Yunnan Part I: Kunming

With the virus under control in China, people are now able to get out of Shanghai for a bit of a vacation.  We had to limit our options to domestic destinations and were excited to make the trip to southeastern China where we started in Kunming, the City of Eternal Spring.  It was as advertised, with gorgeous weather and flowers blooming. We feel fortunate that we got to see a variety of beautiful landscapes.

The girls were happy to show off their improved swimming skills after practicing in PE.  They managed to swim 6 times in 4 short days at the hotel and we were happy to sit, rest, and watch.

Our first stop was right next to the hotel to see Dianchi Lake, where the seagulls in the country migrate to spend winter.  They were everywhere and it was pretty funny to see what other travelers were doing to get close or feed the animals.  Pip, of course, took part.

Kunming is the most diverse province in China, home to 26 different ethnic groups, and so one village is set up to highlight the history, traditions, and stories of each group.  It was very interesting to see the vast differences in some groups. Although the place was a tad touristy at times, we had fun and learned a bit.

 

The following trip took us to our favorite activity, the Stone Forest.  The Limestone and Karst formations were an amazing sight and we loved wandering through, getting a bit lost, and enjoying a walk in some crazy nature.

Afterwards, since we were already outside of town, we wandered north to the Jiuxiang scenic region to explore the Sanjiao cave.  Despite being 1 of over a hundred caves in the region, it was humongous and took us an hour to walk through (even though the girls took a shortcut slide).  The scariest part was probably the gondola ride back to the parking lot.

On our last day in Kunming, we took it easy and just visited Green Lake, went to a nearby mall, and enjoyed the hotel.  We got some rest before all the hiking we were planning for our next leg of the trip in Lijiang.  

One Semester Down

2020 is finally nearing an end and we've reached the end of our first semester.  The girls have done a great job adjusting to new teachers, peers, and school rules.  We've been proud of their hard work.  Pip has greatly improved her handwriting, reading, and spelling.  This has led to her liking the game bananagrams which has gotten a lot of use as of late.  Nina has worked hard in all subjects, had a great sports day, took part in an after-school drama club that performed a one-act play, and she is currently working on another school play.  

We downed our pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and then shifted pretty quickly to Christmas mode.  The girls appreciated all the activities at school and are looking forward to the holidays.  Kara is getting adjusted to her new job and is enjoying the camaraderie with her coworkers, all of whom are from different countries. Their secret santa party this week was quite fun. We went to a Christmas market with some friends and the girls always love hot chocolate, even if the weather was warm.  We also took part in a scavenger hunt and had a great day to wander a different part of Shanghai.

Carrying on

Even during such an unusual year, it's hard to believe we're barreling toward the holidays.  The girls are used to their teachers, classmates, and work routine, Ben has adjusted to his heavy load, and Kara has started as a Learning Assistant in the school as well, working with 5th graders.  While we're busy, we are trying not to take for granted our ability to go to school now and to have things operating on a safe level.  Security has tightened up in the city after one case of Covid hit Shanghai last week, the first locally transmitted case in almost half a year.  In other news, Ben finally upgraded from his iPhone 7 that wouldn't stay charged and got the new iPhone.  We've been having fun with the camera and look forward to seeing even more of its capabilities.

Halloween was another fun night and the girls enjoyed getting their haul.  The biggest treat was visiting their favorite art teacher from YCIS.  

Kara went to blow glass with Tracey and absolutely loved it.  Working with temperatures that felt "as hot as the sun" made for an amazing experience.  

Lastly, the girls have gone through a Rubik's cube obsession and have gotten quite fast.  Nina can occasionally solve them in under a minute.  Here's an old video of them at work.