May 28, 2006June 30, 2005New PhotosNormally I give you a preview of the new photos in the gallery, but I don't feel like doing that at the moment. Instead, I'll just tell you with words. There are photos from my trip to New York, with sub-sections on Manhattan and The Crusade. There are photos from when Brian, Laura and I hiked the grueling Knobstone Trail in Southern Indiana. And lastly, there are a handful of photos from China that have been waiting to be developed for the past ten months. Enjoy.
Posted by dacriss at 05:01 PM
February 20, 2005A Weekend at the Farm
My friends Brian and Laura came down from Chicago for a relaxing weekend on the farm. Driving tractors, shooting guns, making syrup...we were this close to winning an award from FFA. All photos were taken by my dad, an award winning farmer and photographer. Technical Update: Previously, the images in the album were not particularly large. You would click the thumbnail image to see the "full size" image - which wasn't very large - and that was all the bigger you could get. Now, you after you have clicked the thumbnail image, you can click the "full size" image once again and get an even larger image, a super sized image. It's not gigantic - not nearly as large as the original file - but probably too large for dial-up users to enjoy.
Posted by dacriss at 11:29 PM
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February 17, 2005Sugar Shack
During the early months of 2002 my father and I built a sugar shack, a building wherein one makes maple syrup. This year is the first time I've been home to see it in operation. It is much more comfortable and efficient than our old method...out in the open over a bonfire. These pics are from the first boil of the season. There will likely be more to come in this series.
Posted by dacriss at 09:39 PM
January 25, 2005Adam's DogMy friends Adam and Alf once took a grand adventure through Yunnan Province. Adam has posted some pictures from that journey and the dog on the spit stands out on in my memory for some reason. For a larger version of this picture and many more photos from their wilderness experience, click the image below.
December 29, 2004November 29, 2004September 15, 2004The Ultimate China VacationThis July my dad and I undertook a grand China vacation. Some might even say it was the ultimate China vacation (but those would be people given to exaggeration). We started in my old hometown of Duyun, moved on to several rural destinations in Guizhou, then finished up with a big city grand slam: Chengdu, Xian and finally Beijing. It was a great time, and I plan to soon write in detail about some of our adventures. For the time being, however, here are some pictures. Note: All of these pictures were taken with my dad's digital camera. Moreover, the majority of them were actually taken by my dad and not me. The bulk of my photos fall in the Chongan section, but I managed to take one here and there during the whole trip. June 20, 2004An Outing: The Tower
It was Wednesday evening, and we were at English Corner talking about my upcoming departure. Someone from Class 2 suggested that the following day the class and I class go for a photo outing. It sounded like a good idea. Thursday morning was drizzly, but we were hopeful that the rain would hold off long enough to get a few pictures in Wenfeng Park. We were wrong. It was a wet but memorable outing. This first set of photos is from the main plaza around Wenfeng Tower. An Outing: The Gazebo
After thrity minutes of trapsing around in the rain, we took shelter in a pagoda style gazebo on the other side of the park. I had 25 exposures left and 20 students present, so I thought it would be neat to take a portrait of each person. Here they are, 19 girls and 1 boy (not including me). Dongshan Revisited
I have taken many trips to and many photos of Dongshan, but each time with new people. Here you'll see Greg, a former student of mine, and Joyce, a student from the Chinese department. You might also notice that the temple has a shiny new coat of paint. Class 3
Before teaching Class 3 here, I'd never taught freshmen. It's a very intersting challenge. They have the most energy, but the least discipline of the levels. But I guess that's the same for freshmen around the world. These photos come from the last day of class. May 12, 2004Timber Framing
In the Spring of 2003 (just days after being evacuated from China), I went with my dad to a timber framing workshop in Maine, timber framing being the method of building structures with mortises, tenons and pegs (instead of nails, screws and bolts). I didn't participate much because I was already a Master Framer (well, perhaps only a Journeyman) at that point and didn't want to deprive the students of their experience. I took a few pictures instead. When I wasn't at the workshop I was hiking in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (that's next to Maine); you can see some photos from my journeys there at the end of this album. May 06, 2004Job Fair
With graduation just around the corner, the (less prepared) seniors try to sell their skills at the college job fair. April 21, 2004Teaching Teachers
March 20, 2004A New Year's Night
Multi-colored lighted floats and red lanterns are two of the many attractions Duyun offers in celebration of the Chinese New Year. With the river dammed several weeks before New Year's, workers build their masterpieces on the damp river bed. The water is then released (slowly) and the floats illuminated on New Year's Eve. Pandas
The panda reserve on the outskirts of Chengdu has lots of Pandas. Not sure how many exactly but many. More than 20. They even have baby pandas and the elusive red panda. For enough money, you can get your picture taken alongside a panda. The New Campus
The New Campus has been under construction for the past 5 years and will continue to expand for at least another 10 or 15. Three classroom buildings and two dormitories are completed. The Freshman and Seniors of the English Department (and a few others ) live and study amongst the continuing expansion. The Pad
After enduring more than a year of drafty windows, rodent roomates, insane artwork and faulty wiring, the school finally gave me a new place, and it's luxurious. Too bad I'll only get to enjoy it for a few months. December 24, 2003December 17, 2003The Great Basketball Relay Race
This year, to prevent such ego bruising mishaps, the teachers were given a roster of events so silly that I am more inclined to call them Physical Challenges than actually sporting events. For example, there was The Jump Rope competition; how many times can one jump rope in a minute. There was The Free Throw competition. But by far the most enjoyable to watch was The Great Basketball Relay Race. Imagine if the baton in your hand was replaced by a basketball on your head. If only this school had a nice gymnasium! I would have dominated in The Backward-seated Scooter Sprint. Click here to see more photos of The Great Basketball Relay Race December 15, 2003Building China
I don't know much about economic development or percent increases in GDP. I don't know if China's construction boom is a profitable enterprise or a World Bank funded diversion for would-be idle workers. I don't know when - if ever - this China bubble will burst. But I do know that four months ago the new eight story apartment building to the right of mine was not there. One year ago the same could've been said for the building to the left and the one across the street. My building is the last building on the block to be razed and rebuilt. And the only reason that hasn't happened yet is because the college owns the building and can't give the teachers a new place to live until its new 10 acre campus is complete. It will be finished next year. Like in the photo above, you see entire suburbs in progress. This community used to be where that pink and white tower in the background stands; that's prime riverside real-estate. And this 'relocation' is minuscule compared to what happens when a new damn is planned. I don't know how it happens, where the people live in the interim, who pays for it, if it should happen. Most all of the details, I don't know. But I do know that it can happen, that it does happen, and that China's regenerative powers are impossible to fully comprehend from facts and figures in the newspaper. December 11, 2003On a Raft
Students having fun on a raft in the rain. Of course, they all fell in before the day was over. That was the point though, right?
Posted by dacriss at 10:33 PM
December 08, 2003Ratsbane and Thurg: Slayers of Fiendish Rodents
Maybe slayer is an overstatement. We didn't actually kill the rat. We didn't actually see it either, but we heard it. I mean, we heard something. Some kind of animal noises. Last year I thought the scurrying and screeching noises coming from a nook in my back porch were caused by a bat. Last year I was attacked by a bat in my own house, so I just kind of linked the two. But this year was more scurrying than screeching; can bats really scurry? My neighbor David did a lot of field research to figure out what we were up against. He'd beat various areas of the wall and listen to the scurry/screech pattern. Eventually he concluded that it was a rat. We donned some anti-rat-disease head gear (i.e. towels around our face) and attempted to fumigate the rat out of his lair with concentrated bleach. Like tear gas, right? It got awfully agitated but didn't leave. Next time were going to try the roach poison.
Posted by dacriss at 10:10 PM
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December 04, 2003Silver
This picture is from my website Chinalogue. Just posting it here for practice.
Posted by dacriss at 01:13 PM
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All text & photos Copyright © 2003 Andrew
Criss
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Last year during College Sports Week, teachers got to compete in the same events the students did. That's not to say they competed alongside each other, but if there was a student's long jump competition, there was also a teacher's long jump competition. Well, I guess this year the organizers of the event (The P.E. Department) felt that those events were too dangerous for our aging teachers. I mean, one teacher did get a little ruffled when he landed short of the sandpit. 
