My 厉害 Husband

As anyone who has studied language knows, some words do not easily translate back and forth between languages. Sometimes, though they have similar meanings, societal connotations do not carry the same weight. For instance, when Koreans translate translate "kimchi" they often refer to it as "fermented cabbage". Wow...that makes me want to try it...(note the sarcasm). In English, the word fermented makes us think of something that has gone rotten (except in cases of wine or other alcohols). In Korean, I believe they think of something that has aged or intensified in flavor. (By the way, though Kim Chi is not my favorite, I know many foreigners who greatly enjoy it.)

"厉害", pronounced "li hai", in Chinese is one of those words that just doesn't translate well. Literally, it means "fierce", but can carry many different connotations. Most favorably, it means someone who is clever beyond belief.

Right before Chinese New Year our school staff had a party to celebrate the new year, and a significant portion of the party was a show of entertaining acts for the rest of us to enjoy. My husband, ever the performer, shocked us all by telling us a story completely in Chinese! Even I did not know he could do something like this, and he kept the whole thing a secret until he walked on stage. The story was highly entertaining and contained a bunch of puns that make the Chinese laugh even if we foreigners don't quite understand them all.

If you listen closely to the Chinese people near the camera, you can hear them talking about how "li hai" he is--needless to say his Chinese teachers are bursting with pride-and so am I!

Hope you enjoy. Oh, and by the way, it comes with subtitles. :-)

And now for some pics...

From Philippines!

Sorry these have taken so long-I never can believe how long it takes to upload pictures onto the internet. If you have Facebook you may have already seen most of these, but there are a few more and a few variations. Hope you enjoy!

We have been safely back in Qingdao since Thursday after a few travel issues (and a lot of money!) :-), and today we started back at work. It's good to be home!

Philippines!

We are so incredibly excited to be spending our Chinese New Year in the Philippines! No more freezing weather, endless beaches and ocean, and yummy mango smoothies at every turn. Nathan is becoming scuba certified, and I am relaxing with nothing to do but read and lay in the sun. Ooh, and snorkeling.

Baby Greene is getting stronger, and often tickles me on both sides at the same time. She's getting less shy of people touching my belly, and has even performed for someone other than Nathan and me. It's really wonderful to have a break from work and just relax. I'm ending my second trimester now, so starting to feel the extra weight and a little more tired again, but over all still feeling good.

Well totally exhausted from an entire day on the boat and a couple good swims. Signing off for now. Pictures to come.