California Part II

We've recently returned from our wonderful spring break in the greater Los Angeles area. We enjoyed visiting old friends and soaking up some sunshine. In the picture below, we are in Rowland Heights, which is an all Asian town where I had my first teaching English experience. The girl behind me, Ally, is one of my former students who is now a friend.

The top two pictures are from Naples area. We love the Spanish style beach houses around there. The bottom left is The Getty Museum in Hollywood, and the bottom right depicts the multiculturalism of So Cal.

Long Beach

Ryan and Sebi

Whittier farmer's market and Long Beach with Monica

The Curca Family--Ovi, Monica, & Sebi

Sebi was eating sand as evidenced by his lips. Doheny State Beach.

Sailboats at Doheny State Beach

We miss our friends down there and hope to visit again soon. We're also hopeful for some to come visit us some day.....eh hem Monica and Ovi! : )

Drying Out in California

It's been too long since we've felt 80 degree temperatures. We're enjoying our vacation, seeing friends and sunshine in Southern California. Yesterday, Ryan and I went to the Huntington Library which has 110 acres of different gardens such as Japanese, classical Chinese, subtropical, rose (currently not in bloom), cactus, etc. Of course, I've taken lots of pictures. Here are some of our favorites so far.

In the Japanese garden

So many kinds of cacti!

Check out the spikes on that tree!! I loved the way the colorful leaves were 'stuck' under the rushing water.

This is Sebi (short for Sebastian). He's the 9-month-old son of our friends Monica and Ovi. There will probably be more pictures of him in future posts. We've been enjoying him and his parents.

These are just some random, artsy pictures.

Golden Dragon Acrobats of China

Ryan and I saw these guys last night and they are no less than AMAZING!!! The whole time I couldn't stop saying, "Wow....Oh....Amazing!!" This video can't capture what it's like to see them live. They were only here for one night but tend to return yearly. You can check out their touring at www.goldendragonacrobats.com

End of the Quarter Party

We had our end of the winter quarter class party at a cabana in Anacortes last Sunday. We enjoyed games of volleyball and pictionary. It was cool and cloudy but thankfully, there was no rain.

This little guy, Oscar, kept bringing the other teacher, Christine, dandelions. It was so cute.

A few of us were playing volleyball before the rest of the students arrived. Oscar, almost 3 years old, came over and wanted to play. He turned the v-ball game into a soccer game which was fun.

Great Documentaries

Ryan and I have recently watched two great documentaries that we'd like to recommend. They are both available through Netflix. The first one is from the above picture called "The Business of Being Born". Go to http://thebusinessofbeingborn.com/ to see the trailer. It's about how women are put through a system in the hospital that is more lucrative and beneficial for those involved in the medical world than it is for the health of the mother and baby. It describes the benefits of home births and midwives.


The second recommend is Seoul Train. The trailer is at http://www.seoultrain.com/. This sad and disturbing documentary details the lives of those living in North Korea who are trying to escape. The Chinese governments sends these refugees back where they will most likely die while serving in labor camps for their "crime" of leaving this communist country. Another documentary on North Korea that we watched close to a year ago that shows the brainwashing of their leader and gives fascinating insight into this closed country where cell phones are even banned is "A State of Mind". Clips available at http://www.astateofmind.co.uk/default2.aspx?CF=Trailers

Class Lunch

My day class and I went to Thai food after class as a fun activity/snow day make-up/belated Chinese New Year celebration/etc. This quarter, in my day class, I have students from Indonesia, China, Mexico, Russia, Japan, Bolivia, and Brazil. These are pictures that another student took and sent to me, which was nice since I'd forgotten my camera. For some of the students, this was their first time trying Thai food. That's always fun. : )

Squirrel Breakfast

We have a squirrel feeder outside our bedroom window. It is Ryan's Christmas present. This morning, we found this fat little guy chowing.

We can hear when a squirrel is eating because we'll hear the lid tapping.

I know some people say they're fuzzy rats, but I think they're cute. : )