Swimming with ELEPHANTS!

Swimming with elephants - can you believe it?  We had a fabulous time last week on Koh Chang (Elephant Island) during our week long fall break.  Relaxation was the focus, but we found ourselves with incredible activities to fill our time:  long walks on the beach, shell collecting, snorkeling, kayaking, trekking through the Thai jungle for 2 hours on elephant back - which culminated with us swimming with the giant beasts in fresh water ponds.  It was an experience none of us will forget.

Ni Hao

Went to Shanghai, China for work last month.  That city is like nothing I have ever seen.  I have been to China before, but it was my first time in this amazing town.   There is nonstop construction, lights, sounds, people - an assault on the senses.  I stood on a balcony trying to absorb all I was seeing and hearing for quite some time, and basically felt overwhelmed.  It made NYC seem easy to manage somehow.  The number of huge skyscrapers jammed in along the highways makes one feel very small and insignificant.  Population estimates are over 20 million there, but it seems like more.  My eyes stung with the pollution.  The modern and contemporary buildings were such a surprise and the city drips with commercialism.  It is easy to see it as the world's fastest growing economy.