It's almost Chinese New Year, and the preparations around the country have gone into full swing. On every corner there are the largest displays of fireworks available for purchase that you've ever seen. Kevin took off yesterday afternoon with the three older kids and several different themed fireworks that he found--including a race car, a tank, and a monster truck! The kids loved it, and the adventure went off without any burns or other dangerous moments. I talked with my friend Sara about it
yesterday, and she shared some funny moments of her husband with fireworks over the years they've been here. We decided that they are definitely a guy thing! (How I wish my brother were here to take part!)And today we leave the country! We are headed to Thailand for the next week and a half. We'll have meetings there and a little bit of down time. We begin the journey today--traveling about 3 hours by van into Beijing to catch a 5 1/2 hour flight into Bangkok. We'll spend the night there in a hotel and then take another 1 1/2 flight the next morning into Chiang Mai. The kids know that there is a swimming pool and will be warm weather
, and they are really hoping to ride an elephant. All that to say--we all can't wait! We have heard all kinds of details about being in China during their New Year's celebration, and supposedly we are making a good choice to be gone during this time. The celebrations last for several weeks, with fireworks going around the clock on the night of New Year's in particular (which happens to fall on Feb. 14th this year--following the lunar calendar). It is traditional to spend large amounts of time with family and close friends, so since we are still getting established here, it is a good year for us to be away without offending or missing good time with people.A few fun updates from this week: Kevin has really gotten "in" with the baseball team! For the first time, he had several of the guys making fun of the way he speaks Mandarin. On Tuesday when he was talking with some of the pitchers, they kept having him say something over again and then laughing. When he asked what he was saying wrong, he discovered that he was actually saying it too "right"! The way we are taught to speak at our school is proper Chinese--and these players are more used to the slang. So Kevin's wasn't doing anything wrong at all, they just thought it was funny that he was speaking it so correctly!
After that, he decided to go and play basketball with some of the infielders from the baseball team. He hadn't met these guys before, so when they split the group up into two teams to play, Kevin was a little concerned about being able to recognize the people on his team! Sure enough, his fears were well placed. The opposing team discovered quickly his ignorance of who was on his team, and used it to their advantage. The guys on the opposing team would call out for him to pass, pretending to be his teammates, then laughing once they got the ball and dribbled down to their end of the court! All the Chinese baseball players thought it was hilarious, but my competitive husband started to get a little frustrated by the end of the game!
The photos are of a new place I discovered with the kids this week. It is an indoor play area that is truly the cleanest place we've been yet in the last 5 months! There were all sorts of fun toys and games for the kids, and they even serve lunch there. We spent about two and a half hours and the kids still didn't want to leave! It is definitely a place we will return; I only wish I had found it earlier on in the winter!
More from Thailand. . . :)
