Sandy and the Chicken

Last night we were watching the news coverage about superstorm Sandy battering the East Coast of the United States. A monumental event, almost as serious as the fact that I can't read anything on the remote control of our TV.

 

 

 

And in other important news: This morning, on the way to the school bus, I spotted this chicken across the street. I didn't realize we were neighbors! Tomorrow I am going to look for the egg.

Olympic Sailing

The Olympic games in London might be history, but just last week we were still celebrating the Beijing Olympics of 2008. Simon had a birthday party in the middle of Beijing's Olympic rowing park, about 30 minutes north of our house.

The kids got to sail and kayak for a couple hours, and the parents enjoyed the pretty park and amazing view. It was a clear day and we could even see the mountains in the distance.




As if it were yesterday!



Boats at the Aofan sailing club.

Some basic sailing instructions...

Time for action.

At least they will be safe.

Ready...Set....

Paul and Simon set out for some Olympic level kayaking on the official 2500 meter rowing course.

Hurrah for birthday cake!

In case you can't remember where you live.

It was a great party and a looooong day. At night, the boys didn't even make it to their beds.

In het Nederlands: Afgelopen zaterdag had Simon een verjaardagsfeestje by de Olympische roeibaan van 2008. Ze mochten lekker een paar uurtjes zeilen (onder begeleiding) en kayaken (meteen in de hoek gewaaid). Het was superleuk... en lekker vermoeiend.

Novak Djokovic

Last night we watched the number 2 tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, beat Michael Berrer to advance in the China Open. And earlier in the day we watched Jo-Wilfried Tsonga win his match against Denis Istomin.

It was a pretty exciting afternoon -- though not if you are only six or nine years old. After a couple hours the tennis got a little boring; and I suppose popcorn can only entertain for so long.

(If you are into tennis or would like to see how we age, see my post about An Na & Li Na from last year :-).)

I did record Djokovic's match point though, which I thought was pretty cool. Reuters, here it is:

Match point! Djokovic is in red; Berrer in white. Note that the Dutch don't waste any time in packing their bags and leaving. :-) We thought the match would have been settled in two quick sets, not three. The final score was 6/1, 6/7, 6/2 for Djokovic.


Here are some more pictures from a fun afternoon:



First Tsonga (blue) against Istomin (white).



Then red against red: Djokovic and Berrer.

The pop corn bag is more interesting than watching Djokovic.

A captivated fan.

So close to the trophy... yet such a long way to go!

A glimpse around the tennis area. It's commercial bonanza.

"Hello Simon"

The Dutch audience section.

Good night moon, good night tennis balls. I certainly hope someone was telling Berrer and Istomin a bed time story ;-(

Hutong bike ride

On October 1st, China's National Day, we biked around our neighborhood. I apologize for the "Blair Witch Project" kind of camera work, but with one hand on the iPhone, one hand on the steering wheel, one eye on Thomas, and one eye on the traffic, I couldn't do any better. The clip is just under a minute, but should give you a bit of a sense of the street life here. Now, if only I could also send you the street smells! :-)




In het Nederlands: Een rondje om de kerk. Nou ja, er is geen kerk hier, maar afgelopen maandag, op China's nationale feestdag, fietsten we een klein rondje door de buurt. Nu ik het clipje weer zie denk ik eigenlijk dat de geluiden nog meer zeggen dan de beelden!

Educational Saturday - Trip to the water source

On a recent (sunny) Saturday, we took a little trip around the corner to explore the origins of our tap water. Because we live in a housing compound with modern houses with running water, heating, and air conditioning (and bathrooms), we are a bit separate from the rest of our Chinese neighborhood, the villages around us.

The water treatment plant -- it turns out -- actually takes water from a private well in the skimpy woods behind our compound and cleans it up before it is is pumped to the homes. In our house, we then have an extra filtration system at the sink downstairs, to further clean the water, before we drink it. (Everyone I know either has this kind of filter at home, or buys their drinking water in big bottles, the kind you use for water coolers. Sadly though, there have been quite a few reports of people tampering with these bottles of drinking water and just bottling unsafe tap water, sealing it, and selling it as drinking water.)


When we arrive at the plant, first we dress up as scientists. Thanks to a four-year science degree I still remember which way to button my lab coat.

We're off to explore.

We were lucky to have an English speaking guide. My Chinese lessons still haven't covered "water treatment" and "filtration."

Storage tanks with clean water. 

A personal tour by Thomas.

The m.a.d. scientist.

One of the lead scientists at the place.

Checking the pH. Phew, pretty good.

pH findings confirmed by a second assessment.

I felt right back at home, as if it was 1992 and I am taking "Waterkwaliteit 1", an introduction to water quality, at Wageningen University. I even explained the concept of color titration to the boys, though I am not sure it made a lot of impact considering the vast knowledge they already have about Harry Potter style experiments.

And this is what it is all about!

In het Nederlands: we maken een tripje naar een waterzuiveringsinstallatie die hoort bij de wijk waar we wonen. We wonen hier niet echt in een Chinese wijk, maar in een "gesloten" wijk speciaal aangelegd voor rijkere Chinezen en buitenlanders. De huizen hier hebben allemaal water, electriciteit en W.C.s, wat in China nog niet helemaal de norm is. Het water in ons huis komt van een bron vlakbij. Nadat het gezuiverd is, komt het naar ons huis. Daar filteren we het zelf nog een keer en dan kunnen we het drinken. Gewoon kraanwater kan je hier in China niet drinken.

The art of eating...

Recently we went to a restaurant in the Huairou district, which is a bit north of us, towards the Great Wall.

We went for lunch (around 11:30am in good Chinese fashion) and had some yummy food. Because we were with Chinese friends, we were even introduced to a couple new dishes we had never had before. Hurrah!

The restaurant not only had great food, but it was also a pretty place to visit. Simon and I took lo-o-o-o-o-ots of pictures.


 

Walking in. (Number nine does not seem all that cooperative...)
 

The tables all consisted of four parts, each displaying some kind of item. The big circle on top is the part of the table that will later carry all the food. You turn it around in circles so that everyone can easily get to the food.
 

Ordering food is a breeze, especially when others do it for you :-)
 

Getting ready. Thomas is already swirling the glass top on which they'll later put the food.

So under all the table tops are these kinds of items. This is a close-up of one of them, presumably some white beans. Simon made it a true art project (and in the process killed the battery in my phone). Here's the art gallery:
 

 

 

 

 
 
 

Eventually, some items also appeared on top of the table!

 

This might not be your grandmother's home cooking (unless you are Chinese), but it is delicious.

 

And this is what a good swirl at the dinner table looks like :-)

 

 

In het Nederlands: Een paar weekjes terug waren we in een mooi restaurant een stukje buiten de stad. Het eten was lekker en de vele kleurtjes binnen waren een genot voor het oog. Simon maakte een hele fotoserie van de verschillende voorwerpen die in de bakken onder de tafels lagen. Bovenop de tafels zie je de typisch Chinese draaischijf (deze keer van doorzichtig glas) om de schalen met eten mee rond te draaien zodat iedereen er goed bij kan.