Photography Class 1

Yesterday I went to my very first photography class. We bought our EOS camera almost 2 years ago and even after trying to read the manual, I still don't know how to properly use the darn thing. There are so many settings and most of my pictures just do not come out right. I almost always end up using Auto. Today I learned that is bad. I learned all about WB- White Balance, Av- Aperture, Tv- Shutter Speed and many other things. It is definitely going to be a learning experience through trial and error, but from just one class (which was almost 6 hours long) I feel like I know SO MUCH more about my camera. This makes me VERY happy. With all of the trips we go on and all the nieces and nephews, I need to learn to capture all these precious moments as best as I can. Since we spent a lot of money on the camera, it would also make me feel better about it. So here are a few things I learned. They are not the most interesting photos, but they show you what I am learning to do. We have 2 more classes and lots of homework. I can't wait to practice in Boracay. ;)

This may not look great, but I learned how the WB and shutter time can make a huge difference in the light in the picture. This was sitting in the teacher's apartment and just aiming at the window. Great view, huh?

Here is our teacher, Baja (pronounced Buy-ya). She is from Holland and use to be a lawyer and then changed careers. She was great. This is a photo of her moving. We learned how to adjust the shutter speed and make a moving person, or object be still. I think this will be very useful for sports and dance photos and the like.

I am pretty proud of this one. I know it's not great, but it took about 50 tries to get it semi-right. This was learning how to make a moving object still, and blur the background. Go me!

 This was an attempt at the guy being still and background blurry. He was too close to me though. However, I like the picture anyway. This is a typical scene in Shanghai. Lots of men and women pedal these bikes with stuff on the back. Sometimes they are packed so high, it amazes me they can even move the bike! I will try and get a snapshot of that someday.

I liked the "store" here in the alley way. All kinds of good stuff to buy! Another typical sight in Shanghai.

Here I liked the colors and lightening. This was nothing special, but again another little "restaurant" in Shanghai. This was a "walk up and buy place".

So, that was session 1. I have some interesting homework to do. I will be learning how to focus on certain things and blur backgrounds and foregrounds too. I didn't have a good picture of that to show, but once I do my homework, I will share it with you. That's all for now. I am off to go enjoy the sunshine with Krystle and Amanda. Happy weekend!

C

Curiosity...

You know the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat"? Well, the same goes for the Chinese...or so I believe may happen. It amazes me that I have yet to see a local Chinese person get nailed by a bus, taxi, or other vehicle. Before moving to this buzzing metropolis, I was told I would get stared at by many locals. This is a gross understatement. While I did what I could to blend in...dyeing my blond hair brown and straightening it as often as possible, some things can't be changed. My boobies (among other physical traits I was blessed with) tend to draw some attention, thanks to their size and the 'barely there' clothing one must wear in the sultry summer.


First, let me back up a bit. It is a common sight to see a local on a bike staring at a Westerner. Doesn't sound to dangerous you say...well picture this: Rush hour, cars turning in all directions, traffic lights as mere suggestions and a culture of 'only the strong survive' and 'whoever gets there first' wins, tends to create dangerous situations on the roads. Mind you, scooters, bicyclist and buses that don't have to follow any rules are also in the mix. So, when I say the locals stare, picture them doing this in total chaos surrounding them. They start on one street, stare at you and turn the corner into traffic and somehow survive, weaving in and out. It is truly unbelievable. The traffic and lack of following traffic laws in a big city is definitely something to get use to.

Now getting back to my boobies, one instance stands out in my mind. It was the first week we moved here and we had a big, fancy work party. I was wearing a strapless dress that was tight in my chest, as most of my clothes are, for obvious reasons. As we walked to the Metro, we passed a traffic light. There was a semi-truck (Chinese semi-truck) with four men in the front seat (also a common sight and another story) sitting at a red light and all of them were pointing at me with smiles on their faces and saying something (I am sure about my boobs). They continued to stare as the driver somehow sensed the light was green (it may have been the continuous horn honking behind him) and drove off, eyes still on my chest. It was quite comical.

I guess I will talk about my boobs whenever I can...but my point is that the curious stares of the local Chinese frighten me. I worry that someday as they stare at us Westerners, they will one day see that they do not have 9 lives as a cat does....

Beer

As I was walking home from school on Friday, I saw an expat couple walking down the street with a beer in each of their hands. This is not uncommon to see in Shanghai. When I saw them walking and drinking beer, it of course, made me want one myself. It was a tiring week and I was ready to pop the top and sit on my couch with my sweats on.

So I did. I went to Lawsons (a corner store near our apartment building) and grabbed a 600 milliliter bottle all for myself. I went up to the 8^th floor pulled on my sweats and sat. Shortly after, I was summoned to a happy hour. I'm a sucker for Lychee Cosmos at Cottons on a Friday night. My big dilemma however, was that my beer was not even half way gone. Problem solved- I now had a roadie. So I walked out the apartment (I did manage to change out of my sweats) and climbed into the cab with my beer in hand. The driver made fun of me (and so did Krystle) as he pointed and laughed at my beer. Off we went, drinking beer as we made our way to the French Concession…

Everyday life

I recently read a book called “Shanghai Snapshots”. The woman that wrote the book was a French expat and had lived in Shanghai for four years when she wrote it. She shared everyday stories of normal life in Shanghai. It inspired me to do the same. Although I can’t write nearly as well as she can, I hope to entertain our friends and family in America, make our friends here in Shanghai laugh with me as you know exactly what I’m talking about, and just paint a picture of life in this unique, big city. So enjoy, I hope you laugh at the stories and not my writing…

Thanksgiving 2011

This year we feel especially thankful.  It is our second year on an amazing adventure full of new memories each day!  We were lucky enough to talk with some family on Thanksgiving and they reminded me, once again, how great our life is!  I was talking with my sister Jan and nieces Lainey and Emily and they asked me if we had gone on any trips lately.  I thought for a moment and said, "Um, yeah, well there was Cambodia and then a couple weeks ago I went to Nanjing with some girl friends."  Then Emily started to laugh at how I acted as if Cambodia and Nanjing were not a big deal.  It hits me every once in while when I think about how many places we have seen over the last two years and how so many people will never get this opportunity.  And that is only one reason we are thankful!

We are also thankful for the many wonderful friends we have made here.  Not only are they just friends, they have become our Shanghai family and without them, we would never be able to live abroad!  They make our life fun, they are they for us when we need them, and they join us in making memories we will never forget!  This Thanksgiving we had some of our American friends over to celebrate one of my favorite holidays.  It made for a great night and one of my favorite Thanksgivings EVER!  Here are some pictures of the night.

 Vanessa, Bri, Matt, Tony, Clare, Krystle and Zach enjoying some drinks and appetizers while waiting for the turkey to arrive.

 Travis carving the turkey as Tony's mouth waters!

 More friends enjoying our delicious food from Bubba's Restaurant.

 Yum, Yum!

The last of the girls at the end of the night!

We had such a great time that night!  I am hoping to have some kind of a Christmas party before the end of the semester too.  However, we do have our "Casino Royale" themed work party on Dec. 10 that I am really looking forward to!  3 weeks until we are on American soil enjoying all the Christmas joy that we can squeeze into 2 1/2 weeks!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

C and T

Last days in Cambodia

It was sad to reach the final days.  This was one of our favorite trips ever!  Cambodia is such a dynamic, beautiful country.  The last two days there were spent relaxing.  We did some swimming, a little work, a lot of eating, and spent more time in town.  The last night we went to a Khmer Kitchen restaurant and got our final curries and amok dishes.  It was all delicious!  I can't wait to go back!

Every time we are setting up holidays, we have a hard time picking a hotel and then end up asking a million questions to people that have been there.  So, I decided after each trip I will write out some useful information for those of you interested in going there.  Here is our first one:

Important information about Cambodia:

• They use US dollars and Cambodian money, but mostly US dollars.  There are many ATM's in town to get money.
• You will need to get a VISA on arrival.  Bring with you $20 per person and 1 passport sized photo.  They are not too picky on size.
• Tipping is welcome, but you don't need to do much.  A little money goes a long way there.
• Angkor Wat is HUGE.  Plan on spending at least 2 days there.
• The town is small, but packed with great restaurants, shopping, and bars.
• Food ranges from $3 to $5 at most places and is AMAZING!!!!
• Beer will run you $0.50-$1 :)  and cocktails are about $3.50
• Tuk tuk rides cost about $2

Our hotel:

We stayed at The Shining Angkor Boutique Hotel and LOVED it.  It only has 20 rooms.  We had the best room and it was only $50 a night and included a great breakfast each morning.  The staff is very sweet and helpful.  I felt like we were the only ones there most of the time.  We planned nothing ahead of time.  We just talked to the staff and they set everything up for us.  It cost us $15 for a tuk tuk that took us around ALL DAY at the temples and then $15 for the day we went to the museum and the floating villages.  It was $5 for the tuk tuk to the sunrise at Angkor Wat.  We had a pool that was nice and the restaurant had great food.  Lunch was delicious, but it took them a while to make it each day, but believe me, it is SO worth it when you get it, especially if you get the red curry!!!  Oh, and we had unlimited free rides in to town on a tuk tuk each day.  We were located in between Angkor Wat and town and I loved that.  You got to see and experience so much more of the city.

Flights:

We flew China Southern and enjoyed it.  It was so much better than China Eastern.  They had good food and the seats were really roomy.  The only downfall was our 8 hour layover in Guangzhou.  I don't recommend that, but if that is the only way you can get to Siem Reap, do it!

Things to do and costs:

• Angkor Wat and all the temples- $15 a day or $40 for 3 days (either rent a bike or a tuk tuk to take you around, it is huge). Ta Prohm and Angkor Wat were our favorites.
• Old Market- lots of cheap shopping in town, closes at 6pm  You can usually get stuff for less than half the price they originally say if you do good bargaining.
• Night Market- open at 6pm (there were lots of bugs while we were there, so we didn't last long here)
• Aki Ra's Landmine museum- long ride, but amazing chance to see the local villages and learn a lot about Cambodia's history, $3 per person.
• Floating Village- $13 per person (long ride out there, but I loved it)
• Cooking classes- There are lots of different classes.  We did the Le Tigre one and loved it.  It was $12 per person and got us the class and a 3 course meal.
• Eat Chicken Amok, sooooooooo yummy!
• Eat curry, again soooooooooo yummy!
• Go to a restaurant in town and sit upstairs to do some people watching
• Go to the Mekong Quilt store- even if just to look.  The quilts are quite cheap (for quilts) and there are lots of other little things to buy.
• Get the pancakes from a street vendor!!!  I suggest banana, chocolate, and condensed milk!

Favorite Restaurants:

• Red Piano- good Cambodian and Western food
• Khmer Kitchen
• Little India- great Indian food!!!!
• Le Tigre- good Cambodian and Western food
• Blue Pumpkin- only if you are in the mood for sandwiches and salads and ice cream.
• There are so many others to choose from too!  This is really making me miss it!

Leaving:

The airport is very small.  We got there an hour and half before our international flight and had plenty of time to get to our plane.  Also, there is no cost to leave the country.

That's all!

We were there for 8 days and it was great.  If you really cram stuff, you could probably do it all in 4-5 days.  For us a holiday is not rushing though, so we liked what we did.  I could have stayed longer actually!  Hope this was helpful to all of you that plan to go (which should be everyone reading this!).

Cambodia Part III

Day 5 (really we have been here for 6 days now, but the first day we got here so late, I don’t count that!)

Thursday was a very humbling day for us all.  We did not expect to see what we did on a tuk tuk ride this morning.  We planned to go to Aki Ra’s Landmine Museum because we had heard so much about it.  Our front desk staff told us it was just down the rode.  Well, it ended up being a 40 minute ride down the road!!!  If you have ever been in a tuk tuk, you know that is a LONG time to be sitting in that, especially if parts of the roads are filled with potholes!  Anyway, the ride ended up being totally worth it.  We were taken through an amazing little village and we were able to see the real Cambodia, not just the tourist parts. 

To say the ride through the village was humbling is actually an understatement.  Their homes are mere shacks or shelters.  We would consider this a place to camp for a quick weekend.  The villagers make their homes out of wood and build them on stilts to survive the rainy season.  The inside is a simple one room, maybe divided by a piece of cloth.  They are very small, the size of most living rooms in American homes, yet they are home to families of 4, 5, 6, and probably even more.  Running water is not an option.  Instead they have a water pump outside they use to get clean water.  There is not a kitchen.  They cook outside with an open fire or manmade stove.  The most amazing part of all of this is that they have, what we consider, nothing, yet are content and even happy with what they have been given.  As we drove down the road the children were running with us, smiling and yelling “hello!”  Even the adults would wave and smile. 

Here is a picture of a village home.  We were driving, so I had to snap them from the tuk tuk, so it's not great.

A typical village home.

Another

I hate to say it again, but I have to…So many of us forget that we are so lucky and privileged to live the lives we have.  While so many of us wish for or complain that we don’t have bigger houses, stainless steal appliances with granite in our kitchens, nicer cars, or a new iPhone, many are still wishing for clean water daily and food to feed their families.  I also saw a very pregnant woman and couldn’t help but think, who will deliver her baby?  We complain about the cost of medical (as we should), yet these people have probably never seen a proper doctor or dentist.  This ride really put things into prospective for me.  There are so many times that I read on facebook- FML (F my life), and I always want to say, “you have a better life than most people, be thankful for what you have”.  That little statement (FML) really bothers me.  Life will always give us hard times, but it’s the good times and the things we have that we need to focus on.  That’s my little piece of advice today.

When we arrived at the landmine museum, it was not what I expected.  It was just a small area filled with history stories, old landmines, and an orphanage in the back for children who have lost family to landmines.  We learned so much about Cambodia’s sad past.  I think what affected me the most was that it was not long ago that this country was at war.  If you get a chance or are bored one day, google Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge, or the Killing Fields (or watch the movie, we just bought it).  It is so sad to see what these people went through.  Cambodians are quiet, peaceful people, yet they were killed for nothing.  Again, feeling thankful for what I have.

These are many of the landmines and bombs that Aki Ra dug up.  The buildings behind it are the museum.

Here is one thing we learned at the museum.  Aki Ra is the founder of the museum.  When he was just a boy, he was forced to lay landmines.  He had no idea what he was doing and didn’t know what the landmines would do to people.  For those of you that don’t know, most landmines are to mutilate, not to kill.  Aki Ra went on to fight with the Vietnamese army and fought to get his country back.  Now, and for past years, he helps to find landmines that are still in Cambodia to keep farmers and children safe.  Landmines still kill many people in Cambodia because there are so many still in the ground.  He teaches others how to find them too.  He has brought many disarmed landmines and photos to the museum to help fund the orphanage.

After the museum we went to the floating villages.  Again, this was quite an adventure.  We had no idea how long it would take to get out there.  This was on the complete opposite end of town.  We stopped at the hotel to get something to drink and then went on to the next village.  The ride took us through more villages like on the way to the museum.  This one was flooded because of its location and was filled with cows (or oxen, we couldn’t tell) and pigs.  When we got to what we thought was the actual village, we had to take a small boat to get to the big boat that would take us out there, because of all the flooding.  It was an adventure in itself!!!  First, we got on a small boat and went out to the big boats.  Before we could get to the big boats we had to walk across wooden planks because of the flooding.  Then, we walked across a few big boats to get to our boat.  Finally, we were on our way to see the floating homes!  It ended up taking 40 minutes to get there.  It was really amazing though!  I will let the pictures do the talking.  This year the water is really high and some homes were flooded and not livable.  During the dry season you can see the stilts that they are on and they don’t look like they are floating.  They even have a school, restaurants, police station, and a hotel out there!  It was very unique.

Me on the small boat.

Greg and Di walking the planks.  :)

The big boats

This was the secondary school.

Some adorable local children on their boat

The guest house, or hotel

At night we went to an Indian restaurant and feasted on somosas, garlic nan, and delicious curries!!!  It was at a restaurant called Little India.  I highly recommend it for those of you going to Siem Reap.  It was cheap and yummy!!!!  After that, Di and Travis got a fish massage on their feet!  Check it out!

Now we are down to only 2 days.  I am so sad.  I have really fallen in love with this city and country.  I would come back again for sure!!!!  I am currently trying to convince Travis to let me adopt a Cambodian baby!!!!