Saturday: River Walk

We walked along the city's river on Saturday.

Luke

"Hmmm. How would he take it if I pushed him into the river right now?"

Ezra

These blue-necks came for the UK game.

Meghan:  "Who are these people?"

Hannah and friend:  What has obviously maintained mutual respect and cooperation between our two countries is the continual, spontaneous flashing of this sign.

Lydia

Meghan

Micah (Can't figure out what's under that grate.)

Hannah (after eating magic Chinese candy)

No one in China can tell us who this famous Chinese person is.

"Sure you wanna play that card now?  No take backs!"

Decided to go out for Chinese.

Walk with your head down a lot? Still can't escape the hounds of advertising!

Farm Trip Video

Took forever to upload this video, so you'd better watch it!  I think you'll find it's worth it.  HD quality of the farm trip the other day.  Amazing landscapes and local village flavor. For best view, click play button below, then double click the video while it's playing.

Friday Downtown and High School

What a great day!  The warm sun actually came out all day!  We placed ourselves at the cunning wits of Hannah and Meghan to get us around town.  It's like skiing; just hang onto the rope and trust that the person driving the boat knows what they're doing and where they're dragging you to.

Below are pictures of the city, which included an extremely enjoyable trip to the city's most prestigious high school.  We got to teach them by hanging out at the basketball court and answering their gazillion questions. Good English; some bashful, many very inquisitive.  Amazing, vibrant kids.  I began to tell them my favorite story that most of us back home are familiar with.  They didn't seem to understand much, but some day some of them will.  Some day they'll remember us, how the words we said in English translate into their heart language, and the story will touch them.

This girl's English name is Mary.  She gave me a Chinese name, Xi Zu Long. The Long part means "dragon," which made me feel extra cool.

Old school desks and chairs piled outside.  Just like our kids, they scribble who knows what on them.

 

A Christmas merchandise shop.  I must tell you that it is very red.  To the Chinese, Christmas is an enigma wrapped in a mystery, but they kinda like it anyway.  Just like back home, it gives stores another angle for selling us stuff.

Below pics are from a local park.

 Above tower has some kind of dragon story behind it. Something about one being trapped in it to this very day! They're big on dragons in China, you know.

Meghan, Hannah, and David mixing with the local dignitaries.

Videos Early in the Trip

This is from around Duyun our first full day.

Tue - Thur Pictures

Most of these pictures are on the way to, while at, and while leaving the farm.

In China they call these "Chicken."  (or "Chickenses" plural)

From on top of a pond dam.

How do you know that cows have actually walked on top of a pond dam?  When you step on a patty.

First Full Day in China

Mon Dec 10- First Full Day 

Walk through downtown Duyun, where we're staying. Google map (It's also labeled under its prefecture, Qiannan).

Believe me, this water tastes a lot better than it looks!  The guy is shocking shrimp-like fish in the water with electric rods.  Can't wait to try this at home.

Hmmm. Three rods in the water.  Sir, I'll need to see your license.

---

The above is a picture of "Dog Street."  No, those are not dogs riding the motorcycle.

Some kind of nuts.  (For sale . . . not the man.)

---

Beef is not eaten much in this country, so we bought all this for tonight's supper while we could.

---

Wes teaching her some English.  "Po - TAY - toe!"

Freshly made noodles.

Brain Bouncers

Click and watch video above. Script below has links for further reading.

You've got a busy brain. There's a lot of thinking to do. And there's a bunch of multi-multi-multi-tasking that's buzzing around in that complex brain of yours. No time or energy for unwanted distractions. When they come, just call security! That's what the blood-brain barrier is about.

I'm not exactly a night life kind of guy. But we're all familiar with how a bouncer will stand with intimidation at the back entrance of a hot, happening nightclub and carefully scrutinize who will be among the chosen few from the large crowd of anxious nightlifers. The lucky ones will be allowed to enter because their names are on the list, or they're good looking, dressed really hot, or in some way look cool enough that their presence inside the club will boost its reputation as the hangout of all the beautiful people. Despite the way it seems on the surface, we all know the bouncer doesn't do this arbitrarily. He really has to be selective. And if you're ever left standing outside, your only option is to go get some lessons in being cool.

But we really can't blame the bouncer or the nightclub owner, can we? After all, the glad happenings and atmosphere inside the club are of primary importance for it to stay in business. If the bouncer lets in just any loser, the success of the club is at stake, because its inner environment would be compromised. Nobody has the gumption to try and squeeze past a big nightclub bouncer.

What does this have to do with your brain? You should be glad that there are tiny particles and even life forms that can't get past the well-designed band of thugs in your brain. If they did sneak into the active, "happening" disco that is your central nervous system, your party could be over.

The inner layer of most of your body's blood vessels is call the endothelium. When pesky germs enter your bloodstream, your body can afford to let a lot of them penetrate through endothelial cells and enter into other tissue. Your body will just dispatch troubleshooters like antibodies and crime fighting cells to go snuff out those invaders. Yes, your body can afford to stay busy 24-7 killing off microscopic pathogens with relative ease and without you even being conscious of it. But of course a virus or two does slip through the immune system every once in a while (Ah-choo!).

The immune system usually works great for most of your body, but when it comes to that most complex machine in the whole universe, that brain of yours, special security forces must stand their ground. What would be the repercussions if the endothelial blood vessel cells in your brain allowed germs and bacteria to sneak through like they do in the rest of your body? Well, such unwanted guests would certainly disrupt the complex disco dancing of neural activity that must never stop in your brain. And what if you had to put up with the cops constantly barging in to arrest them? That would be doubly bad for business, wouldn't it?

The business of the brain just isn't the same as other organs; there's just too much at stake for your life. So the special endothelial cells near your brain act like a tightened up bunch of bouncers. Inside a healthy head, these bad dudes are crammed so close together that only the party goers on the list can get into the dance; only those who are really wanted and needed to keep the party hoppin' at the right level. So bacteria and viruses are too big and ugly to squeeze through, but welcome guests whom the brain really needs, like oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules and hormones are allowed to jump out of the back alley of your bloodstream and into the party inside the brain.

Isn't it great to have cool, connected friends who vouch for you so the bouncer lets you in? Business for the brain will literally die overnight without admitting glucose molecules into the club. No problem. Glucose has special connections with certain proteins who know their way around the bouncers, escorting them right in.

So the nightclub owner hires a barrier of bouncers to keep out unwanted party crashers. And the intelligent designer of your life has set up a blood-brain barrier to keep your central nervous system free from unwanted pathogens. This leaves the energy in our brains free to impress the world with wonderful deeds and think brilliant thoughts. Well, duh, at least some of us.