Both my mom and aunt live in Tionesta. It is a distance from Pittsburgh and I haven’t seen her in some time as well. Much better to talk in person instead of through Skype.
I helped my mom with some tasks and put together some shelves for my aunt. There was garbage to burn and I loved the little “she” shed of my aunt’s. We thought this was the only visit I would be able to make but when flights to China were cancelled I was able to go visit a couple more times. Snowy winter weather meant shoveling as well as other ways to help. My mom makes great grilled cheese…..
The she shed in the background…My sister in law at my Mom’s.
Sunni and I booked two nights at an inn at a winery. We liked it so much we booked it again a month later when we came up to visit. As I start teaching online soon, I will need to be up at night to teach synchronously with my school in China. Traveling to visit again may be difficult.
The Inn at Deer Creek Winery.
The winter weather in our second trip made for some beautiful pictures.
Glistening ice on trees on a beautiful sunny day. It’s beautiful, but I miss warmer weather….Of course we drank wine but made a pretend drink like a coronarita using wine and fireball shots. We didn’t actually drink it, it was a spoof picture.
It has been a long time since I’ve seen my brother and sister-in-law. I have really missed them and looking forward to spending time with them. One of the things I have missed is watching Christmas movies on the Hallmark channel while drinking some wine. For the first few days that is what I did, though I did fall asleep often. Between COVID and flu shots and jet lag, it was a strange first week.
I still managed to get some time in while also spending some great time with my sister in law Sunni and my brother Ken. Ryan came up to celebrate birthday on December 24th and I then went back to Pittsburgh with him. I spent most of them weekdays in Worthington and weekends with Ryan. We didn’t go many places due to COVID-19 and instead enjoyed each other’s company.
Views from runs
After a weekend in Pittsburgh I rented a car and came back to Worthington. From there we went shopping and drove to Tionesta to stay at a winery and visit my mother and aunt (another blog post).
Then one morning (January 5), I woke up and found that China had changed the entry requirements. Now there are more tests and a 7 day requirement to be in the city of departure before leaving for China. Never mind this is literally the day after I return from Wisconsin and that I had made other plans. The good news is that I had done most of the things I wanted to do before that as it was a possibility anything could change.
I then changed my hotel in LA, requested the tests, and cancelled the other things I could. Ryan wanted me to go back to Pittsburgh a day earlier to spend more time with him so I quickly packed everything I had to get ready to bring everything to his place. I met Ryan in Butler at a Mexican restaurant. It was a great dinner with Ken, Sunni, and Ryan.
I will also miss the kitties and puppies, especially Groot and Jax, the coolest cats. Actually Groot is pretty difficult to get along with but I think he liked me. It was difficult to say goodbye to Nina. She’s used to be my dog, and loves her new home, but still remembers me.
GrootNinaJax
Putting a wrinkle into future plans was the announcement a few days later that China Southern flights are suspended due to 5 COVID cases. This means I may be stuck in the US. Though it means more time with family, it also means I have to teach online in the middle of the night.
Not only were flights cancelled for a few airlines, the majority of flights were all cancelled through the end of February. This is primarily due to the Olympics in Beijing and Chinese new year celebrations. They want to keep the cases of COVID in low numbers.
I will be enjoying more time with family and cats and dogs!
Eventually we had a foot of snow and also some very cold temperatures (-8C to -21C). What else do you do besides shoveling? Make snow angels!
The cats don’t know what they are missing outside…
(This post was to have been published a month ago, but multiple flight cancellations postponed that with no idea when my actual flight to China will actually be.)
It is good to actually see sky with only a few tall buildings around as Pittsburgh is a much smaller city than Guangzhou. I had envisioned that I would go to the theater, watch a movie with family, go to dinners but the COVID reality made me think twice. I am being overly cautious as the numbers of cases are much larger than this time in 2020. Even though the new omicron variant is milder, the predominant variant Delta is the concern. And most importantly, being exposed means that the antibodies would prevent me from going back to China. Sometimes it is just better to spend time with one another.
It was nice to take it easy and just hang out with family. I spent weekends with Ryan. It was refreshing to run around the riverfront. These pictures are from Herr’s island. The cute squirrel moved closer as I stood taking pictures of both him and the cardinal.
Ryan is a great cook. The breakfast scramble was delicious.
He makes great food no matter the ingredients.
I spent some time shopping. It is difficult to find my size shoe in China so finding running shoes and a good everyday shoe is a must. Also on my list are more running clothes and other pieces I find to take back. Lastly, I needed to get shelf stable food to take into quarantine. Packets of tuna fish, nuts, and oatmeal. Oh, and coffee.
We also walked, looked at possible other apartments for Ryan, and traveled together to Worthington to spend new years with my brother and sister-in-law, Ken and Sunni. I prepared to be ready to leave on January 21.
After learning that I needed to go to LA 7 days before flying to China for tests and health monitoring, I went to Pittsburgh a day earlier to spend more time with Ryan. First on the list was to make sure I had everything set for LA and then too repack for Wisconsin and to go back to GZ as I threw everything together at the last minute. The next morning I made sure I had the items for Wisconsin and reorganized the bags for Guangzhou. After coming back from WI, I prepared to leave for LA the next day….. Or so I thought….
The next day I found out that my flight is cancelled as well as the replacement flight and the next flight is now March 7th. Because of the Olympics in Beijing, almost all flights from the US were cancelled. It is nice to be with family but difficult to move around from place to place and live out of a suitcase. I made plans to split more time with family, start preparing online lessons, and run/hike to stay busy.
I took a long walk along trails by the river to meet Ryan when he was finished with work. It was a cold day but a really nice walk around the city.
Point state park is located where the rivers converge in Pittsburgh: the Allegheny, Monongahela, and the Ohio river.
I love the facade of this old building and hope they keep it’s look and character.
I have been in this restaurant many years ago.
More pictures from a run after much snow and very freezing temperatures.
I also walked to the Strip to buy Asian products to make dinner.
As I was preparing to leave for the US, a number of celebrations were enjoyed with friends. Home is any place where you have family, friends, and a sense of belonging. Sometimes it is more than one place.
Dinner at a sauerkraut fish place with Jack. Of course I saw the menu and noticed pig brain.Not having tried it before, we ordered it too. It really had no specific taste but was quite good.
I hosted a Thanksgiving dinner with friends and the food was delicious. Some favorites of the holidays and others a mixed bag of other international dishes
I am blessed to have so many beautiful people in my life.My ugly Christmas sweater I made for the staff holiday party. LED lights make the fire glow Friends at the school held a cookie exchange.The school wide holiday Bazaar was also fun with great games for students and all things Christmas.
It is difficult to say goodbye to friends leaving the country you are in but we know it is not goodbye but until I see you again. My friend Trisha is going back to the UK.
And of course dragon boat which is my weekend hobby, exercise, and time with more friends.
This year I went out of my comfort zone and played the bass clarinet in a teacher ensemble for the students. I also performed a pantomime with other teachers for the whole school.
Before I knew it, it was time to leave for the US. I left lessons for when I am gone in January, made sure there was plenty of food for the kitties and people to take care of them, and planned my packing. A COVID test less than 24 hours old was required to get on the plane. At the airport, I ate in the China southern lounge.
After an uneventful flight to LA, the rest was a travel nightmare. Spirit airlines cancelled 8 flights and waited until boarding time to announce. Without a US sim card, I had no cell phone off of wifi. With the help of another kind person, I found a flight from John Wayne airport fire the next morning and she dropped me off at a hotel across from the airport.
I arrived 12 hours after I was originally to land in Pittsburgh where I went to my son Ryan’s apartment. He cooked a yummy falafel meal and it was great to finally be near him. Talking on the phone for three last 2.5 years was difficult.
The next morning I planned to renew my driver’s license, get a COVID vaccine, and walk around Pittsburgh to where Ryan works. It had been some time since I have been in a smaller city and could see beyond huge skyscrapers. It was an enjoyable walk through the different areas of Pittsburgh.
The hot metal bridge area in the Southside is where trains and barges brought coal to make steel. Along the river were many historical relics from that time.
Ingots of iron.
For lunch I stopped at double wide grille. Here they have all kinds of food including vegan and vegetarian. It is located in an old gas station and the food is so good here.
Afterwards we drove to my brothers house in the country. I planned on staying here for the rest of the week before going back to Ryan’s. I drove to see my old friends at punxsutawney high school and just relax and watch movies. I also need time to get new credit cards and take care of the mail I received the last 2 years. On a run that week, it started to snow and the wind was brisk. A big weather change from Guangzhou.
I will also be traveling to Wisconsin to see Becca. I am sure it will be cold there.
I had not posted about the process of having traveled to a medium or high risk area here in China. The last time I was actually quarantined for 3 days and was anxious about this time. This is what happens in China. I must note that high risk area might only have a dozen cases and they quickly lock Dien anxious buildings and test all the contacts of those people. All of this takes the numbers down quickly.
I not only had the covid test to get on the plane in Shanghai, but everyone had one when they came off the plane. They are really organized and streamlined. The process only took 45 minutes. They made sure by taking us by bus so that people did not walk through the airport and mingle before getting the test. Once back home you must contact your community health office. I messaged mine through the WeChat app (they are used to dealing with me….). I must have 3 more tests in the next 13 days. I have documents that get the tests for free but must be completed at a specific center. I can go to work but asked to limit my gatherings with people. At issue will be the Christmas party which is on my 13th day. I may not be allowed to go (and this time many more people from school also traveled to Shanghai). If you miss tests, they will change your code to restrict your movement.
The process: They had an organized line from baggage which gave time to register or open the app. This gives a qr code tied to your phone number and passport. This way it shows on your health code and is tracked if anyone on the plane shows positive test result.
This is the qr code for the app. A worker scans the code then scans the bar code of the test vial.
Multiple stations are used for rapid throat swabs. Then you are free to go. You have to contact the local health officer in your neighborhood or you will be tracked down.
This is the suikang health code that keeps all testing and vaccination records. I show this code every day to go to school and to enter my apartment building. You also show it when you enter any commercial or government building. It can be turned yellow or red if you do not get the tests or was in a high risk area. You cannot enter buildings if that happens or may be quarantined.
In the suikang code you can click to see the Nucleic acid test results. They all show here and is pretty handy so you don’t have to go back and get the result on paper. The first one is my test at the airport and was completed in 5 hours.
This is another app that shows where you have been. There is a little asterisk that shows I was in an area with cases. It will go away after 14 days and then will only show being in Guangzhou. But until then I may not be allowed in some places. Places with high volume will look at this app and not the other one.
This is what a red code looks like. You would be quarantined in your apartment or a quarantine facility and not able to go anywhere. I have obviously been quarantined from travel. Thankfully not this last one.
I went to visit my friend Cat and her son Rowan in Shanghai. I debated going knowing that the cases they just had of covid had been cleared. In fact China had 900 cases pop up over the whole country and within a month had them down to no new cases. As stringent as it is, the extensive contract tracing, quarantine of those in high risk areas, and massive testing works. Now if more were vaccinated, we might not have to do this quite so much….
So on Thanksgiving day we had a full day of professional development followed by a Thanksgiving dinner and celebration and I left directly to the airport for my flight. I arrived late and the next morning we were going to Disney.
There is even a toy story hotel.
What is funny about this Disney is that there are more adults than children and the adults are dressed up in Disney attire.
Main street.
The 5th anniversary of Disney Shanghai.
Some interesting sculptures in the park. It had been a long time since I’ve been to Disney.
The soaring over the horizon ride was pretty amazing. It was as if you are parasailing over the areas but you can actually smell what it would be. The African savannah smelled of earth, India had a rose petal smell, the smell of the ocean, spray of water…..
Tron was a pretty amazing ride. You were on these bikes and the ride not only was inside but out as well.
After eating the waffle we were actually too full. We don’t usually find good waffles here in China so that is a once in awhile treat. We walked around Alice’s garden to work it off.
The lake.
Then it was off to marvel studios.
I took my mask off for a minute to take this picture. I was told to get the mask back on…
And there is this picture with the wasp… Socially distanced of course… So I can take off my mask.
We picked up cheesecake from the cheesecake factory and after getting back to my friends house received word that another friend who was visiting Shanghai could not leave to go back to Guangzhou without a negative covid test. It turned out this morning there are three cases in Shanghai over 45 minutes away from where I am staying. Within hours 182 close cases to the 3 friends are in quarantine, the buildings are locked down, and 55,278 people were tested. I went and received a covid test as I cannot fly back without one ( many people from my school are here). I’m going to try to get an earlier flight. Once back home I will have to report to the community health office and whatever other requirements they ask for I will have to do. As I was not in one of the areas I should only have to take 2 more covid tests in 72 hours after returning… I hope that is all. My district is strict…..
I honestly forgot about this post that was lounging in my drafts. And summer continues until a few weeks ago when the weather started to turn cooler.
The summer was interesting. An increase in cases in Guangzhou meant more difficult travel. As I was taking 60 hours of leadership classes I stayed in the city for much of the summer. This summer I only traveled a little to Beijing and Inner Mongolia.
I took some breaks for nature areas in Guangzhou.
This summer was also the 100th anniversary of the communist party. It is interesting to note that the nationalist party that started to bring China to the modern age and ended the Dynasty and warlords period, was overthrew by the communists because there was no free speech. The nationalists would not accept any dissent. That is what is true of the communists today.
A new pedestrian bridge was built to cross the river.
Working internationally means people come and go frequently. Celebrations and going away parties…
Construction in the apartment upstairs meant finding another place to work. This time in a coffee house in my neighborhood.
Occasionally in feeding the homeless you get an opportunity to help furry friends.
I do like to stay active. If I keep moving maybe old age can’t catch up with me! Wishful thinking I know, but I am not as fast as I used to be and have changed some of what I do. But I like staying in shape.
Where our dragonboat group meets has stand up paddleboarding. That is something I miss from living in PA. I paid for a year membership and now go paddleboarding after every dragonboat practice that I can. A few of us go each time.
Tricia who was so brave to go even being afraid of water.
I also ran a half marathon for charity which was a fun circle around the river.
Jack and Justin, the other cross country coach at school, were part of our team Too fast, too hot. We named it after the cross country team who complained with those words every practice!
Dragonboat has been a great workout for my arms, shoulders, and abs. I even extended myself by learning to paddle with my non-dominant arm to learn more coordination. I am glad for the chance to improve a physical skill that I did not have much experience in. It is a great community of wonderful people. I usually show up to both trainings on the weekend.
We have been training for a 21km race but I will miss that. I will get back in shape for dragonboat once I come back from the US.
We traveled 370 km on the last day. It was a lot of time in the van but a few gorgeous stops along the way.
Palcho monastery
Built in 1427, the most prominent feature is the giant stupa. This one is different from others and has 5 floors and 68 prayer rooms. It is named Gyantse Kumbum. In each of the tiny chapels are exquisite paintings (kumbum means 100,000 images). It is important to follow a clockwise route around which is the same in any of the monasteries. The murals survived the Cultural Revolution though some statues had to be restored.
The monastery is unique in Tibet as it houses three separate schools of Tibetan Buddhism under its roofs – Sakya, Gelug, and Kadam. The monastery has aspects of Chinese Han, Tibetan, and Nepali architecture, and is one of the highest status monasteries in Tibet. Inside the temples are beautiful statuary.
Simila pass and Manla reservoir
Simila Pass is at an elevation of 4200 meters. The pass is unique to others due to the greater amount of countless colorful Tibetan prayer flags decorating rock faces. In this winding mountain pass, the wind here waves the prayers in beautiful patterns. The Manla Reservoir is the biggest dam in Tibet.
Karola glacier
The glacier originates at Mt. Noijin Kangsang (7,191m), which is one of the four holy mountains of Tibet.
The monastery is unique in Tibet as it houses three separate schools of Tibetan Buddhism under its roofs – Sakya, Gelug, and Kadam. The monastery has aspects of Chinese Han, Tibetan, and Nepali architecture, and is one of the highest status monasteries in Tibet.
This stupa is just for decoration though monks did visit it when we were there
Yamdrotso lake
Yamdrok Yumtso, is a beautiful lake along the old Friendship Highway between Tibet and Nepal. It is at an altitude of 4,441 meters. Yamdrok is the largest inland freshwater lake in the northern Himalayan mountain range. Yamdrok Lake is one of the four largest sacred lakes of Tibet (the others are Lake Lhamo Latso, Lake Manasarovar, and Lake Namtso). According to Tibetans, the lake is a lifeline and if the lake dries up, Tibet would become an uninhabitable place. One is not to swim in it. Tibetans pilgrimage to the Lake and walk around the lake in seven days to remove their sins and earn merit. The lake’s spiritual energies are from the Second Buddha, Padmasambhava, who brought Buddhism to Tibet. It is also believed Lake Yamdrok helps to find the reincarnated soul of the Dalai Lama.
Tibetan mastiff! Yaks!
Along the way back to Lhasa, we made a few other stops due to traffic through the pass.
If you look closely in to the picture, yak poop is dried too use as fuel for cooking and heating.
We drove a long time (8 hours and 340 km), stopped at several points, and had several checkpoints for ID. Travel was along the Shanghai Nepal road and where we stopped was at 5248 meters elevation. I definitely felt the lack of oxygen.
First glimpse of Everest along the pass.
Along the Gyitso pass we stopped for bathroom break and also to take pictures. You can purchase a prayer flag and write a recipient name on it. They tie it for you and the blessings and prayers are sent by the wind.
Here the option is to go on to Everest or continue on the other road to Nepal.
We hiked a short section to get to Everest base camp at 5,150 m elevation. The camp is located below the moraine slopes from the Central Rongpu Glacier. A moraine is the earth and rocks pushed by the Glacier when it was advancing.
In front of everest. Everest at sunset. One minute you can see it and the next it is converted in clouds. We are lucky to have had the weather we did that day.
We stayed in a large tent at the base camp. The blankets they use are very thick and the tent is heated by using dried sheep and yak poop. It actually gives off less ash and is more plentiful than wood. Our tour group was interesting : 1 Japanese, 1 Chinese, 1 American, 1 Brazilian, 1 Singaporean, 1 Russian, 2 Brits, and 3 Germans. We spent a lot of time together! The tent owner would cook fried rice with yak meat for dinner and an omelet or pancake for breakfast. Lowest temperature was – 4C at night.
The base camp for hiking Everest is another 4 km away. You can no longer get a permit to hike unless you have Sorvino prior experience. We are about 20 km to Nepal.
I came on this trip already with a headache and stuffy nose so not sure when or if I was acclimated to the altitude. But when I arrived at Everest base camp, I was definitely struggling. My vision pulsed with each heartbeat and I had no energy. I used a nasal cannula with oxygen for 30 minutes. I felt better and then continued to feel better as we went back down in elevation. My sports watch measures my pulse. My resting heart rate is normally 46 bpm but jumped to 68 after arriving in Tibet. No wonder it shows in under great stress.
The Tibetan name for everest is Chomolungma, meaning “Goddess Mother of the world”. This marker is the height at the top of Everest.
Himalaya means “abode of snow”. There is about 15,000 glaciers throughout the whole range. The Himalaya form an arc that separates the Indian subcontinent in the south from the Tibetan Plateau in the north. Many of the world’s major rivers, the Indus, the Ganges, the Brahmaputra and the Yangtze all begin here. The next three pictures are the Himalayan range. A panorama would not let me zoom in so close.
Along the way we could see Tibetan farmers cutting and taking hay by hand. They did lift the hay wagons pulled by tractors. They keep the hay in their yards to feed livestock.
