Finally!

http://chinatravelholidays.com/the-bund-shanghai/

Finally!

After three extensions (one due to knee surgery) and one failed exam, I finally, FINALLY, managed to do well enough on the end-of-term Mandarin Chinese exam to pass the course, get off of language probation and start preparing for the move to Shanghai 上海. More than two hours after getting the results, I'm still in a daze, and not just because I have flu-like symptoms and have been feeling pretty damn uncomfortable since yesterday evening. I'm finding it hard to come to grips with the passing score I was given, considering that I felt I did much worse this time compared to the exam I took a month ago. I can think of four possible explanations:

1.) In my delirium, I didn't realize just how amazingly fluent I've become in the Chinese language;

2.) My score this time illustrates just how subjective the whole testing process at the Foreign Service Institute really is;

3.) Word came down from the top to pass me and get me the hell out of FSI as quickly as possible, no matter how much I butcher Mandarin;

or 4.) The testers made a mistake, and it turns out I actually failed (this wouldn't the first time this happened to me; however, I will say no more about THAT...). I'm leaning toward this explanation, which is why, during the post-test feedback session when I was asked if I had any questions, I quickly replied "No", and got out of there and to the Chinese section as soon as possible, both to report the results and to get myself signed out of the program before someone changed their mind.

http://www.chinaodysseytours.com/shanghai/the-bund.html

Now that I'm done with language training (fingers crossed), I can finally recover from 学中文-induced burnout, and get on the process of packing up our things and having them all ready for when the movers get here next week. The plan calls for a couple of days in San Francisco, where I'll have consultations with the Department of Homeland Security, followed by a few days visiting family in the other, nicer Washington. Then, following a night's layover at Narita 成田 in Japan (Yay!), we should arrive in Shanghai just after the Fourth of July holiday (in the U.S., of course), where I should be fresh, eager and ready to get to work the following Monday after resting up over the weekend.

That's the plan. Now that I've laid it all out for the world to see, no doubt some unforeseen disaster is waiting in the wings, biding for the right time to make its presence known.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shanghai%E2%80%99s_old_city.JPG

All this calls for a celebration, but I feel like  大条 right now, so I'll try to go to bed again this evening. Hopefully, if I feel better tomorrow morning, I can do one last hike before the serious job of getting ready for the movers begins. Shanghai, apparently, is pretty flat and the walking options are limited. Oh, the sacrifices one must make in the service of their country...

In lieu of a celebratory feast, I offer you this apropos oldie:

Falls Church Five-O: Happy 生日/誕生日to me

Yesterday, Flag Day, was my birthday, and I might as well admit the truth: I've turned fifty years of age. I hope this means I've entered middle age, and that I'll live to a hundred and beyond, but only time will tell. For my birthday, I gifted myself earlier this week with a hearing aid. All those years I'd been complaining that I couldn't hear things clearly, only to be told I was making excuses, have now been determined to have been based in fact: the hearing in my left ear is so far below normal that it has finally warranted needing to use amplification. It goes quite nicely with the new pair of reading glasses I acquired a couple of months ago. There's nothing like aging gracefully.

To celebrate this gap day between my birthday (yesterday) and Father's Day (tomorrow), I treated myself to a hike. In recent weeks, I've been trying to build up my knee strength by upping the ante when it comes to weekend walking: a few weeks ago I returned to the trails on an "Easy" route, according to my AMC's Best Day Hikes in Washington, D.C. guide (Cosca Regional Park in Clinton, Maryland); the following week, it was an "Easy to Moderate" trail (Antietam National Battlefield); and last week I tackled a "Moderate" path at the Manassas National Battlefield Park. So this week I sought out a trail dubbed "Moderate to Difficult", which turned out to be Sugarloaf Mountain in Dickerson, Maryland. To be honest, though I was huffing and puffing during much of today's hike, especially near the end (the result of age, being out of shape and the ongoing recovery from knee surgery), Sugarloaf Mountain was hardly "difficult", at least not in the sense that Old Rag Mountain was. In fact, it was a very enjoyable four hours and 5.3 miles (8.5 kilometers) on a not-too-hot sunny (but shady) afternoon.

Starting out on the Green Trail, which led from the parking lot at Sugarloaf Mountain to the summit. I was a little leery at first - my hiking guide talked of a sharp ascent over granite rocks, and when I saw people climbing up the sides of a rocky outcropping using ropes, I wondered if I had made a mistake. It turned out they were learning how to properly scale rocks, and the path to the top (a short walk, as it turned out) remained much like what is depicted in the above photo.

The view from the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain, 1282 feet (391 meters) above sea level. The view was actually very impressive - the pictures I took from the top didn't do the vista justice.

The view is presented in somewhat better fashion in this self-portrait

A couple of zoom views from the top. The waterway in the first picture is part of the Monocacy Aqueduct, constructed in the 1830's.

After checking out the view from the top, I soon made my way down to the Blue Trail, a circuit five miles (8 kilometers) in length that eventually made a loop back to the parking lot. The terrain was always changing, with plenty of ascents and descents, and some switchbacks. At times I was in dense forest, at other moments I was passing through small clearings. During the nearly four hours I was on the trail, I encountered quite a few people, yet there were long stretches when I had the mountain to myself. There were plenty of bees, birds, butterflies and lizards, but no deer, though I did see some tracks in the mud, and at one point heard the sound of a large animal running through the woods.

This old cairn stood on the 1019-foot (311 meters) summit of the mountain's northern ridge, and was a good spot to have lunch. From here, I made my way over to the White Rocks, an overlook offering a North View and a South View. First, the North View...

Two long-distance views...

A close-up zoom-in view...

Another self-portrait...

...and a video.

For the South View, I repeated the pattern:

From White Rocks, it was a long walk back to the parking lot. Though I was starting to get pretty tired by this point, my knee was holding up well, a very encouraging sign.

The last photo is the view through the trees from the parking lot. Next weekend, I'll try one of the "Difficult" hikes. Seeing as my last-chance Chinese exam is next Friday, it'll either be a celebratory walk or a scouting trip for a suicidal plunge over a steep cliff. In any event, I'm going to miss the scenic rural roads like those I drove along on my to and from Sugarloaf Mountain today.

Ain't no bull

In last week's episode, the Kaminoge family visited the Antietam National Battlefield, site of the bloodiest single day in American military history. This afternoon, your humble scribe made a solo sojourn to the Manassas National Battlefield Park, supposedly less than half-an-hour by car from Falls Church, except when traffic on Interstate 66 heading west is stop-and-go, which is was what is was like today around noon. Two major battles of the American Civil War were fought there, the First Battle of Bull Run (which was also the first major clash of the war) on July 21, 1861 and the Second Battle of Bull Run from August 28 to the 30, 1862. In both battles, the Union forces were soundly defeated.

Today's walk was longer than last week's, but the heat, while still warm, felt a lot less oppressive. Today, in fact, was supposed to have been rainy due to a tropical storm in the southern part of the U.S., but it actually turned out to be very sunny. I followed the First Manassas Trail on a 5.4 mile (8.7 kilometers) loop around the battlefield site. The length of the trail meant that I was alone for much of the time, and other than the cicadas (more on them, later) and the two times I had to cross US 29, it was a very peaceful trek. I would like definitely like to do more of these Civil War-related hikes/walks in the future.

A statue of the traitor defender of an immoral way of life hero of the Northern War of Aggression, Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. Jackson received his nickname during the First Battle of Bull Run, when the arrival of his brigade helped the Confederate forces turn the tide against their Union foes on Henry House Hill, where this statue stands. When the southern general Barnard Bee saw Jackson and his men arriving on the scene, he encouraged his troops by yelling "There is Jackson standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we will conquer. Rally behind the Virginians!". The First Manassas Trail starts out by going through the same woods that Jackson's men used to reach the battlefield.

Just before entering the woods, the trail passes by some cannons. The grass in the background has been left to grow high in order to recreate the sea of weeds that existed during the time of the battles.

Much has been made in the local media recently about Brood II, the larger-than-usual cluster of cicadas that burrow out of the ground after a 17-year existence, and make the above-sounding racket as the males seek mates. This was the soundtrack that accompanied me as I made my 3½-hour walk along the trail, and I noticed the cicadas sound different from those that I had grown accustomed to during summers in Japan and Taiwan.

It isn't the best of photos, but it was the only shot I could get of a deer standing at the opposite end of a large clearing. It ran away before I could get any closer. A few minutes later, I was checking out a cicada husk on the ground. As I looked up, I noticed a deer looking at me just a few feet away, but it fled before I could react. Later on, I came across a third deer walking along the trail ahead of me. I tried to get a picture, but the best I could do was to get a shot of its rear end, and not a particularly good one at that (the photo, I mean, and not the deer, which had a fine ass).

Cicadas are admittedly hideous-looking, but they're perfectly harmless...except when they land on exposed parts of the body and dig their claws in. I served as a landing site for several of the horny buggers during the course of my walk. In addition to cicadas, there were numerous butterflies and dragonflies out and about this afternoon.

The scenery along the First Manassas Trail frequently alternated between shaded woods and open clearings.

Crossing over Youngs Branch, a tributary of Bull Run. The stream probably looks just as it did when soldiers made their way through the woods 152 years ago.

Two shots of Stone Bridge, the site of fierce fighting during the first battle, where it was destroyed by Confederate forces. Union troops crossed here on a temporary structure while retreating at the end of the second battle. The current bridge dates from 1884.

Bull Run, which lent its name to the two battles fought in the area. They're also known as the "First (and Second) Battle(s) of Manassas".

It was along this part of the trail that I caught site of the third deer. These woods were also the scene of fierce clashes between opposing forces, and it wasn't hard to picture soldiers making their way between the trees while preparing to engage the enemy.

This self-portrait was taken in front of the Carter Cemetery. Several generations of Carters lie in the walled-off enclosure behind me, but there weren't any gravestones or other kinds of markers to indicate who was who, and where they were. I took this picture hoping ghostly images would appear around me, but once again the rational world has to suck the life out of the party.

The George Stovall Marker marks the spot where a young soldier from Georgia was shot and killed. His last words were "I am going to heaven."

All along the trail could be seen the holes from the cicadas that emerged after spending 17 years living underground.

One of a number of markers along the route containing descriptions of the fighting by those who were there.

The First Manassas Trail emerges from the woods at Matthew's Hill, and the remainder of the path going back to the visitor center passes through the wide open fields where much of the fighting took place in the opening stages of the first battle. In the far distance, you can make out Henry House and the visitor center.

It was a long walk back through the fields. After all those years living in Japan and Taiwan, I'd forgotten just how wide and open spaces in the United States can be at times. It's what I love most about this country.

Three photos of the Stone House, an original farmhouse/inn that was used by the Union Army as a place to treat the wounded during the first battle. The house somehow managed to survive the battle intact, and has been restored to how it looked circa 1861. On the second floor could be seen the names of two wounded Union soldiers, which they carved into the floorboards while they were being treated. Eugene Geer later died due to complications from his wounds, but Charles Brehm ended up living to the ripe old age of 90. I don't know why I didn't get a picture of the carvings.

This building is a reconstruction of the Henry House. The original was badly shot up during the last stages of the battle. It was on Henry House Hill that the Union soldiers were pushed back by the Confederates, and began their disorganized, panicky retreat all the way back to Washington, D.C., along with the civilians who had come out to watch the fighting.

The grave of the house's matriarch, Judith Henry. The 85 year-old invalid was killed by a Union shell, which was meant for the Confederate snipers who were occupying her home. 

The last item of business before returning home to Falls Church was to check out the displays inside the visitor center. Soldiers on both sides of the First Battle of Bull Run were inexperienced and hopelessly naive, all believing that the war would be over quickly, with their side being the victorious one. What actually happened at the end of that day in July 1861 was that everyone realized that the war was going to be a long and difficult affair.

How illustrating

The second (and last) chance at passing my Mandarin Chinese exam is fast approaching - I've been studying even harder and more frequently, working on improving my still-poor listening and speaking skills. I've also sought counseling in an attempt to overcome the very real anxiety I'm feeling about a testing regimen designed not with people like me in mind. Still, everyone needs a break now and then, and this afternoon I paid a visit to my favorite of all the museums in Washington, D.C. - the National Museum of Asian Art, or to be more specific, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery. Today was the third time I've dropped by the Sackler and/or the Freer Gallery of Art, the two galleries that make up the museum. As someone who 对 Japanese art 感兴趣, I generally prefer to check out the Freer, which has one of the best such collections in the United States; the Sackler, meanwhile, is most noted for its "Arts of China" collection. However, the Sackler is currently running an exhibition entitled "Hand-Held: Gerhard Pulverer's Japanese Illustrated Books" through August 11. As a brochure describes it:

Woodblock-printed illustrated books became key sources of knowledge and entertainment in Japan during the Edo period 江戸時代 (1615-1868). Working with renowned artists and authors, enterprising publishers produced compact, inexpensive paperbound volumes that were sold and circulated throughout Japan. With beautiful, intriguing, and entertaining subjects, books brought reading of words and images to the masses, creating a communication revolution similar to electronic media today. Highlights from the Gerhard Pulverer Collection now in the Freer Gallery of Art, including rare private editions and bestsellers such as Hokusai's 葛飾北斎 "Manga" 漫画 sketchbooks, are shown together for the first time since the museum purchased the collection in 2007. 

I  couldn't have said it any better, which is why I didn't even try. Suffice it to say that the works currently displayed, while relatively small in number, were extremely interesting, while the well-written notations helped make it clear how advanced a society Japan was during the Edo period (the Tokugawa era 徳川時代 was a time when those arts that we think of as being so quintessentially Japanese flowered and prospered). In addition to the above-mentioned Hokusai sketches, I also enjoyed taking a gander at books illustrating classic novels such as The Tale of Genji 源氏物語; travel guides written during a time the shōgunate 幕府 restricted the movement of the majority of the common people; and, naturally, the four examples of erotic imagery known as shunga 春画, one of which illustrated what must have been one of the first examples of "tentacle porn" ever put to print, The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife 蛸と海女.

Unfortunately, I can't show you any of this, as photography wasn't permitted. Obviously, if you have any kind of interest in Japanese woodblock print illustrated books, you should stop by the Sackler Gallery to check out the exhibition.

As for the test - the odds of passing I put at 50/50 at best -, if I don't reach my goal, I suppose I can always place the blame for failing to do so on distractions like today's. 

These were the only photographs I was able to take inside the gallery before a security guard politely informed me that photography wasn't permitted. The above scroll (dating from the late 18th century) is entitled Women Airing Books and Clothes, and depicts several women doing just that, an annual autumn ritual known as mushiboshi 虫干し.

A nearby room had an impressive collection of statuary from South Asia, including these two works. There was also an exhibition called One Man's Search for Ancient China: the Paul Singer Collection. However, by this point in my studies, I'm pretty much sick and tired of anything Sino-related, so I gave this one only a cursory walk-through. Still, I would minding having an apartment like the one Singer lived in, which was stuffed with over 5000 objects collected over a seventy-year period. 

I don't think my wife would be too pleased, however.

Feeling buff

If you're an American Civil War buff, the area around Washington, D.C. is just for you. A number of major battles, most notably the two at Bull Run, are within an easy drive of our nation's capital, and even in our area, there are numerous historical markers that can be seen, explaining various skirmishes that occurred between Union and Confederate forces. Today, with the temperatures starting to climb and my knee rapidly on the mend, the three of us drove out into the beautiful countryside of central Maryland to visit the Antietam National Battlefield. The Battle of Antietam, fought on September 17, 1862, remains the single bloodiest day in the history of American warfare, with more than 22,000 Yankee and Rebel soldiers killed, wounded or missing. It was hard to believe that the peaceful and pleasant idyllic rural scenery we saw today on our nearly three-hour, 3.5 mile- (5.6 kilometers) walk was the site of so much carnage. 

Burnside Bridge, a pretty little bridge spanning Antietam Creek. It took Union forces three attempts and 500 casualties to wrest control of it from Confederate troops.

My daughter poses on the bridge. According to its Wikipedia entry, Burnside Bridge is one of the most-photographed bridges of the Civil War.

This tall Sycamore tree was probably just a sapling at the time of the battle. Northern soldiers attacked from this side of the bridge, where they were raked with fire from Southern guns and artillery on the opposite bank.

Another view, taken from the Union Advance Trail, a one-mile (1.6 kilometers) route that makes a loop from Union side of the bridge.

The Antietam National Battlefield area is dotted with numerous monuments. This one is dedicated to the 11th Connecticut Infantry, which suffered heavy casualties while participating in the attack on Burnside Bridge.

Seeing these folks enjoying the good life on the Antietam Creek made me wish that I'd brought along a pair of swimming trunks.

Amber and I alongside the banks of Antietam Creek. I'm easily drawn in by such idyllic scenes, which evoke images of what much of this country must've looked like in those days before the U.S. nearly tore itself apart during the Civil War.

The shaded path offered a welcome, cool respite from the day's heat. The temperature today was over 90°F (32°C).

The leaves of this plant left a reminder across the knuckles of my right hand that I should pay more attention to what I might brush up against while out on the trails. I'm still feeling the effects of the nettles this evening as I'm typing this.

Signs like this one were a constant presence, a reminder to walkers of the history of the ground upon which they trod.

Mother and daughter cross an exposed section of trail. My wife, being Taiwanese, appreciates a sunny afternoon in June about as much as a vampire would.

A corn field. Behind me was the spot where Union soldiers and artillery massed in preparation for their final attack on the Confederate positions. The Northern general McClellan failed to take advantage of his side's numerical superiority to deliver a knockout blow, and as a result, the Southern army was able to retreat to Virginia largely intact.

From the expression on my wife's face, it's obvious she relished the opportunity to go for a walk on a sunny day in an atmosphere soaked in historical significance.

The area behind me in this self-portrait was where the Confederates made their final attack, which was successful in saving the main rebel force from the Union assault.

An obelisk honoring the 16th Connecticut Infantry, and the 43 men of that unit who were killed in the battle.

Just after taking this picture of a small American flag on a gate, we saw the first of two deer crossing the battlefield.

Walking along Otto Lane. In the distance, you can see some monuments in the field, testament to what happened here 151 years ago.

These two artillery pieces mounted on a ridge mark the furthest point of advance of the Union forces during the battle.

The beauty of the rolling hills belie the blood that was shed on this very soil. I imagine the same dichotomy must be felt when walking through the battlefields of the First World War.