Saying Good-bye...

Working for the government means we'll be doing a lot of this over the course of Tony's career. This time it's Jacinta and Stu - she's finished her language study and now it's time to put it into action in Beijing! Tony appreciated her encouragement and advice while studying Chinese this past year... and we both appreciated the fact they didn't wear hard-soled shoes in their house - they lived directly in the apartment above us!

I guess there are two benefits to "farewells" - 1) you always get to have a good meal or party to commemorate the event, and 2) it means you'll know someone living in another city or country with space for visitors (hopefully)!

So this event was marked by a delicious Chinese meal at "Wind" -
too bad it had a namely effect on us afterward.


It was a nice evening for the language officers especially since they'd finished exams that day! What a relief!

A Formidable Force

Tony's "recreational joy" during his studies here has been playing basketball with his classmates. Despite thumb injuries, a sore back and achy knees, he's been determined to mix it up with the local boys. It's fun to watch him play, but even more fun to hear the stories for the rest of the evening. Though he'll admit he's starting to feel his age, it's great that he's got such a fun stress-relieving activity to balance out his hardcore study routine.

How do you guard someone this much bigger than you?

Obviously, you don't.

Just Having Fun

Okay... When I should've been studying, I was playing around with Picassa - a photo editor that Trevor B told me about 2 years ago, but I just now got around to downloading... Good thing I waited til I had some "free" time! It's soooo much fun! Here are just a few photos I played with yesterday... Enjoy!

A quick beach stop in Christchurch (see "The Beauty That is New Zealand" for the original version)

7 Star Crags in China (archives from November 2005)

Toi toi

Auckland city from the Harbour Bridge

Tender moment - Tony & Granny

A glimpse of Amber & Jason's wedding day! Photos by Nikki... enhancement by "the Procrastinator".

See the original under "pregnancy progress" - I think this one's a bit richer.

The original is under "Goin' Back to Cali" - in the "Grandparents" section.

It's true, some Americans are pretty patriotic and some Americans have lots of "knick-knacks" - well, a lot of Americans I know have lots of knick-knacks. I thought this little guy was kinda cute!

One Crazy Summer

The craziness of Summer '06 started when Tony spent 9 days in the heat of the Chinese summer! Here's a glimpse of what he experienced...

Daily Life in China

Serena is not only Tony's workmate & classmate, she was his travel buddy on this tour.

This man was found near one of the big parks. Parks are a fabulous gathering place for people of all ages in China - but mostly you'll find the elderly exercising, dancing, singing, playing mahjong...

As in Taiwan, night markets are the evening hot spot!

Beijing is gearing up for the 2008 Olympics so the whole city has become a giant construction site. Heavy machinery, along with the jolting noise and dust they kick up, is just part of the general landscape.

So we haven't seen these snacks here in Taipei yet - anyone up for skewered scorpions or roasted grasshoppers on a stick???

Places of Interest

At the Forbidden City where Chairman Mao's portrait still hangs high

Life at the Heavenly Palace

Hmmm, a non-floating marble boat vs. a functioning navy... big decision!
The gov't at the time chose the marble rendition which cost them their whole navy.

Of course no trip to Beijing would be complete without a trip to the Great Wall






Beautiful old village




Shanghai's skyscape

Chinese Art & Architecture

Wai Guo Ren Lai... Foreigner Coming

Tony's always been a "hands on" sort of guy

Not sure if these were originally used as plant holders, offering baskets or rubbish collection -
but they sure are big enough to hold a Tony.

Making big friends

So much resemblance - maybe that's where this interest in China comes from.

It was a whirlwind of a tour, but a great opportunity to see a bit of Beijing & Shanghai and meet the MFAT folks working in those cities. Tony came home to unpack and re-pack... then we were off again!

The Beauty That Is New Zealand

Tony arrived home from China on a Friday - the following day we headed back to the airport and on to New Zealand!!! What a beautiful country to be from - wow! Upon arrival, we breathed deep breaths - enjoying the freshness we don't get in Taipei. And after what was hailed as the coldest winter in over 50 years, we were pleased to arrive during a warm, dry spell that gave us blue skies, white clouds and single clothing layer temperatures for the whole two weeks we were there.

First stop: Auckland

We had a lovely time on the North Shore at the Anstiss Manor - wonderful family, familiar environment - it was like coming home! Tony's 32nd birthday landed during this time so we had a nice day out and a full-on spread of Tony's favorites for his birthday dinner that night.

Catching a CLCA service and some time with old friends was a great way to fight jet-lag!
Thanks gang for pulling it all together so spontaneously!!!

What better way to celebrate a birthday than fish and chips at Mission Bay?

Tony took Zachary out for a game of putt-putt... way to stay young at heart!

Dave Coss won the "How Well Do You Know Tony" quiz I gave to the gang after dinner.
Did you know that Tony's favorite car is a Ferrari???

Family Portrait - our non-blood Auckland residing relatives
From right to left: Tony's Dad (gray sweater), Dave (seated) & Bev - the hosts with the most, Karlabelle and Aaron, Brian & Anita, Kim and Dave

North Shore living

The view over the Harbour Bridge back into Auckland

Second Stop: Paparoa/Northland

Tony's sister's partner is managing a dairy farm up north, so Dad drove the three of us up for an extended weekend on the farm. Sasha really spoiled us with lots of food and opportunities to rest a bit... plus she planned a day trip and a luncheon with the rest of the family! Thanks for "making it happen"!

Tony got right into it... he did two milkings with Errol!

Don't let those cute calves fool you... they're tough work! Sasha works a full-time job, plus helps with the milking! And we thought studying Chinese was non-stop!

Errol and his daily workplace - what a beautiful view from his office, eh?

City Clarks meet Country Clark up on the farm.

Warren and Auntie Jewel - always a pleasure!

Uncle Terry's split pea soup was a treat, as was the extended visit.


Third Stop: Christchurch

This was a special 2.5 day stop in the South Island to visit Tony's 95 year old grandmother. The special bonuses were dinner with the rest of the Clarks and 2 nights with another branch of the Anstiss family.

Kinloch showed us one of Christchurch's cool cafes and shared plans for the future.

We finally got to meet Liberty A... what a cutie. Justine & Lucas also gave us lots of hot parenting tips... we're almost ready!

Granny is now in the dementia unit. We had a breakthrough and spent just over two hours in very positive interaction with her. Tony was even able to walk and pray with her. We did tell her that if our baby was a boy we'd be naming him "Hunter" - she smiled brightly - that was her husband's name!

Uncle Alistair did a great job of gathering the rest of the Christchurch Clarks for a lovely dinner together. It was a lot of fun to catch up with this side too.

Beautiful winter's end along coastal Christchurch

Final leg: Wellington

One of the highlights here was our reunion with Mike & Anne who'd been in the UK for the past couple of years... it was great to finally see them again. We also got some great quality time with the Cameron's; another birthday celebration for Tony; 2 services at City Church and a whole lot of touching base with a whole lot of other fabulous folks! Unfortunately we didn't get as many photos of this leg... xia yi ci! Next time!

Caleb Daniel is adorable... Tony got in only a bit of practice with his godson.

Tony was the best man at Mike & Anne's wedding in 2004 - which was also about the last time we'd seen each other. Their move to Wellington assures us that we'll be seeing them a bit more since Tony's work is headquartered here!

Tony & Mike hit the slopes for a day of fun together with a few other guys from church.

A special thanks to all of you who rearranged your schedules and your resources to fit in time with us! We really enjoyed any and all of the time spent together!!! Looking forward to next time... with a baby!!!