Happy 'real' birthday videos

Celebrate your birthday for a week. That's what M'Lynn always says as we continue the celebration today with happy 'real' birthday banana pancakes.

Kanyon was so confused about his birthday. "Will I be the 'real' four today? or tomorrow?" It was impossible trying to explain that his birthday party was on the day before his 'real' birthday. Finally he agreed to be the 'fake' four at his party and the 'real' four today.

Happy 'real' birthday Kanyon. And now for the videos from the 'fake' birthday:

Happy Birthday Kanyon (46 seconds)

Ya'll've got the hang of that (37 seconds)

That's My Baby

Corbin's walking! Just a few days after his birthday party, he decided it's time to test out his legs. Kanyon's a super excited big brother yelling in the background, "That's my baby!" At other times, Kanyon yells, "Look! Corbin's big now. He can walk on his own."

Never again will he crawl.

That's My Baby (0:52 minutes)

Happy Birthday Corbin

We celebrated Corbin's first birthday with a very hungry caterpillar cake and Corbin was just as hungry as the caterpillar once he discovered icing and cake too. He went after it with both hands, well before we sang happy birthday.



The black icing and the present box were the hits of the party. Before we sang, both Kanyon and Corbin found the black icing and began eating it with their hands. Even after a bath, their hands (and chests) were still stained. And the box was more popular than the actual present. All the kids wrapped themselves up in the box ignoring the "doctor's office" toy in favor of the box. It wasn't until the sugar high wore off before they discovered the toy.



For those who want to watch, here are the videos from the event.

Happy Birthday Corbin (0:46 minutes)
Cake Eating Machine (1:15 minutes)
Birthday Present vs. Box (1:03 minutes)
After: Calm and Clean (2:01 minutes)



And those with slow internet connections, check out the photos.

Corbin's birthday marks the middle of the eventful six week holiday season. It begins with Kanyon's birthday Nov. 20 and continues through Thanksgiving, Corbin's birthday, Christmas open house, Christmas coffee house, a teammate's baby shower, New Years, final exams, Chinese New Year, and Annual Thailand Conference. Let the season begin!

Halloween Videos

Uploaded some videos from the Halloween weekend of parties. Check them out!

Superheroes (0:49 minutes)
Kanyon and Corbin before the sugar rush as they're preparing to head out the door to trick-or-treat.

Trick-or-treat (0:39 minutes)
At the first event of the night, trick-or-treating at our teammates apartments. Their little bags are getting full of treats.

Soph. Class Party (0:23 minutes)
Last event of the night at my students class party. By now the sugar rush as in high gear!

Videos by Fellow Teachers

Videos everywhere! Some very talented people created amazing videos for you to get a good glimpse into our lives in China. These videos have been circulating around our community of teachers in China. If you haven't seen them yet, here's yet another chance.

"A Day in the Life of a Foreign Teacher" creates an amazing picture of our life as teachers in China. Created by a fellow teacher in Harbin, his day is very similar to ours.

Day in the Life of a Foreign Teacher (3:58 minutes)

"Dancing on the Train" is the music video to the hit song written by fellow teachers in Changchun. If you've ever been to China or ridden on a train (or neither), this video is great!

Dancing on the Train (4:20 minutes)

31 Leg Race

One of the crazy events of the Sports Day is the "31 Leg Race." Tie the legs of 30 students together and have the student run 50 meters as fast as they can. Watch out! If everyone's not synced together, then the trouble begins.

I got roped into one of these funny events. The foreign teachers needed one more participate for the basketball roll. This event involved 12 people standing together as closely as possible forming a tunnel between their legs. The first person in line rolls the ball between the legs and the last person catches the ball and runs to the front to roll the ball again. Once everyone has rolled the ball, the event is over. The team that finishes first wins!

There's no video for finishing last place in the basketball roll, but we do have video of the 31 leg race.

31 Leg Race (0:59 minutes)

'Spring' in the Park

Spring is finally here! Well at least with the temperatures. The trees and flowers still need a couple of weeks to green up. Last week, we went on a date to a park and captured some video. Check it out.

Spring in the Park (3:08 minutes)

Holiday Weekend Videos

If the photos weren't enough, check out the videos from the weekend!

Big Boxes from Gramps and Nae (0:28 min)

Easter Bunny Goodies (1:01 min)

Happy 30th Birthday (0:14 min)

Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" in Harbin!

What a taste of life in Harbin? Watch Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" as he travels to the Dongbei to visit Harbin. Each clip is about 10 minutes.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

"Outside" Play Time

"Outside" means something different when you live in Harbin. Outside to Kanyon means going to the hall to drive his "taxi". Kanyon got the taxi (really a Plasma Car) for his birthday and it was so much fun that the other family purchased another one for their kids. So now there's two! It's awesome to have something for him to do outside without being all bundled up.

Now to teach him to share and not play bumper cars!

Christmas in Beijing

Here we go! Time to decorate the Christmas tree at the Mac. It's exciting to quickly go from the fall colors of Thanksgiving to the green and red of Christmas. Kanyon enjoyed decorating the tree but went a little crazy when we put the 'presents' under the tree. As soon as he found the presents, he was ready for his surprise.

Beijing Christmas 2009 (0:45 min)

Corbin Meets Kanyon (Videos)

Here you go. For everyone wanting a video of little Corbin. Kanyon meets his brother for the first time. Since Corbin is so small and Kanyon is so big, you'll get mostly Kanyon in this video and a little Corbin. (I guess their video face time is directly proportional to their body mass.)

Kanyon Meets Corbin (1:00 min)

I love that he points out all features, hat, hands, eyes, mouth, ears, feet.

Birthday Pancakes

This is what happens when you put the whole plate of pancakes a toddler's high chair to get the perfect picture. You get the picture, but you won't be getting any pancakes!

Birthday Pancakes (1:00 min)

China's Empty City

If we had been back in Harbin, we may have seen this on our own TV. The report is from Al-Jazera, on of the only English language news station we receive. Since we're not at home, this article was passed to me and I pass along to you.

Ordos, China is a beautiful modern city. It was built from the ground up in just five years. The streets are clean. And the neighborhoods are quiet. But something is missing. The city was built to accommodate nearly one million people. Yet, no one lives there.

The city of Ordos was a government project. It was likely conceived as an economic stimulus. Building is a sign of economic growth. So, local officials started building. But five years later no one has moved in. It’s a ghost town without any ghosts.¹

Follow the link below to watch the video of the AlJazeera report.

China's Empty City (4:22 min)
_______________
¹ The Kim Kamando Show November 20, 2009

Ode to the Swine Flu

Before we took off on our flight to Beijing, we watched the funnest little propaganda video on the airplane TVs. What a shame!

How to protect yourself from being attacked by the influenza A(H1N1)?
Swine flu comes from America
Spreads around the world
It’s true name is A(H1N1)
What a shame!
Someone say it due to pigs
Actually not all is my mistake
The virus comes from pig, bird and man
Mixed
The variety virus is a little strong
It can be alive several hours
Breathing, contact and kissing
It’s infective!
Fever, cough and flowing nasal mucus
Don’t ignore the common symptoms
The virus all have a incubation period
Take care!
Because at present we lack the vaccine
We should prevent it ahead of time
Listen to me everybody, I’ll give you a
Instruction!
Wash your hands and take exercise frequently
Make a good habit of personal hygiene
Drink more water and have enough sleep
Very good!
If there were patients in the place where you live
Don’t have no purpose stroll outside
Don’t drill the crowd to join in the fun
Dangerous!
Pay attention to the diet at home
The diet must be nutritive and comprehensive
The meal must certainly be boiled
Safely!
Open the windows
Keep the air have a circulation
Decrease the possibility of catching the cold
Comfortable!
Have a good mood is also important
No stress, no bother
Balance the body and mind
No illness
If you have a cough of sneezing
Estop your mouse and nose with paper
Throw the paper in the garbage can
Social morality
If we have a good prevention
The flu can’t seize you
Don’t be infected by the virus
Well done!
Although the epidemic situation is nervous
We should have a good mood
Learn more knowledge and make enough prevention
Healthy!

Check out the complete video with all the glorious animation:

Swine Flu Video (2:30 min)

A Morning in the Park

Parks are the best place to go and check out what China is really like. Here is an example of some of the morning exercises done early each morning. Enjoy the sights and sounds.

Morning in the Park (0:39 min)

To see more of our videos, check out the Videos link at the top of the page.

Jiaozi Birthday Party

While I'm on the video uploading kick, I may as well share the video from my birthday party earlier this month. We had several students over to make jiaozi. (You can read more about that here.)

Ever wonder how to make jiaozi, or much less what is jiaozi? Check out the video to find out.

Jiaozi Birthday Party (1:54 min)

Easter Videos

Just in time for May, we finally have the Easter videos up and running. Check out some of the action from our Easter morning and Egg hunt!

The morning of course starts with an Easter basket. Kaynon was filled with chocolates mailed from the states (thanks to the folks at the Southwest Collections Library). He immediately finds the best available piece and starts to chow down. After eating a whole chocolate bunny he is left feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Then we set off on the Easter egg hunt. It got off to a rocky start. After we had all the eggs "hidden" (some in plain site for the littlest kids), a man discovered he just hit the jackpot. He must have thought, "Some crazy foreigner left all these colored eggs laying around. I'll pick them up for them. What are they thinking?" After a bit of negotiation, we convinced him to leave the eggs for the children.

It took some time, but Kanyon, with the help of Andy, finds a hidden egg. He really started to get the hang of searching for the eggs. Then he's off to find the next one. Most time when Kanyon found an egg, he would pick it up and throw it. After a little training, he finally learns what to do when he finds an Easter egg.

Easter Video (2:56 min)

Let's feed papa

The parents requested more videos, so here is an old one. Just after Christmas when I was testing out the new electric grill with some hamburgers. Kanyon was finished eating his portion and decided it was time for me to eat.

Let's Feed Papa (0:42 min)

True Texan

There are new videos posted online at the link at the top of the page. This is one of the newest ones. We hope to get more online as soon as we have more time.

True Texan (0:52 min)