Welcoming Mrs Rover to China!

About 40 years ago, Mrs Rover and I began dating. Now, after 34+ years of marriage, she has joined me in China for one more in a long series of honeymoons. I'm happy to report that absence DOES make the heart grow fonder  8^)

My students and graduate students welcomed her by planning a party for our apartment/garden with about 70 people. A small group came early to make dumplings:

Each student had their own style, taught them by a grandma or mother:

Once the party began, outside in the garden students took turns at cell-phone karaoke (several of them have wonderful singing voices):

At party's end, a group stayed on outside and cleaned the grounds while inside another group stayed to swamp out the apartment (and finish off the beer):

Southwest University makes sports an important part of students' lives. Last week, the pre-graduate minority students held a 2-day intermural basketball competition with co-ed teams. My students, of course, welcomed us at the event:

The intramural events were a build-up to campus-wide sports competitions. We attended the opening ceremony, which included drill team-type entertainment from students representing the various programs on campus. The morning rain and 30-minute delay did not deter the students who packed the stadium (luckily, we got VIP seats under the sheltered side):

The opening began with students emulating the Red Army:

And then a Greek Olympic style torch lighting:

And some "demonstration" games including GungFu, trick bikes, and footraces:

Many of the drill teams drew on classical Chinese culture:

But others were an eclectic mix of popular and Western cultural themes, such as the Me Tarzan, You Jane group:

And a very creative group (Econ students) where the gold-and-green capitalists did battle with the red communist pirates (this group won the Grand Award):

The forestry students demonstrated sandbagging techniques to control flooding rivers, and pole elevating techniques with their fellow students:

My guest lecture about traditional archery in America was a great success--we packed the small lecture hall with more than 60 folks, standing room only. Before the lecture, Mr. Qinyang (a bowyer from Chongqing) demonstrated traditional Chinese archery out on the sport field:

After the lecture, Mr. Qinyang (2nd from left), EcoRover, and Wushu Professor Chen Baoqing (on right; aka "Martial Chen") talked with the audience about traditional archery, it's connection with spiritual/meditative practices, and comparisons East/West:

Two young women studying to be translators did an excellent job in helping the audience better understand my lecture. A few days after the lecture, we treated them to dinner:

Mrs Rover and I go on a walk around campus most days, and I continue to find and appreciate new statuary:

And new landscaping marvels, such as these palm maples (Acer palmatum). In the U.S., they are often called simply "Japanese maples," but I learned they are native to China, have been cultivated for gardens for centuries, and are extremely diverse in variety--including these dwarf specimens:

More fun stuff this weekend--including a BBQ on the banks of the JiaLing River and a traditional Chinese wedding. Stay tuned!