Many of you have been asking about our home, so here you go....

Our living room

The other end of our living room

Pam in the kitchen - our 2 burner stove

Our kitchen sink

Our other sink and washing machine

You guessed it...and our shower

The outside of our building

A view from our campus

The National Holiday that Didn't Happen

Pam in action!

Arrangement for China's "most complex holiday in history" released (September 8, 2010, People's Daily)
The holiday arrangement for the Mid-Autumn Festival and Chinese National Day in 2010 was officially released by the Beijing Municipal Office on Sept. 7. As several consecutive weekends are shifted into working days, the holiday arrangement in 2010 is considered to be the "most complex holiday in history." The arrangement shows that there are 12 rest days and 11 working days from Sept. 18 to Oct. 10. Sept. 19 (Sunday) and Sept. 25 (Saturday) will be considered as working days because of the Mid-Autumn Festival, and Sept. 26 (Sunday) and Oct. 9 (Saturday) will also be working days because of the Chinese National Day. Therefore, people will work two days and rest for one day after the seven-day National Day holidays.

Outside our school gate.

I'm not sure how to interpret the above newspaper article but this is Pamela's rearranged teaching schedule for the Mid-Autumn holiday which is Wednesday, Sept.22. Along with Wednesday holiday, Thursday and Friday are also taken as holidays.


Sunday the 19th make up classes for Thursday the 23rd
Saturday the 25th makeup classes for Friday the 24th
Sunday the 26th makeup classes for Wednesday the 22nd


I think?!?


P.S. When was that holiday again?

Lhasa - Rooftop of the World

The Potala - former home of the Dalia Lama

Having been in Lhasa for 10 days, we have encountered a lifetime of experiences. In one sense life here is much like you would expect in a growing urban setting in China. People bustling here and there, busy traffic with annoying horns, shopping centers and all the sights, sounds and smells one would expect. But in a more real sense, Lhasa is the place that the Tibetan Buddhists consider their holy city and the center of the Tibetan Buddhist world.

 As we seek to engage a new and different world view we are challenged by language and cultural barriers. Chinese is spoken by most of the local population but we are living in a Tibetan speaking area of the city. Tibetan Buddhism is the most visual belief system and is very complex. Both of these are huge challenges to our relating to and entering into the local cultures.

A new friend we meet on the street

We are thankful to have been provided with a beautiful apartment. It has 2 bedrooms and an ample size living room. Our kitchen and bathroom are nothing to sneeze at either! It was quite a surprise after the stories we heard. He is good all the time.

That is enough for now; we will let you know more as time goes on.

Thanks Bob

Last night was an airport run as we took our good friend, Bob Smart, there to return back to 'Normal.' It was a wonderful week that we spent together. Thank you, Karen and Christ Church, for allowing him to come.

Kids, Countries and Christmas

Wow, what a wonderful time was had by all. Pam and I spent most of  December with our kids, Becca in China, Rachel in Korea and Benji visiting us here in Laos.

It was a gift to see Rachel and Becca in their living and work enviroment. Rachel is teaching English to Korean elementry and jr.high students in an after school program. She lives in an apartment in Hwajeong which is a suburb of Seoul, the 2nd or 3rd largest metropolitian area in the world.

Becca is teaching university English in Guiyang, China. She continues to serve with the Peace Corps. Did you know that China does not use central heat in buildings south of the Yangtze River? We enjoyed meeting many of her friends and even attended an Africian wedding while there.

Christmas day brought a wonderful present to Pam and I in Vientiane. Benji arrived from the cold mid-west to enjoy a few short days in the sun with us. It was a joy to show him around our city and introduce him to our fellow team mates.