Happy Halloween!

Buon Giorno

Xia and I are the host family of two italian students in the ECI foreign exchange group. Catherine (far left) & Tatiana (far right) love; the Beach, Shopping and Boys. In that order I think.

Dancin' fools

On top of our Summer List is "get in shape". Here is a picture of Miguelina, Liana & Xia after their dance class(es) yesterday. Below is one of their absolutely favorite teachers, Leslie. Today we're going back to the studio for more action - including Zumba for the mom's.

Video of Bryan

This is a video featuring our friend Bryan Alvarez. Although the clip is two years old it gives you a good idea about the work that Bryan is doing. He has now moved into studying plasticity of the brain as it relates to synesthesia. Xia and Bryan share many fascinating e-mail conversations - in that Xia has "full spectrum" connections that are quite vivid.

A couple of weeks ago, we had the pleasure of meeting Bryan and his sweetheart Michelle - also a synesthete and budding film maker. Xia connected with the Cognitive Neuro-psychology Laboratory at U.C. Berkeley via Lynn Robertson, who I sent an inquiry to about a year ago. Really nice people.

Thanks to Bryan's insights and lively creative approach, Xia is very much enjoying the journey of research & understanding the miracle of the mind.

Running with the pack

Here are a few picks from our day trip yesterday. Tisha's sister and niece are visiting from back east so we took them and the canines to Carmel and Big Sur. Hiked the "Pine Ridge Trail - up the mountain at quite a clip (Tisha and her sister are not just hikers, they are triathletes in need of a fix, you get the idea? Much sweat, little chatter.). Of course the view at the top was well worth the $5 parking fee and the exertion. Stopped at Nepenthe Restaurant on the way home to devour french fries and gluten free :) veggie burger patties with cheese.

This was my first vacation day in a long time. Much needed and so refreshing to get away from work.

Exchanging food & giggles

Here's pics of Asako and Yuki making dinner tonight. (Rachel was at a tennis game so Asako came to our house.)

Now the girls are working on an English crossword puzzle together. I just heard Asako read , "when the waiter is good you leave a .....ummmmmm.......CHIP!!!" then they all started cracking up when Xia showed them the correct word in the dictionary is" "TIP".

Thanksgiving at the Vets Hall - 2009

Xia and several of her friends volunteered at the annual community dinner. 1,500 served!