Pork in Paradise

Well,

I didn’t write last week and I really don’t have much to report except:

 WE CAN BUY PORK NOW!!!!! Yes, we fried up our first pound of that succulent other white meat (I am really sorry to those of you that this is still wrong) known as bacon.  It was a gift for Thanksgiving and then we went to the store today and stocked up.  So, Qatar is changing!  We can now go to the liquor store and buy our brats and beer (only to be consumed in the secrecy of your own home).  We got there today when they opened and the line was half way around the block.  Most of the Filipino and Asian workers don’t spend their money on the high cost liquor, but they were taking the pork out by the box full.  Since this is a government operation and both are huge harams, it makes me question the huge profits that are being made – but who cares – I get to eat bacon with my eggs in the morning.  Almost like being home --- okay, that is just plain crazy talk, but it is a nice addition to living here.

Many of you might have seen a link sent to you for the Blog a couple weeks ago – sorry I had to do that, but I have to close down to the public for a while and you will have to log on to view the blog.  Another teacher told me that the school heard I have a blog and was looking for it (a dirt search).  The games have started and they are digging.  We were told that we should try to have their recommendations removed from our profiles with SEARCH, because they have really burned us.  We don’t know yet, but another teacher called his sponsor and was told that he had already removed the ones from the principal because they were so horrible.  He is a great teacher with an amazing attitude.  It is going to be difficult to just bow out gracefully – the administration has proven that they just need to destroy people.  I hope they realize that two can play that game – I love to write!!!

Back to a lighter note, the temperatures have dropped much lower than last year.  Since none of the houses have heat and they are basically a huge block of concrete, it gets quite cold in our hovel.  Lately it is around 9 C in the evening, so we have resorted to kitchen camping. Oooo Ahaaa, what a nice fire to keep us warm – thinking of moving the TV in next to the oven J.  We did go beach camping this weekend and it was cold and clear, but no one else was there and that made it great!

Lesson of the Week: Good things come to those that wait --- Mmmmmm BBQ!

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

Beginning of the End

Dear friends, family and countrymen,

We are DONE! Well, at the end of the school year, but we have officially resigned.  I guess the gig was up when I asked for a letter of recommendation a few weeks ago (which they refuse).  They called us in on Thursday and wanted an “honest” answer – strange that they would want an honest answer when they really only want to hear lies.  So, we told them we wanted to be closer to family (true part) and that we hated to leave such a great school (the lie part).  I guess you could say we mixed it up a little – we need to get our money! 

This is going to be an interesting next couple of weeks.  So far we are 2 of 4 that have resigned and we know of 6 more for certain and about 6 more that are about 80% sure.  Since Missie is the Science Department in Middle School and they will be adding 8^th grade next year, the whole department will need to be replaced.  I am half of the English department and the other half is resigning as well – they will be replacing MS English department.  Both art teachers are leaving which is the art department for the whole school.  4 of the 8 KG teachers are leaving with more possible. 

All this in the middle of trying to become MYP certified and accredited by Middle States (USA accreditation).  That means that all the Middle School teachers that replace us will need to be MYP Certified or the process comes to a halt.  Of the teachers leaving, all are certified teachers in North America or UK – that will impact the ability of the school to go forward with accreditation process.  Last year, they had to hire 5 people (with unrelated degrees or still in online University) to fill teaching positions that have never been in an education program – couldn’t get teachers to apply.

We will be talking and searching for the best options for us.  We will be attending another job fair in London in late January to see all the options and we will be looking in AZ when we are home for Christmas.  We are leaning more towards coming back to AZ, so Missie can finish her retirement.  All we know it that we will be some place better than this – money is much less a factor in our decision this time.

We both feel really good that the decision is made.

Lesson of the Week: I hope they find what they are looking for – it wasn’t us.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

Germany Volume II

Wow! What a great 10 days.

Even as the second edition, it just kept getting better.  Going 210 km/hr. on a motorcycle on the Autoban.  Motorcycling to France for coffee and éclairs. Kayaking, hiking, more museums and castles, traveling to Munich, Frankfurt, Heidelberg – I’m going to have to look at the pictures to remember all that we did.

As I said in the last letter, I was headed back to the Lufthansa Training Center to watch Thomas complete his quarterly simulator practicum.  The exam was over 4 hours and was a real enlightening experience.  After a couple minutes inside, I completely forgot I was in a simulator.  The examiner was a real stickler and really made the pilots work.  Poor visibility, engine flame outs, engine failures on take off, vehicles on the runway, fast changes in weather, and a few more kinks thrown in just for fun.  It was very interesting how the procedures were followed and the pilots calmly made major corrections and landed the planes safely – a lot can go wrong and they can still fly the plane.  While I was in the simulator, Missie went and had a long lunch with Uli, one of the other pilots she had met 30 years ago. 

The next day was off to the motorcycle races.  Thomas has several BMWs and we took out the 1200 for a ride – Missie was in search of another museum.  He kept trying to get me to drive, but I was really reluctant to re-learn riding on a new $15k euro bike.  So, he took me out on the Autoban and maxed it out at 210.  The next day, he talked me into trying his BMW HP4 (only 500 made – capable of 260+).  I think it was a sign from God that I couldn’t keep it running.  He had the same problem, but more experience – we swapped back – to Missie’s detriment.  She then had to ride with me – my ribs are still sore and her arms and thighs are sore from holding on.  It thought I was nice!  I only went 150.  We drove to France for a late morning coffee and pastry.  Then on to the Black Forest, windy roads and a couple more castles – oh, and of coarse lunch including large portions of pork.

The next day we decide to go back to the Black Forest and go hiking.  The cloud cover in Karlsruhe was really low, but Thomas said it would be sunny and warm at the forest.  Within a few minutes drive, we were above the cloud cover and looking out over a sea of clouds.  The day was amazingly beautiful.  Once again, took a nice long walk around a lake and up through a marsh on the plateau (sort of like the páramos of Colombia) and once again had a nice lunch including Black Forest ham. 

Then it was over to Utta’s house for dinner with Ingo, Lisa, and Willy.  This was a tradional German dinner with more pork roast, sour kraut and potatoes – we could hardly walk.  It was a fun night of laughing a trying to talk Lisa into coming to the US.  Nick and Scott came to live with Thomas, Utta, Willy and Lisa when they were 10 and 8.  Utta had driven the boys all around Europe with her kids and we would like to repay the opportunity and show Lisa and Willy the US.

The next day we jumped on the train early in the AM and headed to Munich with Thomas, Anette, and Thomas’ mom.  While the girls went to a half dozen art museums, Thomas and I went to The German Museum.  I won’t bore you with all the things we saw, but we could have stayed longer.  The reason for the trip was two fold – the museums were a side adventure.  The actual mission was for (1) Pork Knuckles and (2) beer at the Hofbräuhaus München.

Way back when Nick was 10, he remembered eating these fried pig’s feet that were simply amazing.  He told me that it was the best thing he had ever eaten and I just had to go try them.  After many questions, it was determined that these items could only be found in Munich – so we just had to go.  Lots of beer and pork later and I am here to tell you that my son was right.  That was truly one of the best things I have ever eaten in my life.  I really wanted to order a whole one, but my brains over road my desires when I learned they were about 2 kg each – so we ordered halves.

It was really a great opportunity for me to see Germany for the first time and it was fun to watch Missie re-unite with old friends.  We feel bad that we could spend more time with everyone there, but we have really re-ignited old friendships that have already started to grow.  Missie has already received pictures from Uli from 30 years ago and has several new Facebook friends that are already writing and sending pictures.

We’re back in Qatar and the weather has changed while we were gone.  Nice cool nights and cooler days – apparently it rained while we were gone.  Less than 5 weeks until we leave for home – we think we can make it.

Lesson of the Week: This isn’t home – it’s a place we stopped at.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

Germany Volume I

 

Guten Tag,

This is first edition for our adventures in Germany.  Wow!  I didn’t know you could fix pork this many different ways – and I think I am only about 25 % done.  Schnitzel, sausage, ham, pork shoulder, pig knuckles, pigs feet – wow!  I am as happy as can be – did I mention the beer.  I think I am averaging about 2 kilos of pork and 5 liters of beer each day.  I am figuring on an overall weight gain of 10 kilos in ten days.  The chocolate is just a side bonus.  Man am I happy!

Well, so far we have visited 7 different castles, ridden a half day boat ride on the Rhein River, kayaked on the Rhein, visited a museum of traditional homes in the Black Forest (along with a picnic), walked miles and miles, driven miles and miles, and just had an amazing time overall.  The weather has been absolutely perfect.  It is the middle of fall and the colors are brilliant and the temperature is crisp. 

Missie has been busy trying to get a picture of every square inch of Germany while I have been trying to eat everything she photographs.  We are headed to Frankfurt tomorrow to find a couple museums in the am and then I am going to sit through a simulator examination that Thomas has to take on the 737 – should take about 4 hours.  We have a whole list of things that we still want to do.  Tuesday or Wednesday we are headed to Munich in search of a couple recommended restaurants (we’ve tried them all here).  So, we will have a 3-hour train ride each way and 3 or 4 hours eating time in between – I hope we can get a snack on the train; it seems like a lot of wasted time. 

Well, Thomas just brought me in another beer and we are relaxing (as usual) this evening after a rigorous day of eating and drinking.  So, I am going to sign off until next week. 

Lesson of the Week: There is nothing like the western world.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

We think we can! We think we can!

Howdy,

Only a couple weeks and we are off to Germany (Nov 3^rd thru 12^th) for a very needed get-a-way.  Then we are back for less than 5 weeks and then we are home for Christmas (Dec 16^th thru Jan 2^nd).  The added bonus there is that everyone is coming home for the holidays.  Scott and Cassie will be there the same days as us and that will make it complete.

I know that I promised to try to keep this year’s letters a little more positive, but this has just been a wreck of a couple weeks.  For the last two months, Missie had not been receiving any pay for her position of Science/Math Coordinator.  So when she went in to ask, she was told that they had changed it to Team Leader.  This meant, that they expect the same amount of work, yet there is no pay increase for this “title”.  The $4500 USD hit can be swallowed, but it really irritated us to no end, that we gave up three additional weeks last summer so she could come back and work with the new teachers – this is only expected of “Coordinators” and “Heads of Department”.  This is now the third time that we have lost promised compensation totaling nearly $15,000 – it’s getting harder and harder to swallow and still keep a smile on our faces.  There is no appeals process, so… ?

The second kick to my desire to motivate occurred a couple days ago when I lost all my files on the computer at work.  The network has been marginal at best since we have been here and getting worse.  After loosing data last year when the hard drive crashed, I chose to keep all my files on a flash drive.  This also allowed me to take all my data back and forth between school and home.  Each day, the computers lock up between 3-5 times each, because the network is not large enough for the number of users.  So on this day, I was trying to go home and after watching the pixie wheel spin (MAC users will know what I mean) for over an hour, I finally powered the computer off.  In the process, it erased about half of my flash drive and de-linked the rest of the files.  Even after trying to use recovery software, it is gone.  I basically lost most of what I had created in the last month – I know I should have backed it up somewhere, but I didn’t.  I was able to retrieve some of the files I needed from emails, and I have hard copies for the others, but just few days of frustration.

The next pleasantry came when we were told this week that we will need to write ALL of the curriculum and lesson plans through grade 9.  That means three years of lesson plans for me, but 5 years worth for Missie.   I think they know we are not coming back and think they are going to get their last miles out of us – I don’t see that happening.  They are certainly making the decision easy for us.

It has been a tough couple of weeks, but we are really staying focused on the end.  I have started lifting three evenings per week and continuing to swim at least two days a week. Missie walks on the treadmill while I am lifting and swims most days I do.  We have been trying to find new restaurants just to get out an evening per week.  The weather is nice (between the dust storms) and we will start camping by the ocean this next week.  The basketball court in front of the hovel is getting some use in the late evenings and seems to draw the neighbors out of their caves.

The photos this week are from a field trip I went on with the 6^th and 7^th graders on Thursday.  This was at a museum for Arab art.  It went as expected.

Lesson of the Week: When you do a good job – they always want you to do more.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

Can't wait until November!

Guten Tag!

If you can believe it, Missie and I decided not to go spend the next Eid vacation diving somewhere.  I actually thought about it and wanted someplace green and maybe a little bit chilly – and of course with pork and good beer.  So, yes we are headed to Germany on November 2^nd until the 12^th.  Some of you might know that Missie spent time in Germany after high school with a group of Pilots she had met in Phoenix while they were attending pilot school.  They treated her like the little sister and showed her the real Germany.  Later, a couple of them visited us in Flagstaff and even later, both our boys went and lived with one of their families for a summer when they were 8 and 10.  So, now we will be headed over to re-visit old friendships and see how well we have all aged.  I have never been there, so I am really excited to see Germany with friends.

I really apologize for not having any pictures for the pasts several weeks – but we have really been hunkered down just trying to keep caught up.  The process of adding in MYP this year has been a challenge to say the least.  On top of that, the school has begun the process of becoming “Accredited” as a US school – lots to say about that, but I will hold my tongue.  This equates to every teacher being appointed to 2 additional committees and all the glorious meetings that go with it.  With 17 different committees all running in different directions, an unrealistic time line and in a culture of “inshalla”, things should get very interesting.  Starting when we get back from Christmas holiday, there will be a team of auditors at the school for a week plus doing an evaluation.  Along with that, the certifying agency, will be posting a series of anonymous surveys to be completed by teachers – wow, the reaction by administration after the outcomes of those should be extremely  ………. volatile? 

We went to an amazing concert the other night during South American week at the cultural center.  Apparently, the Flamingo is believed to have originated in Uruguay – that might be argued by Argentina, but since they were the same country at one point it really makes no difference.  So, we went to dinner with our friends from Argentina and then to see a Uruguay Flamingo Presentation.  The musicians were made up of a pianist, 12 string guitarist, 6 string guitarist, upright base player and an incredible squeeze box player.  The music was joined with three different vocalists and was a real treat of culture.  We have tickets to go back to another event this next weekend.

We have been getting to see Koen on Skype about every other week and that has really cheered us up.  He is growing so fast and we wish we were there to see every minute, but we are getting to see the changes from afar – miracles of technology.

Lesson of the Week: Always important to reunite old friendships.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

My ear hurts! What's the matter with you - it's all in your stomach.

Hello to all,

I was waiting to write until I got back from the Dr’s office, because I thought it might be one of the special things to write about.  Just got back and it is!  I felt like I was back in one of our staff meetings – you remember:  Staff - Are the students passing? Me - Do you mean 6^th grade or the 4^th grade curriculum? Staff - “yes”  Me - Which one?  Staff - “Yes, then they are passing.”  My visit to the doctor’s office today went something like that.  I had two appointments – the first was to have the inner ear pressure tested.  This Dr is sharp and seems to know what she is doing; yet she is the subordinate.  Half way through the test, she stopped and stated that the test was in the negative this week meaning the blockage was even worse than last week and there was no need to finish the test.  So, I am then shuttled next door to the Specialist (term used loosely).  He looked at me and said, “tell me.” I told him that my ear was about the same; however, I seemed to have a lot more drainage in the back of my throat causing my throat to be sore most of the time.  He immediately told me it was because of the Acid Reflex.  With no examination he again prescribed me three additional medications and told me to continue taking the three he previously prescribed.  When I tried to explain that I have never had any stomach problems or digestion issues, he stated, “yes, this will make you better.” Come see me in 7 days if not.  So I left – acquired the three new meds and looked them up on Drugs.com.  Once again, I was given a (second) pill to reduce stomach acid – maybe since I didn’t take the first one he thought a second one would help.  The next one was to break up the mucus – that I actually thought might be good until I researched it a little an found it was banned in the US, Canada and the UK (it is only for sale in the Middle East).  The third pill was to settle my stomach after I took the pill that they banned everywhere else because it makes you so sick – sorry but WTF.  The meds were around $100 USD (paid for by insurance) and I’ll throw them on the shelf with the rest.   Been looking at homeopathic remedies and I’ll get a couple of those a try.  They seem to contradict each other a little – eating lots of garlic doesn’t seem like it is going to help my Acid Reflux?????  The doctor tells me swimming is fine, just diving is out for a while; also contradicted everything I can read – and more importantly, my mom told me no swimming!

School is school with everyone running in 100 different directions.  We are scheduled for a training all next weekend and then open house is the following week.  Not to worry, we only had 3 parents show up last year.

Starting next weekend it is Latin America week here in Qatar.  The Cultural Center has concerts, movies, carnivals and a multitude of evening events planned for 10 days.  We have arranged to go out a couple nights with our friends from Argentina that we met last year – should be a welcome change.

Lesson of the Week: Get a second opinion!

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

End of the World

Howdy,

I thought I had better get this letter sent out quick since the end of the World will be here in two days.  According to many of our students, the end is coming on September 26^th.  I haven’t really researched it, but their parents are telling them that there will be earthquakes all over China, Russia, and the United States (notice nothing happening here) and that will cause huge tsunamis and so on and so forth.  This, coming from parents that told their children that the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last year flipped the world upside down and we will now have snow in Qatar.  Once their parents tell them something, there is no rational discussion that can change their mind – my suggestion was that they should stay home with their families on the last day of the World.  At least then, my final day will be quiet!

I have still been having trouble with one of my ears, so I finally made an appointment with an Ear, Nose and Throat Specialist.  Quite the experience – almost comical.  So, we arrive to a very nice private clinic and pull up to the valet parking.  After checking in at the reception counter (with four receptionist so no one waits) we sat down for maybe two minutes and then we were escorted back to the doctors office by a nurse.  I couldn’t tell if he thought himself so important that he really didn’t want to talk to me or if he really didn’t know what he was doing and was just going through the motions.  I explained that I had just finished 10 days of antibiotics and was still having difficulty with blockage in my right ear.  He never asked what meds I had taken or why I had taken them.  He then has me sit in the examination chair and he looks in my ears, nose and then throat.  He asks me if I smoke.  I reply no.  He then says, “Acid Reflux Disorder, that is my final answer!” Now what do you say to that?  Can I ask the audience?  Maybe call a friend?  He then sends me out to another doctor that runs a series of hearing and pressure tests.  I then go back to the original doctor, who just matter of factly states, “I will give you three prescriptions and you will come back in 10 days”.  There was a quick explanation of how I was to take them, but no explanation of what they were for.  He then asked me, “you don’t have an infection do you?”  I just chuckled to myself and left.  The nurse walked me to the reception desk and she made the second appointment for me (before I could escape) and then walked to the pharmacy where they slid out three boxes of medication (after illegibly handwriting directions on the boxes).  All this for a co-pay of about $15 USD – such a deal!  The understanding I left with was that there is swelling in my Eustachian tube and he was giving me an anti-inflammatory and then two nasal sprays to clear the passages.  When I got home, I check the Internet and found that, yes, I was being treated for Acid Reflux – of which I have no symptoms.  I can’t wait to go back next week to find out what else might be ailing me. 

Our friends Harold and JoAnne finally made it back into the country Wednesday night.  They have been stuck in Italy since September 4^th.  Harold’s passport was damaged, yet they were allowed to board the plane in Canada to Rome.  They had about a 12-hour layover and Qatar Airlines (not customs or any official agency) would not allow them to board.  Now they could have spent about $5000 and taken another airline, but they kept being told it would only take a couple days to get solved.  Nothing gets done here in a couple days!  They have been sitting in Italy spending thousands of dollars waiting for Qatar and the school to get him a new visa (he received a new passport from Canada in 4 days).  When the visa finally arrived, they had spelled his name wrong, so they had to argue their way on the plane again. This time they had a guy that had a little compassion.  Once they got to Qatar, the customs desk couldn’t have care less – apparently Qatar Airways is the true gatekeeper.

We have already purchased our tickets home for Christmas (Dec 16^th thru Jan 2^nd) – we are going to be on Qatar Airways, at least we will be boarding in Houston coming back in case they decide something is not in order – we can only hope. 

Lesson of the Week: Breathing dust every day causes the same symptoms as GERD (Acid Reflux).

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

First Week year 2 complete!

Hi,

One week down, 36 to go!  For the most part, it was business as usual, yet with a whole new twist.  It has been nice having the new teachers there to laugh with and listen to their stories.  On the second day of school, all of the new teachers (about 15) were scheduled for their blood tests and chest x-rays for their visa process.  Once again, great planning!  They had the typical day of sitting on the bus for hours waiting for their turn in line; while all of us were left to cover 2 and 3 classes.  Missie had to double up and cover all the 4, 5, 6, 7 Math and I was blessed with an opportunity to meet all the 3^rd graders.  Just another day of herding cats at QAK (yes, we have begun referring to it as quack).  I made the effort to visit all the kinder 4 kids on their first day of school, Wednesday.  It was a much better experience than last year.  As I walked in the class, the teacher was hustling a kid out to the bathroom, stating she had just puked.  The other teacher had that, “ O crap, I hope I don’t have to clean it up” look on her face as she was trying to kick a paper towel towards the mess.  So, having had my gag reflex removed many years ago, I cleaned up the vomit with a slight chuckle, knowing I was leaving to go back to my nice class of (8) 7^th graders.

After struggling all week to get over this sinus infection, we finally drove out to our favorite beach and took a swim.  The temperatures have been nice in the evenings, so we went out late with a couple pizzas and swam until the full moon came up just before 7 pm.  The water is still very warm – right around 90 degs. and it was just what the Dr ordered.  Like I always said, the ocean cures everything. 

We have invited one of the new families over tomorrow night for dinner.  They are going through the same things we did last year, yet it seems that the process is going to take even longer for them.  Many of them are questioning whether or not to plan anything for Thanksgiving, because they are not sure if they will have their passports and visa back by then.  I also read a new thing today that the Qatar Liquor Distribution Center is no longer issuing permits.  Rumors are that they will not be renewing existing licenses and could actually close down permanently.  At the pool today, I brought this up to a couple new teachers and I thought they were going to go ballistic.  We can at least start stock piling, but they might not even have the option.  Hmmmmmm – I see a business opportunity in the making – the good ol’ American way, but high and sell higher.  Doug’s Booze Emporium – I like the sound of that.  I’ll bet I can make enough in two months that if I get caught and deported I would still be ahead.

    

Lesson of the Week: It could be our first year.

Love to all,

Doug and Missie

Back from China -- School Starts Tomorrow

Helloooooo!

Butterfly Head

                                                                      Yes, we are back in Qatar and have spent the last week doing the new school year Hokey Pokey.  Put your bulletin boards up, then run to a meeting…. and you turn yourself about, put on a big smile and learn all the changes…. and you turn yourself about ---- you get the picture.  We have really enjoyed getting to know some of the new teachers and we feel much more prepared to start this year.  I came back from China with a cold, so we have just been lying low trying to start the year healthy.  We will start back to swimming next week to maintain our mental health.  The weather has been quite nice since we got back.  Humidity is down and the temperatures have stayed just over a 100 – the new teachers are getting a whole different welcome than we got last year.

Koen's Tooth-fairy

China was a great trip.  Not only because it was new and something very different from what we have experienced before, but also because it was a trip with just the two of us.  On the day we left, the extended forecast showed the weather as rain for all but 2 days of our trip.  When we got off the plane in Beijing it was raining with standing water in the streets.  After an hour ride in a taxi we arrived at the hostel and the rain had stopped – it never came back until our last day on the drive to the airport.  It was in the high 80’s most of the time we were there with very high humidity.  Casual dress was accepted everywhere so we were in shorts and t-shirts most of the time. 

Forbidden City

We were staying in one of the older neighborhoods along a chain of four small lakes.  There were boardwalks around all of them that we could ride bikes or walk.  The Chinese are very big into exercising and there were multiple parks with circuit training equipment along the paths – people from 2-100 on them all day long.  The chain of lakes led down to the Jingsing Park that has a man made mountain (material from building the the Forbidden City) that overlooks the Forbidden City.  We rode bikes down and then walked the park.  They were having a butterfly exhibit while we were there that was amazing with over 100 of varieties of butterflies in a tented area.  For some reason the butterflies were attracted to Missie’s hat and my shorts and kept gather on them.  Before long, we had about 50 Chinese photographers following us trying to get a picture of the silly white people covered in butterflies.  One man actually asked us to pose with Misse taking a picture of a butterfly on a flower, me taking a picture of the butterflies on her hat and him taking a picture of both of us – who knows, maybe we will make the cover of some Chinese photo magazine.

Tienanmen Square

We stayed in Beijing for 4 days and saw all the common sites.  Tianamen Square, Forbidden City, Summer Palace and sever other smaller palaces and gardens.  I’m not sure I can really describe them to you other than they were unbelievable.  Not only the immense size of all the features, but the design, layout, and brilliant colors make them overwhelming.  The balance of buildings with gardens and water features makes them places where you can feel the peacefulness.  That really felt strange especially since they were just packed full of people and the pollution of the city is very high.  Inside the palaces it seemed to completely keep out the city – there is something to be said for 200-foot walls, 50 foot thick.

Oh yeah!  We just had to shop at Walmart - cheap prices too!

While in Beijing, Missie and I met one of her second cousins for the first time.   She had been in contact with him last year about international teaching and she was giving him some ideas on how to apply for teaching positions.  A couple weeks before we left, she made contact with him again and found out that he was teaching in Beijing.  Brain is 24 and teaching English to kindergarteners at a local school – better him than me!  Once we connected, he went with us to the Summer Palace and took us to the Night Market (where you can buy anything!)  We had wanted to go to Xian to see the Terra Cotta Warriors later in the week, but then decided that if we went earlier, he could go with us to the Great Wall when we returned.  So, that is what we did.

At the great wall.

We decided to take the train to Xian for both the experience and to save a little money.  It was a night train so we didn’t get to see much of the landscape, but we did share a sleeper with a Chinese English teacher that sat up half the night giving us a history lesson - I should have brought more beer cuz he drank half of mine.   We arrived at our new hostel at about 10 in the morning, had a little breakfast and then went to explore the City Wall.  Xian is the oldest city in China and it has a huge wall that used to surround the city (since been out grown).  It is also about 10 stories high and over 100 feet thick at the bottom.  Unlike the great wall that is made of bricks and cut stone, this wall is completely cut stone.  We finally found an access to the top and rented a tandem bike to ride around.  Now they rent the bikes for 110 minutes and then tell you it takes at least two hours to ride around it – I felt a challenge.  It was just over 20 kilometers on stone pavers, but we whipped and spurred that bike around the wall in 105 minutes – really not much to see since the pollution was about three times as bad as Beijing, but we got our exercise!

On the great wall!

The Terra Cotta Warriors were very interesting and certainly an amazing site to visit, but I am not sure the experience was worth the time and cost.  China is certainly becoming aware that they have huge tourism potential that has not been capitalized on yet.  While most of the sites are protected and secured, the building of visitor centers, restaurants and hotels is still growing.  We had to drive in a bus for 3 hours each direction for a tour that lasted 2.5 hours and could have been done in one hour if the guide hadn’t talked so much – we would have rather just read the signs and inscriptions.   Then it is the game of them taking you to their families restaurant and trying to trick you into eating (thinking it is included and then telling you it is not) and then off to the junk sellers (also family) where you can buy originals (rrriiiiggghhhtttt!!!) for only 5 dollars.  I guess what I am saying is that I could have watched a video of that portion of the trip and been just has happy – there was much more I would have liked to see in Beijing – like two full days at the Summer Palace.  We flew back to Beijing the following day and scheduled our trip to the Great Wall.

Unmaintained Section

 

While we were gone, it had rained for two days in Beijing – the skies were absolutely blue and beautiful when we arrived.  We spent that day going back and taking pictures of things again with some blue sky in the background.  The next day, Brian came to the hostel and we boarded a bus again at 6 am.  Another 3 hour ride out of town to a much more secluded section of the wall.  The section in Beijing where most people go has over 20,000 visitors a day – guaranteed to have 100 people in every photo.  Once again, the tour guide was on hyper speed and only gave us about 3 hours to hike what we could (as it turned out, that was plenty in a day).  We decided to take a gondola up to the wall to have more time on the wall verses time on a trail getting there.  Blue skies once again and it was awesome.  You could see it running for miles and miles along the ridges of the mountains simply fading off into the clouds.  The enormity of it is indescribable.  Some parts were flat and easy walking; while other sections were stairs that were so steep it was like climbing a ladder – big rungs! The sections near the trailhead and gondola were re-built and in pristine condition.  As we got further and further out, there had been less and less maintenance where it was in original condition.  We had a great day of taking pictures with beautiful weather.

Drying ginger next to our hostel.

 

That night, we decided we needed a last hurrah meal.  We found a restaurant specializing in Peking Duck with a balcony overlooking the lake.  What an amazing meal!  The whether was perfect with a colorful view of the lake, cold beer and way too much food.  Not knowing better, we ordered too many items along with the duck (not knowing it came with 10 dishes) and we sat there until it was ALL gone.  Then the bill came – holy molly it was a whole $80 USD.  That is a lot there, and we had gotten into the mindset that we should eat for $10 or so, but it was well worth it.  When you get used to buying beer for about 80 cents on the street, you really think you are getting robbed when the ultra fine dining establishment soaks you for a $2 beer – all perspective I guess.  Either way it was a great night.

Loved some of the funny signs.

 

We ended the trip by returning to the Silk Market the last day and buying gifts and souvenirs.  The Silk Market is a well know section of town were tourists go to buy cheap clothing, jewelry, silk, and electronics.  Much of it is real stuff, just that it is coming out of factories illegally.  Other stuff is knock offs if you really need LV or Gucci or Prada.  We bought some shirts and jackets and local stuff, but the fun is the bartering.  For an item that is worth $5 (a tie or t-shirt) they always start out at about $50.  You just have to just crack up – then they decide to give you a very good deal and knock off 70% -- you laugh again – then they ask you for a price – I tell them $5 – they laugh and tell you that you have hurt them.  We had fun with it, some of them laugh the whole time and tease you (they were the ones we made deals with) then there were others that got angry and they didn’t get our business.  We were buying a toy for Koen and the lady said 380 Yaun.  I laugh and said 50 – she laughed and handed me one of those silly play cell phones and said I could buy that for 50.  I push a button and it rang – answered it and acted like I was talking to someone.  I handed the phone back to the lady and told her they said it was a good deal at 50 for the toy – she laughed and eventually sold it to me for 50.  We had fun.

Rickshaws on the wall in Xain.

That night we got on the plane and headed back to Qatar.  The 8 hour flight seemed like a short ride, but we were still 5 hours behind.  So in the early morning hours in Qatar, standing at the luggage carousel as everyone else had gathered their bags a left the building, we realized ours had not made it home.  I had decided to throw both of our backpacks into a single duffle bag at the last minute vs. carrying them on – oops!  After 20 phone calls and frustrating answers, they were delivered to the school 3 days later in good condition with all in tact. 

We begin our school year Sunday – we have the same kids, so the year should just be a continuation of where we left off.  We know the routine and are settled in – we are really trying to keep positive.

Lesson of the Week: China has a lot of great things to see – but you better get there quick – it’s changing fast!

Love to all,

Doug and Missie