Coming to Oslo

I will skip the ten hour plane trip from San Francisco. It was as normal as one could expect. I was sitting next to a nice young woman from Oakland who had just graduated in Theater from UCLA. We mostly kept to ourselves but conversed a few times along the way. I watched a bundle of films as there was no Internet service. I would like to say that I finally fell asleep, but I didn't. Maybe it was the great espresso that I had in San Francisco with Truckee and Donna. Maybe I was just excited to be going on a trip again. But the plane came in on time, and I thought enough to order meals on board which was very nice. I am still debating whether I should review Norwegian Airlines.

Somewhere between 1 pm and 2 pm London time the plane arrived. I looked at my ticket: Boarding for London to Olso at 18:20. Plane leaves at 19:10- six hours to kill before boarding. It was then that I should have written in my blog, but I didn't have so much to say. I was now nodding in and out and perhaps managed to get an hour's sleep.  I hung out at the far end of the South Terminal, because there were a lot of Norwegian flights there and a big line of phone chargers. There was an Italian girl next to me, waiting for the flight that never came- back home. She was seeing a (perhaps new) boyfriend in New York City, and was exhausted like me.  She finally went to the Norwegian Airline people who told her flight was canceled, but would be taking off at 1 am in the morning. She was in tears. I felt bad.

My flight to Oslo turned out to be 20 minutes late. Also either Gatwick or Norwegian has the annoying habit of not telling the gate until 15 minutes before loading. I got an unvarified tip early that our terminal would be 15. It turns out that it was Terminal 3. The flight took an hour and 15 minutes to land in Oslo. Immigration passport checkers were as nice as could be. I had to dodge dozens of high school students and instruments to get my bags, but it didn't take long, and a bus was waiting out side. The Information desk was helpful.  The ATM was easy and the bus left within minutes of the time I got on. The airport must be about 30 miles from the city. From the air I could see lots of mountains, lakes and forests between the city and the airport. By midnight I was approaching DeLucca Dele where my keys were being held by Sharebox.no.

The boxes are meant to be opened from your phone.  I had all the information, but there were no numbers on the boxes and no ability to anything without Internet. The deli had Internet, but the clerk later told me that it didn't work, which was why I couldn't get the keys from the box. Finally the clerk let me use his phone, and I called the customer service number of Sharebox. They were able to remotely deliver my keys and send me on my way.

Now I had an address- 56 Collette's Gate (pronounced "gotta" meaning street in Norwegian). Again the clerk at the deli looked it up on his phone and pointed me in the right direction- north. It was suppose to be five or 10 minutes away, but I walked 10 minutes and didn't  find the street. (Note: it's 45 minutes past midnight.)  I backtracked and interrupted a couple making googly eyes at each other. The guy looks it up on his phone and sends me in the other direction.  I walking now farther in the other direction- South and when she looked at her phone, she was about to send me even farther south. She did come up with the bright idea of calling a cab. He did seem to know what he was doing, but I wasn't sure at the time, because it was dark and I certainly couldn't see the numbers.

It was tricky because the street curved in a totally different direction after a big thoughfare, but I was hopeful. I think that is where my negative thinking started. The cab left and I went to the front door and it was bells for eight apartments. None of them had the name of my host on it. I am thinking "Even if I get in and this is the place, how in the heck am I going to figure out what apartment it is?"There were two locks and I tried them both and was convinced neither fit.

I am now thinking that I am not on Collette's Gate anymore and start walking up the hill. It is probably after 1 am and there are still people around- regular people- nice people and out of the shadows walks this guy, and I am in a really dark part of the street. He says, "Sure, I'll help you."
"I live on Collette's Gate- and his place was right across the street. He tried his phone and it was dead. We tried his Internet on my iPad when we got to his door. He wanted not to wake his girlfriend so we did every thing outside. For some reason I  couldn't call my host Hans.

He went inside, got another iphone called Hans, spoke to him in Norwegian, confirmed that we had the right place. Then he actually walked me to the door to make sure that I could get it. What a guy!
Sure enough the key worked and on the inside of one of the mailboxes inside the door weren't the names Hans and Suzanne. I shook hands with my helper friend and thanked him perfusely. Hans texted my friend that the flat was on the fourth floor on the left side- how would I have ever found that. I find myself finally ready to sleep. I am greatful for the kindness that I have been the receiver of in my first few hours in Oslo, Norway.

Anybody Out There? An Update

I have had this blog for perhaps ten years and it has gone through various stages. It has been at least 2 years since I have written anything on it, and it came as a bit of a surprise that I have at least a few readers. I made it a travelogue, because that is the time where I do the most unfettered writing. I believe that I stopped on my second day in China. I did write the entire time, and perhaps at some point will publish what I wrote. I will be no surprise that the Great Wall and the Terra Cotta Army at Xian were high points.

I also took a trip to San Miguel Allende about a year ago and took a one week painting class. I found the painting class challenging partially because my teacher was always emphasizing basics, and I think that I felt like I had "done the basics".  I am certainly open to the possibility that I have missed some things along the way. It is actually a surprise email from Felicia Rice that causes me to begin again.  Her dad and mom, Ray and Miriam Rice were close friends of my uncle, John Lynch and his wife, Phyllis. John and Ray were part of the 1948- 1949 class at Bellas Artes in San Miguel.

I think some of my blog posts discuss this school. Ray and John created a mural somewhere in San Miguel, and when I was there, I tried to track it down, but with no success. I have some drawings that John did and a photo of him working on the mural. If I am not mistaken, it was Ray's mural, as I believe he was the one studying with David Alfaro Siqueiros.  You definitely should see his unfinished mural in Belles Artes. I believe that I have written here the reason that it was never finished.

For five years I have been participating in Sebastopol's Art at the Source, an opportunity for artists to show their work to the public. I decided to take a year off- for many reasons. Perhaps I will devote a post to those reasons, but not today. Suffice it to say that I have enjoyed the break, and I am trying to take a fresh approach to my drawing and painting. I have just started a portrait of my older son. If I like it, I will post it here, when I finish. I fortunately still have a few fans of my painting, most notably, Harvey Mandelson at the Red Shoes Gallery.  I have been watching many YouTube videos both about artists and technique. I love the resource.

I am three weeks away from another trip to Europe. This June I will be visiting 3 countries that I have not been to: Norway, Sweden and Denmark. Then I will take a week in Berlin. It may be that my next post I will be writing from one of those places.

Beijing: Day 2

Here it is day three and I've hardly written about my time here. Presently we are on the number 916 bus headed out of Beijing for the Great Wall. There are multiple tours that will make a day trip to the Great Wall for what seems a reasonable price - 100 Yuan, maybe $15. The problem is that I have read so many horror stories about these one day tours. Almost all of them force you to stop at silk factories, tea sellers or jade and jewelry stores. Not only do these "tours" cut down on your time at the landmarks, but the sales pressure is high. Many operators change the rules of the game when you get to the destination. "Now you must pay the tour guide YU 100 to take the tour." The government appears to have very few controls on ripping off tourist. Also we have met very few Chinese who speak English even though they were taking it since kindergarten.


Thus we chose to take the 916 bus, about an hour ride to a small town, where we must negotiate a shuttle to the wall. YU 12 each for the bus trip. We were met by a gentleman that pushed to get us into the bus. Being here has made me suspicious of everyone who approaches you, for so many are on the take and will charge you whatever they can get. This guy appears to be selling himself as a guide for us, a guide that doesn't speak English. Nevertheless the bus is clean and air conditioned if not tight in the small seats.


We were alerted to begin the next phase of our journey - about 30 miles north of Beijing now we get out of the bus and we are immediately approached by a driver. He wants to drive us to the Great Wall and says: 60 Yuen. In fact Chinese expect negotiation when giving a quote. We had heard that it was 30 to 40 Yuen, So I immediate said "Forty". He said "fifty" and that is what we agreed to. Again this man spoke very little English, but he drives tourists to the Great Wall for a living. When we got there he asked if we wanted him to take us back and we said yes. We agreed upon a time to meet. I handed him 100 Yuen for the trip there and back (I thought). Just for reference 100 Yuen is about $15- really not a bad price to be driven another 20 miles or so.


I should clarify that we are visiting the Mutianyu part of the wall. There are at least four locations that tourists can access. This location is one of the closer ones to Beijing, as well as having many amenities and known for its spectacular views. It was begun about 200 years before the birth of Jesus Christ, under the Emperor Qin Shi Wang. It was revamped under the Ming Dynasty. I have heard the Mao encouraged citizens to take its bricks to build their houses, but now extensive parts of the wall are being meticulously restored.


Tourists arrive in a little commercial village - with a Burger King included. We had just missed breakfast at the hotel, so I was starving. There were many little restaurants and I saw the words Cappuccino and scrambled eggs- a nice combo for me. I included a plate of fruit, which turned out to be mostly bananas. Still it was the right combination for the right time. After breakfast we climbed a hill to board the shuttle bus to the ski lift- actually enclosed orange boxes, very safe. I was astounded by the length that one could walk on the wall, if you so desired, probably 3 miles in each direction.


More spectacular were the views- the views of distant mountain ranges, the views of green valleys, the views for the wall stretching in both directions over the hills. This part of the wall apart from the spectacular views is well maintained. It appears that is brick is not out of place. And there are treacherous climbs up and down with mostly small steps up and down. The wall undulates mile by mile and ups and downs on these small steps are frequent. Guard houses pop up ever hundred yards or so. They are fun to climb on top of and take in the views.


We were smiled upon by low 80s weather and a few clouds. There were breathtaking views in every direction punctuated by the guardhouses that stretched for miles in both directions weaving through the mountains. Truckee reminded me that the views also actually increased the security of the wall, as guards along the wall could see for miles.


At the end of our walk along the wall, we ended out it with a trip on an aluminum toboggantrack- It was a great way to end the trip and to these hills. It was totally safe, but exhilarating too. Children as well as old folks like me could get on and accelerate or slow down as they wished. The easy to use controls made the toboggan a ride that could feel safe or risky. I have stunning photos of the wall. I will try to post them as html. Let's see how that works.


We met our driver as planned. When we arrived at the bus stop, he asked for 100 more Yuan. We said that we had already paid him as agreed, 50 yuan each way. He said that was 50 yuan per person each way. Live and learn.


From the first day I have been approached by pedibikers who pick up tourists and ride them where ever they want to go. "Where you go? 3 Yuan..." It is repeated over and over again, as you walk along the street. Then, "Ok, 2 Yuan, you get on" There are 15 Yuan to a dollar. That would be changing 15 cents for the ride. Again from what I have read, one cannot be too careful. For if he charges you 100 Yuan at the end of the trip, it is your word against his, and he speaks the language. You don't. It is indeed tempting to take the offer on these very hot days in Beijing.


You asked if people discuss politics. I honestly don't know, but I have a guess. Other than to the very educated politics don't seem to play a roll in the every day lives of Beijingers. They are mostly concerned with the everyday existence they have, whether it be in an office, restaurant or hustling on the street. Among friends I am sure that there are open discussions about politics, but I really don't think that it enters the minds of most people here. This is in stark contrast to Russia, where many people love to discuss politics, but again it is mostly among friends.

Chinese Historic Story Panels

Just next to our hotel in Beijing was a larger, slightly more luxurious hotel, the Jade Garden Hotel. Surrounding the hotel is a seven foot wall with a beautiful copper landscape. I am lost for the correct term, as it is a city landscape at the same time a historical snapshot. I have been lucky enough to see these in several forms while in China. Here at the hotel’s wall in copper, at the Archery Tower, Zhengyangmen Gate or (Qianmen) (simplified Chinese: 前门; traditional Chinese: 前門; pinyin: Qiánmén; Wade–Giles: Ch'ien-men; literally: "Front Gate") and at the Pagoda in Hangzhou. I am posting several photos from each in the order mentioned above. I would appreciate how these pieces fit into the history of Chinese landscape painting.

Manuscript from the Arrow Tower in Tian' anman Square

Beijing: Day 1- Youfang

Just a preface: My blog did not move and I was unable to access it while I was in China. I did nevertheless keep up with my writing and take a bounty of photos. I will publish at least one entry per week and probably more. 

All the reading, anticipating and packing are finally over. On the plane I am thinking, “What did I forget?” And how am I going to navigate without Google? Is my phone going to work. I packed light and still I took too much. I took a long sleeve shirt and a light jacket in case of a chilly night. The chilly night never happened. I took a few masks for breathing in Beijing. I never used them. I brought a pair of unfashionable light pants and never wore them. I took two pair of jeans, and probably could have done with one, but by the twelfth day, those were very very dirty.

I took about 6 tee shirts. They were all dirty and wet with sweat by the fourth day. I took to washing them in the sink at the hotel, and I bought two more. I brought the right mouth of underwear and socks and washed both twice along the way.

The United flight sat for two hours on the tarmac before it took to the sky. In the twelve hours of flight I had only one strong moment of claustrophobia, where I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream.  We landed 12 hours later, then another 13 hours because of time difference put me in Beijing at 9 am in the morning following a huge crowd of mostly Chinese through customs. The ten lines handled the crowds with relatively quick dispatch. I took the train along with the others to the Dongzhimen Bus and Subway station. I had a stack of paper maps, hotel registration information, registration to help guide me to the proper stop. Truckee had texted me earlier that his flight was delayed a day.

Where did the day go, Monday? I was riding the subway with my luggage and looking at my printed map of the hotel location. I had printed a map that supposedly showed exactly the location of my hotel. The landmark was across the street from the Apple Store. I exited the subway at Dongdan, just East of the Tian’amen exit. After a couple of blocks I dropped into a computer store thinking that a techie might be able to ascertain the correct direction via GPS. He was friendly but not helpful. I had the words of the hotel printed in Chinese, and the address in English. Young Hotel, 5 Nanheyan Street, Dongcheng District. I stumbled in the main shopping district of Beijing and there before me was the giant Apple Store, but it was not likely that my hotel was anywhere in the vicinity.  Addresses did not match. I stopped into a small motel, and the staff was very helpful. Two young women drew a little map and pointed me in the direction across the street. Everything seemed to turn to a dead end. I tried a jewelry store. Again four young women were determined to help me find my way using their cell phones. One actually brought me to a little alley way and pointed the direction that I should walk- also equipped with yet another detailed map- 3 blocks, a little jog, then another block. Alas, I was lost again. I dropped inside another hotel. He had no idea, but it turns out I was only a block away. I crossed the street and 2 policemen had apparently just got off duty.  They walked me to my hotel. I thanked them (Sie-sie), and we parted ways.

It was a modest hotel with maybe 20 rooms in an ideal location. I was next to a green way that followed the road, and saw there later an excavation of the early city wall of Beijing. As far as I know, none of the original city wall is left the remnants dismantled during the construction of the subway in 1965. A Ming era construction (1553), these were part of the Imperial City, within that the Forbidden City. It turns out that I was just 4 blocks from the Forbidden City. Outside the Imperial City walls were the Inner city walls and south of the Inner city the fortifications around the outer city- all gone now save the formidable walls around the Forbidden City. 

The next morning the hotel had a large and mostly delicious breakfast spread- 4 varieties of mixed vegetables, hot and cold, bacon, chicken, two kinds of eggs- one somewhat unpalatable for me, fried rice and the now familiar weak sweet coffee. I spent the next day walking what felt like endlessly around central Beijing- Tiananmen Square, the largest square in the world, the outskirts of the Forbidden City, past the Monument to the People’s Hereos, around the Mao Mausoleum, and visiting the Shenyang Men Gate. 

CHINA- Moving my blog- maybe temporarily

http://editor.wix.com/html/editor/web/renderer/render/document/7730d567-94e7-41ad-96b3-db3c7c9d48fb?metaSiteId=c6f0e1ab-f91e-4256-991e-fb4b217f67a5&isSantaEditor=true&dsOrigin=Editor1.4#!I-have-created-this-blog-as-a-way-to-write-about-my-trip-to-China-Making-preparations-My-plane-leaves-tomorrow/m1az3/57704e7b0cf2bcae6e3fe94e

That appears to be a crazy link. China blocks anything Google and Blogspot is google. So I am making an effort to publish my site from my Wix account. I am not sure that it is working given the above URL. But tomorrow morning I get on the plane at SFO and arrive in Beijing the next day at 2 pm.

Although I will try to access this site, China has hundreds of breaucrats trying to make it impossible. So just grab that giant URL and paste it in. See if it works.

Ed

Career Transitions- Student Endorsements 2016

 This is the third time that I have taught Career Transitions here at Empire. It is a rewarding class to teach because it changes students' views of themselves. Starting with the curriculum of the Pacific Institute and supplemented with inspiring personal stories student begin to see the ways that they have been sabotaging themselves in the past by negative self-talk and destructive patterns of thinking. Career Transitions helps students build confidence and create goals by using and practicing with tools such as affirmations and visualizations. Without a doubt it is the most powerful teaching experience that I have ever had. These little reviews just asked for a class evaluation. As you read, you will see that class also changed lives.  I have published the comments from my two previous classes on my Linked In page.

Students evaluate Career Transitions class taught by Ed Lynch

Take about 10 minutes to think about how this has affected you. What could be added or subtracted? Are there other resources that you may have found useful?  Should I have spent more time on some subjects and less time on others.  Should there be more time set aside for interacting with your classmates? On the back also write what would improve the experience.

March 14, 2016 to April 28, 2016

Anonymous: I am walking away from this class with a more positive attitude about myself. I have learned how to push myself to do what I need to do to achieve my goals. I thought that this class was very informative. I would have loved a bit more class discussion, but overall a great class with a great teacher.

Andrea H: This class has affected me in a way that now I have a clear vision of what I want to pursue over the next few months at Empire. Something that would enhance the class for me personally is more time on activities like the Life Boat exercise, because then you have an opportunity of getting to know people and interact with them.

Sonya O: I think this is a short amount of time for a course like this, so maybe not as many videos. I did like the encouragement and advice given.

Tanya G.: I really valued this class and my instructor. He has given me the ability to be able to filter the non-sense around me, and remain positive. I have used all of the skills that I was taught in here, since the first day of class. I am able to view and have empathy towards others, so I am not annoyed or aggravated as easily. Thank you so much for everything! I don’t have a good support system, and want to quit every day, but this class helps me remember why I started in the first place. Every day we struggle to find a ride here, and eventually do, even if we are late when we show up. We are truly sorry for not being on time. Thanks again!

Josh K: I really enjoyed this class. At the beginning I was (and still am) going through a very tough break up, and move out. It was absolute fate to be taking this class at the same time. The affirmations and the self-positivity really helped me through a big portion of it. I almost wish you could take it every module. You have a really big heart, and you are very positive. I really like you as an instructor. You made me feel happy and laugh. Thanks.

Richard G: In my opinion I didn’t take anything from this class. I was constantly arguing with you on facts including the fact that this class is teaching people this it is okay to lie to yourself. I feel this class should have been taught in Junior High at the latest.

(I found Richard’s comments interesting because there is an aspect to this class, where a student might think they are lying to themselves. Building self-esteem means ridding oneself of the habit of negative self-talk. The idea is that we cannot have an objective view of ourselves. Many scotomas blind us to our faults. I teach student to do affirmations – positive self-talk- even though they might not believe what they are saying. One of my principles is “Fake it till you make it.” I can see how he thought that he was lying to himself.)

Tannya P: This class gave me hope and confidence to pursue my dreams. The video that touched me was the Aimee Mullins video. It made me appreciate all of the things that others take for granted. Also the affirmations were great. I will go back and just read them when I am having a bad day. Thanks, Ed.

 Monique P: I liked the videos, but it was hard to sit in the dark at 8 pm. The affirmations are a good idea for people who haven’t been to school in a long time. It’s encouragement to help us pass our classes. We all have negative thoughts sometimes. It’s hard to push forward. Taking the time to bring in positive thoughts is great. I liked how we took a picture showing us what we will look like at graduation.  It’s great encouragement to push forward.

Samantha A: I really liked the body positions and what they mean about you. I use the thrust your arms to sky to get more testosterone. I use it a lot, especially before work. I have changed my thoughts and image of myself since this class. More scotomas- I really liked those. I use affirmations daily. More group work and debates.

Amalia G: I enjoyed your class. It helped me realize that I don’t give myself enough credit sometimes. I caught myself thinking positive during stressful times at work, which prior I would let the environment ruin my day. For adding or subtracting material- I actually enjoyed team projects. I would recommend more of them. It helped me to get to know my classmates, but also helped make the class less stressful. It helped open up a safe/ comfortable place to discuss things with each other. Overall I had a great time. Thank you, Ed.