Back Home Again in Indiana . . .

Greetings All:
This will probably be our last posting. Andy and I have returned to Evansville and he has seen two doctors to date. They have placed him on a month-long regimen of steroid treatment to gain control of the problem. Once they have it under control, they can then determine the proper course of action.
We are living in the lap of luxury in a downtown loft condo while we wait for Andy to get to the point where we can go more than an hour without a bathroom. Once we get there, we'll run down to Nashville and start looking for new housing.
Stay in touch via Facebook. We'll post pictures there!!
China was a wonderful, unique experience. We are ready to go back!!

Friday 10/2

It is with regret that we report we are returning to the US. Somehow, Chinese authorities found a copy of the photo with me, the panda, and the the marshmallow sauce. Customs is escorting us to the airport on Monday.

Actually, I am having an ulcerative colitis flare up. I had hoped that it would resolve itself. I have lost weight the last two months, am experiencing fatigue, and can't stay out of the bathroom. As a side note, the worst combo of ailments to have in China are gastro problems in combination with bad knees. That's visual humor folks.

Anyway, Joan and I leave for Beijing on Sunday, for LA on Monday, and for Evansville on Tuesday. We have Dr. appointments set up for me on Wednesday. Hopefully, there will be a simple solution.

Andy

Sunday, 26 September

As you may know, today was my birthday. Someone told my students and they asked Andy to bring the camera and me to the classroom at 8.30--not before!

When I arrived, they had gotten me this beautiful--and delicious--cake. The icing is fluffy and delicious; the white cake is filled with fresh fruit between the two layers. Wonderful!

It came complete with lotus greeting. You light the center and it lights the candles which cause the petals to open. It then plays "happy birthday" for an incredibly long time considering

the size of the battery!

To make matters even better, the staff had also gotten me a birthday cake! It was the same inside but with chocolate sprinkles on the outside--mmmm, good!

So even though we had to teach on a Sunday, it was a great day and a wonderful birthday.

Hope you teachers out there have students as great as mine!!

More later . . .

Thursday morning in Dalian

We had the morning free so we went for a walk after breakfast. After walking about 5 miles (easily!) at the zoo , we were glad the world's largest square wasn't far from the HJ (Howard Johnson) Hotel. It is incredible. Surrounded on 3 sides by modern buildings and on the 4th by the Bay. Swimmers were out in force as were children playing. The entire square is surrounded by sculptures depicting the different Olympic events. It's part amusement park, part beach, part green space and all business!

All in all, it was a great holiday.

Dalian and the arial tram

While at the zoo, you could travel from one park to the other--over the mountains! They provided a wonderful view of the city and coast. The final shot is 'going down'!

Wednesday and the Dalian Forest Zoo

When they described it as Forest, they weren't kidding. The zoo is nestled between two mountains in a forested area with several streams running through it. Many of the animals were roaming free while others were confined to large areas.

These few pictures can't begin to give you a true picture. It was incredible!

Zoo - Thursday #1

Here are some signs we saw!!

Obviously, the Chinese don't believe everything they read!