All right, I had to start with a dog, but only because it's a young one and so darn cute. There are two this size at the bishop's house along with their mother. I find them scared of people but wag their tails a lot.
And here is the pond. So beautiful with the lotus blooming and their big leaves.
A different view of the pond looking towards where the older girl stay. The architecture is a combination of traditional Vietnamese with provincial French.
This bush was enormous last summer (you can tell by the size of the trunk). During a rainstorm, most of it came crashing down. We found it in the morning looking so sad. So it was pruned, and you can see how healthy it looks now.
A view again of the pond looking towards where the younger girls live for the summer. I like how the massiveness of the cement and columns are offset by the delicate doors and windows.
I am helping to translate a script for a documentary about the cathedral and the grounds, so Tan gave me a personal tour during dinnertime. This was perfect because almost no tourists are there at that time. He has the keys to everything, and we looked in every nook and cranny. The architecture is a cross of Gothic and Asian...Asian Goth?
This is the side of one of the chapels next to the cathedral (which is on the right). It is difficult to believe that the wood columns and doors are over 110 years old. There were four scholars from Tokyo University visiting yesterday who have done research on how to maintain the wood. They met with the elders here and are going to look at a program of restoration.
This is a view of the walk through the center of the campus of the bishop's house. I am always amazed at all the different shades of green I see every day.
The sky always vexes me. It can be very cloudy and never rain, or clear and then BOOM! I can see for miles form my room, but it's sometimes fun just to look up.
