We're Engaged!

I'm sure the news has reached most everyone by now, but a blog post seems in order. This past Wednesday, Lindsey and I were out looking at Christmas lights (walking...still no car) among the bigger historical houses in East Duluth. As we were standing in front of a really big house, I went down on my knee in the snow and asked Lindz to marry me. She said yes, but the question seemed to put Lindz into a daze for the next hour or so. She just kept saying, "Oh My God", over and over. When we got home we called both of our parents and then e-mailed lots of people. We're both really excited and happy and can't wait for whatever comes next, which seems to be a lot of annoying planning if my boss is right.

We are both so excited for Christmas this year as well because it's going to be a never-ending holiday this year. We'll be spending a couple of days at Lindsey's parents place, meeting another gaggle of Lindsey's relatives, and then flying off to New York to spend a week with my family. It's going to be a great holiday. Merry Christmas Everybody!

Thanksgiving and Christmas Tree

Lindsey and I spent this years Thanksgiving out in Pike River...or Lindsey's parents place. It was a rather quiet affair, with only Lindsey's parents, her sister, and nephew Joey, but it was really nice. Becky cooked some great food for dinner and later in the weekend Paul cooked up some of the venison he nabbed this year. I also had a good time driving the Gator around (helping Paul haul wood into the house). Lets let the pictures speak for themselves...

A week ago, Amanda, of former Peace Corps Volunteer from our city in China fame, drove all the way from Chicago to come visit for the weekend. Lindsey forced us to go stand in the freezing cold to watch the Christmas City of the North Parade in Duluth, but it was fun. There was even a camel in the parade (picture didn't turn out)!

The chef and turkey cutter at work.

Its Lindsey and Joey. Joey's been a lot of fun lately, he's finally old enough to sit up, stick his tongue out, and eat blended peas, he's almost ready for college.

Here's the tree that Lindsey and I decided on for Christmas. It may only be November 25th...but we have a tree in our house!

Paul was quite excited about the prospect of having a picture of the Gator up on the website.

Lastly, here's the fully lighted tree. We only have about 20 ball ornaments on it so far, were still waiting on the box of goodies from NY to finish it off. We had a great weekend for Thanksgiving (great food Becky, thanks!) and we both can't wait to get to NY for Christmas, only one month away!

Halloween and Hunting Season

Halloween just passed us by and Lindsey and I didn't do too much. Yet, we still managed to carve pumpkins and watch The Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. We did have one trick-or-treater at the door but Lindsey got scared and ran to hide under the covers. "People don't just come and knock on your door when you live in the country". But, it was a pretty good Halloween.

This weekend is also the start of what I recently discovered is this states biggest holiday, Hunting Season. The three other guys at my office are all taking multiple days off to go stay at their "shacks" in the woods for extended weekends. They were also dumbfounded when I looked at them quizzically about the song, The Thirty Point Buck. A song about shack and hunting life. No, I had never heard the song, nor is it played multiple times on radio stations in Syracuse, NY I sadly informed them. Sometimes they think I'm from another planet, but it's pretty funny.

Joey wishing he had a sweet sexy beard...someday little guy, someday.

The famous Duluth lift bridge.

They looked sweeter with our headlamps in them...really (we forgot to buy candles).

Life in Duluth

I finished my first almost full week of work today (the first full week of work in my life) and it all went pretty well. I'm working with GIS software making maps and editing data for counties and towns, exactly what I wanted to find for this year. Upon coming home from work after my first day on Monday, I remarked to Lindsey that I can't believe people do this everyday. When is there time for anything besides work? I'm sure we'll both start getting used to a work schedule, but it's hard when you're used to a day of teaching for maybe 2 or 4 hours. I know, don't shed any tears for us, but America is one of the only countries where people actually work this much without leisure time.

Anyway, last weekend Lindsey and I went to a hockey game, went to dinner, and went walking along the lake. It really is a beautiful city and it sure is nice to be able to walk everywhere (thank god because we don't have a car yet). Then on Sunday we went to a Quaker meeting and it was incredibly interesting. We live about three doors down from a beautiful, small, old Tudor church that's been converted into a Friends Meeting House. Neither or us knew much about Quakers, but we wanted to go check it out. There were about 20 people at the Meeting and everyone was really friendly and earthy. Traditionally in the Meetings, you sit in pews that are arranged in a circle and everyone just sits quietly and reflects. When you want to speak, you stand up and say something and then sit down. In the Meeting we attended , everyone was given a rock and a quote. One person read the quote aloud that we were all holding, and then if you wanted to talk, you put your rock in the basket and spoke. It took about an hour for 20 or so people to say something and then the Meeting was concluded. It was very quiet, but people were open and friendly and never criticized what another person said. You had time to sit and reflect upon each person's interpretation or thoughts, it was very peaceful. Lindsey and I both really enjoyed it, it was fascinating to see and experience something so different from the services we have typically seen. We were surprised that there weren't more church members, but Quakers don't proselytize, and what average person really knows what Quakers are anyway?

This coming weekend, we'll be seeing Shelley and Derek. We're also planning on going to a square dance, we'll see if I remember any calls from all those years of college dances. The fun keeps on rolling! Also, we love having visitors, so anybody who ever wants to come out, you're all invited! We have an uncomfortable pullout couch that's ready to swing into action at a moments notice.

Here's a shot of the beach down near Canal Park

I've never seen wild black bunnies either, Lindsey was quite impressed

This is Jeff Green and I holding Niecie's kids, Eva and Phiya. My arms have been continually sore from holding kids. I guess it's better to get a little more exercise than right clicking map layers all day.

Sorry!

Well crap it's been a long time. Finally, Lindsey and I have an internet connection (wireless through the house which I have just to decided to try and sell to the neighbors for $10/mo.). So, we're moving on up. We have a fantastic little apartment in Duluth, MN, about three blocks from Lake Superior, six blocks from the grocery store, and we both have jobs as of this week. I had been playing house-husband for about a week and a half while Lindz went to work and I wandered the streets, rode the bus, and generally looked homeless while trying to find a job. I was starting to get nervous because I was applying at call centers and restaurants, not exactly my dream job. Yet, it all worked out. I found a job working at a small GIS (computer mapping) company, which is exactly what I wanted. All the guys in the office seem really nice and I'm just so lucky to have gotten what I wanted. So, things have been great here thus far. Duluth is actually a cool little city, it has great views, parks, two micro-breweries, jobs for us, and buses (we don't have a car yet).

Well, we still feel like we've just moved in and we're just trying to get used to everything. Finally, we're starting to figure out our little neighborhood and realize there are fun things to do in this country. So, tonight we're going to a hockey game, which I'm super excited for and we've also been to an open mic, farmers market, and a grocery store with regular food, oh, and you can go to really good restaurants here (in the USA). So, we'll try and keep this updated a little better now that we're not trying to use free dial-up.

Here's me celebrating my birthday on September 23rd. I got some pretty sweet stuff, including this world atlas and some Adidas Samba K's.

Lindsey and I tried to cook a Chinese dinner on one of our last night at the Aysta house, it turned out pretty good, but it sure didn't taste like the Chinese food we remember.

Here's a shot of our bedroom, it looks small here, but it's actually really big, with two huge closets.

Here's the kitchen table Mr. Aysta made for us (Lindsey and I stained it) and the living room straight ahead.

Here's the living room, it's quite large has nice high ceilings as well.

We finally had a chance to put up our Chinese scrolls and there's our sad little TV with rabbit ears (rocking 4 channels).


Here's the kitchen, nice and big with lots of storage space.

Minnesota Fun

Playing some Scrabble, I had a few sketchy words...but still didn't win.

Lindz, Joey, and Me and the cabin.

Shelly, Joey, Lindz, and Me outside of the cabin.

The new official end of cabin season activity, watermelon smashing

Ming Ne Soda...as the Chinese say....

Were in Minnesota right now and Lindsey just landed a job in Duluth! So...looks like we'll be here for the year. I'm still looking for work, but I'm sure things will work out with the box factory or Pizza Hut. We'll be updating more often when we get moved into our place and start to get life started again. Things have been great here, but it's hard not to have a placed to put your stuff.

On the way home.....

Joey in the chair we brought home from China for him!

Bri and I headed to the Cities for a wedding of my good Hamline buddy, Gentz.

Hanging with my long lost friends from college.....

My great friend Ryan...now hitched.....it was such a good time!

Hey We're in New York

Lindsey and I have had a busy past couple of weeks, from meeting all my friends and family, to going camping, to eating a lot of good food. Here are a bunch of pictures from the past weeks.

Here's Bri and I pretending to be pretentious with our first ever Cosmopolitans and Martinis at a very expensive restaurant in the Adirondacks.

Bri and his buddy Collin (a.ka. Cobra) spent a bit of time rocking out with their high school band and testing out the new Nintendo Guitar Hero game.

Bri and I were able to go on a few canoe trips and an overnight, which reminded me a lot of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in Minnesota.

This was the big welcome-back party, in which everyone decided to sport the cool skirts we bought for the guys and gals in Burma. This is Brian's family...his aunt Judy, me, Bri, his sister Caitlin, su madre, and paps.

I was also introduced to a favorite pastime of his buddies from high school: yard golf. Creating a course in your backyard and trying to beat each other. I managed to hit it across the fence once, but then I was struggling.

A day trip Bri, Collin, and I went to in the Adirondacks. We canoed, portaged, then hiked a smaller mountain all in a days work.

Brian loving the American brews.....and my first Yueng Ling beer.

Bri and his dad being cute.

Now, we're off to hit up Minnesota! We're excited to see you all soon! Tuesday we'll be rolling in! P.S. Tomorrow, I get to eat fresh LOBSTER!!!

The Baldy & Binzer Blog

Well, we're back in America and all is great. We flew back in on the 16th and had spent that day climbing the Great Wall and also flying for about 17 hours total, so that was a long one. Yet, coming into the Newark airport and sinking our teeth into a steak sandwich at a Steak Escape, was truly amazing. We were back in America. We're visiting my family in Chittenango, NY right now and then we'll be going up to the Adirondacks in a few weeks. After spending four weeks or so here, we'll head to Lindsey's hometown to visit her extended family.

So, with Lindsey and I back from China, my blog has come to an end. But, with every end comes a new beginning...and that beginning is the Baldy & Binzer Blog! Will they find jobs? Will they move to Alaska or possibly Belize? When will they go back to school? Check back in regularly to watch the adventures of Baldy & Binzer.

We're starting to look for jobs again, but still taking it slowly. We're still trying to adjust to the time zone change and get our stomaches back on track.

Here's all of our friends who came to show us off at the train station.

It started to rain at Tiananmen when we were there...stupid Beijing.

Here we are in the Forbidden City, this was probably the only building that wasn't under construction in preparation for the 2008 Olympics.

This was our last day, took a trip out to the Great Wall and then rushed off to the airport to fly out.

Our first meal back in the States! Steak Escape!

Goodbye Panzhihua

"Bye China!"

Well, it's finally here. Tonight is the last night in the apartment and town that Lindsey and I have called home for the past 3 and 2 years, respectively. We have most of our things packed up, have spent the past week running through a marathon of goodbye dinners and banquets, and still don't really feel like we're leaving yet. Our schedule has been so packed that we really haven't had the time to slow down and reflect or realize that we are leaving, but maybe that's for the better. We are both sad to be leaving this place, but it's certainly time to go. The one thing that we will miss the most are the people. The few people we could call friends were the beacons of light that kept up going, day in and day out. If it wasn't for them...and the Chinese BBQ with crushed peanuts, we probably wouldn't have made it a year.

We've spent a long time here and we are so excited to get back to America. Tomorrow afternoon at 3:50 we board the train to Chengdu for the last time. I always love the train rides, but it will be sad to say goodbye to our friends at the station and then slowly pull out of Panzhihua. After we arrive in Chengdu, Lindsey and I will have to say goodbye to our friend Hong Mei who is riding the train home for the summer. This will probably be the hardest goodbye for both of us. While Lindsey thinks she has made about 5 real friendships in China, I count Hong Mei as my only one. After this, we will go out for a dinner with my host family and say goodbye to them. They actually have a new volunteer living at their house right now, so it will be quite interesting to see what someone who just arrived in China is thinking so far.

After finishing all the Peace Corps paper work, Lindsey and I will be heading to Beijing to spend two quick days traveling around before we fly to New York. I'm not excited to go to Beijing yet, but I'm sure seeing The Great Wall and Tiananmen Square will be interesting. Yet, right now I just can't wait to be sitting in the backyard, with a cold glass of lemonade, hanging out with the family. I just want to be sitting around a small fire talking with the people I miss and love. I think driving a car will be pretty fun too.

Oh, Lindsey and I spent the past couple of days filming our town and friends, so if you want to see the past 2 and 3 years of our lives summarized in 1 and a half hours of video camera footage, your going to be made to watch it anyway.

Chinese Wedding!

We just celebrated our Chinese wedding the other night and here are a few of the pictures from the day, we'll post some more tomorow. The night was fun, stressful, and interesting, but more on that later. We took a ton of pictures and also had a 3 man crew filming us for a DVD the school will give to us later...more soon.

3 More Weeks!!!

Well, a lot has happened in the past couple of weeks. Greogory had his birthday, my classes have been finishing, Lindsey had her birthday (I bought flowers and Pringles on a severely limited budget), and then we went to Lijiang (the famous ancient city about 6 hours away by cab). Also, we just bought our plane tickets home!!! So, Lindsey and I will be landing in Syracuse on Monday, July 16th and we can't wait. Our daily ritual is sitting around dreaming up the different things we can't wait to eat. The end to all of this is within site and I think these last few weeks will go by pretty quickly. One Saturdau of this week, Lindsey and I have our Chinese wedding, which will be a great way to see everyone before we go.

Just last week I had 4 of my classes end. The majority of my classes are the non-major students whom you don't develop a real strong connection to because the majority of them don't really care about learning English. Yet, I had my last class with the sophomore group of English Business majors last week and it was actually a little hard to say thanks to them and say goodbye. I'll be seeing all of them around, but it was the last class. I just loved this class because all of them are such individual characters. They have also been really good students for the past two years, one of the only classes to get really excited and participate with some gusto. From loud-mouthed Pearl, to very flamboyant Boa, to shy and quiet Spring, I'll miss them all. I just hope that the majority of them can go on to find decent jobs somewhere in China. Leaving this school next year will be a real hard experience for the majority of them, I just pray it all works out.

Lindsey had her birthday last week and it was quite low key as all the birthdays have been this year, but we did have fun. We baked pizza, Amanda made angel food cake, which is Lindsey's favorite (mental note), and we sat around and drank wine. The next day, we took off for Lijiang for the last time, one of our favorite little places to relax in China. It's swarmed with Chinese tourists, but the weather is cool and crisp and the pizza is hot. So, we spent the weekend there and ate a lot of western food and did some shopping. The most entering part of the weekend occurred on our last night. When Chinese tourists see three foreigners together, they see the perfect backdrop to a photo. So, sitting and eating at a restaurant by an open window can be a little annoying as tour group after tour group flow by. At first, I took my umbrella and threw it open anytime someone was about to snap a picture, which was entertaining. Then, we made a little sign that said 'Photo, 5 Kuai' (the price was later dropped to 3). The sign was just a joke to discourage photos, and it did make a lot of people laugh. Yet, as the night wore on, groups of Chinese business men and a few Chinese couples started taking us up on the offer. At the peak of the business, Lindsey was walking through the crowd drawing in the most susceptible prey with her blond hair and I was barking out the deal in Chinese (three foreigners and you, only three kuai!). We ended up making about 90 kuai in half an hour...not too bad.

Awww...

Classic Chinese Man