Wuzhen

The weather is beautiful now, sunny and warm, not yet to hot. That's what it was like yesterday when I went on a trip to Wuzhen, another water town. It was a pleasant day, the town like all the others. Lots of friends on the bus and probably the last such trip I will make. Here are a few pictures.

Summer's coming

Finally, a beautiful sunny day. We have had a long cold wet spring. There were a number of sunny days that fooled us into thinking the nice weather had arrived. Last spring was a pleasant warm season. Today was almost hot so I'm sure in no time at all I will be complaining about the heat. Tomorrow, Sat., I am taking a trip to another water town, Wuzhen. This will probably be my last excursion before I head off to Africa in July. I am shipping my belongings home with friends who are also returning to Canada. That's all organized. Now I just have to get rid of the belongings I don't want to keep and organize what I actually what packed, what I need to take with me in my suitcases and what needs to stay here because it doesn't belong to me. I will post again tomorrow night or on Sun. with pictures from Wuzhen.

my apartment

When I arrived in Shanghai I was so thrilled with my apartment and took pictures to show you how great it was. I've looked at those pictures recently and my apartment is so much better now. So I took new pictures to show you. I actually had problems and some pictures wouldn't upload so there are only a few here. My apartment no longer looks like this since I have already gotten rid of all my plants, given a few other things away and have gathered together things that are going to be shipped. As I prepare to return home I recall my feelings when I was preparing to come here. And although I am happy and anxious to return home there is not the excitement of coming. There is a slight sadness of leaving my friends and the city and all the money of course. And still, Doug and Mike, despite having lived in Shanghai and saying I'm going to miss it, I don't want to live in Toronto. I think it is because Pudong is almost like a suburb so I don't really live in the big city. I can just go over the river to visit it if I want to.

I missed putting this on the last post. It is the other picture of the Giant Bhudda. People go up these stairs offering prayers. Need I say I didn't. My bus drove me to the top.

Finally pics from Hong Kong

These pictures are on an island just off Sai Kung where my brother Paul and his wife lived for several years. This island has a golf club on it with a lovely clubhouse. Moira and I had lunch there and a very pleasant walk around.



The 2 pictures of the Giant Bhudda are from Lantau Island






These pictures are from Hong Kong Park and Kowloon Park. Both very beautiful where I enjoyed wonderful serenity as I walked around.

The end is near.

Today and tomorrow we have shipping companies estimating our goods for shipping. There are only 12 weeks left for school and then I will be on my way to Africa and 2 weeks later I'll be home. This has been a fantastic experience and I am thrilled that I have had the opportunity. To discover a bit about such a foreign land and foreign language has been exciting and mind expanding. It's amazing though that after 2 years of living here I still know so little about the Chinese people and know only a few words of their language. By now I'm sure Mike would have been speaking fluently. I'm using this blog as my memories of this experience. I'm printing at school as I type. I've joined a book club with a few other expats. I've only been to 2 meetings. We have read "The Red Tent" and "Ishq and Mushq" These were both great stories. The club itself is a bit disappointing since we hardly even discuss the books. It's more of a social evening to visit with friends. I had no trouble getting into this sight today. I'll do more from home since I think I have more pictures to add from my own computer.