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| 23.2.06
Two days in a row! I'm on a roll! Thanks for your tips...which I'll try now.
I used frequent flyer miles and took Singapore Airlines down to New Zealand and Australia over the Christmas break. I flew into Auckland and there met with Jonathan Wallis (95) and his wife Katie.
As I'd been to Auckland before, I didn't need to do the touristy stuff--but we did go up in the Sky Tower in the heart of the city. It's the tallest man-made structure in the southern hemisphere.
We went up to the top viewing deck. It was quite unnerving because parts of the floor were made of plexi-glass. Even though eveyone said it was as strong as concrete, it made me nervous to walk on it. I gingerly kept my feet to the edge.
From Auckland, I flew down to Christchurch on Air New Zealand. There Chong Ho (98) and his girlfriend Annie met me.
We took a tour of the city, visitng the square where the famous "church" was:
 (That's my finger that looks like a moon at the top of the photo!)
I hired a car, and for the next five days, I drove all over the south island, staying at backpacker hotels. There were few cars on the road--but I did encounter a "traffic jam" New Zealand style:
My first stop was Lake Tekapo--an incredibly beautiful place! Here are a couple of photos:
I've never seen water that colour.
Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak, reflected in a glacier-made lake.
Well, it looks like I've used my quota of photos for this month. I'll download some more after the 1st!
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| 21.2.06
Well, it's been a loooong time since I've posted anything here. I have all these good intentions, but I never seem to get around to doing anything....like I want to tell everyone all about my trip to New Zealand/Australia and all the Dalat people I visited there...but I want to learn how to post photos...and that's kept me from doing anything. Now I've been back for over a month and still haven't done anything. So It's 11:20 p.m. on a Wednesday night--and I have to be at school for professional development at 7:30 a.m. tomorrow and I'm contemplating whether I can learn Xanga photo inserts in half an hour...
So I might as well try. Here's a photo of me in Milford Sound, one of the most beautiful places in New Zealand--down in the "fiordland park":
Well, lo and behold if I didn't do it. It's kind of small though...I reduced it to "e-mail" size in iphoto. If anyone wants to e-mail me some tips on photo insertion using iphoto or Mac-friendly commands (I'm pretty hopeless on an IBM machine), all suggestions are welcome!
Good night!
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| 14.12.05
Hi Friends,
it's been a long time since I last wrote. Today is the next-to-last day of the first semester. I only have my journalism class to grade, and then I'm done with school for six weeks. I'm going to visit Dalat friends Down Under--in New Zealand and Australia. I fly on 21 Dec. to Auckland where Jon Wallis will meet me and give me a brief tour (I've been in Auckland before, so we're really just going to catch up on each other's lives). I fly down to Christchurch on the 22nd, and Chong Ho will meet me and be my tour guide for a day there. Then I've hired a car and will spend about a week driving around the south island, seeing the sights and just relaxing. I hope I don't freeze.
Then I'm flying to Melbourne to be with Stephan and Jenni Munyard and their ever-expanding family! There are other Dalat kids in the area, and I hope to see them, too. Then I fly up to Brisbane, and Eldon Lim will meet me. He lives a few blocks from Ryan Winchester (!)--so we're planning a big Thai meal together. I fly home on 9 January.
More later. Tommy | | |
| 3 November 2005
Hi Friends,
Sorry I've been so lax in posting. Someone sent me a link to a wonderful presentation "An Interview with God." You may enjoy it, too: An Interview with God
Today is a school holiday, Hari Raya, or the celebration at the end of the Ramadan fasting month. What a funny couple of weeks for me at Dalat! Last Wednesday I left with the high school band students on a bus bound for Bangkok. Fifteen hours later, we pulled into the Bangkok Guest Home after a rather restless night of being thrown about on the bumpy, pot-holed-filled motorway. (They asked me to go along as translator.) We took a temple tour, a river boat ride, and attended a snake show that first day. Friday, the band practiced almost the whole day (8-4) over at ISB for the concert on Saturday. Dalat's band joined four other expat/international schools from Bangkok in the festival. Each band performed one piece individually; the combined band of almost 180 students entertained its audience with five numbers.
Friday night we enjoyed a buffet dinner in a restaurant on top of the tallest building in the Thai capital (84 stories). Saturday after the performance, we hit the weekend market for a couple of hours before heading back to the "Pearl of the Orient" on the bumpy road. It was a great time.
This week we had regular school on Monday; Tuesday, however, the students enjoyed the Deepavali (Hindu festival of lights) holiday off as we teachers met to discuss curriculum. Wednesday was another day of school--and then we have today and tomorrow off. AND, next Wednesday, 9 November, is our annual track and field day. Lots of holidays in Malaysia.
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| 27 September 2005
PRAISE GOD from Whom all blessings flow! I just heard today that I have been approved another two-year extension on my work permit. It's not the permanent residency that I've been waiting for--but at least I have two more years to be able to live and work in this beautiful country. (Please keep praying about the PR.)
I just finished watching "West Wing" Season Five--and can't wait until season six comes out. I love that show--if only it were a Republican president!
The question of the week: Can Liverpool beat Chelsea at Anfield? Sure hope so!
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