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387 days ago
395 days ago
It has been stinking hot since....forever here! Probably since April or May. Finally on Thursday night, there was a big fight in the sky between the hot front and the cold front. We woke up to crisp breezes and a beautiful blue sky. Felt like Alberta in the Rockies. Gorgeous! Many new families have moved into our community. The building of a new Airbus plant in Tianjin has brought many Europeans to our neighborhood. I've been joking that our street looks like the Champs de L'Eysees with all of the French families that have moved in. I better brush up on the French I learned as a child at my Canadian elementary school...Gaston Gavroche mangez le gateau chocolat. Here's some of our latest news: Nick was one of ten students chosen from his school to attend the first ever ACAMIS (Association of China and Mongolia Internatioinal Schools) Student Leadership Summit in Shanghai on November 7th and 8th. Secondary students from international schools from across China ...
464 days ago
I must finally be over my writer's block, as I feel the urge to write again about our adventures here. It's been an interesting month, highlighted by: The Olympics! We have been able to attend several events. The high speed train between Tianjin and Beijing has started running. What used to be a 2 hour drive + one way is now a 30 minute train ride. This changes everything for us. Friends pouring back into town as the big summer hourglass runs out of sand. Some blue skies, the likes we've never seen in Tianjin. Sadly, we may never see them again. It was interesting, watching the pollution control master plan unfurl. We sure missed having a driver at our disposal, though. Vehicles were only allowed to drive every 2nd day. About the Olympics. We've been amazed by how many Chinese people want to pose with us for pictures. They think we have just stepped off the airplane, practicing their few English phrases on us. Imagine their surprise when we respond back in ...
472 days ago
We have tickets for several Olympic events. As residents of China, we entered an online lottery about a year ago to see if we could get tickets. We were able to secure tickets to many events, but it was rare that we got 5 tickets to one event. We had to sit down as a family and plot out who was going to which event. Today was our first day for a Beijing event. Doug and the twins went off to badminton, which starts at 6:30 p.m. They took the new high speed train that runs between Tianjin to Beijing. They left the house at 1:30, and arrived in Beijing before 3:00 p.m. They weren't sure how long it would all take, so they arrived 3.5 hours before the event has started. They just called from Beijing, telling me that they were wasting time at a McDonald's restaurant near the venue until they could go to the event. I dressed the twins up in matching Olympic outfits. Hats with the Olympic mascots, and face tattoos with the official Beijing 2008 logo and mascots. It seems that ...
480 days ago
Doug learned a few months ago that the Olympic Torch would be passing by his work place via e-mail. Because of security precautions, his work area would be cordoned off early. He knew that if he wanted to see the torch go by, he'd have to wake up crazy/early that day. Today was the day! He talked to the kids, and Philip and Thomas decided that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Olympic Torch. They all woke up at 5 a.m., and got to his workplace by 6 a.m. They then lined up until 9:30 a.m. to see it go by. Nick and I aren't as patient with such matters, so we opted to stay home. I'll be sure to download some pictures when they get home (they are expected home at 5 p.m.....they had lunch with dad and had to hang out at his office while he was in some meetings - plus Doug's office is about an hour away from our home). Here's a blurb from the web today about it: Olympic torch relay begins in Tianjin WATCH VIDEO Source: CCTV.com ...
