Peach Blossom Festival

This was a week of a lot of bad news from the US and here in China. The bombings in Boston, the explosion in Texas, and the earthquake in Lushan, China. We have followed the news reports, and we pray for the families affected by the tragedies. Here in China, the quake was very bad with thousands of injured. The govt seems to be trying to do a better job than the previous quake that happened 5 years ago. That's what the Chinese TV is broadcasting. We have many students from that part of China. We don't know if they will try to go back home. I hope they stay here, but it would be hard for them.

We were invited to accompany 200+ primary school kids and teachers to the Peach Blossom Festival last Saturday. The students were from 6 - 12 yrs old. It was held in a small farming village west of Baoding. Out friends who went to the Holy Land with us and few ago will remember Sammy the camel in Jericho. I thought of Sammy when we saw this double-humper.

Of course it was crowded.

It was just like any other festival/carnival. Rides and food and plenty of peach blossoms to mingle with.

We had a great time with kids. The students are learning English, and they have never spoken to a foreigner before. So they were very shy about talking with us, but with a little encouragement they started to warm up to us. Marianne was very popular. This little guy was not in our group, but he really wanted to get Marianne's attention. His mother was very proud of her outgoing son.

 Happy faces.

Our faces hurt from smiling all day and having our picture taken so many times. When we get home, Marianne wants to get a pink phone cover with little ears like the girl on the right. She is one of the teachers.

The kids were very concerned that we had enough to eat, so they kept giving us milk and snacks. We brought some P&J sandwiches, but as you can see from the pile of snacks in front of Marianne we did not go hungry. Our friend, Felice, accompanied us on the trip. She is also our Chinese teacher and Mahjong teacher. She is a delightful young lady who has been a great friend to all the foreign teachers.

After the festival, we headed to a nearby strawberry field to do some pickin'. The students made sure that we had plenty of strawberries.

It was a long, fun day. We were pooped when we finally got back to our apartment. We made some great friends among the headmaster and teachers. One young man told me that I must've been very handsome when I was younger. I took it as a compliment, but Marianne and I had a great laugh when we were alone. My ego was a little bruised, but a little humbleness is good for the soul.

Have a great week, y'all. The semester is half-way complete.