China National Day 2011
Greetings: It has been a few months from our last correspondence. Naturally, there has been a lot of events that have occurred. From the death of my father in June, to doing an early renewal of the Company Registration, to the USA for 2 weeks, Colman's Eagle Project, Hurricane Irene and the evacuation of Elaine's Parents, 2 weeks in Thailand, Colman's 16th Birthday, an odd experience in Henan Province and now it is China National Day. Whew!
Changes: For a couple of years many of you have known our desire to leave Kunming for Thailand. We even made an announcement in late May. This decision is based on several factors. The first is that Kunming is not the quaint little city it once was. It now has nearly 8 million people and it continues to explode. In fact, there are 1000 new cars on the road every day and all new apartment buildings will have to be at least 32 stories tall. A subway system and a new International Airport are being built. With all the construction and new cars, the roads are literally clogged. Secondly, the access to excellent and affordable healthcare is found in Thailand. Thirdly, the weak U.S. Dollar to the Chinese Renminbi has made everything at least 25% more expensive over the past 3 years, except the fruits and vegetables. Fourthly, it is time to spend some time with the parents before moving. Simply, we are all ready for a change. We hope you will continue to pray and support us as we go through this transition.
June 13th: At 3:30 am on June 13th, I got a phone call I knew would happen some day. My oldest sister told me our father had died. Fortunately, I had a good long chat with him the morning before. He was a good man and a good father and he is missed.
Since then, my sisters have been doing a wonderful job taking care of our mother. She had a brain seizure in April of 2010 and has debilitated her to 24 hour care. My father did the bulk of this, but with him now gone the task has fallen on my sisters. Pray for them as they continue to adjust to this new way of life for them.
Thankfully, I was able to return to the States in mid-July to attend my father's celebration of life service. Many people came forward and volunteered their services to put it together and it came through wonderfully on a beautiful summer afternoon.
Summertime in Kunming: Summertime in Kunming is not nearly as exciting as being in Western Massachusetts with its fresh water and lush hillsides, but we got through. Colman had a great time at Camp Zenith for the second time. It is located at a farm near the Yunnan-Myanmar Border. There were a lot of outdoor activities and he even helped in slaughtering a cow. He wants to go again even when we are in Thailand. In early August he did his Boy Scout Eagle Project, which was painting the Youth Center. He did an excellent job raising the money and organizing the equipment and other teenagers to accomplish it. We also thank you to all those who supported him.
Clara, unfortunately, still had to finish off some classes, so she stayed around. She has started to discover something she enjoys-- writing. She always knew she would be doing something that dealt with creativity and this past year she did well with Creative Writing. Now she is taking Advanced Creative Writing. As for Elaine, she could not wait to get out for a summer break and exploration of our future home, Thailand.
Hurricane Irene: Thank God for SKYPE!! As Hurricane Irene roared through the Northeast USA, this past August, Elaine got a SKYPE text from her sister in Ohio, that their parents had been evacuated. They went to some friends they attend Church with. It was a tense couple of hours until we all knew they were safe. Then we just waited to hear how far the water would rise. Flood waters had reached their cellar in the past, so it seemed obvious that it would happen again and be even worse this time. It did! It made a mess of the cellar, ruining a refrigerator, stove, furnace and water heater. Their freezer was found floating and still plugged in with all the food intact, but it was thrown out anyway. Fortunately, the cellar was dirt floor and they had an professional clean-up crew from one of their fellow Church members.
Taking Time in Thailand:
We finally fulfilled a trip we have talked about for years and that was traveling to Thailand via Southern Yunnan, through Laos and then crossing the Mekong for a second time into Chiang Khong, Thailand. This doesn't cost much money either.
-The journey: We flew from Kunming to Jinghong and then hired a car to take us to the Laos Border. We got there around 2:30 in the afternoon. Once into Laos we were greeted by a Van Driver who knew some English. We hired him and he drove for about an half-hour and we changed into his father's Honda Odyssey Van. He then drove for the next 4 hours or so to Huay Xai, Laos and book a room at a hotel seated next to the Mekong River. The next morning we walked around the town, ate breakfast and went through customs, got into a long-tail boat and crossed the Mekong to Thailand. From there we got another van which drove 2 hours to Chiang Rai. We spent 2 days exploring the city and then a 3 hour bus ride to Chiang Mai. 2 days in Chiang Mai and then 2 days at a Dairy Farm in Fang, Thailand near the Myanmar Border. Then back to Chiang Mai for another 5 days. Then an overnight train to Bangkok for a couple days and then we flew back to Kunming using our air miles.
-The Highlights:
Laos
Driving through Laos was beautiful. The mountains and scenery was lush. We saw no villages but passed by small shack-like homes and people who live very simple lives. The children with sun bleached sandy colored hair were everywhere, no one child policy in that country. The van took us through many winding roads and finally when we thought one more hill was all we could take the road leveled and straightened out. We spent one night in Huay Xai, a grubby little town that struggled to supply the foreigners with some semblance of western culture. We are use to these type of sleepy villages and were comfortable on it's streets. One night was plenty to get a feel of the place.
Crossing the Mekong the next day we entered into Thailand. Doug was approached by several van drivers and he decided on one with a large comfortable vehicle. Thailand is a much more thriving country with modern towns and homes. We saw several huge Buddhas and temples perched on hill tops or in the towns as we drove, reminding us that in this culture their religion is very open and a part of the daily life. One will not see this in China as most of their statues are located within hidden temple grounds.
Chiang Rai: swept away in a flood------- of people!
This is a pleasant city which offers the foreign tourist many varieties of tastes and sights. On the 2nd night there we went to the Night Market. Seeing this town is much smaller than Chiang Mai our next destination we never expected it's night market to be so huge. We got there early even as some venders were still setting up. We dined on several tasty items in the food section: BBQ squid, chicken, Kefir Lime sausage, tempura vegetables, noodle soup and BBQ goat! All was very tasty. The homemade ice cream definitely needed some western improvements, however. When we were ready to take off we couldn't find a way out. The market had swelled in size so we could not see the end either way. This was a 2 lane flood of people crammed into narrow channels constantly moving or stopping to see what was for sale. We have never experienced anything like it. We headed back the way we came but couldn't recognize where we came in. Finally, we just took a chance at one of the blocked off street entrances and shuffled our way through the jam packed parked scooters. We walked and walked but never saw a taxi, tuk tuk or song tao (2-seat mini bus) that could take us back over the river to our hotel. Doug and Colman decided to leave Clara and myself on a busy street corner and go back to the market and look for transportation. Clara and I waited and waited watching people drive by on bikes, scooter, trucks and cars. We saw only 1 taxi in the 30 minutes we waited. Thankfully after that time Colman and Doug having located two 3 wheeled tuk tuks ( taxi bikes ) we were able to buzz back laughing at our experience.
Chiang Mai:
Easier to list what we did:
Ate good Thai and Western food, went to used book stores, drove scooters for 5 days, swam, drove out to a dairy farm, celebrated Colman's 16th Birthday, went to a Royal project food and plant producing farm, soaked in a mineral bath at a hot spring, had a great and cheap ($4.00) massage, and discovered that everything I need to supply a western kitchen and home is now available in the city.
Some More Highlights:
Colman had his 16th Birthday with a BBQ beef on the dairy farm which is located in a section of Thailand with many Chinese. These Chinese left Yunnan during the War in the 1940's and Cultural Revolution of the 1960's. So, Chinese was what we spoke there.(We may very well be working in this area). We were also given 5 liters of fresh milk which had to be heated (in a wok) sufficiently before consuming, which Colman did over the next few days. Before we left, our hosts drove us around the border area where opium poppies used to be grown but now wonderful fruits, vegetables and orchids have replaced them. The nearby hot springs with geysers and mineral baths was a pleasant treat. Getting stopped by the Police with the Scooters on account Clara and Elaine did not have helmets. Doug paid the Policeman on the street to avoid going to the station. Doug and Colman then returned to the Rental Shoppe for 2 more helmets. Going on the overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok and waking up to many areas flooded. It is good thing many Thai Houses are built on stilts.
Getting to hear Thai Elvis. A Thai Elvis impersonator singing at the local food court. His English has improved since we last heard him in 2006.
Enjoying just walking around the Glorious Supermarkets and eating Ice Cream.
And much much more!
The Henan Experience: Our friend, Anna or Kang Wen Mei, was asked by the Henan Provincial Chamber of Commerce to find some foreigners to attend and to be faces. This would be an all expense paid adventure. We were under the impression that this would be a Food Expo, but when we got there we found out it was for flowers and ornamental trees. Even the Chinese don't always understand each other. This turned out to be quite a production with a lot of fanfare and flowery talk. Doug had to stand in proxy for a Dutch rep who was unable to make it. He was interviewed on TV and did a great job. I was asked to stand with other visitors from foreign countries on stage as we were thanked for coming. I was also asked to give a local company advice on what products I thought would be good to grow and sell. Later, I found out from another source that there was a company in the next county doing several of these. I was glad that I was on target. We thought this was an interesting experience.
Keep us in your prayers as we are in a confusing time of transition,
From China,
Doug, Elaine, Clara and Colman Culver
