We’ve made it to our next post, closer to the mountains, in the ancient town of Dali. It has been revived as a touristy place, but I plan to make the most of street photography, good weather and hopefully some excursions to the mountains. Our new home is a beautifully renovated section of a traditional hutong – two bedrooms and bath sectioned off with its own entrance to the courtyard. Lily is excited to be able to borrow the common kitchen finally to do a bit of our own cooking.
Heidi is having a rough day today – learning how to follow instruction and be consistent with schoolwork… something about vertical line spacing is tripping her up. That’s tonight’s lesson. I bought a Kindle for Kai (Heidi will get the iPad) and loaded it up with Gutenberg material. Good stuff. I’ve now started teaching Kai cursive and his journal is looking sharp already. Soon we can focus on *what* we’re writing! Practicing exploring the world of adjectives and trying to put some distance between the usual writing style of kids which is to simply state what happens (then, then, then).
Here are photos from our walk today. Playing a bit with monochrome. All the stores are equally spaced, with one lonely host. The brighter and cuter the interior, the sulkier and less welcoming the host.

Contrast. Dali, China

Vending machines compose the entire store. Dali, China

Lighting the alley. Dali, China

Dali, China
A beautiful voice drew attention… there was no one in the bar listening at all – she was just performing for herself. I took a picture from the street.

Singer at a bar. Dali, China

Tasting the goods. Dali, China

Training wheels. Dali, China

Joy riding. Dali, China
Walking the dog in China. Or at least whatever that thing is with the feathers for ears.

Walking the dog. Dali, China
Leave a reply