Day 477-478 Christmas in the Maldives, Days 1 and 2

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas,
in the cabin of your airplane taking you to the Maldives :)

Every gate in the Hong Kong airport was decorated
for the holidays, too.  I was getting in the spirit, too.

Then I landed in sweltering HOT Male, a land of more
twirlygigs I do not understand.  Thankfully, English is
primarily spoken, albeit with a very thick Indian accent.

The Orchid Hotel was our home for three nights on
the island of Hulhumale. Ziad was a most gracious
innkeeper and host, and such an interesting man to talk to.

This was our first morning at breakfast and we were
DYING, it was so hot and humid.  It was going to take
a day or two to get acclimated as we were about four
degrees north of the equator in the Indian Ocean. Whew!
Ziad prepared us the most wonderful traditional Maldivian
breakfast each morning; it was our favorite on the trip. So
many new and interesting and flavorful things to eat!

After breakfast, we were eager to get our toes
in the sand.  I was cautioned by Ziad that the beaches
in the Maldives are "NO BIKINIS" and that I must
stay covered up....say what????

For this is how Muslim women go to the beach.

Ziad urged us to walk way to the end of the beach where I
might be able to quickly enter the water in my bikini.

With nary a Muslim in sight, I hastily disrobed and jumped
in...where I remained up to my neck in the water.
I seemed to have escaped without incident, until some
construction workers decided to take an extended lunch
break by our blanket.  Len had to get my cover up and
towels and bring them to me in the water so that I could
get out. I was completely covered up and I still felt naked.
It was worse than being around the Amish back home.

Look at this wee little guy who crawled up on my blanket :)
We decided that we needed to take it easy and pace ourselves
in the scorching sun, so we called it an early afternoon
and decided to walk about the little village.

We walked to town, exchanged some money, and did a little
souvenir shopping. Len found this cool prayer blanket
that will hang in the living room of our new home; the
colors are perfect. I simply stumbled upon a herd of cats.

We had a late snack of Indian samosas with delicious
spicy meat and vegetable fillings.  Sadly, Len had no
cold beer to wash it down.  So far, No Bikinis, No Beer
and No Bacon in the Maldives.  I guess we should have
done our homework a little better before we booked.
I didn't care- I was here to dive with the whale sharks!

We walked to the other side of Hulhumale to see where to
pick up the ferry to the other islands.  The capital city is
just a short hop away, so we wanted to check out the ferry
schedule for tomorrow's big adventure.

Those who know me well know that anytime I can get to a harbor
or anchorage and see a mast sticking up, I break out in a grin from
ear to ear :)))  So cool.  I can't wait to get ON the water tomorrow!

As we window shopped and picked our way back across the island,
we came upon the mosque.  It was really interesting, and a bit
comforting to hear them break out in prayers five times a day
over the loud speaker.  So many new sights, tastes, and sounds
in the Maldives.  In spite of no bikinis, no booze, and no
bacon, I have to say, I love this place already!

We stopped and enjoyed an ice cream by the mosque, and
did one of my favorite things- people watched :)

This tiny little old Indian woman was using
this home made device to pick blossoms
off of this tree.  She was sharing them with
Len and explaining they make a delicious tea.
He looked like a giant next to her, lol.

We found our way back to our sleepy little street,
and we really enjoyed ourselves today.  It was so
nice to decompress from the cold and pollution,
to feel the sun on our faces, and to simply mill
about this small island getting a feel for the place.

We got cleaned up for dinner, and had a delicious
meal of foods I have never eaten before.  I loved it all.
Here I am holding the local currency which I also love,
because their money has sailboats on it.
Yep, I'm going to love this place :)

G'nite, y'all!

Day 476 Homeplate BBQ with friends

When my music teacher friend, Rob, heard that Len
was coming back to town, he graciously talked to the
manager of Homeplate BBQ to book a gig.  It was
billed as Rob & Len's Country & Folk Fiesta,
to which 24 of our closest BNDS friends tagged
along for a night of good food and good music :)

Steve (on bass) and Rob are music teachers at BNDS, and
they picked up a banjo player and Len to make the group
complete.  It was so much fun.  A night of Johnny Cash,
Old Crowe Medicine Show, Hank Sr. & Jr, and so much more.
I loved watching the largely Chinese audience toe tapping
and smiling at our guys- everyone had a great night!

We got our fill of BBQ brisket and all the fixins before the first set.
It was a full house on a Saturday night :)

The winners of last night's Silly Santa- Ale and Carlos.

Luciane arrived just in time to spend the
Christmas holiday with her hubby, Hank.

<3

Some time late in the night, Jade couldn't resist
swiping "the well-traveled hat."  If Len ever
completes his album, he plans to call it,
"Places this Hat has been"
You should see the cover shot.

Sadly, I don't have any video recordings of their big night.  For only getting together for a few rehearsals, they sounded great.  The crowd didn't want them to stop playing.  Clearly a good time was had by all.  It was a great start to Christmas vacation :)

Now on to bigger and better things- our flight takes off in the morning for our next big adventure!!!

G'night, y'all!

Day 475 Silly Santa Gift Exchange

Christmas arrived early at BNDS, and I couldn't be happier!  Earlier this afternoon, the city government issued it's second RED ALERT Smog Days.  Mind you, this was on Friday afternoon, December 18th.  The smog was to begin building on Sunday, December 20th, and school was cancelled for Monday and Tuesday, 12/21 & 22.  I find it curious that they can predict when the smog is going to be bad, but they don't really control it to keep it from happening.  At any rate, I am NOT complaining, as my five day Christmas break just got extended to a FULL WEEK!  

My original flight plans for the Maldives was two full days of flying (14 hours, three planes, each way) for just a three day stay in the Maldives.  Screw that!!!!  I spent the afternoon desperately trying to reach Orbitz to change my plans.  I never could get through, so I decided to take a gamble and bought a one way ticket to Male, Maldives, leaving first thing Sunday morning, 12/20, after Len's gig Saturday night.  Since his gig was up on the north east side of town, we decided to take a motel in the 'jing for the night, so it was a quick trip to the airport the following morning.  I was OVER THE MOON!  I was getting out of the cold, polluted air for a FULL SEVEN DAYS ON THE BEACH!!!!!

But first things first....

We had a Christmas party to attend on Friday evening, my first ever Silly Santa gift exchange.  Was it ever silly.  I laughed until I cried, and my face hurt.  It was my kind of night :)

I donned my new sparkly reindeer antlers for
the occasion.  I am wearing a bracelet that
was given to me by Edwin, my dearest Chinese
teacher friend.  I affectionately call him, "My best
man on the ground in China."  He takes it as a
great honor, as he knows that Len is "My best
man on the ground in the United States."  These
two guys take good care of me :)

There was much eating, drinking, and merriment
before we all drew numbers to go select a gift
from under the tree.  There was a pot of
RMBs at stake for the silliest gift of all.
Duong got some feminine unmentionables :)

Santosh refused to share his Chinese
boy band autographed post cards.

Tom was like a kid on Christmas
morning with his brand new pogo stick!

Dameon got a Phobia calendar for 2016.
No, it was not from yours truly, though
I coveted it.  He would not trade me.

Try as I might, I could not convince Dameon that he needed a
golden sparkly Christmas Prosperity Waving Kitty.
So guess what, Lori?  When I get to Indiana this summer,
this one goes to Tayte, and I expect to see it out with
your Christmas decorations next year, lol.

Jade was all too excited to get another
selfie stick!

Carlos gave a most eloquent thank you speech
for this most awesome Avis BBQ apron, lol.

But the Silly Santa gift to beat all gifts was
the dirty dice, complete with a bottle of
Chinese baiju, more commonly known as
'rocket fuel'.  Ale was the proud owner of
Carlos' exceptional Christmas shopping skillz,
and Carlos was the proud owner of a wad of RMBs!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS, EVERYBODY, FROM OUR 'HOME' TO YOURS!!!!

G'nite, y'all!

Day 472 Christmas dumplings

Christmas is on the horizon here at BNDS, and the annual door decorating contest took place...

Nothing says 'Happy Christmas' like a 3D version
of Mr. Durik dressed as Santa...I don't know what
the Mandarin is all about.

And nothing says "Christmas in China" than to
throw up a bunch of tinsel, random cut outs,
and twinkling lights to call it 'good'.

I thought covering the whole door to look like
Santa was clever...

But my favorite was the "Dear Santa" letter...
the students had been very good and all they
were asking for was extra credit, a Christmas
holiday (they are in school), restful sleep,
and less pollution.  Only in the China, lol.

Ms. Betty and I had spoken about a month ago about an 
activity to help bridge the gap between our Chinese teacher
friends and the Western staff.  Food always brings people 
together, and Betty offered to teach the Western staff
how to make Chinese dumplings.  There are dumpling
shops all over the 'jing, and we LOVE dumplings!

Eric got a lesson from Betty on how to roll
them out...my goodness was Betty speedy quick!

We had lots of fillings to choose from, so
Ale and I took to stuffing them.

Then I got a lesson in how to make a
traditional fold and a more fancy fold
for special occasions- like Christmas.

Tah-Dah!  The dumpling cooking lesson
was a grand success, and we all enjoyed
eating the fruits of our labor!

And what did you do at work today???

G'nite, y'all!

Day 468 POETS and such

Len's first weekend here was a busy one- starting with POETS on Friday evening.  POETS is a monthly tradition started by my Canadian friends, Kathy & Ray.  It is a social gathering of teachers after school on Friday for Happy Hour and then some.  There are no poetry readings involved, as it stands for Piss On Everything, Tomorrow is Saturday!  You may hear the occasional dirty limerick or haiku, though (wink! wink!)

These are just a few of my favorite people in the whole world.
No, seriously.  I work with some incredible people at BNDS.
They make China tolerable. and laughable. and downright
pleasant, even on the crappiest of bad air days.

I got my first Christmas delivery of the season!!! A box of
homemade candy and chocolates from Wanetta's Candy
Factory in Alexandria, IN.  I politely shared.  Skeet,
you may need to reopen the candy factory early
to make a special hand delivery when you come to
visit September 2016.  You were a HUGE hit!!!

It seems our apartment complex has gotten in to
the Christmas spirit- I think?  Because nothing
says Christmas like covering up the evergreen
shrubs, and zip tying silk flowers to the trees.
China is so freakin' weird sometimes,
I cannot help but giggle. 

The local mall got into the Christmas spirit, too, though
I cannot make heads nor tails of this display...
an upside down tree with piles of 'fluffy snow'.
The mannequins were wearing the fluff, too.
Yeah, I don't get it, either, but traditional Christmas
music was playing over the loudspeaker which was nice :)

Len and I went to my favorite Chinese restaurant which is
in my neighborhood.  It's my favorite because they have
a picture menu, so I don't mistakenly order frog penises
or other Chinese delicacies.  (I did not make that up,
btw, frog penises are on the menu. smh)

By Sunday, we decided to do some Christmas shopping
in the hutongs and Pearl Market.  This dog was laying
on his master's blanket, begging for money.  His
master was no where to be found, but the dog was
dutifully staying put as people dropped coins in his bowl.
He only got up as I was giving him the "puppy talk."

We stumbled in to 85 Bakery for my beloved
chocolate buns (Skeet, they are to DIE for!)
and a delicious caramel hot drink. It hit the spot!

Yams are in season now, and the streets are
filled with the scent of them baking in old barrels.
I often will buy one for dinner, as they are
so HUGE- for all of 40 cents. 

This was the cool find of the day....traditional Mongolian
stirrups.  Len bought a pair for his buddy Ray. The
real question, though, is how to get them safely back to
the United States?  It could be a problem; given my
track record with China Post.  

This next week is going to be an exceptionally busy one....several Christmas celebrations, Len and Rob's gig at Homeplate, then off we fly to the Maldives where I am chomping at the bit to go diving with the whale sharks- stay tuned!

G'nite, y'all!

Day 461 Happy is here!

Well things just got better for both of us!  Look who was in
my apartment when I got home from school today.
A great way to start the weekend!!!

On Saturday I had a repairman come and replace the outlet I had
purchased.  His repair bill was 5RMB, that's about 75 cents, people.
Greg, a house call alone is about $50USD, right?!

We knew something more ominous than usual was
looming in the air, when I returned from lunch on
Monday and a three pack of 3M masks was on my desk.
By the day's end, Beijing had issued it's first Red Alert
for smog, and classes were cancelled for the next two days.

Sadly, our polluted air was making the world news.

Click on this link for more.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35026363

You got no complaints from me.  Two extra days holed up in my

apartment with Len here???  I'll take it!

By Thursday evening, the boys got together for a rehearsal session.
They are playing at Homeplate BBQ on December 19th.

And that is music to my happy ears :)  Stay tuned!

G'nite, y'all!

Day 458 Keeping Score

I have been running errands nearly every day after school, getting groceries, taking care of utility cards, putting money on my data plan for my phone, a trip back to the post office, etc.  You can't imagine how the simplest of tasks become so complicated.  Yes, it would help if I spoke the language.  Generally, I 'preload' my requests in my Google translator app, and have them 'in cue' when I head out to take care of business.  Any day I can accomplish one task without a major catastrophe or meltdown, it's a good day.

Today was a VERY good day.

Thankfully we got paid this week.  The first stop was to the bank to replenish "Bank of Karyn" which is my cash stash I keep in reserve in my apartment.  That was easy. Score one for me.

Next stop was back to the post office.  I made another attempt to mail my grandkids some movies. Shot down.  Score one for China.  I didn't cry this time, score one for me.

This was the madness at the post office, which is China normal.
NOBODY stands in an efficient line. They all crowd around
from every angle, looking to jump ahead of others. I was behind
the woman in the tweed coat- the others were attempting to cut.
I shot them all looks that would kill, held my ground, and told
them to "GET BEHIND THEE!" And they did.  Score one for me.
Emily and Ellen's boxes (minus what the inspector removed,
score one for China) were mailed without incident,
and I didn't have to fill out Chinese postal forms three times
 this trip because I can't  read stupid Mandarin.
Score one for me.   

After the post office, I zipped in to China Unicom and loaded some more money on my phone. I had a bit of a hiccup, but I held my ground, waved my money around, and got 'er done.  Score one for me.
  

It was a long walk home from my errands and I passed a
Subway.  I have occasionally seen them in China, but never
got a sandwich from there.  Didn't have to cook dinner,
and I got a familiar turkey bacon sub on whole wheat?
Score one for me.

The choice of chips left something to be desired...No Cool Ranch
Doritos, No Garden Variety Sun Chips, No BBQ KC Masterpiece....
my choices were yogurt, savory pork, seaweed, or squid.
Score one for China.

I got two cookies instead....Score one for me.

That I got three major tasks accomplished between after work and bedtime?  Unheard of!

Score one for me.  

Final tally of the day?  Karyn  8     China  3

All in all, it was a very good day, indeed!  I'm closing in on back to happy :)

G'nite, y'all!