Winding down the first term

Wow, it is hard to imagine a whole school term has come and gone! We have been so busy getting classes wrapped up, generating final tests, and making plans for Jim to return home, seems like we are meeting ourselves around every corner. :)

For those of you who have kept up with us this term, thanks for reading. Even with all the internet problems, we still were able to get some news and pics out there. On Friday we decided to catch the 302 bus to see where it went and rode it all the way to the Wuchin district (about an hour and a half ride). We saw parts of Changzhou we didn't know existed... and people are always willing to lend a helping hand.

It is still so amazing to see all the fresh fruit stands in this cold weather. We are able to buy fresh strawberries, oranges, bananas, etc. right from the street vendors.

Last weekend we also made a whirlwind trip to Shanghai on Saturday (this is an old church in the middle of all the new buildings in the Pudong area by the subway station. We also went to People's Square and found lots of people playing their form of chess,

exercising, or playing with their children. There was also a statue of Bach being erected by the walk-around (The overhead walkway that goes above all the traffic). It was also interesting to walk down the East Nanjing Walking Street. We walked for blocks and blocks with shops and people everywhere. We have noticed that wherever you go there are shops (especially of women's clothing) galore...makes you wonder how they stay in business with so many. We only stayed in Shanghai for the day and caught the train back home that evening.
On Sunday morning we got up and caught the train to Nanjing (it was once the capital of China). We left at 5:30 in the morning so we could make it to church. The train ride is usually about 2 hours. Our train was late and then it stopped on the tracks for almost half an hour. We did manage to get to church just a little bit late. We enjoyed meeting folks and they were so friendly. The minister had once been the pastor of the church but had retired. He was 92 years old! After service we did the walking tour of the Confucious Temple area. It was exciting to watch this guy pound the rice dough to make the little sweet cakes.. Next, we decided to take a city bus to the lake. When we got there we opted to take the little trolley tour. Since it is winter time, the breeze off the water was very chilly!! The lake was beautiful though. Our Chinese teacher went with us and was a great help with the translations. We posed here for Jim to take our picture. :) After doing the walking tour of the main Nanjing street, it was time to catch the train home. Much to our surprise, the new bullet train had been put into use that day! We got to ride it home. It is amazing how many people are moved about in China by the railway system. The ride that had taken us more than two hours up there, only took us one hour and nine minutes back home! You can see one of the older trains in the background. We were pretty worn out by the time we got back home, but it had been a great weekend. We have tried to make contact with all the teachers that are going home to say our goodbyes and make sure we have everything together for Jim to go back to the States. We will go to Shanghai on Sunday since his plane leaves on Monday morning and it can sure be a hassle trying to make train/bus and airport connections.

Well, I have rattled on long enough and it is after midnight. Thank goodness I don't have to get up and go to school in the morning.