Mayan Riviera

Brad felt like he really missed out when the kids and I went to the Mayan Riviera for Spring Break. I really wanted to NOT try and pretend it was business as usual for Christmas. So Brad decided to celebrate his 50th birthday in Mexico. This year has been my first experiences with all inclusive holidays. They have never really appealed to me because they didn't seem like a good way to experience a different culture. However, I get it now. It is far more about REST and RELAXATION than a cultural experience and I've been totally in need of that!

All I needed were the palm leaves wafting in the gentle breeze, a few good books, the sun, the ocean, and dinner reservations as the only pressing demand on my schedule. Brad felt pressed to extend his life with regular exercise and actually saw the inside of the fitness facilities and jogged. I read articles on how to reduce the amount of belly fat without exercise but was not at all compelled otherwise. Hhmmm room service or working out? Not such a tough choice.

For Brad's birthday, I agreed to an action adventure tour as long as it complied with Canadian Health and Safety Standards (NOT) as promised by Transat Holidays. It being Mexico, they never did pick us up and we spent the rest of the morning rebooking. Although we had to forgo snorkeling, we did make it on the Alltournative Coba Mayan Village Encounter on Friday- quite an interesting concept. The Mayan people open up their village to tourists and are employed by the company rather than having to leave their land to clean toilets in large hotels. In exchange they agree to no longer hunt (jaguar, turtles, other protected species), log hardwoods, pollute the land, and practice some of the traditional cultural practices (ie. building homes with wooden posts on the concrete blocks, some traditional dress and cooking..).

Coba and the Mayan Village were quite a ways from the Riviera Princess Hotel. The trip was extended significantly by the Military Roadblocks. The Military has its work cut out for it in terms of trying to deal with the drug cartels. The drug cartels make 5 times the amount of money as the entire Mexican Military budget. The police make minimum wage which is $4.50 per day and are threatened with death of themselves or their families if they don't cooperate with the drug cartels. Bar owners must either pay to be left alone or allow the dealers in their bars. High ranking government officials and police officers deal with death threats and attempts on their lives for trying to deal with corruption at any level. Of course, the American solution of targeting end users offers no more promise in Mexico than it does in the U.S. Generally the average population is happy that the roadblocks represent an attempt to deal with the problem. The average Mexican is the target of the many types of kidnapping (ransomed, virtual, express/ the bank machine one...) that are related to the drug trade. Although the checkpoints don't target tourists, the machine guns, Military attire, and tanks with guns levelled at the traffic are quite disconcerting.

We had an abbreviated canoe trip due to the wind and therefore did not see any wildlife around the lagoon. Our next task was to trek through the jungle (being wary of snakes and acid burning resin on trees) to the station that suited us up for the zip lining. Our guides were kind enough to point out the crocodile in the open sink hole we were about to travel over. I took a running jump to avoid hitting my head on the cliff. I zipped along so quickly that they didn't manage a picture and my little hooked stick threw off a lot of sawdust but didn't slow me down enough. I bounced off the end post and managed to skin my knee on the metal cable over my head. Brad managed to twist his wrist more and negotiated a much more dignified finish and looked like a pro. Nobody was sacrificed to the crocodile below.

We left on our harness and trekked through the jungle to the closed sink hole and rappeled down 15 metres to the inner tubes waiting for us in the water below. I was quite worried about supporting my weight initially but was amazed at how much control you maintain. The water was so clear that in spots with enough light, you could see down to the bottom of the 45 m hole. There are two openings into the sink hole and they reflect the light off the water to shine two eyes on the roof - hence the name Jaguar Eyes Sink hole. There were two exits - one being pulled up by the rope you rappeled down on or climbing up the very slimy wooden and rope ladder. You guessed, Brad opted for the ladder for his birthday. Much to my delight I didn't slip and managed to negotiate the surprisingly challenging climb. Our guide tells me she dropped two sizes when she quite her job as a the manager/technician of a food safety lab to be a guide.

At this point, we had earned our lunch back in the village. The women in the village served a soup that tasted very much like Grandma Derksen's borscht, black beans and rice that reminded me of Armando and Iza, and tamales with hot sauces that would even have tested Tyler's taste for spicy!

After lunch we were off to Coba. An archeological tour that revealed that the Mayans did not participate in human sacrifices until much later, after they had experienced the civilizing impact of the Aztecs? Rental bikes to travel t0 the three pyramids. Our final stop was the tallest of the pyramids in the Yucatan Valley. Going up wasn't so bad and it was fun to meet one of my Colleagues from Coquitlam and his wife on the top. Coming down was heart rending. Very steep. Loose rocks. People with kids threatening to take flight. The rope down the centre wasn't overly reassuring. I felt like I was in Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.

Once we biked back to our meeting point, Brad and I sat down and I actually ENJOYED a beer. Never have acquired a taste for it. However the heat, the fatigue, and need for a celebratory moment have been the missing ingredients. When the rest of the group caught up with us, we embarked on the biggest traffic jam ever. Too many cars. Too much construction. Too many Military roadblocks.

The only other time we ventured away from the hotel was to go to Playa del Carmen for the day. It's only claim to fame use to be as the jumping off point to Cozumel, home of some of the best scuba diving in the world. This town has experienced significant growth but managed to maintain it's Mexican village charm. 5th Avenue is packed with jewellry shops, tourist stops, and restaurants. In Spring, Larkyn emerged as the bargainer extraordinaire but I held my own. China certainly helped me in that department - bargaining with very good manners as opposed the more Middle eastern variety. The most fun was the fellow who we bargained our final prices and then he suggested I flip a coin to see which price we'd settle on.

We arrived home to a more snow than I have seen in Vancouver in my entire life! Fortunately the weather cleared enough for our flight to arrive in Vancouver and for the roads to be good enough for the cab to drive us home and conquer the unplowed cul de sac!

Whistler, B.C.

Whistler has been one of our favorite destination spots since both Brad and I started skiing in high school. We've been very fortunate to have many happy memories of Whistler. We've stayed in many B&B's and rented places with friends before kids. I really learned to ski when I had to push to keep up with Brad and his buddies. We've also be very lucky to be the happy recipients of our friends, Joe and Yvonne's generosity. We have had many amazing ski trips and biking trips at their condominium. I still clearly remember the quad burn when Larkyn got scared on the big hills and it had to be Mommy to ski down with her between my legs.

The trips have changed over the past couple of years. The Vancouver Administrators have the fall conference at The Chateau Whistler. Brad and the kids came with me last year to live like the rich and famous. This fall, everyone was going in different directions. Brad stayed home to pick up Larkyn from her Encounters Canada trip in Ottawa. However not a bad working weekend. My principal and I discussed our families, future directions and everything else on our fall walk. That will teach him to trust my sense of direction!

California, Here I Come

I returned from China to an empty house at the end of July. Brad and the kids had already driven down to Ventura for the time that my step-mother had set aside for us. The beach house in Ventura has always been a favorite destination for our kids and I wanted them to have the opportunity to visit with their grandparents and my youngest sister's family.

It is usually overcast first thing in the morning, which has always made it great for jogging along the beach to the pier. We didn't spot any dolphins swimming along the route this year but there were WAY more dead seals washed up on the beach. Not sure what that was all about.

The beach is great for kite flying. There is usually a good breeze and it lifted the string of kites I had brought my little nephews from China. Nice to see my sister, Michelle, in her role as mother. It's funny to her in that role, when I changed HER diapers. I must be getting old!

This year for my birthday, Brad booked a trip to Catalina. I've always wanted to do it and it was even better than anticipated. The dolphins followed the ferry on the way over and gave us a full performance. We rented a golf cart when we arrived and got an overview of the island first. The huge "casino" is beautiful and was for dancing as opposed to gambling. We were practically stacked on top of each other on the small, private beach but the snorkeling was very cool. Nothing like eating fresh seafood beside the ocean.

Glad to have honoured the kids beach house desire this year. This fall, Dad and Carole sold the beach house. The end of an era! No more hours of just soaking up the sun and then heading to Joe's Crab Shack (where Dad introduced Tyler to lobster) or out for Mexican food at Yolandas! I can't eat a fish taco without thinking of Michelle and Dan. Having grown up by Jericho Beach has made me a definite beach person. I love to read and ponder life by the ocean.

Usually on the way home from my father's, I head up to visit Santa Cruz to visit Judy, John, Dan, and Nate's and to Palo Alto to visit her parents. They use to live across Mundy Park. It's always a fun reunion. However this year was a little different because our schedules didn't jib. Instead we spent time gorging on seafood in San Francisco and pursuing Brad's dream of dune buggying on the Oregon Coast. Larkyn rolled her ATV just to make things a little more memorable. Can't lie - glad to hand in those WAY TOO POWERFUL machines! Fortunately no one was hurt! AND it was terrifying but exciting!

Home Sweet Home

Saying goodbye to the teachers I had worked with and my colleaugues was sad. On the last day, my students and I went to the most beautiful tea house so far and celebrated. While we were there, the spot on the local news appeared on the t.v. (many of the rooms in the tea houses have big screen t.v,'s). My students were SO excited that I was wearing the green dress that I bought when shopping in Fuyang with Shirley and Carol, as well as my Shanghai jade. Christine gave a great interview and Mr. Jiang from the Education Bureau was all praise for the work we had done. Of course everyone screamed every time one of our classmates appeared on the screen. I'm so proud of how far the group came in three weeks. The first day, the deer in the headlights looks were intense and the fear palpable. By the end, students were more concerned with communicating their feelings than parroting correct answers. The lessons that they taught the class were a combination of the things they knew and the strategies that they had learned. Tough to leave. The decision to follow up the training by sending Jane, Ben, and six of the teachers to Canada is exciting. I look forward to the reunion and the continuation of our work together.

The departure from China continued to be just one more adventure in a long sequence of adventures. Two students accompanied us on the three hour trek to the Pu Dong airport in Shanghai. They brought with them their English language skills along with the need for a second vehicle. I was first down the stairs of the apartment and anxious to depart, so my student Julia and I loaded into the car that Song Bing regularly drives. The others got into the Education Bureau van. An hour into the drive, our car started to gut out and was clearly not going to get us to the airport. Song Bing put forth a valiant effort to get us to a station and try to remedy the problem to no avail. At one point, Julia and I were standing out in the heat at the service station beside a truck load of pigs that were stacked on top of one another and headed for imminent death. Things can always be worse! Then we went inside the rest stop where I started taking pictures to kill time. The guard came up and curtly informed Julia that there were no pictures allowed in the rest area. My first thought was that he knew the neon sign had a spelling error and embarassment was being avoided at all costs! That was scarier than the car breakdown and possibly missing the plane. The van ended up with a 1 1/2 hour detour to come and pick us up and we were all delighted in the decision to depart early "just in case".

I sat beside a Chinese man who immigrated to Edmonton with his family in 2000 on the plane. He cringed when he saw my Chinese school notebook given to me by one of my students. He told me that he hated school in China. Although he fulfilled his parents wishes by being a top student, he remembers the teachers were very serious and made fun of students if they got incorrect answers. I told him about one of the first classes with the Primary School teachers that I was working with in Fuyang and how we brainstormed ways to encourage students in their learning through praise, encouragement, and positive reinforcement for targeted behaviour. He was amazed with stories of Chinese teachers giving high 5's and thanked me very much for what I had done. As I reminded him, we wouldn't be there if we weren't invited and that it was people like him who wanted to bring changes to improve the Chinese Education system. This conversation, as well as my students thanking me for joyful classes and lavishing me with gifts of appreciation, have made me very proud of our efforts this summer. I think we did make a difference in both the teachers' lives, in the lessons they will deliver to their students this fall, and their work as instructional leaders in their schools. I'm so thankful to Steve for organizing this trip and ensuring that we were well taken care of. I'm also particularly thankful to Marion, Nancy, Jane (Hong bo), and Ben for their ideas, and thoughts, and support along the way.

It was sad arriving home with Brad and the kids already off to Ventura and my Mom not here to listen to my adventures with rapt attention and welcome me home. However there was red wine in the pantry, butter chicken & rice in the fridge compliments of Rowena , Peter & my trusty Oreo to welcome me home, and Starbucks beckoning with the promise of jazz, good coffee with pasturized milk, and newspapers to peruse!

Full page spread about China in the Globe & Mail today. The article was talking about the increased Chinese preoccupation with security during the Olympics that has resulted in increased surveillance of its own people, and the failure to move the country forward with positive change for its population. The article left me with the sense that the journalist needed to perhaps visit China and try to grasp the complexity of the change that is happening in the country right now in order to do justice to the Chinese reality. Although a simplistic statement of fact, regardless of truth, seems to be the way to sell newspapers. The sheer size of China's population is mind boggling. The pride that the Chinese people have in their home and their generosity of spirit is inspiring. Not too long ago, someone asked me how I could stand the rain in Vancouver. In her mind, it was unbearable. In my mind, one of the things that is part of my life but not the defining factor in my perception of my home. It may not be the perfect place in everyone's mind, but it couldn't feel more right being back here! Home, sweet home.

Driving in China

This morning I headed out for my usual Fuchun River walk. When I reached the bridge, I turned right and crossed the road and proceeded along the canal until I reached a road I was afraid to cross. Driving in China is like driving nowhere else in the world. We live with the illusion in B.C. that the Chinese are bad drivers. If they have come from China, they are most likely exceptionally good drivers use to unfathomable Chinese rules. You must be aware of cars coming from all directions, even head on towards you. Italian road rules as "suggestions" are extended to a point I wouldn't have believed possible. "Borrowing" the road if others are in your way is viewed as a necessity to get where you're going. Plus the Chinese driver must be ready to judge the actions and pace of bicycles, motorized carts, pedal carts, scooters, and death defying taxi drivers. I am too faint of heart to drive in China. More frightening even that getting off the freeway at the "wrong" exit in L.A. In China, I crawl into the vehicle and do my very best not to panic when there is no accessible seatbelt or the driver decides to make a U turn into the oncoming traffic.

Ancient Longmen Village

Longmen Village is an ancient town in the suburbs of Hangzhou by the Fuchin River. Sixty generations of Emperor Sun Quan of Dongwu have lived there through the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Three years ago the government invested a significant chunk of change into restoration to create a tourist site and generate capital for the town. The result has been some very interesting recreated historical sites spanning a thousand years, alongside 7,000 people living in quite primitive circumstances. The guide gave us the history of the artifacts and buildings. One of Marion's students gave us the more personal commentary. She grew up in the village and attended the school that was part of our tour. She is now living in the village with her husband and son, and teaching at the village school. The people are very poor but surprisingly are crowded into tiny rooms with television sets.

Marion's student, Wing, was also an integral part of "Project Shoe". When my first set of shoes broke on the cobblestones, we set out to quickly move through the labyrinth of the town with her four year old, to purchase a new pair from merchant row. We finally arrived back and I was pondering how they were not quite the style to which I have become accustomed, when that shoe snapped too. Probably the hottest time we've had so far.

We ended up on the hillside for dinner at an amazing and very traditional restaurant. Lots of vegetables, rice wine and spectators - obviously not a lot of foreigners frequenting their establishment! Our driver, Song bing has now figured out that the "Vancouver campe" is not a campe but a cheers and the Canadian women can be very assertive! I have figured out that his first question is actually a statement rather than a question. Now I know!

Song Bing wore shorts for the first time yesterday and we discovered that my skin is more Chinese looking than his. The Chinese are very smart about protecting their skin from the sun. The girls pop up their very beautiful and ornate umbrellas as soon as they go outside and Jane even makes sure that she stops for traffic lights in the shade of trees. They are mystified that I would put sunscreen with chemicals in it on my skin rather than just avoid the sun. They were even more mystified than my next destination is Ventura Beach where I will be lying in the sun for hours at a time if I have my way.

Chinese Hospitality

The Chinese redefine hospitality. I have never met a group of more gracious hosts. Leaders, guides, and students are so proud of China and want to make our stay as wonderful as possible. Yesterday, two of my students, Shirley and Carol, took me shopping complete with a bakery stop. They arranged my pick up by another student in Marion's class, who proceeded to take us for an amazing meal cooked by her mother in law. Too delicious for words. As expected, home cooking is decidedly different than restaurant food in China too. The added bonus was that we were presented with bowls of wine that were larger than our bowls for dinner. Great Wall red wine! Good stuff!

Our next pick up was another one of my students, Julia, whose boyfriend proceeded to drive us to his foot massage place. However this time we had someone to translate. No pain. Gentle massage only! Chinese medicine to improve the condition of my stomach (a cup is sprayed with alcohol, lit on fire, and suctioned on the bottom of my feet to suck out the impurity)! An unlimited supply of flower tea, and someone to translate the Chinese show on the big screen tv which is a fixture in all foot massage places. Decadence!

The only thing I find quite disconcerting is the absolute refusal to take money for anything. As if they haven't done enough. Students arrive daily with a steady supply of fruit, tea, cookies, and other goodies. We certainly feel loved and valued.