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Received a call Sunday Morning at around 1000 from Mr. Taunis. The Freshmen Class 2 was having a group activity for the Gap Guys and they wanted Sunee and I to attend. They had tried to contact us on Saturday but, of course, we were in Chengdu.
It took us about fifteen minutes to get ready and as we walked toward the West Gate, we met Mr. Taunis and Ms. Sophie who guided us the rest of the way.
The group was meeting at what was translated from the Chinese to mean "Farm House Fun." This was a local farm which the owners had converted to offer the public a place to visit, relax and enjoy the farm atmosphere. It was about a twenty or thirty minute walk from our apartment.
The Way To Farm House Fun
This is the introduction/direction sign that told what the farm house offered and it was at the start of the farm house road.
Instead of farm animals, we found this beat up farm tractor to take pictures on the way to the farm house.The Farm House
The farm house had been converted to an area which offered several different kinds of activities. Of course, there was Mahjong. This IS China, you know!The Farm Work
When we arrived, all the students were involved with their farm work. Here, THE CROCCODILE shows why he is call "Croc." Lovely teeth, don't you agree?
Vincent does grilling. Several of the students were grilling the vegetables in preparation for the upcoming farm lunch
Too many chefs spoil the soup. Ok, ok, so this is not soup and these students are not chefs. The grilled veggies were not spoiled either.
Working quickly and in tandem with the supervising eyes of Mr. Taunis, the students efficiently turned out some really great grilled products.The Farm Training Program
The Farm House offered extensive training in the art of jaodz making. Everyone gathered round to learn this ancient and secret art of China.
Sydney became the designated jaodz instructor
Jaodz training instructor Sydney gives us a lesson in the secret art of making jaodz.
Here Dave destroys another jaodz. He tried to make at least 100 jaodz without too much success. I actually counted three successful jaodz during his training period. Bet he cannot sing either.
Giselle continues to impress all with her elegant method of making jaodz. Notice the stylized use of the famous but difficult to use tool called chopsticks. Elegant indeed!
The finished product. Only about half the students were considered to be successful and only a few of them actually received certificates in jaodz making. The ones who did get their certificates were very proud of their accomplishment.
The Certificate of Training awarded to those students who successfully completed their training. Less than ten percent received this coveted award certificate.The Farm Food Testing
Prior to the start of the official Farm House Lunch, special students were selected to do the testing of the food. Here Tracy gives us the OK TO EAT sign. She did not show any ill effects from the food so we carried on with the preparations.
Of course, Lemon volunteered to be one of the testers. She was not very good as each veggie took at least four or five tests before she would approve them. She had no ill effects from her tastings so she gave us the green light.The Farm Lunch
We are all called to lunch at the Farm House. And, I might add, not a minute too soon as Dave was beginning to get on everyone's nerves with his I AM A HUNGRY BRIT renditions. They went on and on until the call to lunch. Several students admitted later that they had discussed plans for Dave's demise prior to us all being called to lunch.
A Farm House Lunch is served. We had three tables and each had a grand feast specially prepared for us by the Farm House staff. They also included our own specially made jaodz. No doubt many of the less successful jaodz makers would easily recognize their handiwork.
The lunch was great and the highlight was the consumption of the jaodz that we had made (or at least tried to make in the case many of the students).
Ms. Yoyo requested her picture be included in this blog. Unfortunately, she was playing the role of host and was popping in and out when I was taking pictures. This is the only picture i was able to take of her. Yoyo stands for: Your only young once. Is that why you have all the energy going all the time?The Farm Fun
After the brilliant (Dave's word on mine) lunch we were commanded to involve ourselves in the art of Farm House Fun.
Here we have the two Gap Guys having fun with two of the freshmen. They were told they were having fun.
Mahjong is actually fun even though one must work hard to do it right.
John was caught cheating so many times during the afternoon that many of the freshmen were secretly planning his demise. Fortunately, John got tired of cheating after a few hours and went on to the next Farm House Fun - ping pong.
Ms. Sophie's slams were too much for most of the other freshmen. She eventually had to play with herself which turned out not to be much fun for her. Many of her fellow students began to plan her demise but she quickly dispatched all of them with her relentless slams.
Ms. Cherry was much more considerate of other student's feelings, allowing all of them to trounce her easily and often. Here she tries to smack the ball in the Chinese penholder fashion. Of course, she was kind enough not to hit the ball back. There were never plans calling for Ms. Cherry's demise.
Dave's fame as a ping ponger grew with each ball he hit. Not only did he hit the ball with authority but he did not allow himself to be overcome with pity for his frail and weak freshmen opponents. Many of the freshmen began to secretly plan for his demise. These plans fell through as most of those making the plans could not understand Dave's weird British accent.
The true spirit of ping pong as demonstrated by the unrelenting style of Mr. Taunis. His ability to keep the ball in the air astounded us all. Dave and John began to plan for his ultimate demise but Mr. Taunis would have nothing to do with such plans and they eventually failed due to their lack of logical cohesion.Demonstrating the art of good!
They took pity upon my frailty
Giving them a chance to see
An old man attempting to play
Ping pong in a big, big way.
Nope the large paddle did not help much. Something to do with hand/eye coordination, stoutness and an inability to see the ping pong ball.
Mr. Yao's demise was caused by too many balls and not enough time as we close out this blog and the Farm House Fun time. We all had fun. No one went home disappointed and no one met their ultimate demise.