Monday, August 22, 2011

Official PCV

From John in Chengdu, having completed pre-service training and been sworn-in on Monday, Aug. 22, 2011, as a Peace Corps/US-China Friendship Volunteer by Gary Locke, US Ambassador to The People's Republic of China:

We are officially Peace Corps Volunteers.

It's been a couple busy days -- we saw Bi Joeden's [VP Joe Biden] China Point Speech yesterday at Sichuan University and then woke up early again this morning for some mayhem with Gary Locke [former governor of Washington State, former US Secretary of Commerce] and his posse. Joe Biden was pretty cool yesterday, but he really didn't have much time to do anything but give his speech.


We still have tons of stuff to do in class, and our language exam is Thursday morning.

In the pictures, the smaller group is our group at Sichuan Normal University. The larger group is the entire 2011 China 17 with Gary Locke (second row, in the middle).

I love and miss yall, I will talk to you soon.





Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Luzhou and Chengdu

Pictures from John's week in Luzhou and back in Chengdu.


Luzhou's location in Sichuan province, southeast of Chengdu


The Yangtze River




With host brother in Luzhou


Luzhou farmland


Mountaingate








Prayer ribbons




Mountaintop


Back in Chengdu area, another hike



Sunday, August 07, 2011

Summer 2011

I've been meaning to put up a few pictures from the spring and summer.


Linds, John, Kath & Billy


Field family portrait


John & Kath with Grampa Ray on Father's Day


Kath & me, lakefront bike ride


Kath & John on the back porch the weekend before John's departure for China


Jo & John the morning of June 29 before taking the train to Chicago


Kath & Jo on Clark Street in Edgewater


Wyatt & Campbell, of the Seattle Hamiltons (gracias, Neil)


Billy @ Osterman (Hollywood) Beach, Chicago


Kath & Linds, Sox Park concourse


Gail, Linds & Kath, Sox Park left field concourse


After the game @ the 35th St. Red Line stop

A few random landscape pictures.


Morning sun off the Hancock Building


Sunset, Eastside Park ball fields in St. Charles


Sox Park, view from section 134


Sox Park Red Line stop


The Chicago River looking east, from our window on the 22nd floor of the Holiday Inn Mart Plaza


Chicago Theater on State Street

Thursday, August 04, 2011

Peace Corps Assignment

John found out about were he'll be assigned in China:

"We got our site placements today. I will be in Luzhou, Sichuan Province, teaching at the Luzhou Vocational and Technical Institute and living in an old apartment right on the Yangtze River. I do not know much more than that, but I am extremely excited. Luzhou is southeast of Chengdu, very close to the border of Chongqing and Guizhou.

"I will be the first Peace Corps rep at this school. There will be one other Peace Corps person in Luzhou, at a different school -- his name is Phil and he is from outside Milwaukee. Of course, he is a Packers fan, but I think we will get along fine.

"Luzhou is a really cool old city with about 5 million people...Ashley and I have been placed close. She will be in downtown Chongqing, which is one of the biggest cities in the world. Pretty exciting."

A couple links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luzhou

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/sichuan/luzhou/


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