football is a big thing here. If there is a home game, we basically avoid Athens altogether that day. People from all around come flocking into Athens that weekend and serious tailgating is happening all throughout gameday. Even if Jared wanted to get into school, it would be a nightmare since all parking space is set aside for the football game.
Jared submitted a grant this month to help fund is PhD. School has continued for him and he remains busy with classes and research. Heather and the kids balance time between school, library, shopping, playing at home, playing with neighbors, and enjoying life.
Early in October, we dropped the kids off at another member of our ward's (church congregation) home and drove the three and a half hours to the Columbia, South Carolina Temple. It was a great day and we enjoyed spending it with each other and other ward members.
Over the past weekend, Jared went out on a short trip to Northern Georgia and North Carolina collecting plant tissue for various species that they will be working on in the lab for his research. It proved to be a good trip and he got to spend lots of time with his advisor and became more familiar with the plant species they are working on.
Jared arrived home in time for Halloween. Heather dressed the kids up (see below) and took them out in our neighborhood. Jared remained home to pass out the candy. It turns out that our neighborhood is a popular place for trick-or-treaters. Several cars arrived from elsewhere with load of kids . We will definitely be prepared next year for the masses and Jared has a year to think of proper ways to motivate the older trick-or-treaters to earn their candy (i.e. sweeping leaves off the driveway, answering biology questions, etc.)
The three kids ready for trick-or-treating.
Amber the giraffe.
Nathan the Dalmation.
Kyra the Hula Girl.Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Blending
Life has settled down quite a bit now that we have been here for nearly two months! Last Saturday Jared went out and cut the grass for the first time and boy did it need it. We got word that if you don't cut your grass people will come knocking on your door offering to cut it for you, for a fee. Some of them are legit, but some can be some shady characters. Anyway, the grass is cut and we can see our backyard better now!
In other news, Jared's masters thesis was published. He was excited about it since it really means he has joined the ranks of true scientists having published in peer-reviewed journals. He is aware that he is officially on the "publish or perish" train ride that will hopefully land him a tenure-track position at a university somewhere.
For anyone concerned about us and the flooding in Georgia, fear not. The majority of the flooding occurred on the west side of Atlanta and we are a good forty miles to the east of Atlanta. While we did get lots of rain and some good thunderstorms, we stayed dry for the most part.
Heather and the kids are all doing well. Amber is enjoying school and riding the bus home each day. Nathan and Kyra are learning to be good playmates while Amber is gone and Heather loves her home and the new atmosphere in Georgia.
In other news, Jared's masters thesis was published. He was excited about it since it really means he has joined the ranks of true scientists having published in peer-reviewed journals. He is aware that he is officially on the "publish or perish" train ride that will hopefully land him a tenure-track position at a university somewhere.
For anyone concerned about us and the flooding in Georgia, fear not. The majority of the flooding occurred on the west side of Atlanta and we are a good forty miles to the east of Atlanta. While we did get lots of rain and some good thunderstorms, we stayed dry for the most part.
Heather and the kids are all doing well. Amber is enjoying school and riding the bus home each day. Nathan and Kyra are learning to be good playmates while Amber is gone and Heather loves her home and the new atmosphere in Georgia.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Normal life
Things have been humming along here. After a couple of weekends in a row with sick kids everyone is healthy. Amber is loving school. We got her first progress report of the quarter and Jared laughed. Apparently, Amber has "insufficient progress" in a couple of areas. He found the phrase ambiguous and shrugged it off. When she brings home an 'F', then he'll be worried. In actuality it is no big deal. I mean Amber has been in kindergarten for a month. On top of that she is a young kindergartner, she turned 5 in August. Her teacher has mentioned that she is still developing her fine motor skills and pointed out other differences just due to the age. At this age, even months make a difference in abilities and cognition. Nevertheless, Amber does her homework each day, willingly practices numbers, reads books, and in general loves learning. She has also started riding the bus home and loves that aspect of her day.
Nathan has been talking much clearer lately and is showing signs of real sentences. We no longer need Amber to translate most of what he says anymore. Kyra is teething which is good since she took the longest to get teeth, she now has five teeth and we think a sixth is coming in as well. Heather loves the house and it is looking better each week. We have a small pile of boxes remaining that we can knock out quickly if we get a good chunk of time to attack them. Jared is getting into the program more and loving his Evolutionary Genetics and Biotechnology courses, he tolerates Statistics. He is exploring options for his dissertation and preparing an application for a lucrative fellowship. All in all things are well!
Nathan has been talking much clearer lately and is showing signs of real sentences. We no longer need Amber to translate most of what he says anymore. Kyra is teething which is good since she took the longest to get teeth, she now has five teeth and we think a sixth is coming in as well. Heather loves the house and it is looking better each week. We have a small pile of boxes remaining that we can knock out quickly if we get a good chunk of time to attack them. Jared is getting into the program more and loving his Evolutionary Genetics and Biotechnology courses, he tolerates Statistics. He is exploring options for his dissertation and preparing an application for a lucrative fellowship. All in all things are well!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Enjoying the Peach State!
We have been in our home for three weeks now and are settling in nicely. The best news it that we all have real beds to sleep on. We brought a crib for Kyra so she was the first to get a bed. A little over a week ago Jared went to Walmart and purchased a bunk bed. He was a bit surprised when they rang the $189 bunk bed up as $50. He inquired about it and they checked the price from several different tags. All of them rang up the same $50 price, though the tag physically said it cost $189. They checked with the manager and after some inquiries they came back and said it was mine for $50 explaining that someone else had made a computer error. Jared literally robbed Walmart with the store manager's permission! We see it as a great blessing. Along with the bunk bed we also have three new bookshelves from Walmart along with a shoe rack. We have found Walmart has a good selection of nice looking furniture at great prices. Not bad for those of us on tight budgets. Just a couple of days ago Jared obtained a queen size bed at no charge from his new advisor, who had recently bought a king size bed. Thus, after three weeks of unpacking the house is coming together nicely. Still boxes to unpack, but most of the stuff is out.
Amber started kindergarten August 14th after getting all the shots required and paperwork. She has adapted nicely. She loves her school and the teacher is wonderful! She is excited to start riding the bus in the coming weeks, but for now Heather will drive her in and pick her up. She brings her homework home each day and usually Dad helps her with it unless he is at school late. Her teacher has commented that Amber makes friends well and is doing fine. She practices her letters and is learning her phone number, address, and student number. Nathan and Kyra enjoy staying home with Heather and helping her out.
Jared started classes on August 17th and has been busy since. He is taking Statistics, Evolutionary Genetics, and Modern Biotechnology Lab. He gets credits for a host of other things that are not real classes like a department seminar, lab meeting, etc. Thursdays are particularly long for him as he has classes from 9:30-10:45am, 2:00-5:00pm, and 7:00-10:00pm. Other days he is able to get home before or a little after 5pm. Jared has enjoyed taking the bus thus far. We are about a 12-15 minute walk from the bus stop which then takes about 10 minutes to get to campus. Either way it is about a 30 minute communte which is nice because it works in a nice healthy walk twice each day for Jared. As expected, Jared has kept to his usual routine of getting to the lab early and getting a jump on the day. He is usually able to catch the first bus of the day into town and be in the lab at 7am.
Heather is enjoying Athens. She is finding her way around nicely and enjoys getting the house set up. She loves getting all our decorations out that we have had in storage for some time now, including all our paintings from China, her dolls, and other items that really add character to the home. We have been enjoying the peaches down here, which are quite delicious. It is hot and humid, but that was expected. We already have had several nice thunderstorms and found the trees around our home shelter us nicely from the rain and also from the sun, there is hardly a window in the house that gets direct sunlight. All in all things are well here in our new home! We gave talks in Church today that went well and the Church has been very friendly and welcoming. Enjoy the recent pics!
At a rest stop on our big drive out to Georgia, we found a playground that got the kids excited!
Our new home in the background, Heather, Amber and Kyra posing. (Nathan was sleeping.)
Nathan, showing off the playroom with his stuffed animals.
Amber showing off the new bunk bed with the stuffed animals.
Amber on our deck with our backyard behind her!
Amber started kindergarten August 14th after getting all the shots required and paperwork. She has adapted nicely. She loves her school and the teacher is wonderful! She is excited to start riding the bus in the coming weeks, but for now Heather will drive her in and pick her up. She brings her homework home each day and usually Dad helps her with it unless he is at school late. Her teacher has commented that Amber makes friends well and is doing fine. She practices her letters and is learning her phone number, address, and student number. Nathan and Kyra enjoy staying home with Heather and helping her out.
Jared started classes on August 17th and has been busy since. He is taking Statistics, Evolutionary Genetics, and Modern Biotechnology Lab. He gets credits for a host of other things that are not real classes like a department seminar, lab meeting, etc. Thursdays are particularly long for him as he has classes from 9:30-10:45am, 2:00-5:00pm, and 7:00-10:00pm. Other days he is able to get home before or a little after 5pm. Jared has enjoyed taking the bus thus far. We are about a 12-15 minute walk from the bus stop which then takes about 10 minutes to get to campus. Either way it is about a 30 minute communte which is nice because it works in a nice healthy walk twice each day for Jared. As expected, Jared has kept to his usual routine of getting to the lab early and getting a jump on the day. He is usually able to catch the first bus of the day into town and be in the lab at 7am.
Heather is enjoying Athens. She is finding her way around nicely and enjoys getting the house set up. She loves getting all our decorations out that we have had in storage for some time now, including all our paintings from China, her dolls, and other items that really add character to the home. We have been enjoying the peaches down here, which are quite delicious. It is hot and humid, but that was expected. We already have had several nice thunderstorms and found the trees around our home shelter us nicely from the rain and also from the sun, there is hardly a window in the house that gets direct sunlight. All in all things are well here in our new home! We gave talks in Church today that went well and the Church has been very friendly and welcoming. Enjoy the recent pics!
At a rest stop on our big drive out to Georgia, we found a playground that got the kids excited!
Our new home in the background, Heather, Amber and Kyra posing. (Nathan was sleeping.)
Nathan, showing off the playroom with his stuffed animals.
Amber showing off the new bunk bed with the stuffed animals.
Amber on our deck with our backyard behind her!Thursday, August 13, 2009
A 2300-mile journey!
With everything packed up either in our ABF trailer or our minivan, we headed out early on the morning of August 6th. The driving went well for the most part. Heather kept the kids entertained with snacks and games and some fun children’s CDs. Meanwhile I cruised through the mountains of Utah and Wyoming. We stopped for lunch in Rawlins, Wyoming where they had a McDonald’s with a Playplace. We ate and the kids played for awhile. Both Nathan and Amber got a little car sick and threw up on the way there so we broke out the children’s allergy medication (it helps with motion sickness in kids) the rest of the trip. In the afternoon we continued on until the kids were worn out. We spent the night in Sidney, Nebraska.
The next morning (August 7th) we were up early and in the car moving. The traveling went much better since we were out of the mountains. With a flat, straight road we made excellent time and stopped in Council Bluffs, Iowa for lunch. Heather helped tremendously by making up fun games for the children to play. They would choose a word to call out each time we went under a bridge and then break out in a chorus of it each time we passed under a bridge. After lunch we pushed onto Cedar Rapids, Iowa where we stopped at Jared’s older brother’s home. They have four kids that were all excited to see some new cousins. Jared’s older brother, Andy, couldn’t resist engaging Jared in a wrestling match and showing off his superior skills (or weight, whichever it may be).
We spent the next day (August 8th) with them letting the kids play, cleaning out the van, repacking stuff, letting Jared catch up on some work, and relaxing. In the afternoon, Andy and Jared loaded up some guns and went out to a nearby range. Andy trained him on each one and Jared got to shoot of some pretty fun guns! We used paper plates as targets but also brought along some old pans which we pulverized. Jared was able to hit the targets some of the time, but did a fair amount of missing. In the evening after the kids were in bed Heather and Jared took on Andy and his wife Devon to some foosball. Intense though the games were, we lost. (Must be that homecourt advantage).
Sunday (August 9th), we were up early and got everyone ready for church at 9am. Afterwards we loaded the van up and headed on down the road. We needed to get to Paducah, Kentucky. It was a wonderful stay and we thoroughly enjoyed the company and especially all the yummy food Devon cooked for us. (Definitely and incentive to return!) The kids settled in and slept for the first part of the trip having been thoroughly worn out by their cousins. We made good time through Illinois until Jared took a wrong turn and headed 20 miles in the wrong direction. That and an underestimation of the time it would take to get to Paducah we finally drove into Paducah around 10pm. We grabbed our toiletries and hauled the kids inside and got them cleaned up and put in bed before collapsing ourselves.
We woke up on August 10th excited that this would be the day that we would finally arrive at our home in Athens, Georgia. Amber saw a Hardee’s right across from the hotel and we all agreed that would make a great breakfast. We headed south going through Kentucky and then into Tennessee going through Nashville and then Chattanooga. We finally crossed the border into Georgia and the kids were cheering upon the announcement. (Note: Heather and I had been talking up this move for a couple of months so the kids were excited about each new development.) We timed our trip through Atlanta to miss the rush-hour traffic and headed on to Athens. We pulled into our driveway around 4pm. When asked if he liked the house, Nathan replied that he thought it looked funny.
The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We have gotten our ABF trailer with all our stuff, I have attended several orientation activities at UGA, I’ve been busy getting all my paperwork together for classes to start, unpacking, entertaining kids, checking out stores for items we need, cleaning, getting all the stuff hooked up, etc. As I write this we are pretty well set up, still need a washer/dryer, beds for the kids and parents (Kyra sleeps in style in her crib, the rest of us are pretty much camping), and some other stuff. But the water runs, the water heater was turned on today, internet is available, the phone works, electricity works, and the house is in good condition. Furthermore, I am all registered for my classes, met with my advisor briefly before he took off to Iceland, figured out the busses to and from campus, and had our first home-cooked meal in the house (Mac & Cheese, don’t get too excited).
Lots more for us to do but we are enjoying the home as are the kids!
The next morning (August 7th) we were up early and in the car moving. The traveling went much better since we were out of the mountains. With a flat, straight road we made excellent time and stopped in Council Bluffs, Iowa for lunch. Heather helped tremendously by making up fun games for the children to play. They would choose a word to call out each time we went under a bridge and then break out in a chorus of it each time we passed under a bridge. After lunch we pushed onto Cedar Rapids, Iowa where we stopped at Jared’s older brother’s home. They have four kids that were all excited to see some new cousins. Jared’s older brother, Andy, couldn’t resist engaging Jared in a wrestling match and showing off his superior skills (or weight, whichever it may be).
We spent the next day (August 8th) with them letting the kids play, cleaning out the van, repacking stuff, letting Jared catch up on some work, and relaxing. In the afternoon, Andy and Jared loaded up some guns and went out to a nearby range. Andy trained him on each one and Jared got to shoot of some pretty fun guns! We used paper plates as targets but also brought along some old pans which we pulverized. Jared was able to hit the targets some of the time, but did a fair amount of missing. In the evening after the kids were in bed Heather and Jared took on Andy and his wife Devon to some foosball. Intense though the games were, we lost. (Must be that homecourt advantage).
Sunday (August 9th), we were up early and got everyone ready for church at 9am. Afterwards we loaded the van up and headed on down the road. We needed to get to Paducah, Kentucky. It was a wonderful stay and we thoroughly enjoyed the company and especially all the yummy food Devon cooked for us. (Definitely and incentive to return!) The kids settled in and slept for the first part of the trip having been thoroughly worn out by their cousins. We made good time through Illinois until Jared took a wrong turn and headed 20 miles in the wrong direction. That and an underestimation of the time it would take to get to Paducah we finally drove into Paducah around 10pm. We grabbed our toiletries and hauled the kids inside and got them cleaned up and put in bed before collapsing ourselves.
We woke up on August 10th excited that this would be the day that we would finally arrive at our home in Athens, Georgia. Amber saw a Hardee’s right across from the hotel and we all agreed that would make a great breakfast. We headed south going through Kentucky and then into Tennessee going through Nashville and then Chattanooga. We finally crossed the border into Georgia and the kids were cheering upon the announcement. (Note: Heather and I had been talking up this move for a couple of months so the kids were excited about each new development.) We timed our trip through Atlanta to miss the rush-hour traffic and headed on to Athens. We pulled into our driveway around 4pm. When asked if he liked the house, Nathan replied that he thought it looked funny.
The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity. We have gotten our ABF trailer with all our stuff, I have attended several orientation activities at UGA, I’ve been busy getting all my paperwork together for classes to start, unpacking, entertaining kids, checking out stores for items we need, cleaning, getting all the stuff hooked up, etc. As I write this we are pretty well set up, still need a washer/dryer, beds for the kids and parents (Kyra sleeps in style in her crib, the rest of us are pretty much camping), and some other stuff. But the water runs, the water heater was turned on today, internet is available, the phone works, electricity works, and the house is in good condition. Furthermore, I am all registered for my classes, met with my advisor briefly before he took off to Iceland, figured out the busses to and from campus, and had our first home-cooked meal in the house (Mac & Cheese, don’t get too excited).
Lots more for us to do but we are enjoying the home as are the kids!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Trip to China
I went to Beijing, China to attend the 23rd International Congress for Conservation Biology. It was held at a large convention center at the northwest corner of Beijing. I presented a poster there summarizing the conservation genetics on a Mexican rodent that I have worked on as a side project for the last several years. This being the 3rd time I went to China I was a bit apprehensive since major tragedies have struck the USA shortly after I arrived in China the last two times (September 11th and Hurricane Katrina). However, I was pleased to find that this did not occur (unless you consider the confirmation hearings of Sonia Sotomayor a tragedy).
Since I was flying standby I arrived a couple days early which allowed me to adjust to the time difference. The first striking thing I noticed was the "eternal fog" surrounding Beijing. It should be no surprise to anyone going to Beijing that the pollution is horrible. Each breath you take increases the likelihood of a respiratory infection ten fold and cuts one minute off of your life.
Another thing that impressed me was the driving. Some people in the USA complain about drivers. I welcome any driver from the USA any day over those driving in Beijing (or any other thirds world country with similar problems), especially taxi drivers. Since I was staying at a friend's house, I took a taxi to the conference center each day and back. Let me review the actual driving rules. 1) Any law officially in the books is considered a recommendation, 2) The lines on the road and signs posted are good suggestions, 3) Wearing a seat belt is a luxury, 4) Taxis always have the right of way, especially when they are carrying a foreigner. With that said I must say that the drivers I had were good for the most part. They found out quickly that I knew my way around and so they couldn't take a detour and get some extra cash out of me. Most of the drivers knew the places I wanted to go and got there without difficulty, though I did have a couple that needed some help. Thank goodness I was there to tell them which roads to take. Overall, the taxis went well, we only hit one person! That was quite an event. The driver was making a left hand turn and tried to squeeze through the space where a guy was riding his bike across the road. It didn't work. The guy on the bike crashed into the side of the taxi. The driver stopped immediately and got out. I watched the two of them have an animated discussion. The driver helped the guy off the ground and straightened up his bike. They both made sure the bike was working and adjusted the front wheel. Then the taxi driver got back in the car and we headed off, apparently the incident was resolved. The driver laughed and said to me as we drove off, "That guy needs to watch more closely when he is crossing the street."
The conference lasted for five days with a one day break in the middle. I will not bore you with the fascinating science and cool research going on. I basically sat in meetings and listened to research presentations each day (its a scientist thing). There were people from 74 different countries there with most of them from North America and China. Overall it was very good and I got to meet some wonderful people including some great new friends at the Chinese Academy of Science.
On the one day break I went on a tour of the National Museum of Zoology which was absolutely fantastic! (Note to everyone: You should go to natural history museums and zoos on a regular basis.) We went by the Olympics Park, which was really hot and not that exciting. Then we made a short stop at a pearl factory and then headed for a tour of a local hutong. The hutong tour is somethign I have not done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hutong are older more traditional style neighborhoods that are largely being done away with. We rode through them in ricjshaw and visited a family living there. After the tour was over I went to Tiananmen Square, one of my favorite places in Beijing.
Due to the Olympics Beijing has a much more extensive subway system that I really enjoy. For cheap (2 RMB one way or about $0.30), a tourist can get around Beijing without having to know the language at all. They have a line extending out to the airport as well. Most of the major tourist sites are on the subway line which allows one to save plenty of money.
My last night in Beijing I met up with some of my former students who have now graduated and are working in Beijing. We had dinner and I filled them in on the news of Heather and Amber, plus the two more kids we now have. They were excited and we all enjoyed visiting. They all have found jobs, but mentioned many of their classmates have been unable to find work yet (they graduated a year ago) due to the economic crisis. It really drove home how global this economy is seeingt he same struggles in China that I see in the USA.
Anyway, the trip home was long and tiring. I am glad I got to go and look forward to returning to China next summer!
Jared
(enjoy the pics)
Me and some of my former students now working in Beijing.
At the pearl factory they cut open an oyster to show us where the pearls were and how many there were in each one. This one had over 30 pearls!
The skeleton of a blue whale hanging in the main atrium of the National Museum of Zoology.
At the home of the family we visited on the hutong tour, this girl is the niece of the woman that owns the house and they paint the inside of bottles and sell them as a living. This is an old craft in China and mostly they are done by machine, but these folks are the real deal!
A view of a typical hutong street, very narrow and on each side are multiple homes connected by their walls.
Since I was flying standby I arrived a couple days early which allowed me to adjust to the time difference. The first striking thing I noticed was the "eternal fog" surrounding Beijing. It should be no surprise to anyone going to Beijing that the pollution is horrible. Each breath you take increases the likelihood of a respiratory infection ten fold and cuts one minute off of your life.
Another thing that impressed me was the driving. Some people in the USA complain about drivers. I welcome any driver from the USA any day over those driving in Beijing (or any other thirds world country with similar problems), especially taxi drivers. Since I was staying at a friend's house, I took a taxi to the conference center each day and back. Let me review the actual driving rules. 1) Any law officially in the books is considered a recommendation, 2) The lines on the road and signs posted are good suggestions, 3) Wearing a seat belt is a luxury, 4) Taxis always have the right of way, especially when they are carrying a foreigner. With that said I must say that the drivers I had were good for the most part. They found out quickly that I knew my way around and so they couldn't take a detour and get some extra cash out of me. Most of the drivers knew the places I wanted to go and got there without difficulty, though I did have a couple that needed some help. Thank goodness I was there to tell them which roads to take. Overall, the taxis went well, we only hit one person! That was quite an event. The driver was making a left hand turn and tried to squeeze through the space where a guy was riding his bike across the road. It didn't work. The guy on the bike crashed into the side of the taxi. The driver stopped immediately and got out. I watched the two of them have an animated discussion. The driver helped the guy off the ground and straightened up his bike. They both made sure the bike was working and adjusted the front wheel. Then the taxi driver got back in the car and we headed off, apparently the incident was resolved. The driver laughed and said to me as we drove off, "That guy needs to watch more closely when he is crossing the street."
The conference lasted for five days with a one day break in the middle. I will not bore you with the fascinating science and cool research going on. I basically sat in meetings and listened to research presentations each day (its a scientist thing). There were people from 74 different countries there with most of them from North America and China. Overall it was very good and I got to meet some wonderful people including some great new friends at the Chinese Academy of Science.
On the one day break I went on a tour of the National Museum of Zoology which was absolutely fantastic! (Note to everyone: You should go to natural history museums and zoos on a regular basis.) We went by the Olympics Park, which was really hot and not that exciting. Then we made a short stop at a pearl factory and then headed for a tour of a local hutong. The hutong tour is somethign I have not done and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Hutong are older more traditional style neighborhoods that are largely being done away with. We rode through them in ricjshaw and visited a family living there. After the tour was over I went to Tiananmen Square, one of my favorite places in Beijing.
Due to the Olympics Beijing has a much more extensive subway system that I really enjoy. For cheap (2 RMB one way or about $0.30), a tourist can get around Beijing without having to know the language at all. They have a line extending out to the airport as well. Most of the major tourist sites are on the subway line which allows one to save plenty of money.
My last night in Beijing I met up with some of my former students who have now graduated and are working in Beijing. We had dinner and I filled them in on the news of Heather and Amber, plus the two more kids we now have. They were excited and we all enjoyed visiting. They all have found jobs, but mentioned many of their classmates have been unable to find work yet (they graduated a year ago) due to the economic crisis. It really drove home how global this economy is seeingt he same struggles in China that I see in the USA.
Anyway, the trip home was long and tiring. I am glad I got to go and look forward to returning to China next summer!
Jared
(enjoy the pics)
Me and some of my former students now working in Beijing.
At the pearl factory they cut open an oyster to show us where the pearls were and how many there were in each one. This one had over 30 pearls!
The skeleton of a blue whale hanging in the main atrium of the National Museum of Zoology.
At the home of the family we visited on the hutong tour, this girl is the niece of the woman that owns the house and they paint the inside of bottles and sell them as a living. This is an old craft in China and mostly they are done by machine, but these folks are the real deal!
A view of a typical hutong street, very narrow and on each side are multiple homes connected by their walls.Sunday, July 5, 2009
Welcome to our new blog!
Hello everyone! Heather and I have decided to start blogging to keep everyone updated. We have enjoyed hosting the website, but we feel now that this blog will serve the same purpose while saving us time and money.
I graduated with my Masters in Biology from BYU in April and now teach a nonmajors biology course in Salt Lake. In about another month we will be moving to Athens, Georgia where I will start a Ph.D in Genetics.
Heather and the kids are doing well. Amber turns five in a few more weeks and is excited to start school in Georgia. She is a good big sister and helps Heather out a lot. Nathan loves life and loves hanging out with his Dad. We recently went on an overnight campout that he loved. Kyra is walking and loves joining in the fun with her older siblings. She still only has one tooth and has the cutest smile with it!
We'd love to hear from anyone and hope to keep in touch with our new found interest in blogging. We will be posting pics here as well soon!
Jared
I graduated with my Masters in Biology from BYU in April and now teach a nonmajors biology course in Salt Lake. In about another month we will be moving to Athens, Georgia where I will start a Ph.D in Genetics.
Heather and the kids are doing well. Amber turns five in a few more weeks and is excited to start school in Georgia. She is a good big sister and helps Heather out a lot. Nathan loves life and loves hanging out with his Dad. We recently went on an overnight campout that he loved. Kyra is walking and loves joining in the fun with her older siblings. She still only has one tooth and has the cutest smile with it!
We'd love to hear from anyone and hope to keep in touch with our new found interest in blogging. We will be posting pics here as well soon!
Jared