Back to Chengdu

After we left Beijing, we headed for Chengdu. Swatchy Hugz was there before me! Some of what I saw was the same, like the yummy food:



But I also visited the Naval Institute of Biology and saw this leatherback turtle. Yes, there are sea turtles in China!



But the best part, ooohhhhhhhh, the best part was the PANDAS!



No one would let me get too close to the pandas. I don't know why. They sure are cute, though.



Knittah's Dad was the luckiest. He got to hold one! I think it talked to him!

Official Meeting Type Stuff

My trip to China was a business trip, after all, so Knittah's Dad took me to meetings right away. We started at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.


This is our group from the US along with the outreach team at the Chinese Academy of Science.

We met with Chinese scientists to talk about climate change and how to fix it. There was a lot of serious thinking going on.*



Fortunately for me - I mean, us - we had a delicious lunch! Everywhere we went in China, our hosts always provided elaborate meals and banquets. I even got my own plate this time!




*Knittah says that a recent article in The Economist talked about the Chinese government's slow action and commitment to addressing pollution issues. While some officials and scientists are advocating very strongly for better policies and enforcement, the government is not investing enough money or attention in the problem. Our group is trying to help them change that.

Fiesta

Everybody loves parades. Fortunately, we got out of jail and home in time for the annual sea turtle festival in Matapalo. The festival started with a parade. The Matapalo school band played.


All the local schools participated, including the Bullis students:






I helped hold the banner at the front of the line!


After the parade, everyone gathered for a program. Park Ranger Carlos Diaz was the MC, and he even sang as part of the show.


There was more music, and all the students performed skits. Some pretended to be leatherbacks and laid eggs . . .


and the Bullis students performed a skit with an intricate dance.


After the program, there was lots of food! (my favorite part)


But those research students can't take a party. Look at them napping after the festival!


I was tired too, though. I was ready for bed and the trip home.

Baked Expectations, Artorama, and a really great dinner

Dear Knittah,

I'm sorry I haven't written much lately, there just hasn't been all that much happening in the way of exciting travel... and I admit, I've been a bit lazy. Sorry! The good news is that I'll be making a trip to Fredericton, NB, this spring, and will be stopping in Toronto on my way there. (I'll be sure to check out Lettuce Knit! Oooo... they're open late Wednesday nights... I wonder if that's when the SNB meets? I'd love to hang out with a Toronto SNB! And, of course, if I happen to meet the Yarn Harlot, I'll be *sure* to get my picture taken with her! Noricum has met her a few times now, but I haven't gotten to meet her yet. *sigh*)

Anyway, here's the small bits of excitement we had in March:

Noricum and I and Noricum's friend (HJ) and Noricum's friend's husband went to Baked Expectations early in March. Noricum hadn't seen her friend in quite a while, and HJ is *pregnant*! (Baby knitting! Noricum had some fun with baby knitting back in February.) Anyway, the cake was soooooo good, that we didn't manage to get a photo of it before it disappeared. Whoops!

However, HJ helped take this photo where Noricum is pointing to the cake she had a slice of:

It was *yummy*! It was chocolate cake with a layer of chocolate cheesecake and another of chocolate mousse, all coated with chocolate ganache. (Can you tell Noricum likes chocolate? Or that she couldn't decide between cake, cheesecake, or mousse? And that in a state of chocolate-indecision, this cake was perfect? If she goes back again, though, she plans on having a slice of "plain old" chocolate cheesecake. Not that anything is "plain old" there!)

Then nothing much happened for *ages*... Noricum worked on her dissertation, and I hung out in her pocket, waiting for interesting opportunities.

Today, something interesting finally happened! We went to Artarama, an art show of local artists put on by the Knights of Columbus. (Noricum's dad is in the Knights, and her mom is having lots of fun doing art... so she had two invitations to go.) here's some of the art we saw:






(Did you notice I actually met one of the artists in that last photo!?! I gave her a postcard.)


After a fun afternoon looking at art, we had a *yummy* dinner at Masa, a Japanese restaurant:

Mmmmm! This time I managed to get a photo before all the food was gone... although there was already a big dent in the edamame, and Noricum had eaten two of her pieces of sashimi. For dessert, we had puffed rice cake at home that Noricum's mom had made. Mmmmmm!

Well, it's getting past my bedtime now, so I guess I should go to bed.

Love,
Swatchy