Week 10: 6/5/05

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0 height="100%"><tr> <td valign="top" width=200 BGCOLOR="#FFCC80" TEXT="#080000" background="67cc8b83.jpg"> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id19.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Random Things to Make You Giggle"><B>Random Things to Make You Giggle</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id77.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Hong Kong Disneyland"><B>Hong Kong Disneyland</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Our Parkview Apartment"><B>Our Parkview Apartment</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id26.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 1: 4/3/05"><B>Week 1: 4/3/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id29.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 2: 4/10/05"><B>Week 2: 4/10/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id30.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 3: 4/17/05"><B>Week 3: 4/17/05</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id32.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 4: 4/24/05 "><B>Week 4: 4/24/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id33.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 5: 5/1/05 "><B>Week 5: 5/1/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 6: 5/8/05 "><B>Week 6: 5/8/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 7: 5/15/05 "><B>Week 7: 5/15/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id41.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 8: 5/22/05 "><B>Week 8: 5/22/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id42.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 9: 5/29/05 "><B>Week 9: 5/29/05 </B></A></div> <div> <B><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f00000cc00.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Week 10: 6/5/05 </B></div> <div> <A HREF="id51.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 11: 6/12/05 "><B>Week 11: 6/12/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id53.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 12: 6/19/05 "><B>Week 12: 6/19/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 13: 6/26/05 "><B>Week 13: 6/26/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 14: 7/3/05 "><B>Week 14: 7/3/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id60.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 15: 7/10/05 "><B>Week 15: 7/10/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 16: 7/17/05 "><B>Week 16: 7/17/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 17: 7/24/05 "><B>Week 17: 7/24/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 18: 7/31/05 "><B>Week 18: 7/31/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 19: 8/7/05 "><B>Week 19: 8/7/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 20: 8/14/05 "><B>Week 20: 8/14/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 21: 8/21/05 "><B>Week 21: 8/21/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id74.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 22: 8/28/05 "><B>Week 22: 8/28/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id76.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 23: 9/4/05 "><B>Week 23: 9/4/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id79.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 24: 9/11/05 "><B>Week 24: 9/11/05 </B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="id80.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Week 25: 9/18/05 "><B>Week 25: 9/18/05 </B></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Australian Sunrise" ><B>Welcome to Chase family planet!</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Australian Sunrise" > </FONT><FONT SIZE="1" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" >    |    </FONT> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Welcome to Chase family planet!">home</A></div> <div> <A HREF="id22.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Adventures in Asia">Adventures in Asia</A>   ·   <A HREF="id46.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Contact Us">Contact Us</A></div> <bR> <div> Week 10: 6/5/05 </div> <div> <B>Hello Dear Friends!</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Wondering where we've been?  We've been moving! No silly, we didn't move to a new house, just a new home page! The new site is up and running and although not dramatically different in appearance, it's quite better in it's performance. Read on for the new address...<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Date Night </B></div> <bR> <div> After a particularly grueling week for both Mike and I, we decided to book a babysitter and head out for a night on the town without the children. We headed up to Mong Kok, this crazy, busy place in Hong Kong known for it's outdoor markets that come alive after dark. We were specifically looking for three things, a belt for Mike, a lanyard for his cell phone, and a watch for me. We went to the "Ladies Market" which has a misleading name, since they don't actually sell <I>ladies</I> there (although unfortunately that can be found a few blocks over) and there are equal amounts of men and women both shopping and selling there. It's full of "soft goods" like clothing and cushions and decorative home items in varying scales of tackiness. The belt we found immediately and the lanyard for Mike's phone was pretty easy, too. He got one that has a built in earpiece and a microphone on the lanyard so it's totally hands-free. Of course, now Michael looks like one of those annoying guys you see in the grocery store in the U.S., looking like he's shouting at the grape jelly until you realize he's on the phone making the person on the other end of the line feel pretty much like grape jelly. </div> <bR> <div> As far as watches go, the sky is the limit as to what you can find here in Hong Kong. It's the knock-off capital of the world so whatever brand or model you are interested in can be found, in any price range you are willing to pay. The boys destroyed my old watch, a silver Mickey Mouse model I purchased on my second day working for the Disneyland Resort, ages and ages ago. I love watches, I adore them, and I even collect them, but I've only really ever worn two in particular regularly. While admiring all the cheap and colorful watches in the many, many open stalls in the Ladies Market, we kept getting approached by sketchy looking people whispering "Rolex?" who would skitter away quickly if you didn't respond. Mike and I looked at each other, and I shrugged, why not? The next stall we went into we looked at the watches on display, and when the lady asked if we were interested in a Rolex, we said, sure. She pulled out a well worn notebook full of color photographs. I found a women's silver model, and pointed to it, and the lady pulled out a tray of watches and gestured for us to come even further towards the back of her stall, almost into the alley. She pulled out two of the silver models, one with a silver face, one with a "rose gold" face that was a pale coppery pink. I left it up to Mike which color, and so we went with the "rose gold" one. Then the fun began... bargaining! Of course, the lady had already slipped the watch on my wrist at this point, and it looked pretty nice. It's obviously not a real Rolex as that tell-tale second hand isn't gliding around, but stopping each second on it's path around the face, but it had the right weight, it kept time, and didn't look too shabby. So she gives us a price, and Mike and I laughed. Then Mike gave her a price and she laughed. So I slipped the watch off my wrist and we made like we were leaving. She sighed and said that because of the rain, it had been a slow day and she told Mike to name another price. He did and she said okay. She adjusted the band and off we went. I had two thoughts battling for supremacy as we continued on down the market. "I'm a fraud! I'm wearing a fake!" followed quickly by "If wearing a <I>FAKE</I> Rolex feels this good, then I'm sure I could get used to wearing a <I>REAL</I> one!". When we got to the end of the street, we both felt famished so we entered the first restaurant we saw, which was pleasantly UN-childfriendly and we felt downright giddy at not having to worry if they had a child's menu or a high chair, having found that most restaurants here have neither. Our table overlooked the busy street, and our dinner was outstanding (Mike had a rib-eye steak and I had a sliced, grilled chicken breast with slices of mango layered into the chicken, drizzled with a sweet creamy sauce. Yum). We lingered until the last possible second and then mindful that the sitter was only booked until 11:00 p.m., we hurried home. I showed the sitter my new Rolex and watched her laugh and answered her question of how much we paid (about $30 U.S., which she assured was a pretty good price) and then sent her on her way. It was fun and we wish we could fit it into Mike's schedule more often!<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>TGIF</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> Every Friday night we go hang out at a friend's house and have a home cooked meal (by someone other than me! Yessss!) and socialize with other complete-sentence-speaking adults from all over the globe. There are people from Canada, South Africa, Cayman Islands, New Zealand, China, Vietnam, Spain, London, you name it. Mike met the hosts, the Braden family, last summer on a business trip and we emailed back and forth a bit in preparing for our move. The first time I met them was our second week here, and although we are far from the place we say we are "from" (California, U.S.A.), we have never felt so "at home". Do you remember a few years back there was a book and movie called "Waiting to Exhale"? We never saw the movie or read the book, but I love that phrase. It's strange how much of the time it does feel like we are holding our breath, trying to keep everything together, trying so hard to put our best foot forward... and then suddenly in the unlikeliest of places we've been able to totally exhale, let all the pretense go, and relax. For me, I guess that doesn't happen often enough to even be aware that we were holding our breath in the first place. Mike and I love these people, not just the Bradens but the entire group of people who descend on their home every Friday night, all here in Hong Kong for work or just a quick stopover before heading to other places in the world. Sometimes in the U.S. I'm reluctant to mention how often we move, since in most circles that just isn't "normal". Here, it's a way of life, something you can depend on. There is so much comfort in meeting people that are exactly like you, hanging up their stockings at Christmas on a different fireplace every year. There is this urgency to get to know one another, knowing that we are all here for only a short time and there isn't time to play coy or wait around for a year to make friends. It's funny how back in the U.S. that never occurs to us... We think our time with our current friends is never-ending and rarely go out of the way to meet new people since in our scarce free time it seems so much more enjoyable to hang out with the people that we already consider friends. I know it's going to be rough to return to California (if that's where we indeed return to) as four families that we consider to be great friends have either already moved out of state or will be moving before September rolls around. As frequent "new people in town" we know how hard it can be to constantly be making new friends! So let me just take a second to say thanks to all our friends who are following us vicariously all over the globe. Let me say it for the one thousandth time... I love the internet! It makes the world seem like a much smaller place!<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Lost at Sea</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> The USS Nimitz, currently the largest aircraft carrier in the world, came into port in Hong Kong. We heard of an opportunity to host the hardworking Marines and Sailors that live aboard the ship for six months at a time, and we enthusiastically jumped to have the chance to give back just the tiniest bit to these men and women who give so much for my country. Of course, after we'd signed up to do it, we had a couple of concerns, the biggest one being that these guys were signing up for a homecooked meal, and our normal "company" meals involve the use of a BBQ grill, large pieces of beef, and Mike's grilling expertise, of which, only the part about Mike can be found here in Hong Kong. And we felt that ordering pizza wasn't really the point of the whole "Host a Marine in Your Home for a Home Cooked Meal" event, don't you agree? So our friends Glen and Kristine Braden, who were also signed up to host two servicemen volunteered their home for us to also host our two servicemen. This ended up being ideal, as you could easily fit three of our apartment into one of theirs, and since they've lived here for five years, their home has a much more "homey" feel to it rather than our, well, hotel suite. So I made one of the three things I do really well (a yummy salad) and then did the other thing we do really well, which is buy drinks and chips, and we made our way over to the Braden's house to meet the four men from the USS Nimitz that we'd be hosting for the evening. The taxi ride to their house, which normally takes about 15 minutes, stretched to about 45 minutes, evidently due to some sort of football game that was going on. This is what the taxi driver told us anyway. He also told us a couple of other things, like how beautiful and pretty Benjamin was. He actually told us this so many times that I was afraid he was going to try and take him and sell him or something. He also told us he could take us to the greatest topless bar in Hong Kong. Mike and I looked at each other slightly confused. Did he just say he could take us to a topless bar? Did he not notice the two young children in the car with us? He told us he likes Americans since they don't get into fights when they get drunk, so he'd be happy to go drinking with us, unlike people from the UK or Australia. Considering the things that we drink (Coke and iced tea) are unlikely to get us or really <I>anyone</I> drunk, we are, I guess, ideal drinking partners if what you're looking for is someone who won't get into fights! We had to tell him several times that we weren't interested, and with one last "Your youngest son is so pretty! I like him!" he dropped us off at our destination, where we sprinted to the elevator, Benjamin tucked firmly in my arms! </div> <div> We found out we were going to have two Marines and two Sailors over for dinner, and along with Kristine and Glen and their two children, Mike and I and our two children, it made for a cozy group. When we asked what their specific jobs were, three of the four servicemen said they were "ordnance". I immediately pictured them all studying to be priests or ministers, working on getting "ordained" to become chaplains. This, of course, was incorrect, as they quickly pointed out that they work with the big guns, major weapons like missiles. Very different from handling a Bible! It was a great night, all of us so far away from our families, right along with these four men, also so far from home. Two of them were married with children that they left behind. One man told us his great grandma had died the day before and that his little girl would celebrate her tenth birthday in the coming week. These men were so grateful to spend the evening with us and thrilled in watching our boys and the Braden's children run around and be crazy. It made me feel so fortunate that even though Mike is generally only home long enough to put his head on his pillow after our boys have gone to bed, long gone before they wake in the morning, that at least we are in the same country! They commented on how large and spacious the Braden's home is, and I started telling them how small our home here is, that we live in a tiny hotel suite. I felt so ashamed when moments later they said they live on a bunk with a mattress, and a curtain for privacy. Later that night when we got home, it was amazing how our apartment seemed much bigger! </div> <bR> <div> My mom told me that when my dad was in the Army he was stationed in New York during one particularly frigid winter. Being far from his native sunny Southern California and far from his mom and dad left him lonely, especially during the holidays. He found out about a similar servicemen hosting program, and he was invited to a home for a huge Thanksgiving dinner, which was a wonderful day for him instead of being a cold and lonely day. This week in the newspaper there was a large color photo of a U.S. soldier kneeling in front of a bus, holding his nine year old son at arms length while the son's hands cover the tears streaming down his face. The soldier's face is in profile, and you can see the tears welled up and ready to spill, his upper lip curled down trying to stifle a sob as he says goodbye to his child. I cut it out and taped it to the wall above my desk, to remind me of the men and women in the U.S. Armed Services who sacrifice so much, so willingly. The men from the Nimitz only know they will be away from home for six months, they don't know where they will be going or how long each stop will be. As we prepare for our eighth move in nine years of marriage, not having any idea where we are going to be moving to next, I have to say I can empathize! I hope we'll have another opportunity to host more servicemen or women, as the U.S. Navy makes frequent stops here in Hong Kong.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> <B>Out on a LIM</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <bR> <div> On Sunday we were invited to lunch with Nathan's old classmate from the States, Natalie Lim, and her mom Elaine, dad James, and brother Michael. They decided to take us to a Shanghainese restaurant. There are four to six different types of regional Chinese cuisine (depending on who you ask and which guidebook you are reading!) and we've really only had "Cantonese" style dim sum and Hot Pot which we told you about before. So we were excited to try something new, especially with friends who have done it a time or two! We ate at a restaurant in Times Square that was owned by a friend of James' uncle. Evidently it's quite famous and known to be excellent. There were no signs in English, and the menu wasn't in English either, so without the Lim family, we never would have tried this out! The door was flanked with two giant terracotta warrior sculptures, and the whole place had bamboo frames of boats hanging from the ceiling which cast unique shadows on the dimly lit walls. Heads spun as our blond family made it's way through the place towards the back. We got to sit at a huge round table right next to the exhibition kitchen where long noodles were being made by hand. The kids thought this was great entertainment, and even to me it was pretty fascinating to watch. I have been warned that you DON'T want to see what goes on in a Chinese kitchen, but this was pretty tame compared to the horror stories I've been told. The food had a lot of dumplings that were filled with liquid. James made us all laugh as he showed us the right way to eat these. You put them in a spoon upside down, bite a small hole and then "Suck the soup!", a phrase we were all shouting as more and more dumplings were brought. We also got to sample some excellent Chinese tea, which left the sweetest aftertaste in the back of your throat. Nathan ate so much we thought he was going to explode. Benjamin fell asleep while eating, his forehead planted in the rice on his plate. </div> <bR> <div> After lunch we wandered the Times Square mall where I found a little store with the wooden Thomas the Tank Engine trains on sale. Ben is a train addict, have I mentioned? And our apartment has these metal waste bins which Ben loved to take his trains and drop them into since the magnets would stick to the bottom and the sides. I saw he "loved" to do it, as in past tense, because one day I wasn't diligent in making sure that I removed the trains from the trash can for the 15th time that day despite moving them to a location I thought he couldn't reach before housekeeping arrived. We had to rush out the door to get Nathan to school on time. It wasn't until much, much later when Ben asked for his trains that I realized that I didn't do one last check before we ran out the door. I called housekeeping, begging to dig through their dumpsters (or to have someone do it on my behalf), but was sadly informed that the trash from that morning had already left the property. I quickly gathered up all the trashcans in the house and called up my friend Edwin the housekeeping manager and handed them over. Now we only have two trashcans in the house, and both are in the kitchen, behind locked doors! If it was just Matchbox cars or really ANY other toy, I wouldn't have been so upset. But these wooden Thomas trains are at LEAST $15 a pop... more if it does something special or has a coal tender or something. So my darling train fanatic tossed about $200 worth of trains into the landfill here in Hong Kong, and there's no way to make an almost two year old understand that! So I picked up a couple of new trains for Ben's upcoming birthday and tried not to cry. Having someone come and change our sheets and empty our garbage every day can be heavenly, but also expensive!</div> <bR> <div> We miss you all, please take a minute to drop a quick line (seriously, you don't have to write a novel like I do every week!) and let us know how things are going!</div> <bR> <div> <B>Happy traveling!</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#00BF00" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <B>Heather, Michael, Nathan, and Benjamin Chase</B><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="2" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="771" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 398 WIDTH="376"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="398" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="376" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="2fc0e680.jpg" border=0 width="270" height="360" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> First Mate Nate</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 465 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="2fe680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <bR> <div> We went to the Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Park, which is a short walk down the hill from our home.  There you can rent paddleboats and feed the giant fish and the turtles.  We got there right when they opened, so the hungry fish and turtles trailed us where ever we went.  It was the absolute most fun you can have with kids for $15!</div> <bR> <bR> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="31640ab0.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="427" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The tiny trailing terrapin...</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 534 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="32268e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The view of our home from a paddle boat </div> <div> on Wong Nai Chung Reservoir</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="32068e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The view of the Reservoir from our home</div> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 308 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="302680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The mass of humanity in Mong Kok</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="314680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Another side of Mong Kok</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 324 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="324680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Feed the fake birds... tuppence a bag...</div> <bR> <bR> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="312680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The Star Ferry Pier from the Kowloon side,</div> <div> looking towards Hong Kong Island</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 481 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="30840ab0.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="427" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nathan made Hong Kong out of Legos.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="31a40ab0.jpg" border=0 width="320" height="427" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Too cute!   A park right on the harbor, </div> <div> about 15 feet from the water's edge.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 341 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="30a68ec0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="236" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> The USS Nimitz Aircraft Carrier</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="30c680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Hosting the U.S. Servicemen. Left to Right:</div> <div> Glen and Kristine, Ollie (Marine), Ed (Navy), Andy (Marine), Shannon (Navy), Michael, Heather, and Nathan.</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 324 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="30e68e10.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="225" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> A delicious home cooked meal and delightful </div> <div> company.  What could be better?</div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="310682e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="302" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Nathan with the servicemen</div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 325 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="328680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Natalie and Nathan eating Shanghainese food.</div> <div> You can see the kitchen behind them.</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="32a680e0.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="270" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> This is the exhibition kitchen where they were making noodles and dumplings by hand.  From this angle they look like we are in the drive through at In N Out...</div> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 535 WIDTH="376"><div> <IMG SRC="32568e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> If you get in the elevator and see these two monkeys hanging around, you should run away as fast as possible!</div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=CENTER><NOBR><bR> <div> <IMG SRC="32668e00.jpg" border=0 width="360" height="480" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> Come on Mom!  Hurry up or you'll be left behind!</div> <bR> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>