2008 - In Review

A little late to be doing this post, but better late than never.
Here are a FEW of things I can remember doing in 2008:

January
- Michael Buble concert in Hamilton with Nicole, Jenn & Maricel - Jan. 29

Febuary
- Santi's birthday in TO
- Nicole's Wedding Shower - Feb. 15

March
- Nicole & Matt marry - March 1
- Dirty Dancing with Santi onstage in TO - March 30

April
- Blue Jays game - April 20
- Vegas Girl's Trip - Vanessa, Nicole, Stef, etc - 5 days

May
- Blue Jays game (free awesome tickets from Siemens) May 25

June
- Day trip to Stratford (one of many throughout the year)

July
- Stef & Ryan Stag'n'Doe in London - July 26

August
- Jack Johnson concert with Sonia near Barrie - Aug. 3
- Beerfest in TO with Max, Neil & Nina - Aug. 9
- Goodbye Get-Together for Nicole - Aug. 16
- Stef's Bachelorette Night Out in London - Aug. 23
- Trip to BC & Alberta - Aug. 29

September
- Stef & Ryan marry - Sept. 27

October
- Alanis Morissette concert with Max - Oct. 11
- Karen's Pre-Baby Shower in Kitchener - Oct. 19

November
- Max's Birthday Celebration - Slainte's Hamilton - Nov. 15
- Sarah & Rob's Wedding Reception - Warplane Museum Hamilton - Nov. 22
- James Blunt concert with Santi in TO - Nov. 27

December
- The Trews concert in TO with Max - Dec. 18

Christmas 2008

Just a few photo's of Christmas morning. Click HERE for more photo's of Christmas Day and Boxing Day with the family.

A little bit of Christmas at Home

Our small apartment can't handle much in the way of Christmas decor, but we've got a little holiday spirit!

Student Pictures

Going through my MANY pictures from China, I found myself missing so many friends. I've posted a new album on Facebook of a few students - click HERE to see them.

The Amazing James Blunt

The James Blunt show was amazing! Here are some pictures from my crappy camera:
James Blunt

James Blunt Concert

Tomorrow I am going to see James Blunt with my good friend Santi. The concert is in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre and I can't wait! I've loved his music since before he became famous and have been dying to see him forever!!

Listen to some of his music at
www.jamesblunt.com

or

http://www.myspace.com/jamesblunt

I will hopefully be able to post pictures and / or videos from the concert afterwards! Fingers crossed!

Robin's Kitchen - Update

Here are a few more pictures of Robin's kitchen reno's.

My Grandma's

Robin's Kitchen Adventure

So Robin has been updating his kitchen since AT LEAST the August long weekend (I know this because Sonia & I stayed there after the Jack Johnson Concert and he was just laying the tile at that time - the fridge was in the livingroom, the oven was in the spare bedroom - it was out of control).
Anyway, he sent me some pictures, so here they are!

Life on Locke Street South

Max and I have been living on Locke Street since May. I love the neighbourhood - it reminds me of a small town because so many things are within walking distance - shops, restaurants, friends and STARBUCKS - my new best friend in the mornings before work.

Check out some photo's of our place here

We inherited our cat, Cash, from Nicole before she left for BC. As you can tell, he's awfully spoiled here.

Where is Saltillo, Mexico??

Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico is currently where my dad, Regina & Ricky live. Vanessa & I went to visit them just before I went to China in 2006.

The best way to get there is to fly to Monterrey and have dad & Regina pick you up. It's about an hour drive from Saltillo.

On the map, you can see that it is in the North of Mexico, just below the Texas border.




















Sometime within the next year, my family will be moving to Queretaro as my dad is doing more and more business there.

My dad's first Mexican city was Puebla, a little South East of Mexico City. I went to visit there when I was 16. We went on a road trip to Oaxaca and Hualtulco, but I have never been to a popular tourist 'all-inclusive' type city.

Here is a video from one of the restaurants we ate at. I believe at this dinner, CACTUS was the appetizer!

Where is Zhangzhou anyways?

Zhangzhou is a "smaller" Chinese city, located in Fujian Province. It is about an hour's drive from Xiamen - across the way from Taiwan, or in the map below, the "Chinese Taipei". According to Wikipedia today, the population is more than 3.7 million people, so more than a million people more than Toronto, ON.
None of the larger maps of China showed Zhangzhou, so I've to posted some larger maps.

For more information on this city, check out:
http://www.zhangzhouchina.com

http://www.66163.com/Fujian_w/city/zzhou/e-index.html

http://www.fzu.edu.cn/fujian/ezhangz.html

Other cities I visited during my 10 month stay in China included Xiamen, Hong Kong, Sanya, Shanghai, Beijing, Xi'an, as well as a number of smaller towns that would almost never appear on a map.

Happy Birthday Stefanie!!!

Sept 2008 - BC & Alberta in 4 Days

A four day getaway over the Labour Day weekend landed us in some of the most beautiful parts of Canada. We saw the great town of Vulcan, AB (a must see for Trekkies), played with the World's Biggest Dump Truck in Sparwood BC, visited Nicole & Matt in Elkford, BC, explored the pretty town of Fernie and froze our asses off in Canmore & Banff!

Vulcan AB & Sparwood BC

Elkford & Fernie BC

Canmore & Banff AB

Lake Moraine & a Gondola Ride in Banff

Starting Up the New Blog

I've decided to move all of the stories posted on my Windows Live Space website to this page. I'll do my best to keep the original dates & photo's in tact.
Here is the original website:
http://lisambatty.spaces.live.com/

Aug. 23 2007 - Missing China

After spending 10 months in China and making some really great friends, it is difficult to accept that I will most likely never see them again. When I left Canada in October, there were some sad good-byes, but none that were forever. More of a "See you later". Don't get me wrong, I am so happy to be home again, but saying "Goodbye Forever" to so many wonderful people is something that will stay with me for a very long time. I don't think I've ever been in a "Goodbye Forever" type situation. Certainly not with anyone I've been close to.

I am lucky to have met the people I met and to have experienced (most of) the things I did (public toilet experiences excluded!). At times, it wasn't easy living so far away from everything and everyone I knew, there were times when I really couldn't wait to come home again, but looking back, I think the experience may have made me stronger in some ways. Plus I learned a few curse words in Chinese that may come in handy someday.

With email, MSN and the internet, it is pretty easy to keep in touch with many people. But of course, it is not the same as spending time together. I miss teaching, I miss the English Loft and I miss taking pictures of things that are normal in China, but strange in Canada. Of course I still email and MSN with some of my friends there - I've also convinced a few of them to join Facebook - but it's sad to know that it is almost impossible for the majority of them to visit me here.

Strange Sights in China

Alcohol + Robby, Luc & Amber

Random Fun in China

July 24 2007 - Beijing & Robin

About a month has passed since our trip to Beijing - actually, it's already been two weeks since I've been back in Canada. And in some ways, it feels like I never left. But back to the Beijing story.

To be updated!















Here are some photo albums on Facebook:

The Beijing Story - 1

The Beijing Story - 2

The Beijing Story - The Final Chapter

June 8 2007 - Another one for Dr. Tony

Tony shi wo de yi sheng = Tony is my doctor. I can form SOME sentences in Chinese, but saying them is a completely different story.

Anyways, Tony is an orthopedic surgeon in Zhangzhou. He is the brightest surgeon at his hospital (or so he says) and he is one of the funniest people I've met here. He is always telling me about the inappropriate things he says to nurses, which means that his English vocabulary is expanding - but in a dirty way. I think it's hilarious.

A few weeks ago, my ankle was really bothering me - always sore and aching. Three years (or is it four now) ago, I broke my ankle skiing with Stefanie - what an adventure for my first time on skiis. A week later, I had surgery and have had a metal plate & four screws in there ever since. I have no problems with flexibility, but it does sometimes pain me - during cold or rainy days. So Tony invited me to the hospital for an X-Ray - this is the kind of surgery that he does. We took 2 pictures (I kept them) and it turns out that one of my screws is loose (insert clever jokes now). I could have the surgery here to have the plate removed, but I may have some pain after and the thought of climbing the 100 steps to my apartment in pain doesn't strike me as "cool". So sooner or later, I'll need to have it out. But it's not painful every day, so I can tough it out for a while longer.

Last weekend, Tony took Max into the operating room. I was out of town, so I didn't get to go (I'm not sure that I would have gone). Tony got a call at home about a man who had been cut with a knife by another man during an arguement about a woman. Max posed as a Canadian medical student - he put on the scrubs, facemask and flip flops (that's what they wear in the operating room here). The man had been cut by what sounds like some kind of knife used on a farm maybe - his right shoulder bone was damaged and he required 30 cm of stitches on that arm. On his left forearm, a number of stitches were also needed. Tony tells me all of the technical medical terms for repairing the nerves and other things inside the arm, but I don't really remember all of those details. The surgery lasted about 4 hours.

A few weeks ago, another man lost the tip of his thumb. Tony & his team made a small incision into the mans abdomen and sewed the partial thumb in there. After a few weeks, the man returned to the hospital, and Tony removed the thumb from its place inside the man. The skin had grown back - no thumbnail. Success!

A man came to the hospital and his leg was so badly infected that Tony had no choice but to cut it off. And then the hospital gave the family the leg to bury.

These are just a few of the Tony stories. I'm sure there will be more to come before I leave!

June 8 2007 - Dedicated to Doctor Tony

My friend Tony has been giving me the evil eye for not updating my blog lately. So I apologize to him. I don't really have a lot going on right now. Next week, I have final exams at the university. I will have a 5 minute conversation with each student (108 to be exact) and determine their grade. My last exam day is June 20. On the 24th, my brother Robin is flying to Beijing for a week. We are meeting him there. The plan is to spend a few days in Beijing, a day or two in Xi'an and then we have a few days to play around with. I think it will be a good trip - we've done some research on what to see and do. Some friends have also been to Beijing and have given us advice. He flies back to Canada on the 1st and we will come back to Zhangzhou.

At the Loft, we are still teaching the adult classes twice a week. I really like teaching my students, because it's not frustrating or disappointing. The book we have is excellent - it's current, fairly easy for the students to relate to and fun. I hope that Karen will keep it open after we leave - but that is up to her.

I've been busy selling clothes, purses, wallets, etc via Facebook - if you're on there, please add me and check out my goods - time is running out to shop!

I've already started sending boxes home to myself - I'm shipping them via ground, so I'll see my things in two months or so. I'm trying to figure out whether or not my old job at Siemens is still available - if not, does anyone have a job for me? Hahaha.

I'm thinking that July 9th will be the day we leave. Fingers crossed.

May 10 2007 - Xiamen Boat Trip

The best part of this day was meeting Luc's friend from Montreal, Mattieu (I hope I have the right spelling).

May 1st is a holiday in China - International Labour Day. But most of the country celebrates for a week. We went to Xiamen for the day before heading to Shanghai. Amber's friends organize an annual boat trip and she invited us. Max and I brought Catherine & Joe 2. The day was beautiful - hot and sunny. We left the dock around noon-ish and spent the afternoon chatting with new people while enjoying a few cold beers. The two boats 'parked' near an island and some people jumped in the water to cool off. The owners of the boat BBQ'd some skewers for everyone before heading back. I took a few pictures (of course) and they are posted in the photo album.