Spring's Arrival

It's the same every year. 

Spring comes from nowhere. Life emerges from what appears to be lifeless. 

Every spring that I've spent in Beijing, I've been in awe of the season's coming. As a result I end up taking way too many pictures of flowers and trees, watching them change from day to day. It really is incredible.

Last week a friend invited me to go with him to the Beijing Botanical Gardens early in the morning. We arrived at 5:30 (and climbed the fence to get in before it opened :P ). By that time the sun was already up. The morning light made the trees especially beautiful, and once again I took a lot of pictures.

If you're still waiting for spring to arrive where you live, maybe you can enjoy these photos and pretend you were there too. :) 

 I'm amazed by the One who made all these.

April Break

Last week we had three days off for a holiday known as 清明节. 

It was so nice to have a break from normal life for a few days, and the three-day break brought with it a whole bunch of fun stuff. On Thursday I got invited by some of my students to ride bikes to 香山 and then to the Summer Palace. The weather was chilly but was nice for hiking and cycling. We had a great time and ended up riding about 40 km altogether. 

the guys at the mountaintop.

After lunch we sampled some 臭豆腐, which is literally "stinky tofu." It smells awful but tastes all right. Just add lots of cilantro and chili sauce.

I wish this picture was scratch-and-sniff. :)

another picture from the mountain top.

 near the Summer Palace west gate.

 at the Summer Palace

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Ok enough gray pictures--check these out below. 

Saturday was my birthday, and the weather was perfect. 

 Here's Liz, the one who worked so hard to make it a special day. 

She succeeded, to say the least.