The Adventures Will Continue - Sarajevo, August 2009

The Tyvand's have accepted jobs in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. We'll be staying with QSI and transfering to their school just outside of the city. We're very much looking forward to it. Transfering within QSI had been our first choice, and because job matches existed in Sarajevo, we took them. The other possible locations for transfer were Kiev (Ukraine), Bratislava (Slovakia), Tbilisi (Georgia), and Almaty (Kazakhstan) as these and Sarajevo are the largest schools within QSI. The good news about transfering is that we won't need to attend a job fair in Bangkok during January (we had already reserved spots). More details regarding Sarajevo to follow, but we thought you'd enjoy seeing pictures of our new locale.

More on China, and Talin's 4th birthday to follow soon.

Chinese Three Day Weekend

So what does one (or 7 families in this case) do in China with a 3-day weekend. Oddly, we do what we might if we were in the states, go to the beach, albeit with a few twists. First we have to get to the beach, called Dong Chong Beach, about 45 miles as the crow flies, but a tad longer as the chinese highway is built. Next, adequate transportation. Can't hop in the car, because we don't have those. Instead, we charter a bus. Next food. We can get it at the beach, because there are restaraunts. Trick is, bring someone who speaks really good chinese (we didn't), or bring a really good chinese dictionary (we did). Next, kiddie entertainment. No problem, we've got water toys and dvd players. Next, adult beverages. Plently. Believe we heard the first one being cracked open on the bus at 9AM. All in all, a recipe for a great weekend. Enjoy the photos below.




Very similar to picture we took last year of the girls

Rose with her crossword, next to surfboard Jim used later that day


This is a picture of the actual cabins we stay in.

October Break: Lamma Island and Dameisha Beach

Thanks to our communist hosts, most of China, including the Tyvands, had the first week of October off. The official holiday is October 1, celebrating the establishment of the communist dynasty.

In past years we traveled to Bali and Phuket during this week, but this year we decided to stay a little closer to home. Our first stop for two nights was the island of Lamma, just a short ferry ride from Hong Kong Island. In close proximity to the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong and Kowloon (New Territories), are a number of sleepy islands noted for their seafood restaraunts and kick back lifestyle. So far, we've visited 4 of these islands, Lamma, Cheung Chau, Peng Chau, and Lantau.
Most of these photos were taken from our hotel balcony. Businesses on the island cater to either the residents or visitors who flock to the island on the weekends.
The ferry pier is a stones throw from our balcony.

View from Indian Restaraunt, Deli Lamma
On our return from Hong Kong to Shekou, the girls look at the HK skyline.







The second half of the week we joined our friends the Valez's at their home above Dameisha Beach. This is about an hour by car from our home in Shekou. In these first two photos you'll see a few hundred thousand Chinese enjoying their holiday in close proximity to one another. The photos don't do the scene justice, as approximately 300,000 people share about 1 kilometer of beach.













Perhaps because of the crowds, we spent most of our "beach" time at the two pools above Dameisha.

The girls are becoming quite the swimmers. Talin is now a successful underwater swimmer, and Alma has no fear of the water. As parents, we simply fear Alma's no fear of water.

Summer 2008

We spent the summer of 2008 bouncing around the West Coast. Two weeks in Ventura, a week in Portland, 4 weeks in La Pine, then the final two weeks back in Ventura.

We played on the beach, barbequed, ate a lot of Mexican food, camped, golfed, fished, attended concerts, went to museums, marhced in a parade, went wine tasting, and much more.

Most importantly, we spent invaluable time with Family and Friends.

We're back in China now, but here are some pics from our summer.