China 2002, Part XII: Struttin' Our Stuff in Suzhou

Our trip to Hangzhou ended with an overnight boat ride on the Grand Canal all the way up, past Shanghai, to Suzhou. The boat ride was another of the highlights of our trip - we met quite a few interesting people, including another Chinese American student from Connecticut, and there was just a rustic sensation about playing cards in a cabin riding in a boat in a canal that was, and still is, a key to Chinese commerce for centuries.

Settling down in our cabin

We set sail

Some other boats on the canal

The next morning, bright and early, we arrived in the other half of China's Paradise on Earth, Suzhou. Suzhou does not have a signature lake, but is famous for quite a few things of its own - namely its gardens, water towns, and its silk industry, as we would come to learn from our tour of Suzhou that we were coerced on after departing the boat.

Bus Tour Time!

Our tour started at one of Suzhou's most famous gardens, the Shi Zi Lin Yuan (狮子林院), or the Lion Forest Garden:

Why anyone would let such a motley crew on their tour is beyond me...

Some of the other tourists =)

We next found ourselves at a temple (unfortunately, I don't quite recall the name) where we were treated to some more gardens, and also a traditional music performance:

I don't even know what is happening here...

Traditional music

I'm so bad, oh yeah...

Somehow, we found our way on a boat yet again, this time in one of the water towns in Suzhou:

Crowded boat

Some of the old houses along the water's edge

These canals, like the Grand Canal, are still used today to power the local commerce, as shown by this ladies cargo of watermelons...

The canal can be used for washing your dishes...

... Or washing your feet!

A nice view of a river bend

Before long, we were back on land, and on the way to our next stop, the Han Shan Si （寒山寺), or Cold Mountain Temple, which had quite a few impressive pagodas:

As you can see, my gangsta-ness had, by this time, reached the point of no return...

Colin on the impressive pagoda

Our last two stops on the tour were the obligatory, as I would learn years later on other tours of this part of China, tours of a tea house and a silk factory:

A tea sampling, where the guides taught us about traditional tea ceremonies

One of the more unusual segments of our tour was this runway fashion show in a silk factory

Of course, I couldn't help myself!

And that concluded out tour of China's Paradise on Earth, Su-Hang! Stay tuned for the conclusion of our Adventures outside of Xian!

An interesting trinket we saw while walking around Suzhou - these little clay dolls have little members that pee pee cold water if you pour boiling hot water on their heads! An ingenious, albeit odd, invention!

Defining Points

Every now and again, we ought to look back on our lives and reflect on the years that have passed. This gets more difficult as we get older, since, at least until a certain point, your life typically gets more complex and busy. And yet, I think it's more important to do so as we amass more mileage in our lives.

A few days back, I came to the realization that it had been just about ten years since I partook in my study abroad program to Xian, China, the yet-to-be-completed accounts of which can be read by my readers here at Grant's Pad, in somewhat reverse chronological order by clicking on the China 2002 label link in the sidebar.

Posing for a group picture on Mount Hua in 2002

Continuing down that line of thought, I looked at the specific date and realized that this past Monday, May 21, was ten years to the day that Cherry and I first met at the English "Sand Dragon" (this is what "English Salon" translated to in Chinese)!

The good ol' Sand Dragon

It's very eye-opening to look back and try to identify the defining points in your life - those block points that, had there been a slightly different sequence of events, or if you had picked the blue pill instead of the red pill, your life would have had little semblance to what you know it to be today. Things like moving from another state or country, picking your college and your dorm or first apartment, or starting a new job. These defining points do just that - they provide the setting for the rest of your life.

Cherry giving me a tour of her college in 2002

For Cherry and me, my study abroad trip to Xian ten years ago, and in particular, our meeting at the English Salon, will forever be one of the handful of such defining points in our lives. From that point on, our lives began to converge, bringing two largely insignificant individuals from vast distances and backgrounds apart together!

In commemoration of this defining point in my life, I plan to continue chronicling the experiences from the China 2002 study abroad trip, and hopefully conclude it, over the course of the next several posts. Keep an eye out!

Happy 19 Months Fifi!

Another blink of an eye,
Another month blazes by!

Wow, I should be a poet!

Fifi proudly shows off her boo-boo, a paper cut!

Now that we're past the obligatory cheesiness of today's post, Fifi crosses into her 20th month today! She and Cherry came by the office this morning to take a walk with Daddy to commemorate!

This past month has been full of good potential memories, accentuated by milestones! Without further ado, let's get right into it!

Towards the beginning of the month, we paid a visit to Grandma and Grandpa in South Florida, where we got a chance to play with Ed's new fish-eye lens and his long lens at a wetlands park.

Shots taken with his L-series 100-400mm long lens:

Fish-Eye shots!

Big Head Fifi!

Whachoowant?

Party in the back!

Yay!!

Big Head Grant

Big Head Grandpa

Grant Flagpole!

Ed Flagpole!

The next weekend, we took Fifi to the company picnic, where she had a blast in the Bounce House! At first, the carnie was worried that she would be scared - and rightly so! But, once she went inside and saw what it was all about, she wouldn't come out!

Guarding her carpet during Musical Carpets

Bounce House!

Fifi's appearance has more or less stabilized by now - she looks quite a bit different than she did last year, but she isn't growing quite as much as she did before. Today, most of her changes are in her mental capacity. The most evidence of this is in her potty training.

We started potty training, somewhat by accident, after attending Aunt SaRah's Potty Dance Party in February, when Fifi was about 16 months old. It was tough at first, since Fifi appeared to be afraid to go in the potty, but over time, she came to understand and realize that she was actually expected to pee and poo in the potty. So, after a few weeks and more than a few cookies, we got her to understand the "point" of the potty.

Next, was to get her to let us know when she needed to go. A few weeks ago, Fifi started telling us that she had went, saying "Poo-ah" or "Pee-ah" after she had gone in her diaper. With some admittedly stiff training, however, this past weekend she finally realized that the point was to let us know before going! This past weekend, twice she let us know she needed to go, and when we sat her up on her potty, she certainly went!

She's down to just a couple of diaper changes a day now (sometimes we can't make it to the potty on time, or we're on the road or whatnot)!

Fifi's language capacity is also growing by leaps and bounds. She's able to identify most of her body parts, birds, planes, dogs, cats, you name it. The most entertaining example, however, came this past week as well. Remember the Arnold Schwarzeneggar movie, "Kindergarten Cop", where the young son of an OB/Gyn proudly stated "Boys have a penis, girls have a vagina!"? Well, Fifi has her own version of this...

For a while now, when I would clean her up after changing her diaper, I would tell Fifi that I was wiping her "bibi", a cutesy way to call her private part. Well, a few days ago, she tapped on the zipper of my pants and said "Bibi!" I couldn't help but laugh... technically not quite correct, but it's still pretty amazing that she put it all together!

I can't wait to see what else she learns in the next few months!