I'm going to India! I have my flights. I leave home January 7 and return June 10.

I've started a new blog where I hope to post items while I'm in India. You can always find a link to it by coming to this site, clicking into my profile and scrolling down to the list of my two blogs. There you will click on Now It's India.
Or you can go directly to http://lavelleinindia.blogspot.com.

For now you will find a short summary of my plan, such as it is, at the new blog. I think I'll be able to access comments this trip, so that will be a possible way of staying in contact. Or keep those emails coming. I like to hear from you.

I can count my remaining days on one hand. I find I’m checking off an unofficial list of lasts: my last Wednesday to teach, my last time to see Rosely, my last bike ride along the Yu Long River, etc. In with the excitement of returning home, I’m already recognizing the nostalgia I will have for China. This has been an incredible experience. I feel so grateful to the people who made it possible, people here and people at home.

I expect this is my final posting. Another one of those “lasts.” The photos are ones that haven’t fit in other postings but I can’t let them, or the memory attached to them, go.

On one of the streets through FuLi, I pass this clock shop. It’s in the older part of FuLi. And always surprises me. I have seen no other shop like it. It has something of a European feel to me, and yet it is purely China.

The students at this FuLi preschool, like so many little ones here, often greet me. In September they were prone to shout, “Hellobye-bye,” as one word many, many times. Now it’s, “Hello,” many, many times and then eventually, “Bye-bye,” many, many times!

One morning in April, I was walking toward the boat following this group of women who were seeing their children to school. The man on the right is sweeping the area in front of his store, something he or his wife does every morning. The tree above him smelled heavenly. The morning had such a peaceful feeling.

Last fall sitting at my desk in the teachers' workroom at DuTou I observed the kindergarten students at play. Through the door I watched them run and jump into the long jump pit. Their teacher supervised from the edge of the pit. The thirsty ones drank from the faucets on the back wall while they waited their turns…or maybe they just played in the water. The air was hot and full of the children’s little voices.

In the fall and winter, this ehru player sometimes stationed himself at the dock gazebo. One of the first times, he showed me his American dollar tips and I traded his dollars and dime for Chinese yuan. American dollars were worthless to him. I haven’t seen him since February. There were four funerals in FuLi in April, two on his street. But I’m hoping he is visiting family and will return to the gazebo with his erhu.

This rafter was on the Li River. He’s a fisherman who uses cormorants to catch fish. The birds have rings around their necks so that when they catch a large fish they are unable to swallow it. The fisherman then takes the fish whole from the bird’s mouth. Yum.

If you pedal far enough north along the Yu Long River, you reach Dragon Bridge. It’s a famous destination. A very nice ride. The bridge is made of stone and 700 years old. The view from the bridge is nice. The view of the bridge and its reflection is also nice, and something you don’t see on every trip.

Sometimes instead of walking to the downtown bus station in Yangshuo, I walk through this tunnel and catch the bus at a corner on the other side. One morning last winter, the sun was rising as I headed toward the tunnel.

When I decided to come to China for 5 months back in 2006, I had no idea I would still be here today. I’ve been so fortunate to be able to follow this path, a path that is taking me home now. So for now I’ll continue to experience all the “lasts” for this time in Yangshuo as I look forward to being home.

Last weekend it rained. I rented a bike hoping to cycle around the countryside both days. Saturday I was drenched on both attempts and Sunday it rained steady enough that I made no attempts.

After all that weekend rain, I wasn’t too surprised at the size of the Li River Monday morning. It was the widest it has been at the DuTou crossing. Looking back at FuLi from DuTou, the river was a churning expanse of brown water. The steps to the boat landing were covered. The boats now docked on an equal plane with the gazebo. By the afternoon crossing, we could not disembark at the normal landing. Instead we were left off at a bank to the left.

Wednesday was a once-in-four-years large celebration in FuLi. So between my morning class and my afternoon class, I went back to FuLi to check it out. What I found was an arena where twelve groups performed their rehearsed songs, dances or skits. I met up with DuoDuo and a trio of Norwegian coeds who had already acquired “special guests” status so I caught the last few acts from the judging stage. Then we were taken to lunch by the photographers who were swarming the place.

Thursday morning these foods were being sold at the entrance to the large covered market in downtown Yangshuo. In the front are the greens that are always available for stir fry. Next to them are the peaches that are in season now. We eat them a bit greener here. And behind the peaches are small melons that we eat like an apple: skin, flesh and seeds in a juicy bite. And at the very back are the pumpkin flowers that are cooked in soup or sometimes stuffed. The pumpkin vine is even more common than the flower as a stir fry vegetable.

Thursday afternoon two young men came out to DuTou to film a piece about volunteer teaching. They were working for a Yangshuo TV channel or a Guangxi TV channel….we’re not exactly sure which. Nice guys. We had fun with the filming, but we were all a bit nervous too. It’s a little discerning to have a cameraman following you and asking you to repeat a movement!

Thursday night it poured ALL night! School was canceled Friday. I’m sure the Li River at DuTou was hen da (very big)! Still I was unbelieving when I heard the main streets of Yangshuo were flooded. Unbelieving that is until an Owen College student showed me his photos Friday evening. Saturday morning when I finally made it downtown the streets were already dry or drying, but the flood damage was evident as shopkeepers started putting their worlds back together.

In Yangshuo the Li River was indeed da (big). Here the boats, normally at least 15 to 20 feet lower, floated at street level. The place where we have barbecued was covered.

We’re waiting to see if the rainy season is over. We haven't had rain for two days now.

This street in the old part of FuLi is quite narrow. I generally walk through it each morning on my way to the boat that takes me to DuTou.

However last Thursday morning I was not walking. Roger, an Owen College student, was with me. He was coming along to be my assistant. We had a watermelon we were carrying and the day was sizing up to be another hot one, so we grabbed a red motorbike wagon….another form of san lun che.

Thursday was market day in FuLi so plenty of people were expected to pass through this street in these vehicles. That’s the only reason I have for why six, or maybe seven, san lun che happened to be in this same spot at the same time.

There really isn’t room for two vehicles to pass each other. But slowly and carefully we inched by and the impossible was accomplished. Think these drivers might have done this before!

We were stuck here only long enough to jump out and take photos. Not long. But still the idea of a traffic jam in FuLi.......

Children’s Day was June 1. The schools celebrated it on Friday, May 30. At DuTou, where I now spend all my teaching time and efforts, the students began to gather on the playground at 9:30.
They carried their chairs or benches from their classrooms to the designated area and soon were settled in an orderly fashion.

Then it began to rain. Only a few sprinkles. But some students went to get their umbrellas.

It continued to rain. And now it was a bit more of a drizzle, so the students were told to take their seats back to their classrooms. The recitations were postponed. The day’s festivities would begin with the games. The students cheered. Imagine that.

For......
hooking a fish.....

kicking a ball between the legs of a bench...

throwing a ping pong ball into a basket....

picking up wet marbles with chopsticks...

throwing a baseball through this hole...

tossing a ring onto a beer bottle...


....you got piece of candy.
And though it continued to rain, I don’t think anyone minded.

On Sunday, the actual Children’s Day, there were performances at 99 Supermarket in the center of Yangshuo. LanLan, the 4 year old daughter of my Chinese teacher, performed. She introduced herself in English: My name is LanLan. I am 4 years old. My father is a teacher. My mother is a tour guide. Then she recited a poem about apples. In English. I was impressed. You can see her proud parents watching her just behind the speaker on the right.

Kelly and I had heard of Stone Village from a couple of people. Sunday we decided it was time for us to take a look.

We started our Sunday outing by catching a bus to PuTao, a small town about half way between Yangshuo and Guilin. From PuTao we took a san lun che. The road was full of potholes which made for a very bouncy ride. It was about forty-five minutes of body bouncing and slamming that left me wondering if I will ride in such a vehicle again! In this photo taken early in the ride DuoDuo, Susan and I laugh at being tossed around.










The san lun che left us off at a village beside the road. I spotted a building made of stone and thought we had arrived. But, no. From there we had an hour climb to the “real” Stone Village. It seems wherever we go there is a climb!

About half way up we stopped to rest at this wall. The spot was cool, a nice reprieve from the muggy day. In the photo the guide and DuoDuo beckon Lyn, Kelly and Susan to the coolness in the wall opening. They called it nature's air conditioning.

The walk was quite muddy in sections. But at times we were able to raise our eyes and enjoy the quiet beauty of the surrounding nature. We passed through woods, orchards and farmlands.

When we finally reached Stone Village it was easy to see where it got its name. The old construction is made of flat stones, not the red brick of today’s construction.

We visited with an old woman in her home for a bit. She wanted to heat us water or prepare some food. But we declined. Penny made a special effort to talk with the woman. Communication wasn't easy...perhaps because she had only one tooth in her mouth? Or perhaps she simply spoke a different dialect. But Penny persevered. She said she was reminded of her Grandma.

The wall facing the door in the woman's front room was typical of walls you see in older homes. There is often a large picture of Mao...often larger than this one. She also had many red banners of well wishes and what looked like a religious poster.

The village felt quite remote. However we did learn you can get there by road. The drive takes four to five hours. Five hour drive or a one hour climb ….Guess that is remote.

This week felt full. More so than usual.

The additional events started with Duo Duo, an Owen College student, asking to come with me to my schools on Monday and then wanting to come all week. She saw it as a chance to practice her English and see how a foreigner teaches. I saw it as a chance to have a classroom assistant. Having an assistant is nice, but also not quite as carefree as blithely going my own merry way. So there was that.

Also during the first three days of the week all schools had 3 minutes of silence each day and on one day an assembly honoring the Sichuan earthquake victims. At DuTou this assembly took place on Tuesday.

The students gathered on the playground where the principal addressed them. I was told he shared a story of a child who lived in the earthquake area.

Then we had the day’s 3 minutes of silence.

This was followed by a procession of all teachers and students making a donation to the relief effort.

When the money was counted, DuTou Primary School had 1460Y to take to the Red Cross office in Yangshuo. Amazing how those yuan can add up.

On Wednesday morning there were new desks and chairs stacked in the playground when we arrived at school. They were a donation from a Hong Kong middle school that had sent a group of students on a fieldtrip to the Yangshuo area last year. Their fieldtrip included time at DuTou Primary School where the students from the two schools interacted

Now here were enough desks and chairs for two classrooms.

So it was out with the old…..

And in with the new.

Here is the third grade class last winter with their old desks.

Here they are on Wednesday with their new desks.
What a difference!







On Thursday afternoon Duo Duo, two teachers and myself took our own small fieldtrip to a local site.

Duo Duo and I traveled in one of these san lun che (3 wheeled vehicles). I used to think these were old relics from a bygone day. But recently I saw a new one on the road, with the red cloth hoping for safety tied to a mirror. Apparently there is a factory in the Guilin area and these are not relics!

Our destination on Thursday was three ponds. As Duo Duo said after the trip, “They were a bit of a disappointment.”
I myself was more interested in riding in the bouncy san lun che.

And in the old traditional architecture of Liugong, the village near the ponds.

The Li River and the surrounding karsts were also nice.

And this large old tree caught my eye. I haven't seen too many trees this size in China.
The ponds may have been so-so, but the trip was not a loss.

The week ended with an impromptu concert in the staff room at DuTou. Mr. Zhao is in charge of the school’s maintenance. Last September on Teachers’ Day, after a bit of the baijou (local alcohol) he started singing a traditional folk song. I was amazed at the operatic quality and strength of his voice. So on Friday when he appeared at school during the lunch break, I told Duo Duo about that earlier experience. She soon had him singing. He really does have a showman’s talent.

It was a fun week. But it’s OK with me if this next one is a bit less full!