These are a few of my favorite things...

...or, rather, people. My newest favorite people on the face of the earth.

After 2 weeks of technology blackout, I'm back. But I've left a piece of my heart in Liberia...with my newest favorite people on the face of the earth. Let me introduce you to two...

He reminds me of one of my brothers...he's tall for his age and all arms and legs. She reminds me of my sister who's the same age. I saw him almost everyday on the work site, but she (and the littlest kids) usually stayed on the present orphanage site down the road, so I didn't see her as often.

I miss them so much already! Pr.ing that He will make a way for me to go back again soon. I can't go too long without seeing my newest favorite people again.

Drivin' Home

On the drive home from checking out New Year's decorations and the new store...

Hmmm... where is that going? And why? Nevermind...I don't want to know.

Take a deep breath, think thin thoughts... this is a tight squeeze. On the way to my office. Mere inches on each side of the van.

You think they're trying to make a point with all those banners? This new shopping center is not yet open, but they're getting ready!

Check out the plastic stars that have been randomly thrown into the trees? Aren't they pretty? They light up at night.

See how we wrap our bushes during the winter? We build wooden frames around them and cover them with green fabric until spring. We're big on protecting our foliage during winter.

And this is how we water our foliage. We shoot high-pressure hoses at them. If we were watering the grass, the high-pressure hose would be aimed directly at the grass, causing huge divets. It's amazing that grass survives. We haven't had rain for months...things are starting to look disturbingly monochrome here after so many months of dust/dirt/sand buildup.

Don't forget to buckle up! Those are teddy bears, looking lovingly at each other.

Look at these kind, cheerful police characters reminding me how to keep the roads safe.

The giant hands. With the 3/4 circle around them. The meaning? No idea. But every time I see them, I feel like posing my hands the same way.

Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a funhouse at the circus... adults walking down the street with cartoon characters on their shirts, panda bear hats, and carrying life-sized stuffed animals... happy-go-lucky cartoon characters teaching me how to be a better citizen on street signs... I see these things and I feel like I should be dreaming. But no.

These things have become so normal even though I still don't understand how in the world they are normal to a culture. Some days you just have to stop trying to understand, snap a few pics, and smile at it all.

Fun with English

Last week when I went to take pictures of the New Year's decorations, I also went and explored a new store that has just opened. So let's go on another photo adventure!

I was greated greted greeted (I'm having English issues today) by this sweet notice at the escalator:

(in case you can't read it, it says: "Dear Customer:Please be caution when you go up and down the elevator,Do not put. overweighted goods on the elevator to avoid any danger.Children must use the elevator with parent.")

I obeyed the sign and was caution when using the elevator...

(more Chinese lanterns. they're everywhere.)

This sign was on the wall as I rode the escalator:

It could be interpreted in so many ways... especially considering there was no ceiling anywhere that you could bump your head on.

We have a new, funny addition to our shopping experiences here. I've seen these in Wal-Mart too. Shopping baskets that have wheels! Look carefully at these two women. Their shopping baskets roll like suitcases! It's pretty cool.

If you haven't heard, it's the Year of the Rabbit. So to welcome the new year in, all employees of this store (sorry I didn't snap an incognito picture of a male worker) have to wear pink sparkly bunny ears. And this is perfectly normal... you can see adults wearing this kind of stuff on any normal day.

Through the check out and back down the escalator. I'm encouraged to care about the environment:

"Together we care for the environment"

"Welcome to our environment store. This store is monitored 24 hours/day for energy efficiency."

The English isn't too bad on that...although I was "welcomed" as I was leaving (there's no up escalator here...only the down/leaving-the-store escalator).

...but no worries, "Happy shopping everyday!"

When was the last time you saw a middle school girl bouncing gleefully through a store clutching her favorite teddy bear while her parents followed blissfully behind her? Apparently it happens everyday here!

...I think next time I go shopping I should bring a stuffed animal with me. It might make my shopping experience more fun.

Next time I'll share some "drive home" pictures.

New Year Celebrations (lunar style)

The temps are finally rising above freezing. The days (and even the house) are finally feeling less unbearably cold. I've been able to shed a layer of clothes and even turn down the space heaters and come out of my protective blanket-cave at home. And I ventured out to explore my local city a bit. New Year's decorations are out (for those of you who don't know, January 1 is not a big deal here. Lunar New Year is the biggest day of the year). The fireworks are going-I fall asleep to the sound of exploding fireworks, and wake up to it in the morning.

I love this time of year. I wish I lived in a city away from the capital, where rules are not really enforced and the fireworks were going like crazy all the time. But I don't. The fireworks I deal with are minimal, and if I go into the capital, I won't even notice them because there are even less there.

But that's not the only cool part of this celebration. There are decorations everywhere. This is the time of year to clean your dwelling, buy new clothes, and put up bright new decorations welcoming the new year and proclaiming blessing and happiness over your home and family.

The city and streets are decorated, stores are decorated...it's like Christmas time in the West. As I was driving through my city (the city I live in, not the capital) I drove past a big grocery store that I love but don't go to often. Two blocks away is a new store that I decided I should explore (found some great Chinglish), and in between the two is a park that was all decked out for the new year.

So...come on a walk through a park with me...(and imagine seeing this all lit up at night)

There's the park, across the road...

And here's the entrance....

There are actually two of those archways, with this big ...thing... in the middle...

Gigantic cherry blossom structure...

A row of humongous street-light-sized flowers...

Of course there's a ridiculously large dragon and phoenix...

Walking past the dragon and phoenix for a side trip. Here's the kite sellers...

Past the kite sellers, here's the parking lot next to one of my favorite grocery stores. I love all the lanterns...with bikes on the left, cars on the right.

Walking back towards the kite sellers and dragon & phoenix. Stop to take a picture of the balloon seller's bike...

Here's the phoenix. Look at how big that thing is!

And here's the dragon...

And here's ...big flowers ...and... I have no idea what that is...

And more HUGE flowers...

And...gigantic pumpkins?

Lots of kite flying going on (look carefully above the white tower)...

This guy (center) was making his eagle kite (right side) fly in low circles...

More lanterns (and check out how we wrap & decorate our trees to protect them from the winter cold)...

A grandpa sitting and keeping a close eye on things...

Another huge decorative structure...

And, of course, no park (or any open area for that matter) is complete without the exercise playground!

Well, thanks for going on that little walk with me. Next time I'll share the Chinglish with you!