Last Post B4C

This laptop gets packed away like everything else today. I'm in Owen Sound tonight and catch the 3-hour airport shuttle in the morning. From then I'll be in transit about 42 hours to Pat's door. The last time we were in China together was more than 10 years ago. The building boom had started but there were still contradictions in time, like the phone booth pictured. Do you think that booth is still there, in a country with over 300 million cell phones?

It's never easy to leave home with all its comforts and beauty. But opportunity/adventure calls, and it's no fun being a world apart from each other.

This is my last blog post before China, but I hope there will be lots more from within. The internet connection with Pat has been suspiciously wonky, and she has not been able to access this blog there. There should be a new post by next week, but I will have to rely on you followers to let me know if it got through. Wish us all luck!

Not Expecting Deja Vu

My first trip to mainland China was 1n 1986, coming back from working in bright modern Singapore. The entry visa from Hong Kong was an astronomical $100 (now $170 for me) but too tantalizing to miss --- big changes were already happening. I took the hard-class bench train on a 2-day ramble from Canton (now Guangzhou) to Beijing (already changed from Peking). Much of the route was primitive rice paddies and water buffalo implements. Stops along the way were unpredictable but gave a glance at the human condition. Beijing itself was one of the biggest challenges ever of my travels. Suspicious looks, absolutley no English (or French, or Spanish), and food in neon colours or odd body parts. In those days, there were "Friendship Stores" where only foreigners like me could shop, in U.S. dollars of course. Nothing but trinkets and rough shirts, back when Made In China meant very poor quality.

After a couple of days, I caved and took a flight back to Hong Kong, on the newest aircraft in the country --- an old Boeing 737. There's the Beijing Airport in those days: dusty, dark and difficult.

I know that all of these scenes have changed, and you can argue for better or worse. But my return to China this week will be like going Back to the Future, to a place no one could imagine 25 years ago.

Punkin' Chuckin'

Our village of Kemble (pop. 50??) is the site of the Canadian Punkin Chuckin Championships. Who knew there are categories for Air Gun, Catapult, and Trebuchet? Who knew there is a theme song? Who knew the world record is over 4,000 feet?! Plus potato guns, poutine, and ponies. It was chilly but for once it didn't rain, so the crowd was in the thousands.

The rules say that the pumpkin has to hit the ground intact, so a lot of the teams had to adjust the pressure of their launch when the pumpkin came out of the barrel as pie filling! Impossible to get a photo of the gourds defying gravity, they are really fast. I heard that after seeing this event a band decided to call themselves Smashing Pumpkins!

Watch for the results in the news ---- was there a new Canadian record? And where is the Chuckin Championships in your part of the world?

2 Feet Go To 40,000 Feet

Left early this morning in the howling wind and rain, the third 3-hour trip to Toronto in 6 days. (And one more next Tuesday!) Pat diligently planned and packed last night ---- there is no one better at organizing and economizing in limited space. And online check-in is the way to go --- no standing in line and self-selection of seats. She's in 25E.

A lot of emotion on the drive and at the airport. We have travelled separately before, but this time doesn't seem right. The reasons for me following her next week are practical and make sense, but we don't like it.

Eventually boarding time came with its teary goodbyes. In a sort of Sleeping Beauty moment, I kissed the gardener/clown/soulmate and POOF she became the classy professional you see here, now at 40,000 feet.

Last Day, First Blog

Ornery blustery weather outside, controlled chaos inside as we do last-day prep for Pat's departure tomorrow. The irony is that the house is cozy now with propane fireplace, but no one's lazing by the fire. Yesterday we dashed to Toronto to pick up the visas for China --- different because Pat has a work visa, I'm just a "tourist"! Seneca's international department is doing their best to smooth the way but Pat's standards of thorough preparation are very high. One interesting suggestion was to take a side trip to Cambodia. Hmmmm. The college also will send along many Seneca USB's, apparently an excellent giveaway gift.

For me, being in Seneca again and talking with former colleagues brought mixed emotions. I've always enjoyed the student/learning/social buzz but the new buildings and very different attitude these days made me a bit of a stranger on my old turf.

This is the first blog posting from the 10 inch netbook that will be with us this time. On this side of the screen, text and pics look smaller but it will be just as much fun to share the adventure. Does it look different to you? But for now, it's back to the packing list...

Sorry, Toronto Is Occupied

Drove into Toronto early this morning wanting to join the Occupy Toronto protest, and curious about what would happen on the streets after last year`s police riot. By the start time of 10 am, it was hard to tell exactly who was occupying Toronto! The barricades were up for tomorrow`s Marathon, the tents were up for the huge Fashion Week, the stores were full up with Saturday shoppers, and crowds were involved in everything...

Eventually the numbers of Occupiers grew to a few thousand, almost matched by the number of media cameras and security. But the signs and costumes showed that this was a wide bunch of grievances, not the focused uproar that started it all in New York City. You could join in on native land claims, Libyan independence, police brutality, Stop The Mega Quarry, no Bala hydro plant, and even ``bicycle lanes for all``. Of course, the main complaint was that the 99% had no say.

It was a peaceful assembly and then the group marched several blocks to set up camp in a church yard. With heavy rain and winds forecast, we`ll see how long the occupiers last. It may be over tomorrow, or this may be the start of something bigger. (I wonder if that guy ever got his cake?)