There were snow that we played on too.......

When I had the Zambian picture show in Winthrop on Saturday, January 7th, the Lehman's insisted that we do it at their home and Charlie and Youngme also kept Bob and I at their home for the whole three days weekend.

We had snow shoed in their hundreds' acres of farm land, to the Twisp River bank and back to their house before all friends came.

All my dear Winthrop friends adopted Bob and me well. The morning before we drove 250 miles back to Bob's home we got another treat of morning tea with so many baked goodies from another group of friends at Chuch and Robin's place.

On the top of this whole load of the fortune of friendships, this time we had really stopped to see the sign of the history that Chinese people were in the Methow valley many years back.........and on the top of all, we saw the mountain goats on the almost empty road side that allowed me to take pictures of them from the opened car window for these animals can be unpredictable at times.

See, the cold snowy days were not all for the works and unconveniences only......Cheng 1/26/2012

Snow storm in Federal Way, WA last week.

This snow storm started on Saturday, January 14th while I was having 18 friends to come for my Zambian picture show and it came down on and off for the first four days all were about 5 inches on the ground. Wednesday there was good 10 inches of snow as weatherman reported. I went out to shovel the drive way and side walk; it was hard work for the snow was wet and heavy. Thursday morning, we were covered by a whole sheet of ice about half an inch thick all over every thing and every wehere, for it had rained down ice the whole night. Lucky that I did the shovel the day before; it would be way too heavy to shovel by this time. Bob did cleared the snow from the top of brushes; otherwise we would have them all broken down by this ice storm. The brooken down tree branches had brought down the power lines in many places so we got the power and internet outage for a few days. People who have generators were busy to get it work and rush to the gas station for fuel........we drove out ways before "a" gas station had power to do the businesses. Power was back on Saturday but the internet was not until Sunday night.

Well, if Dr. Friedrich's office did not change my appointment from January 19th to February 16th, I can't drive out anywhere on those icy roads anyway. So very thankfully, I believed another time that there is reason for any thing to have happened. Also it will be a great memory to talk about with villagers when I returned to Zambia. Cheng 1/26/2012

I visited friends and relatives in Indonesia.....

Since my wounds were better and allowed to travel aboard, I visited my friends and relatives in Jawa Island, Indonesia too. I just have to show and tell to all that I was almost all well and tell them what Peace Corps is and how my work in Zambia was trained and performed and how Peace Corps has being taking care of my condition after the accident as well as how my villagers in Zambia had been doing since I have left, etc. etc......

Everyone there were so eager to treat me anything special they can think and take me to places I would like to go and see. They concluded to have my neice Mia to accompany me to Yojarkarta in centrol Jawa for a three days trip and we went by air and back by train.

Mia treated me well and we were lucky to have a friend - Sindhu to take us around while we were there. One night we went for the traditional dance of a Ballet Show. It was so great. It was the most beautiful and wonderful show I have had seen since I started visiting them from 1990.

One day we went to Borobudur temple. I was there once in 1990. I remembered we drove very close up to the temple to parked and to visit the temple all around. Now we parked at far distance for there was a huge area around the temple managed as a park. This temple took 200 years to build, from 5th AD to 7th AD.

It is a earthquake country and the temple is a pilled up stone blocks carved with stories. If there is any earthquake damages, they were have to rematch the stone blocks according to the carved stories.......so there is a huge area of the blocks waiting to be rematched........What a construction in that ancient times.........the carved stories at all corners and turns were all perfectly made sence.....how the engineering for all of it been done and carried out perfectly....just look at the faces and body languages...... Another day we visited the last kingdom's (right before the Dutch time) musium, where the photography was not allowed......

Now I am back in Federal Way, WA., USA almost a month and just got phone call from Dr. Friedrich's office that they had to reschedule my appointment to see him on February 16th, instead of January 19th. Another month to wait and up in the air again.....well-oh-well, I will keep you all posted for any more news for the Doctor's visits..........you all have a possitive 2012.........Cheng 1-15-2012

Here are some pictures from the trip to Taiwan

My sister and I traveled around the Island of Taiwan and we spand a day at the central east coast of the Centrol Cross Island Highway which is about 180 kilometer from Hwa-Lan to Tai-Chung and we were in car and on foot for the first 40 kilometer from the east front. This section of the Centrol Cross Island Hwy is also called the Tarogo National Park. The water cut throught the gorge of jade, marble and crystal for many long years but the road was constructed from before World War II, before that probably nothing but hunting trails and got finished in late 1960s. Taiwan is in the typhon and earthquake zoon so this road is constantly crashing down by the water and stones so it is alway in the repair and reconstruction in some small sections here and there. But when the road is open for traffic and pedestrians that was a treat for the whole trip.

We didn't walk on any of side trials, loop trials for I was still need to be careful with my leg on its flexibilities and strength. My sister cared and supported me, my wishes and desires on going places as caring for her own child, no wonder, every day there were some people came up to either my sister or me and say, "You are so luck to have your MOTHER/DAUGHTER traveling together." I didn't think my sister was too much appreciated of these all...........Cheng 1-15-2012

Zambian picture showing in Federal Way, WA, USA

Hello, all.........I have not forgotten that I should post my pictures from the trip to Taiwan and Indonesia.....but yesterday I have another Zambian picture show at Bob's home and it was snowing lightly in Seattle area so some friends decided not to come for the driving condition might be bad.........

Over the night the snow moved southward........in the early morning at Federal Way we found about an inch of snow on the ground (as pix above) and it was coming down heavy around 10am and stopped now 12 noon totally.......so time to go out for a walk around this neighborhood soon, before the snow melt away.......the ground here is not cold enough to hold the snow for too long.......so I have to hurry.........Cheng 1-15-2012

Happy New Year, everyone........

Yesterday I just got the phone call from Dr. Freidrich's office that he will not be in office on January 19th so my appointment to see him will be on February 16th 8am......Oh, well......another month to wait.......seeing a doctor here seemed to be not so easy.......

Anyway, this is a brand new 2012, let's be possitive.......let me show you some pictures from my trip to Taiwan and Indonesia on November 27th to December 21st just to show my friends and relatives how I have survived from the accident so they will not kept on worry about me.

Besides homes visitings, I have three day trip with my sister travel around Taiwan Island and three day trip travel with my niece from eastern Jawa Island to center Jawa.

Sorry all.......other than these two pictures the blog did not take any more this time........I am having friends (20+/-) coming over to have my Zambian picture show in an hour or so, I will kept on trying to post more pictures tonight after the showing is over.

I have been showing my Zambian pictures and telling people what Peace Corps is, what my volunteer work was, my work contacts in my villages, how Peace Corps has being taking care of my medical issues from the accident and so on, since early November and will still doing it till my return to Zambia...When I am back in Zambia, I will show my home time pictures instead....it is a small world, everyone needs to know every other ones........Later.....Cheng January 14, 2012

Greetings from Seattle, Washington, USA...........

My Dear Friends and Family:
I hope this letter finds that you are all in great
happiness, health and spirits for this Holiday Season. The year 2011 has rolled by so fast for me
with so many events, issues and situations that I am truly grateful to be able
to write this letter to you right now.
I had skipped my yearly report for 2010 for I was in Zambia
for Peace Corps volunteer service, and I did not have the luxury of power,
internet, etc…..and all other excuses….although I kept my blog up to date as
much as possible.
Year 2011, my volunteer work was moving quite fine in my
village – Yasakwa, Luapula Province, Zambia, mainly on fish pond farming,
vegetable gardens and raising poultries for fish food and food security, plus
helping a village – Lukali for a community school, connecting villagers to Bee
Keeping, helping villagers on Children’s Nutrition and the awareness of
HIV/AIDS’s care and prevention.
Unfortunately on July 18th, I was involved in a
bush taxi accident on my way back from the Children’s Nutrition workshop in
Northern Province and extended two day trip visited Lake Tanganyika. It was a trip of over 1,000 Km but the
accident happened only 45 Km before I made it back to my post home.
It was an 8 seater
vehicle but there were more than 10 people in it and three were found dead at
the scene. I had blood vein cut off by
the edge of the windshield after the car turned side up and window blown out
when my left leg went out to scrape the pavement. I lost a large amount of blood, left calf
skin and a little of muscle, but I did not have any bone or tendons
damaged.
I am truly thankful that Peace Corps dispatched an aircraft
at once with Dr. Harry in it, to pick me up from Mansa, Luapula, Zambia, flew
me to Pretoria, South Africa. There I
had intensive skin grafts, and four weeks later flew me back to Seattle on
August 20th for further recovery and reconstruction surgery. All my friends and former clients are all
supportive and have treated me as a returned Princess, assisting me with
everything and helping me to deal with my temporary handicapped situation.
All my Zambian
contacts and friends are still keeping me in contact with the continuance of my
projects there. It tested out that the
Peace Corps’ way of teaching us was correct, and that when the Peace Corps
volunteer left the village the villagers are able to stand up with what skill
and knowledge have been passed on to them. I am proud of being one of the Peace
Corp volunteers that have made this progress.
Thanks to Bob that he opened his home to me and managed for
me to have gained fourteen pounds weight in the first four weeks, which pleased
all the doctors and nurses here, only tough out on my rapidly changing sizes in
clothing. I was out of my post home with
only 5 days clothes in my backpack to come back to Seattle.
Now all wounds are
sealed up and I still have the prescription to do physiotherapy and all
exercises that I would like to do. On
November 10th my last visit to the reconstruction surgeon, he was
happy to see my recovery but had to wait for another couple months to have my
wound progressed strong enough to consider for reconstructive surgery; he will
see me again on January 19th and he released the restriction of traveling
aboard. I did not waste any time to have
booked the first available ticket to Taiwan and Indonesia from November 26th
to December 21st. I was just
got back to Bob’s home last night.
I have had a wonderful time in both Taiwan and Indonesia.
All my friends and relatives are doing very well and they treated me as a lost
baby with all the goodies they can find and think to make up for my losses from
the accident, and my year in Zambia with no conveniences most of time on power
and running water.
A friend said, “Friends are like candles, you need them when
in the dark.” This has been my brightest year!!! I know it and I sincerely appreciate how
fortunate I am to have all my candles lighting up for me from all around the
world!!! I wish you all have been as
lucky as I am and wish that we will continue counting our blessings together
year after year. Merry Christmas and
Happy New Year to you all.
Love, Cheng 12/23/2011