Christmas in the colonies 圣诞快乐

Here's hoping everyone is enjoying the holidays. The three of us spent our Yuletide in the historic town of Williamsburg, Virginia, soaking up the colonial atmosphere in the pouring rain, but at least avoiding the heavy snow that has been plaguing the Midwest and upper Northeast. After opening our presents on Christmas morning and following lunch at home, we drove the 2½ hours to Williamsburg, arriving on Tuesday evening and staying until this afternoon (Thursday). What follows is a brief photographic record of our journey back in time.

Arriving in Williamsburg in time for dinner, we went to the only place open Christmas evening - the buffet at the Peking Restaurant. The place was packed - my wife was impressed with the money-making acumen of her ethnic brethren. Rather than wait a half-hour for a seat, we ordered take-out and ate back in our hotel room.

The following day, Wednesday, we drove to the nearby visitors center, parked our car, picked up our tickets and took the shuttle into the Colonial Williamsburg historic district. For those of you who don't know, Williamsburg was the capital of Virginia from 1699 to 1780. The 301-acre (122 hectares) Historic Area preserves a number of original buildings, as well as some painstakingly crafted reproductions and restorations. In addition, the area serves as a living-history museum, where costumed reenactors provide detailed insights into life in the American colonies around the time of the American Revolution. Unfortunately for us, yesterday (Wednesday) was rainy from the morning until late in the afternoon, but at least the poor weather did keep the crowds away.

Here, an interpreter is explaining to Amber a game that was used by parents to teach their children about arithmetic (it was also a popular betting game in the taverns). My daughter took a liking to this activity, and played it at several places around the Historic Area.

The Governor's Palace, which we approached from the side. It's a reconstruction of the official residence of the Royal Governors of the Colony of Virginia.

The Governor's Palace was one of several buildings that required joining a tour, as opposed to wandering about on your own. If the above photo seems dark, it's because the building is without electricity, relying on candlelight just as in colonial times (the poor weather outside didn't help, either). Many of the tours had a theme, in this case what people would've been doing around Christmastime just before the start of the Revolution.

The Palace's kitchen was open for inspection, and a sample dinner was laid out for our visual pleasure, along with explanations on how the meals were prepared. 

The Governor's Palace from the front

The Wythe House, home of George Wythe, a law professor and Declaration of Independence signer, and a major influence on Thomas Jefferson. This is his study.

A couple of reenactors demonstrate how baskets were weaved, while a cat enjoys the warmth of the fireplace.

Following lunch in Merchants Square, a modern shopping plaza adjacent to the Historic Area, we walked over the museum complex, consisting of the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. The museums were fronted by the reconstructed Public Hospital of 1773, which had displays on how the mentally ill were "treated" back then.

The museum exhibits contained everything from clothing and firearms to musical instruments and portraits. Amber especially liked the coin collection.

Not everything on display was related to the colonial period. One room featured the works of Steve Harley, a largely unknown landscape artist (he doesn't even have a Wikipedia entry) who traveled through the Pacific Northwest in the late 1920's. South End of Hood River Valley dates from 1927.

Amber and Pamela stand outside the Public Hospital. The rain had made the ground everywhere quite sodden, and our feet were pretty wet by the end of the day.

As we walked over to the Powell House at the far eastern edge of the Historic Area, the rain really started coming down, along with thunder and lightning. The dark but warm (thanks to the fireplaces) Powell House was a welcome retreat from the elements. This woman showed my daughter how to attach cloves to the outside of oranges, which served both as decorations and gifts at a time when oranges were expensive imports.

The main reason we battled the elements to get to the Powell House was to complete a quest that had been given to Amber. She had to visit five specified locations on a map she was provided, upon which she received the pin you can see in the photo above. She was quite proud of herself for having done so.

It's always darkest before the dawn. When we stepped out of the Powell House (above), the rain had stopped, and blue skies could be seen in the distance. The weather remained that way for the rest of the day (and evening). 

The last place of note we visited on Boxing Day was the Capitol, which housed the Virginian colonial legislature. This building is a reconstruction.

Looking down on Duke of Gloucester Street from the Capitol. The small number of visitors would be in stark contrast to the crowds that were there today (Thursday).

The last thing we saw in Williamsburg yesterday was a procession down Duke of Gloucester Street by this Fife and Drum Corps.

From Colonial Williamsburg, we returned to the 21st century by driving over to Busch Gardens, admission to which was included on our special "Christmas Bounce" tickets. Though most of the rides were shut down at this time of year, the park was lit up at night. Amber enjoyed seeing a Sesame Street song-and-dance show and riding on a train, but for her, the highlight was sitting on Santa's lap and thanking him for the toy dog he gave her the day before. My thanks go out to the old gentleman playing Kris Kringle for being believable enough in the eyes of a young girl who thought she was in the presence of the real Father Christmas.

The next day (today/Thursday) was sunny, though ironically colder than it was the day before (yesterday/Wednesday). As our tickets were good for three days, we paid another visit to Colonial Williamsburg. Here, Amber poses in front of some coopers, makers of "barrels and other staved vessels".

At the Cabinetmaker's, my daughter tried her hand at playing a harpsichord. 

Horse-pulled carriages were out in force today, taking advantage of the break in the weather

At Charlton's Coffeehouse, we got to try coffee and chocolate. Colonial-style chocolate was served in liquid form, which Amber quickly learned to appreciate.

The contrast in weather is clearly (pun intended) evident in this picture taken on Duke of Gloucester Street, looking east toward the Capitol.

Lunch was had at the King's Arms Tavern. I dined on a plate of Southern-style fried chicken and ham, washed down with a local ale.

I picked up a few tips on what to do the next time my daughter misbehaves

The Courthouse. The crowd outside was lining up to go inside to see a reenactment of an 18th-century trial.

Looking at the original Bruton Parish Church (1674) from the Colonial Garden. For years, my wife has pestered me to take her to a church service in the U.S. Yesterday when we went inside this church, we had the opportunity to sit in on a ten-minute prayer service. So naturally Pamela demurred, and we left instead to go and have lunch.

And that was how we spent Christmas. Amber is off from school until next week, while I have a couple of days of "self-study" 自习 at FSI before classes resume after New Year's. The three of us enjoyed our visit to Williamsburg, especially Amber, who was fascinated by so many different things there. Sure, it's a commercialized (Colonial Williamsburg is run by a private corporation) and sanitized presentation of life in the American colonies in the latter half of the 18th century, and more attention could have been (and should be) focused on the hardships of the lives led by the slaves. But in my case, I know far more about life in old Japan than I do that in my own country, so I enjoyed the experiences of these past couple of days just as much as my daughter.

Happy Holidays!

You're just going to have to take my word for it...

Man, it was cold today. Not in terms of temperature, which reached a high of 43°F (6°C) this partly sunny, partly cloudy afternoon. No, I'm talking wind chill - the wind was strong, and it was biting. The windbreaker and hiking gloves I'm wearing in the picture above afforded very little protection against the chill, but Amber and I soldiered on nonetheless, making our way along Ohio Drive SW in East Potomac Park, admiring the choppy Potomac River and watching the endless procession of planes landing and taking off at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport across the water from us. 

The wind gusts kept my daughter off-balance at times, while my frozen fingers made it difficult to manipulate the camera, which explains why this shot was the best I could do (that's the Air Force Memorial at the bottom right of the photo).

The two of us eventually rounded Hains Point, where the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers meet. Amber struck a pose with the National War College and Fort Lesley J. McNair in the background.

A closer view of the ornate National War College building. It was this point that my Nikon ニコン announced "That's all for today, folks!" and turned itself off. Seems I had exhausted the battery with this shot, and had neglected to bring along the fully-charged spare, which was keeping itself warm in the drawer of my bedside table back in Virginia. 

Which means that you're just going to have to take my word for it that the two of continued walking, making our way along the Washington Channel. We eventually came to the Tidal Basin, and then the Jefferson Memorial. Believe when I say that we went inside to see the statue of the 3rd president, and to read some of his noble words, and furthermore that afterward we went down to the lower level, where I bought a book about Jefferson for Amber. I'm not stretching the truth, either, when I write that we stopped off at the George Mason Memorial before finally ending up back at the parking lot that was the starting point for today's walk. And I swear that we really did walk 4½ miles (7.2 kilometers), fighting the cold and wind the entire way, but enjoying the beautiful views nonetheless.

At some point before our alleged departure for Shanghai 上海 in April, I'll come back and resume the part of the walk from where my camera's battery gave up the fight. I'll take more pictures of the National War College, of the beautiful buildings of Fort McNair's General's Row, of the scenic Washington Channel and Tidal Basin, and, of course, of the Jefferson Memorial. 

And maybe I'll even dress better for the weather.

The Perils of Pǔ​tōng​huà

http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/11965.html

That isn't me in the photograph above, but it might as well be. Apparently I'm not making sufficient enough progress in Mandarin Chinese 普通话, and so, instead of leaving for Shanghai 上海 in early February as originally planned, we're going to be here in Washington until mid-April. 

Mandarin and I have had a long, mutually antagonistic relationship. In spite of having lived for years in Taiwan, taking Chinese lessons first at language schools such as TLI and now at the Foreign Service Institute in Arlington, Virginia and, most inexplicably, being married to a native speaker of the language (not to mention having a daughter who is also proficient in Mandarin), I still struggle to understand what people are saying and fumble what should be easy sentence formulations. I could blame it on the humiliations handed out by certain less-than-kind Taiwanese (like the young woman at the tea stand who was literally rolling on the floor laughing at my efforts to order an 一杯奶茶不要冰快), but let's face it, I have no one to blame but myself. 

My hang-ups are numerous, but it mainly boils down to the fact that I don't really like to talk for fear of making mistakes and looking foolish in front of others. Which means, of course, that I don't learn what I need to know and thus end up making mistakes and looking foolish in front of others when I do have to speak Chinese. I also tend to freeze up during evaluations and tests. Though I'm far from fluent in Japanese, while I was living in that country I could see doctors and discuss tax and insurance matters at city hall, all in the medium of 日本語. And those few of you who read this blog semi-regularly know that I frequently travel solo in Japan, relying on the local lingo for almost everything while getting around. And yet when I was tested in Japanese at FSI, my score wasn't high enough to get off of language probation. I was told that even though I demonstrated comprehension and speaking skills, my answers were "too short". Reticence, thy name is me.

On the bright side, now that our timeline has been pushed back, a lot of deadline-generated pressure has been temporarily lifted. And, of course, I now have more time to learn what needs to be learned in order to get out of here and on our way to Shanghai. 加油!

A view I'll be seeing more of until next spring

Not Watkins Glen

Definitely one for the younger set today. I went with my daughter to Watkins Regional Park in Largo, Maryland, a family-friendly park of carousels, miniature golf and a small-gauge train ride. Only seeing as it's now mid-December, all of these attractions were shut down for the season. Not to worry, though, for there were still some pleasant hiking trails and some live animals to make the outing an enjoyable one for Amber.

Amber outside the nature center. Inside were several live animals, including owls, snakes and turtles, while some cages outdoors held birds of prey such as hawks, owls and turkey vultures that were being rehabilitated in preparation for being returned to the wild.

In my not-so-humble opinion, this is the best time of the year for taking walks in the woods. The lack of leaves on the trees makes it possible to see relatively deep into the forest.

The trail we walked on took us through an area of wetlands. In addition to these ducks, we saw (and heard) a woodpecker.

The Wetland Trail eventually took us back to the parking lot in front of the nature center. Seasonal lights were set up alongside the road, making it fairly apparent that Watkins Regional Park would be make for a nice drive through once it gets dark.

The Chesapeake Carousel, currently in hibernation for winter, dates from the early 1900's. Both it and the small-gauge train ride merit another visit some day, some spring or summer season. Not to worry this day, though, for the Old Maryland Farm was still open.

Chickens, llamas and peafowl, oh my! Amber enjoyed seeing these and other animals on display at the farm. Having dad buy a bottle of bubble blowing liquid also helped to end the day on a high note.

Paying respects

Guess I'm getting old. I had the chance this evening to go to a dingy dive in D.C.'s Dupont Circle to bid farewell to one of my A-100 classmates. In years past, I would have leapt at the chance to enjoy the nightlife. Today, however, I was so worn out after spending the day with the family that I just didn't have the energy to get on the Metro and ride into the city tonight. So my apologies, Strader, and have a safe trip to Guangzhou 广州.

The cause of my exhaustion was a most satisfying visit this afternoon to Arlington National Cemetery. Spread out on 624 acres (253 hectares), the cemetery contains the graves of over 300,000 soldiers and their dependents. Leaving the convenient Metro station, we headed toward the grave of John F. Kennedy:

The 35th President lies next to his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was buried here upon her death in 1994. Behind them is the eternal flame.

Two of their children are also lying here. Next to JFK is their son, Patrick, who died just two days after he was born in August 1963 (and only three months before his father's death). On Jackie's side is the grave of an unnamed daughter, who was born stillborn in 1956.

The view looking towards Washington from the Kennedy family plot is an impressive one. On the walls are extracts from JFK's famous inaugural address.

Nearby is the simple grave of Robert F. Kennedy. The equally plain graves of the other Kennedy brothers, Edward and Joseph, Jr. are also close by.

Next, we walked over to the Tomb of the Unknowns, aka the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier:

Under the big marble sarcophagus lies an unknown soldier from the First World War. Unknowns from World War II and the Korean War lie beneath the white slabs on the ground on the left and right, respectively. The slab in the middle used to contain the remains of a soldier from the Vietnam War, but were removed when he was later identified.

We just missed the hourly Changing of the Guard ceremony, but we did watch the Tomb Guard going through his paces. From the Wikipedia entry:

1. The soldier walks 21 steps across the Tomb. This alludes to the twenty-one gun salute, which is the highest honor given to any military or foreign dignitary in America. His weapon is always on the shoulder opposite the Tomb (i.e., on the side of the gallery watching the ritual).
2. On the 21st step, the soldier turns and faces the Tomb for 21 seconds.
3. The soldier then turns to face the other way across the Tomb and changes his weapon to the outside shoulder.
4. After 21 seconds, the first step is repeated.

 Here's a brief video of part of the ritual:

Behind the Tomb of the Unknowns is the Memorial Amphitheater, where special remembrance services are held on Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

On the left is a memorial to the astronauts who died in the 1986 Challenger disaster; in the middle a memorial to the failed 1980 Iran rescue mission; and on the right the memorial to another space shuttle disaster, that of Columbia in 2003.

The poem High Flight is inscribed on the back of the Challenger marker

"Remember the Maine!" The mast of the USS Maine, which mysteriously exploded and sank in Havana harbor in 1898, leading to the Spanish-American War and the emergence of the United States as a colonial power.

From the area around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we headed back toward the Kennedy graves, to see Arlington House:

The walk en route led past numerous headstones and views of the Pentagon in the background.

The vista in front of Robert E. Lee's home was even more impressive than that fronting the Kennedy family graves. Fittingly framing the scene is the grave of Pierre Charles L'Enfant, the architect and civil engineer who designed Washington, D.C.

Close-up shots of the Lincoln Memorial and the Jefferson Memorial

The parlor room of Arlington House, with some of the original furnishings. The federal government in essence confiscated the estate after Lee resigned from the U.S. Army to take command of Confederate forces following Virginia's secession in 1861. The grounds starting serving as a cemetery for Union dead in 1864, the origins of the present-day Arlington National Cemetery.

Another look at the view. Airplanes were constantly flying overhead on their way to landing at nearby Reagan National Airport.

Amber poses on the steps of the Arlington House

Looking back up at Arlington House as we made our way downhill to the exit. The flag is flying at half-mast in honor of the victims of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting, another sad example of certain elements in this society's warped interpretations of the Second Amendment.

Amber checks out a model of the funeral cortege for JFK, at the visitor center