See if this link works to look at pictures! http://s570.photobucket.com/albums/ss143/lisavestal1/China%20March%202009%201%20of%202/
Highlights:
(not China) Tokyo - Shibuya District
China was amazing to see. It is definitely a different culture, and I'm glad we got to see it. We started off with a 1 day layover in Tokyo, and then "China" started with Hong Kong. After a couple of days, we crossed the border into China and visited factories, local restaurants, and malls of Schenzen, Dongguan, and Gaungzhou. We visited a furniture company, Valspar, V-tech, a toy company, small kitchen appliances company, and a gas appliance company. We took a 2 hour train back to Hong Kong where we visited the Hong Kong Science park which helps new technology ideas get started into businesses. We took a ferry to Macau island which is a huge gambling city (just like Vegas). All in all, we did a few touristy things - we took a Gondola ride up to a Big Budda statue on a mountain, visisted many markets and shops, walked along Hong Kong's "Avenue of the Stars" (Chinese stars that is), saw the laser show, and stayed in fancy hotels (for cheap). But the best part was the amount of non-touristy things we got to do - spend a whole day with South China University students, local restaurants, Science Park, universities, manufacturing facility tours, and driving through the streets of non-metropolitan China. It was a really great trip, but we are glad to be home!
Pictures will follow. I could only upload 250 at a time, so this is the first batch. It's late, so I'll load the second batch another day. I know there's a lot...maybe you can scan. I tried to put descriptions on some so you know what you're looking at. Enjoy!
This will be a non-value added post again. However, we are getting ready to leave the country for a bit. Going to Tokyo, Hong Kong, and China! Be back end of March. The blog will be a good place to load pictures for everyone to see when we get back. Hopefully that will be the jumpstart to keep me updating more regularly.
There is no other news. Cyrus continues to keep the chocolate store running smoothly. He has really become an excellent little entreprenuer and store manager! We still have two employees, plus my sister-in-law, Erin. We are assuming an "intern" for the next few months that wants to learn about chocolate and cooking, with an intent to "hire" when summer comes. She seems very excited about learning! We will lose Jen in the fall to college. I continue to struggle keeping up with the accounting (Quickbooks) and it's killing me!
As for me, I am still in school (MBA at TCU) which is the main reason for lack of blogging. I will take two tests the week of May 5, take a 3-week ethics course, then a 1-weekend simulation course..........AND...........THEN..............BE.................DONE. I expect to throw some kind of huge party when that happens (end of June). I am pumped about getting back some free time!
Okay, time to finish work then pack. Zàijiàn (Goodbye) for now!
