Saturday, September 25, 2010

Scenes from China

An amazingly diverse set of pictures from around China showing many different facets of comtemporary life in that huge country.

Scenes from China - The Big Picture - Boston.com:

Sunday, September 19, 2010

The Water Cube Is Now a Water Park

     When we last traveled to China, it was September 2008. The Beijing Olympics had just finished a few weeks before, and we were hoping to get a chance to visit some of the venues that we had seen on TV back home in the States. What we didn't know until we got to China was that after the Olympics is held, the same country then gets to sponsor the Paralympics, and those games had begun on the day we arrived. Since the "Bird's Nest" and the "Water Cube" were still being used for competitions, we had to settle for viewing them from the outside. (Access was limited to folks having tickets for the events, of course.) Here's a pic of the family (minus our youngest daughter, who we hadn't picked up, yet) showing how close we were able to get.


     In the 2 years since that visit, we have heard that the Chinese government has been having trouble scheduling events large enough to use the Bird's Nest. But we hadn't heard much about what was happening to the Water Cube. Well, early last month it was re-opened as the largest water park in Asia. You can read the full report here. And here is a video showing a little of what this new attraction looks like.



     This seems like a very creative use of this venue, and hopefully it will be very successful. Now, what can they turn the Bird's Nest into?

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China

Amazing, heartbreaking pictures of the aftermath of the flooding and landslides in China this week.


Landslides strike Zhouqu County, China - The Big Picture - Boston.com

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The End of an Era

For many of us who have adopted a child from the Jiangxi Province in China, the Lakeview Hotel in Nanchang will be forever etched in our memories (and our photos) as the place where we spent the first hours and days with out new family members.



The distinctive round shape and bright outside colors and the huge atrium interior made us feel that China was quickly moving towards "first world" status, even when we visited in 2001. 


Well. a few months ago the Lakeview looked like this. 



You can read the whole article about "what happened" and see a few more pics of the demolition here. We're lucky we have our memories and our photos because the actual place is gone forever.  

Friday, March 26, 2010

The State of Adoption from China

Recently, I received a very interesting report that was written by Elisa Rosman, Ph.D. for the National Council for Adoption in Alexandria, Virginia. It contains a detailed description of the problems faced by families trying to adopt from China at this point in time (the report was written in late 2009). Also included is a review of current research on children adopted from China and their families. Research areas covered include Growth and Development, Behavior Issues, Language Development, Boys from China, Adoption/Cultural Issues, and Family Dynamics.

Overall, the report on the state of adoption from China was a bit depressing (as most of us already knew), but the research summary gives those of us with kids already adopted from China reason to feel optimistic that they will adapt to their new homes and thrive in years to come.

To read the complete report, go here. And to visit the website of the National Council for Adoption, go here.  It's reading that is well worth the short time you will spend.

Friday, October 23, 2009

Fun with Photos - Fotosketcher

     One of my favorite things to spend time doing (since I can't be traveling in China) is to "get creative" with the photos I have taken on our trips to that beautiful country. Over the years, I have amassed a fairly large collection of books, websites, programs and plugins to help me with these creative urges and now and then I'll be sharing some of my favorites with you in postings here.

     Recently, I discovered a really neat little program called "Fotosketcher" that takes your photos and turns them into drawings, watercolors and oil paintings (well, at least the results look like those kinds of works). There are other programs out there that do similar things, but Fotosketcher stands out for several reasons. First, it's fast. (On the images down below, I started with a 1600 x 1200 pixel photo and it took Fotosketcher only 20-30 seconds to do it's thing - your mileage may vary, of course.) There are lots of parameters you can change, which allows you to apply just a little modification to your photo or a lot. And Fotosketcher is free (donations accepted, of course).

     This video shows Fotosketcher in action and gives you an idea of just how simple it is to use. (Press the "fullscreen" button to be able to see what's going on better.)



     To give you a closer look at the results Fotosketcher produces, here is a picture I took at the Summer Palace, just outside of Beijing.



     Here is same picture after running Fotosketcher's "color pencil" option.



     Here is what the "watercolor" option produces.



     And finally, here is an "oil painting" produced with Fotosketcher.



     In the first 2 examples, I just used the default values for the parameter settings. But in the "oil painting" example above, I boosted several of the settings above the default values (color and brushstrokes specifically). It seems like getting more "aggressive" with the settings produces a picture that looks less like a manipulated photograph and more like an original drawing/painting.

    If you've got that "creative urge" eating at you and a bunch of photos you don't know what to do with, give Fotosketcher a try. You'll be surprised how easily you can create a "masterpiece."

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Whatever Happened to Xiao Fu ? (from Big Bird in China)

     About 27 years ago, as China was beginning to open back up to a few visitors from the West, the famous Sesame Street character Big Bird and his humongous dog, Barkley, took a trip to several cities in China on an adventure that began in New York's Chinatown. Big Bird in China gave many Americans a glimpse into a country that had been hidden from us for many years. As he went from place to place, Big Bird and the friends he met showed us what living in China was like at that point in history. Those of us who have been lucky enough to visit over the last 5-10 years have witnessed just how much some of the places Big Bird visited have progressed since the 1980's.

     Big Bird's main Chinese friend on his adventure was a young girl named Xiao Fu. Many times, while watching the DVD with my daughters, I have wondered what became of the charming little girl who had played Xiao Fu. Recently, while looking at the Big Bird in China page on Amazon.com, I came upon the following message in the comments section :


     My Memories of Big Bird, March 2, 2006
          By Lisa Ou


     I am so delighted to see this movie finally in DVD. Feel very proud as I played the role Xiao Foo 24 years ago. Few interesting things I would like to share with people who love this movie: 


          - Xiao Foo didn't understand a single word of English when acting. I am local Chinese and do not start a second language until age of 9. All script was recited by memories. 
          - We filmed the movie in 3 cities: Beijing(the Great Wall, animal sculpture), Guilin(the Glass Chessboard, headless buffalo),Suzhou(the story teller). These are still the most beautiful tourist highlights of China. 
          - We had harsh time when filming the Great Wall, cause it was always packed with tourists. We eventually filmed it at 4:00am in the morning. 
          - China has changed a lot since then. We no longer dressed like the crowd in the movie. Major cities are well developed. 
          - Xiao Foo never acted in any movies after that. She grew up in Beijing, attended universities in Canada, now working for a top US investment bank in Hong Kong. 
          - Xiao Foo lost contact with Big Bird, Barkley and the Crew right after the movie. But to her, this movie is always the most precious memory.


     Now, whether this is really from Xiao Fu or not, we'll probably never know. But I think I'll choose to believe that it is, because I kind of like the "end of the story" that it provides.

    

An Interesting 20th Century Chinese History Lesson

     While traveling in China, we were constantly reminded what a vast amount of history that ancient country has. And for Americans, who feel like 1776 was a LONG time ago, talk of this dynasty and that emperor quickly became overwhelming.

     Once we returned home, we decided to try and learn as much as we could about the history of the country where our daughters were born. At least for the history of China in the 20th Century, many of the names were familiar, and we found a great set of DVD's that helped us put faces and events together with those names.

     CHINA - A Century of Revolution was originally a series on PBS that charted Chinese history from the fall of the last emperor in 1911 through the student protests at Tiananmen Square as the 20th Centruy was coming to a close. Now available as a set of 3 DVD's, CHINA - A Century of Revolution uses archival film footage and  contemporary interviews with folks who actually witnessed the events being described to create an amazingly detailed visual history of China during this tumultuous period.

     Yes, we still have many centuries of Chinese history to learn, but at least we have begun to understand the last 100 years. And if you are interested in seeing what China was like during this period,  CHINA - A Century of Revolution is a great place to start.

 

Saturday, August 08, 2009

Exploring China with Google Earth

     When we made our first trip to China in 2001, we were pretty much like most of the other families in our travel group....REALLY focused on the adoption that was going to happen soon / had just happened, and otherwise in a general "fog". We trusted our guides completely and would get on the bus when they told us, to go where they told us . And it worked pretty well. But when we got home and had a little time to think about it, I had some questions. Like...what parts of Beijing, Nanchang and Guangzhou had we actually been in? When we went from here to there, what direction had we actually been traveling? And what kind of places/things were we riding right by without even knowing about it?


     On our second trip in 2003 (Beijing, Changsha and Guangzhou), I tried to pay a little more attention to some of the touring details and that helped give us a little better sense of where we actually were. But what helped the even more was a program I found shortly after our return called Google Earth. By now, just about everyone online has heard about the program, and we're all used to seeing Google Earth maps used on the nightly news. Using it myself is a great way for me to see where we had been, how we got from place to place, and where places are in relation to other places. 


     Now, we've been home almost a year from our third trip (Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou) and I'm still "addicted" to exploring China using Google Earth. And this time, I even used the program (along with the Picasa photo organizing program - also from Google) to "geotag" the pictures we took on our trip. (A process I'll explain in a future posting.) 


     But what I still enjoy the most is finding a site in Google Earth's maps that I have taken a picture of. For example....here is a picture of the Hall for Good Harvests at the Temple of Heaven Park in Beijing that I took last September 




     and here is what that same Building looks like in Google Earth




    Here is a picture of the new Performing Arts Hall in Beijing (just west of Tiananmen Square)




     and here is the building photographed from "way up above". 




     Yes, I am a bit of a "geek" (in the best sense of the word :), but I REALLY get a kick out of making these connections. So...as we go along here in this blog, I'll be putting more pics like these up for all to see. I'll also be asking sometimes if anyone has the "coordinates" for a place I can't find or some other kind of help finding it. And if you have a place in China that you'd like to see in Google Earth, let me know and I'll see if I can help you, too!

Sunday, August 02, 2009

A Concise Summary of "All Things China"



     Eyewitness Books - China, by Poppy Sebag-Montefiore, is amazing for the large number of topics related to China that it covers. Admittedly, the various sections in this beautifully-illustrated book only discuss each topic in a fairly superficial way, but the level is just right for younger kids. And older kids and adults will find it useful as a starting point for learning about this ancient country. Each page is packed with color photos, drawings and charts, and the text descriptions are fairly up-to-date. (The book is Copyright 2007.)

     Just about every topic you could think of, describing the history, geography, culture and people of China, is briefly covered. (And MUCH more that doesn't easily fit into one of these categories.) The book also includes a CD of clipart and a large, full-color poster that summarizes some of the topics in the book.

     If you are looking for an in-depth discussion of a particular topic about China, this is NOT the book for you. But if you are looking for a beautiful, concise description of what life in China is like today and a few of the details of how that life came to be what it is, this inexpensive book is a great find.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Create Easy Slideshows / Music Videos with Animoto

     If you are like most of the adoptive parents we know, you've got LOTS of pictures sitting around on your computer just waiting for something "creative" to be done with them. Animoto is a web site that can take your pictures and turn them into something like this



    or this




     The whole process is VERY easy.You upload your pictures from your computer or Animoto can retrieve them from an online picture site (like Flickr) for you. (All the details of how many pictures to use, what formats and what sizes are all explained in the simple help files available on the Animoto site.)Next, you can choose your background song from Animoto's library of free music or upload your own MP3's (as long as you are the copyright owner of that music). Then, you press a button, Animoto analyzes your pictures and music, and in a few minutes your video is ready to be embedded on your blog or website (like we did here) or uploaded to a social networking site like Facebook.

     The creators of Animoto have worked in the film and video production industry and their software does all the work of creating the professional-looking transitions you see in your finished video. If you are not satisfied with the way your video looks, all you have to do is press the "Remix" button and a completely new video will be created (the old one will also be saved for you, "just in case"). It's THAT SIMPLE!

      You can make as many 30-second videos (like the ones above) as you want for free by simply signing up for an account. And if you want to make longer videos, you have two options. You can make a single "full-length" production for $3.00, or you can sign up for an "All Access Pass" that costs $30.00 per year and allows you to make as many full-length videos as you want. Full-length videos can be embedded like the short ones, but they can also be downloaded to your computer and then put on video sharing sites, like You Tube, or on an IPod or other personal media player.

     If you want a "DVD-quality" version of your video, the folks at Animoto can provide that for you, too. Because that level of resolution requires more time to render, there is a separate charge, but it is very reasonable. For $5.00, they will create the files you need and you can download them and burn them to a DVD. OR, if you don't want to go to that trouble, they will send your production on a DVD for $20.00.

     If you are looking for something totally original and completely easy to do with your digital pictures, give Animoto a visit today.

     (If you decide at some point that you would like to purchase an "All Access Pass" from Animoto, just click on one of the links in this post and you will receive a $5.00 discount !!)

A Return Visit, Very Nicely Documented


     China thinks we are too old to adopt again (and there are days when I would have to agree with them). But that doesn't mean that we will never return to the country where our daughters were born for a visit.

     Most of us who have adopted kids from China dream of one day taking them back to see and learn more  about their country. A new DVD from Tai-Kai Productions, called Found in China, tells the story of a group of adoptive parents and their 9-13 year-old daughters that made just such a visit.

     The first part of the story shows the young girls exploring the sights in a country they had not seen since they left as infants or toddlers. But this is much more than just a travelogue. Interviews with the young girls and their families help explain the feelings that they all experience as they tour.

     The second part of the tale is even more moving as some of the families visit the orphanages (and in a few cases even the "finding places") where the girls' adoption stories actually began. The emotions of all the people involved are evident. And once again, the interviews do an excellent job of letting the viewer into the thoughts of the girls and their parents.

     All in all, Found in China does a great job of presenting the range of feelings that families on a visit like this might experience. And that makes it a good resource for families who are considering "heritage tours" of their own and for adoptive parents who want to try and understand better what their kids have to come to grips with emotionally as they get a little older and start thinking about "where they came from."

Welcome to Our New Blog !

     My wife (Cathy) and I (Steve) have been blessed three times by the adoptions from China of our wonderful daughters Marissa, Jensyn and Natalie. The three trips we made to China left us with a strong desire to continue "exploring" the history, language and culture of that amazing country. In this blog, we hope to share  with you all of the interesting things we find in our "explorations." And we hope to use this as a place where we can discuss the various questions that arise as we raise our three adopted girls.

     We have no "roadmap" as we start out here. We just assume that topics of interest to us may also be interesting to other adoptive families. In the coming days, we will have much more to read and discuss here.

     Thanks for checking us out. We hope you will be back often.