Friday, 3 July 2009
Portraits
When Alex was smaller, Mummy made use of the Picture People deals that gave away free portraits with no obligation to purchase - perfect for the graduate student family! Well they closed their store before Sebastien was born which meant that he is truly suffering from being a second child. We have one studio shot of him and about ten of Alex. So Mummy ventured to a photo place in Xiamen and used her pigeon mandarin to organise a photo session and the purchase of two portraits. Now she is certain that there are better photos on offer - specifically dressed in the studio's clothing and on sets that look like film sets - so she will try to organise another session later this year. Oh, and the session took place a little over a week after Sebstien had head-butted the concrete gutter edge - there is just the hint of a bruise left. Here are the results we got this time.
A last hurrah for our Fulbright friends
We managed to eek in some time with our friends on their last day in Xiamen. A visit to Huli Shan fort followed by lunch was planned. It was a hot, hot day (with a beautiful blue and clear sky) but it was terrific to see them.
Not much has been written in english about Huli Shan fort which was constructed to help defend China, especially against Taiwan. The main thing I got out of it was that apparently part of the construction materials included sticky rice.
We planned to be there in plenty of time for the 10am cultural firing of the cannon. We selected our spot with a view to making our way up to the peak where the cannon would eventually be fired.
Another hot day meant we sought out the shade at every possible moment. We were lucky to have a great view of the house, where the cultural spectacle started, that allowed us a pretty obstacle-free fast walk to behind the house where the second part of the spectacle took place and then a free-for-all (because it was certainly very busy) to get a position to see the final part of the spectacle. Here are Ellie and two of her three boys posing on the cannon that would be fired during the spectacle (Brett has Sebastien and Alex hiding behind there).
Here Alex and Sebastien enjoy one of the many artistic benches situated around the fort area. 
Our view of the house where the spectacle starts.
Alex made sure she drank water - you can see the sweat she has on her face just from sitting there.
There was a large bell rung to start the proceedings (it is on the left of the photo) and all of a sudden there was movement.
From there, it was a quick walk to behind the house to see the next part of the spectacle (all done to music).
The wall has a mural on it and a carving with empty shells.
The performers in red held the four implements used to load the cannon (although the cannon loading was simulated, there was still a loud bang and smoke - see the video).
Then they made their way up the steps towards us and onto the cannon hill. They looked decidedly scary up close.
Here you can see just how many people were watching the spectacle. We worked hard to make sure that the younger kids didn't get caught in the crush.
Then it was a mad scramble to the vantage point to see the cannon get fired - Sam had already seen this before and didn't want to hear the cannon again, and Alex was getting freaked out at the thought of the cannon firing - so Ellie graciously took them down the slope and away from the action. Alex later told me that they had to hold their hands over their ears so the cannon could fire.
Meanwhile the action had continued with a general of sorts, eyeglass firmly in place, issuing instructions from a crows nest type area
and the red uniformed guards going through the motions of loading the cannon to fire (from my vantage point I could see that the implements were not going into the cannon but behind it).
At the end the yellow suited soldiers drew their swords, enveloped in the smoke from the cannon and that was it. 
Now I knew what the sound was I heard twice each day at home and had attributed to construction work!
We were able to have some photos taken with some guards, they seemed to have barely raised a sweat even with all the clothing that they were wearing!
From there we saw a diorama of the fort and other forts that used to be around the Xiamen area, some robots acting out a scene and some rooms fitted out like they would have been for the soldiers of the fort, complete with a soldier mannequin who appeared to be cleaning out an ear with an earbud. We also took a closer look at the german cannon that was huge.
Then we decided an early lunch was in our futures - and so headed for the entry to the fort to wait for the group to come back together. Sam instructed us in the ways of a new game he'd made up but we were all pooped and preferred to sit on the step.
Then we caught a bus to the restaurant that will always be known to us as "Sam's mian".
We enjoyed a terrific selection of noodles, chinese hamburger, vegetables, tofu and fresh plum juice (and many bottles of icy water we brought with us to cool us down).
Then we decided to finally pay a visit to the Taiwanese icecream place that Mummy had been meaning to check out for months now. Sam and Alex were the adventurous ones, selecting blueberries and some chocolate custard thingy respectively whilst the rest of us contented ourselves with mango - mmmm!
The icecream comes in a large thick disc that is put into a machine and then a blade shaves off the icecream into the bowl. The icecream seems much colder and not as creamy as others but it was delicious!
All too soon, it was time to say goodbye - and how surreal that was! To think that we wouldn't be getting together to check out more of Xiamen was very sad. But we will be trying to visit them when we go to the States on our next trip!
This is the video of the cannon actually being fired - and even though I knew it would be going off, I still got that reactive kickback...
Not much has been written in english about Huli Shan fort which was constructed to help defend China, especially against Taiwan. The main thing I got out of it was that apparently part of the construction materials included sticky rice.We planned to be there in plenty of time for the 10am cultural firing of the cannon. We selected our spot with a view to making our way up to the peak where the cannon would eventually be fired.
Another hot day meant we sought out the shade at every possible moment. We were lucky to have a great view of the house, where the cultural spectacle started, that allowed us a pretty obstacle-free fast walk to behind the house where the second part of the spectacle took place and then a free-for-all (because it was certainly very busy) to get a position to see the final part of the spectacle. Here are Ellie and two of her three boys posing on the cannon that would be fired during the spectacle (Brett has Sebastien and Alex hiding behind there).
Here Alex and Sebastien enjoy one of the many artistic benches situated around the fort area. 
Our view of the house where the spectacle starts.
Alex made sure she drank water - you can see the sweat she has on her face just from sitting there.
There was a large bell rung to start the proceedings (it is on the left of the photo) and all of a sudden there was movement.
From there, it was a quick walk to behind the house to see the next part of the spectacle (all done to music).
The wall has a mural on it and a carving with empty shells.
The performers in red held the four implements used to load the cannon (although the cannon loading was simulated, there was still a loud bang and smoke - see the video).
Then they made their way up the steps towards us and onto the cannon hill. They looked decidedly scary up close.
Here you can see just how many people were watching the spectacle. We worked hard to make sure that the younger kids didn't get caught in the crush.
Then it was a mad scramble to the vantage point to see the cannon get fired - Sam had already seen this before and didn't want to hear the cannon again, and Alex was getting freaked out at the thought of the cannon firing - so Ellie graciously took them down the slope and away from the action. Alex later told me that they had to hold their hands over their ears so the cannon could fire.
Meanwhile the action had continued with a general of sorts, eyeglass firmly in place, issuing instructions from a crows nest type area
and the red uniformed guards going through the motions of loading the cannon to fire (from my vantage point I could see that the implements were not going into the cannon but behind it).
At the end the yellow suited soldiers drew their swords, enveloped in the smoke from the cannon and that was it. 
Now I knew what the sound was I heard twice each day at home and had attributed to construction work!We were able to have some photos taken with some guards, they seemed to have barely raised a sweat even with all the clothing that they were wearing!
From there we saw a diorama of the fort and other forts that used to be around the Xiamen area, some robots acting out a scene and some rooms fitted out like they would have been for the soldiers of the fort, complete with a soldier mannequin who appeared to be cleaning out an ear with an earbud. We also took a closer look at the german cannon that was huge.
Then we decided an early lunch was in our futures - and so headed for the entry to the fort to wait for the group to come back together. Sam instructed us in the ways of a new game he'd made up but we were all pooped and preferred to sit on the step.
Then we caught a bus to the restaurant that will always be known to us as "Sam's mian".
We enjoyed a terrific selection of noodles, chinese hamburger, vegetables, tofu and fresh plum juice (and many bottles of icy water we brought with us to cool us down).
Then we decided to finally pay a visit to the Taiwanese icecream place that Mummy had been meaning to check out for months now. Sam and Alex were the adventurous ones, selecting blueberries and some chocolate custard thingy respectively whilst the rest of us contented ourselves with mango - mmmm!
The icecream comes in a large thick disc that is put into a machine and then a blade shaves off the icecream into the bowl. The icecream seems much colder and not as creamy as others but it was delicious!All too soon, it was time to say goodbye - and how surreal that was! To think that we wouldn't be getting together to check out more of Xiamen was very sad. But we will be trying to visit them when we go to the States on our next trip!
This is the video of the cannon actually being fired - and even though I knew it would be going off, I still got that reactive kickback...
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Icecream in China
I was saving this experience for a "date" with Alex, but it had been such a hot and humid day that I just had to go sample the Haagan Dazs in Xiamen. They import all of their icecreams from France so no fears of contamination. 
More boutiquey cafe than the usual icecream shop I'm used to - the menus looked very nice.
I was sorely tempted by the "sushi" icecream.
In the end I chose a sample that included green tea icecream and two macaroon rounds. The macaroons were way too chewy and not at all worth eating - so I left them - whilst the stick things had no taste at all.
A little disappointing, I may just stick to the regular scoop in a cone next time.
More boutiquey cafe than the usual icecream shop I'm used to - the menus looked very nice.
I was sorely tempted by the "sushi" icecream.
In the end I chose a sample that included green tea icecream and two macaroon rounds. The macaroons were way too chewy and not at all worth eating - so I left them - whilst the stick things had no taste at all.
A little disappointing, I may just stick to the regular scoop in a cone next time.
Finding a new park in Xiamen
After our abortive first attempt to check out a new park near the train station (remember - when Sebastien headbutted a concrete gutter edge and ended up with a goose egg) we decided the time was ripe to make a second attempt. After all, Sebastien was sporting no visible cuts, abrasions or bruises.
Suitably coiffed for the hot and humid day, we set off. Alex enjoyed the sculpture at the start of the garden - Look at me Mummy! 
The park was very busy with what seemed to be a few tour groups as well.
Sebastien had tried to climb up the stone surrounds of the sculpture with no luck...until a friendly passerby thought he'd help him out.
Only the friendly passer by kept right on going which left a very unaware toddler prancing around on a high stone sculpture - Daddy to the rescue.
We only managed to explore a small section of the park - there were waterfalls 
and caves to climb in. Mummy was a little concerned about the height of this cave - 
and more so when she walked around to the other side and saw the sign!
There was the obligatory children's amusement park section which also had several chair, table and umbrella sets out with people enjoying tea the chinese way. Daddy and Mummy both agreed that one day we'd try it too. We kept walking though, trying to see a little more before the humidity killed Mummy. We went up and up - past this cool garden sculpture 
that passersby stopped for us to take a photo of - and headed to sounds of music we heard on the wind.
And we came across this huge group of people singing, playing instruments and dancing.
It was very intriguing, and it was mutual. A group of ladies tried to engage us in conversation and were very interested in knowing how old Mummy was. Alex and Sebastien both scored a banana from a lovely lady sitting next to them. There seemed to be a songbook of sorts and various people came up and sang with the microphones.
Also, there were a group behind where I'm standing taking the photos who looked to be checking blood pressure and talking to people. Mummy took a photo of the banner which was over the heads of the crowd. Maybe one day she'll even try to translate it...
We stayed there for a while and then just when we decided it was time to head off for lunch, the group broke up. Daddy and Sebastien headed for home and a sleep, whilst Mummy and Alex headed to the nearby shop for swimmers buying and lunch, then home for a sleep. Mummy took a photo of the park map to remind herself where this all happened and is determined to catch the 508 bus, that seemed to run up and into the park, to explore on another day.
I almost forgot to add - we're now such Xiamen natives that we even saw someone we knew - in a city of over a million people...one of Alex's teachers! Obviously time we left ;)
Suitably coiffed for the hot and humid day, we set off. Alex enjoyed the sculpture at the start of the garden - Look at me Mummy! 
The park was very busy with what seemed to be a few tour groups as well.Sebastien had tried to climb up the stone surrounds of the sculpture with no luck...until a friendly passerby thought he'd help him out.
Only the friendly passer by kept right on going which left a very unaware toddler prancing around on a high stone sculpture - Daddy to the rescue.
We only managed to explore a small section of the park - there were waterfalls 
and caves to climb in. Mummy was a little concerned about the height of this cave - 
and more so when she walked around to the other side and saw the sign!
There was the obligatory children's amusement park section which also had several chair, table and umbrella sets out with people enjoying tea the chinese way. Daddy and Mummy both agreed that one day we'd try it too. We kept walking though, trying to see a little more before the humidity killed Mummy. We went up and up - past this cool garden sculpture 
that passersby stopped for us to take a photo of - and headed to sounds of music we heard on the wind.And we came across this huge group of people singing, playing instruments and dancing.
It was very intriguing, and it was mutual. A group of ladies tried to engage us in conversation and were very interested in knowing how old Mummy was. Alex and Sebastien both scored a banana from a lovely lady sitting next to them. There seemed to be a songbook of sorts and various people came up and sang with the microphones.
Also, there were a group behind where I'm standing taking the photos who looked to be checking blood pressure and talking to people. Mummy took a photo of the banner which was over the heads of the crowd. Maybe one day she'll even try to translate it...
We stayed there for a while and then just when we decided it was time to head off for lunch, the group broke up. Daddy and Sebastien headed for home and a sleep, whilst Mummy and Alex headed to the nearby shop for swimmers buying and lunch, then home for a sleep. Mummy took a photo of the park map to remind herself where this all happened and is determined to catch the 508 bus, that seemed to run up and into the park, to explore on another day.
I almost forgot to add - we're now such Xiamen natives that we even saw someone we knew - in a city of over a million people...one of Alex's teachers! Obviously time we left ;)
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Xiamen University, China
Our home away from Australia