Friday, December 14, 2007

Quick update

Not too much to report today, but Sophia had a very good day in potty-land, which means I will be able to get out of the apartment more again with a clear conscience soon! We picked Helen up at noon, which is my new plan for Fridays, as I feel like we never have time to sit and do any schoolwork, and I am attempting to keep her up with her class in the US. I got some new workbooks while I was in Michigan. On Friday afternoons the apartment is quiet, Sophia is napping and we had a full 90 minutes of work time and then time to start a craft (making felt people out of wool) before she woke up.

It was actually cold here today..63 or so and cloudy with a brisk wind. I can see that it will get quite chilly in the apartment with no heat on the cooler days ahead. Helen said she kept her coat on at school -- no heat there either and the "hallways" of the school are open air walkways.

Tomorrow morning early we set out on a brief overnight trip about 4 hours away in the Yongding area of the Fujian province (our province). The people here traditionally built large round dwellings made of rammed earth and glutinous rice! They apparently are quite large and would house entire clans. The best tidbit I heard is that the US government thought they were missile silos on satellite photography during the cold war. This is one of those must-see sights near to Xiamen, and the university is taking us, so we couldn't pass it up. I think we will also do some hiking in the mountains. Look forward to some photos when we get back!

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