a new semester

Ming Dynansty South Gate
Originally uploaded by vanhalligan

This is another beginning of something new and unknown. The snow outside reminds me that I am still in the frozen Northeast. Yet spring is very close, and change is already in the air. Students and teachers are slowly making their way back into the sleepy town of Siping. Shops and restaurants are reopening after the long winter break. The train station and downtown have been bustling all day. For the 14th time, a new semester begins. So much possibility...So many new lives and personalities that will collide with my own to make up my life this new semester. And after all these years, I am still excited for whats next.

Babies!

Congrats to the two fathers Kim and Jesse. Two new babies Allie and Reese. (oh yeah congrats to their wives Nichole and Joanne too)

Still waiting to hear about Cousin Lora and from Emily.

My thoughts and prayers are with you all.

Babies and more

I just wanted to share how thankful I am for all the new life that has come or is coming into my friends and family's life in the recent months. My prayers are also with those who are still waiting, I can't wait to meet everyone this summer.

I have also posted some pictures on my flickr site of my trip around some of the old Beijing houses that have are being torn down. After the Military Museum Anthony and I headed out in search of the Beijing Underground, a large connected tunnels that were built during the 1970s when the Soviet-Sino relations were not so good and China was anticipating a nuclear war. We did eventually find the entrance but had no luck getting down underground. Here are a few links that talk about it:
Wikipedia
China.org
Beijing Olympics