Christmas and More!!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!! (Shengdan Kuaile and Xinnian Kuaile!!)

Late I am sure, but it's never too late to celebrate Christmas!

Our dream of a white Christmas didn't come true, but we came close. Below freezing weather all week! We did hear that many folks back in Tuolumne County got their Christmas wish though, and Dodge is open. Congratulations….just save some powder for us please! Since we don't have the option of snowboarding over here we decided to pick up a new winter sport; ice-snowdriving. It's a fascinating and heart pounding extreme sport that's apparently quite popular in China. We discovered this sport while taking our hour long commute from Dalian to Lushun. It's a beautiful winding drive in the country, over the river, through the woods, to you know where. But lately it's been a little more….interesting. The morning of our first snow in Dalian we hopped into the backseat of our personal cab at 7am and took our usual route towards lovely Lushun. We assumed our driver had driven in the snow before, (stupid) since it is not too unusual for it to snow here. We also assumed other drivers had driven in the snow before (stupider). Basically, the ice and snow covered road turned into a giant pinball machine of cars, trucks, pedestrians, etc. as we swerved and slid on our way….without chains towards school. No other car or truck (out of the 5 million on the road) had chains either. It reminded us of us those idiots that pass us by on the way to Dodge while we put on our chains….only to see them a few miles up the road crashed into a snow embankment.

Anyway, as we got to the top of a small mountain and started heading down we realized we were in trouble. As soon as we began to slide down the road the driver instinctively slammed the brakes on. When he realized this wasn't working he pulled the e-break. By this time we were picking up speed and there were no guard rails between us and, well, certain death. I began to run through my mind what exactly we would do when we inevitably careened over the cliff a few meters away. One hand clenched the door handle, the other my wife. Had our adventures in China seriously come to this?? Diving out of a moving vehicle onto an icy road to survive?

Well, you can stop holding your breath. We survived! But don't let our parents read this. Somehow our driver alternated between the e-break, foot break, and gas with such precision that we avoided the cliff and made it "safely" to school.

In other news, we made it to Beijing to do a little sightseeing a few weeks ago. We saw the Olympic Bird's Nest and reenacted Usain Bolt's chest-thumping finish line crossing. Then we took a look at the Water Cube where Michael Phelps claimed his eight gold medals. But the highlight of Beijing was definitely the Forbidden City. And after eight hours of walking around we realized why it is called a CITY! It's gigantic; truly a remarkable place with incredible history and extraordinary craftsmanship.

Here are a few fun facts for you:

- It covers 180 acres (7,747,200 square feet) and has 9,999 rooms (for good luck)

-It holds the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures and palace structures in the world

-It's over 600 years old and housed 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties

-The last emperor, Emperor Puyi, lived in the city until 1924

Strolling down streets and alleyways that used to be reserved solely for emperors was quite an experience. The Forbidden City is a must see if you ever make your way out to China. Speaking of Forbidden City's, the city Lushun where we teach three days a week is often referred to as "Dalian's Forbidden City"; as most of it is technically off-limits to foreigners. But it's not emperors that give this city its "forbidden" title; it's the naval base housing "state-of-the-art naval equipment….including the latest submarines, destroyers, escort vessels, minesweepers, minelayers, and submarine-chasers." Yikes. This would have been good information to know the first time went there to teach and my wife went for a walk while I was in class. Two policemen pulled over and demanded she give her passport……as it was clear she was a spy. Luckily our Chinese friend intervened and disaster was avoided. Our 007 status is safe, for now. (Google Lvshunkou District, Lushun, or Lvshun for more info on this area of China). As far as Beijing goes, we will be returning next week to see the Great Wall, Summer Palace and more, so stay tuned!