HurricaneMaine

My friend Killian and I met at Liwan Lake Park. It is quite a distance on metro from both our apartments.

The best part of the parks here is that it is a place for older people to meet (other ages too).

There are many groups exercising. What would seem odd to us in the US, allows older people here to be free from many cardiovascular and joint related diseases. They perform activities that use natural body movements. It may look like they are clapping hands in weird ways or swimming through the air, but it works for them.

Dance also is very fluid movements.

These dancers have a paddle with a ball balanced in it. As they move they can’t drop the ball.

There is a large lake here with lotus blossoms.

The trees are amazing with the prop root system that provides support above ground. They look like the trunk of a tree.

It is a beautiful day.

Parks are laid out beautifully. They have a great sense of design and utility of space.

Fish sculptures in the lake.

A temple that houses great embroidery samples.

Scarves (weijin)

As we walked around the park we could see other dancers.

Others were performing Tai chi.

There are those that perform Tai chi with swords. Dull, of course.

Some were just exercising.

Colorful exercise equipment can be found all over the city for people of all ages to use. They focus on mobility and stretching.

Other pictures of structures around the lake.

This area was very beautiful with the design in the rocks.

They are meant to massage and relax the bottom of the feet.

Wr also saw boats and dragon boats on the lake.

Chinese poetry on the tiles.

There was a band and singers as well.

One woman was singing Peking Opera which has a distinct sound.

Moving to a new apartment was interesting. No car but you can hire moving people or a car to help. I hired a driver for 200 kuai ($28.87). Pretty cheap but I did not have much stuff but so it was a lot to get it packed in the van.

I should have taken a picture of it before packing but in a hurry. Nicole helped me at my old apartment and Killian helped me at my new place.

My landlord had someone painting the living room, so I put the cats in a room and my belongings in another.

We walked around the neighborhood until I could go back and unpack. Killian showed me where he takes his cats to the vet. Pretty close to my apartment. There were some pretty cats there.

We stopped at Hefu noodle which is one of my favorite places to eat.

At the sports center we watched people playing ping ping which is very athletic here.

We then walked down to the old apartment and did crazy photo shoots along the way.

This is a tour of my new apartment after I put things away and furniture was moved back in.

A few days later it was my turn to help Nicole move. She is going to Egypt to teach and had a bit of luggage (there is a reimbursement from schools for these expenses.) I am happy fur her and sad to her go as we were running buddies. I will be going to visit her in Egypt.

Now to pack for going back home! I have the person who will be taking care of my cats lined up and need to get everything in place for them too.

I can’t believe it is the end of my first year overseas. Much like other schools there is a checkout and saying goodbye to students and teachers. However, the teachers who are leaving are going every where around the world.

I have completed other first years, but learning what you need to know in a foreign country adds another level.

At the end of the day there was a goodbye mixer. A hallmark of all our meetings is potato chips, pretzels, and m&m’s.

Of course wine and beer.

We had time to say good bye and see what others are doing on their way home. Many more ideas for vacation!

Fiona is going to teach in South America and adrienne is going to Africa.

Glenn on the left is going to Toronto. Already have plans to go visit there. Others, Bei and Dan will be back next year.

Scott teaches chemistry and will be back next year.

Or departing athletic director who hounded me until I said yes to coaching cross country. It was a great experience.

Eli also completed his first year here. He is from Brazil. The party continued with karaoke on the bus. If course we had to tip the bus driver as we were pretty obnoxious.

After getting back I had to get ready to move the next day. However I made time to eat with some if my girlfriends and go to the pool.

Even though there is one week of school left, a day of was much appreciated. This vacation is dragon boat day and is a national holiday. I had a wonderful day!

So what is dragon boat day? The Story of how dragon boat day came to be is:

Dragon Boat Festival, aka ‘Duanwujie’ (端午节), commemorates the life and death of the famous scholar and poet Qu Yuan, who lived during the Warring States period of the Zhou Dynasty in around 300 BC. The festival falls on the fifth day of the fifth month on the Chinese lunar calendar.

According to Chinese folklore, Qu contributed a lot to society while serving in high offices. He fell out of favor with the emperor after others spread rumors of him, was accused of treason and eventually sent into exile. During his time in exile, Qu wrote a lot of poetry. Unappreciated and unhappy, he drowned himself in the Miluo river on May 5 of the lunar calendar in 278 BC after the Qin state captured the Chu capital of Ying.

According to legend, the local villagers highly admired Qu. In an attempt to save him, or at least find his body, they raced out onto the river in boats – which is said to be the origin of dragon boat races.

Legend has it that packets of rice were thrown into the river to prevent the fish from eating Qu’s body. Gradually, people took to eating ‘zongzi’ (粽子), glutinous rice with different fillings wrapped in bamboo leaves, around this time each year. Zongzi can either be sweet or savory.

I spent the day with my friends searching for dragon boats along the river. There are multiple places where events were occurring in Guangzhou and we chose to start close to the apartments.

Along the river there was much activity with many boats in the water. The drums on the boat keep the beat for everyone to paddle together.

It was very hot outside and very humid. It was very tiring out in the sun. We started out at Ersha Island walking around the island.

We then walked up the river to Liede. Along the way we spotted this street barrier. It was so absurd we had to take a picture.

The statue even had its own umbrella.

At Liede there were many boats in the canal. Most of these boats are stored in the mud through the year and dug out just prior to the festival.

Along the way we appreciated the flowers.

We also saw some fruit trees. This is a rose apple and actually has a perfume taste.

In Liede, buildings were constructed in the old style. Many are restaurants.

We then sought refuge from the heat in a nearby mall (IGC). We ate at Grandmother’s Kitchen. It was fabulous food. We ate Mandarin fish, vegetables, and chrysanthemum tea. That tea is great for cooling down the body on a hot day.

At this restaurant is a large steamer basket. I have not seen one so big.

More pictures of boats on our way home.

To cool down, a dip in the pool was required.

There are more activities throughout the weekend.