Tour of Jimei and other Saturday adventures

Today we were offered a tour by the International faculty office of the site in Jimei which commemorates the founder of Xiamen University, Tan Kah Kee. Jimei is part of the Xiamen municipality, but it lies on the mainland. It is the hometown of Mr. Tan Kah Kee, who emigrated to Singapore as a boy and then made a fortune in the rubber trade. In the 1920's he returned to China and donated a lot of money to build colleges in Jimei and found Xiamen University. The place we saw today is called Turtle Park. The only turtle was the tombstone of Tan Kah Kee, but there were a lot of stone friezes everywhere, which told famous stories of China, the revolution, and the founder's life. Thomas really got into these. Our favorite were the panels depicting the story of the butterfly lovers, a Chinese Romeo and Juliet type story.

We were taken out after the park to a famous restaurant specializing in Xiamen local cuisine, which means seafood! Michael bet Thomas 1Y (about 13 cents) that he wouldn't try the octopus (which of course Helen had a bunch of). Thomas actually ate 2 pieces!

We also went back to the Botanical Garden with part of the group. Cherry is the person who takes care of our many needs getting established. She is very efficient and had our visas changed quickly to multiple entry so we can go to Korea next month.

I had some fun with the camera taking some flower portraits.

And I also want to mention that I did go to the Tai chi exercises this morning and it was good. I almost turned back at the last moment. But my professor friend spotted me and showed me where to stand. Of course I am sure I looked ridiculous, but I think it is valuable to try and continue for lots of reasons. I like having some structured way of interacting with Chinese people, and without work or school, I am at loose ends a bit. So I'll give it a try and I am sure I will get more fit as a result, and understand it better by and by.