Beijing, China

I have spent 7 days in Beijing, China so far and have had such a great experience. I have met many people from different countries. People from: New Zealand; Oman;  Indonesia; Georgia, USA; Korea; Japan; China; Australia; students from Taking it Globally; and many others.

I climbed (& crawled) up the Great wall and sat on it! These last steps were as high as my knees, so I felt like a baby on them. But I did it! By myself, I walked up to the closed cable car (just like Bill Clinton) and rode that up to the platform then up the graded trail to the steps on the right! For someone who is very afraid of heights this was a great achievement! On the way down I closed my eyes in the cable car and took a video of the trip down!

Winter Wonderland 2011!

Today in Iowa it is very cold!  23 degrees Fahrenheit which equals -5 degrees Celsius! I have not got as much done I had planned today - just couldn't get warm. But I started boiling some water, turned on the small heater and put on a sweatshirt and am starting to get more activity. I did have a great meeting with my friend, Cindy today - way too short, but we will get together again soon. Is anyone celebrating Chalica this week? There's been a lot of discussion as to when to celebrate Chalica. Some people think it is too close to other holidays to celebrate it starting the 1st Monday in December. I found that this was probably one of the best Decembers I have had in quite a while. This year I just used the week of Chalica to step off the carousel of life and then to get back slowly on it.  The time I spent reflecting, quieting and looking around I think made me appreciate what I have in the world. I started the process of mending a fence with a friend. Working better on my friendships with others and just enjoying who I am and my world. Okay I still am not happy about the temperature! But I try not to think about it too much. Right now I am planning my classes for Spring that start tomorrow! I have been so blessed! I have 4 classes this semester - 2 on campus and 2 online (these will be the challenge!).  

I have been very cranky this past week as I had a tetanus shot on Wed and wow the pain, swelling and fever were terrible. It has finally gone down to the size of a large, shooter marble and is mostly only painful when someone touches it.  The tetanus and 2 other shots were because I am going to Beijing China in February! My husband and I are taking some students to a conference there for the Flat Classroom project. It is one of the online classes I am teaching (he of course is presenting!). I am looking forward to the trip. 

Many of you may have heard what happened in Arizona yesterday with the 18 people shot and the 6 that were killed. My prayers go out to those injured or killed and their families. What a great candlelight ceremony the UUs in Phoenix, Arizona held last night for these people.

I hope this wakes people up to really think before they say or do violent actions. 

Keep Warm! 

Kathy