Hi guys!
Wow, I didn't realize that is was Easter the last time I posted something here. : – ))) Time sure flies like an arrow! Needless to say, that I always looks forward to YOUR eMail and comments. I really would like to stay in touch!
First, we are fine here, all three of us. While I can still feel the aftereffects of the operation to remove the brain tumor, it is nothing more than a nuisance. Still don't want to climb ladders or scaffolding, but I think that is not really a problem although I am told that it will stay like that for the rest of my life.
We have settled in nicely into our new home and even bought a little house with the money we got for the boat. It is in the heart of Anglia, a truly beautiful place. It is being renovated right now. Business is more like a joke, being all work and trouble, with very little to show for it. Still haven't found an alternative. No serious problem, though.
I had just started to do a bit of programming again, but it took only four days for something to seriously go wrong with my left hand. Been seeing four different docs about it, but it looks as if programming is definitely out of the picture for me. I was never any good at it in any case <grin>.
Gloria is still teaching Mandarin-Chinese at the local school and that is going well. The kids absolutely love it. She was supposed to teach for the State of Schleswig-Holstein too, but that fell through twice. Aurora – she really doesn't want to be called Ulani any more – is now at a Gymnasium, the German equivalent of high school. She continues to do well and has made many new friends. She is learning to play the viola there and insists to go to ballet lessons on Tuesdays although that is by far her longest day at school. She is a very happy and carefree young girl with many traits of a teenager. She really only has one problem: Her horrible parents! ; – )
The amazing story this year was about Gloria's book "Guten Tag！你好，我家住在大海上！". It truly turned into a bestseller in the categories travel literature and child rearing. This was only made possible by the enthusiastic support of her publisher "聯合文學". She and Aurora spent the whole summer vacation in Taiwan doing numerous interviews, book signings and other events at TV stations, radio stations, magazines, newspapers and so on. Sometimes up to five a day and even while sitting in a taxi! It was all very exhausting – but also exhilarating. In Taiwan about 10,000 books have been sold up to day and China paid an advance for another 20,000. While the money is nothing to write home about, we are still very pleased by these developments. There might even be a movie deal in the works in China, but this is still very unsure and will take years anyway. The book was presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair this year and several publishers from other countries showed interest, but nothing definite has happened yet.
A side effect of all this was that more and more attention fell on Aurora, who didn't really welcome this part. Still, she went and practiced for a TED Talk in Hamburg, which took place on 8 November. In the beginning stage fright seemed to overwhelm her and we all feared that she might simply not do the talk after all. About 300 to 400 people were standing in front of the door, though. So she screwed up her courage and plowed right ahead. After all, she had spent about two months preparing for the whole thing. Although a technical glitch (not her fault) at the very end of her speech caused the slide show and prompts to stop, the talk was a great success. As the only speaker she got prolonged rhythmic applause after her talk, so that she had to go back on stage to bow to the audience. Very cool, that! We now have to wait for a month or so until the video comes out. I will share it as soon as it is available.
At the moment we are rather busy with the company, as Christmas shopping has started in earnest. Very noticeable! When there is spare time, Gloria is working on various projects. She has been offered to write another book on child rearing as well as a cookbook. She will go back to Taiwan in the next summer vacation, but at the moment we are not really sure whether Aurora will accompany her or not. Aurora and I might take off for six weeks of adventure travel on our own. Might be hiking, might be by kayak, bicycle, motorcycle or something else not completely boring. The arctic in Europe is a tentative goal, but there are so many options available that we simply can't make up our minds. We'll see.
Anyway, I am greatly looking forward to your eMails, phone calls, posts and comments. And if it is only a one-liner. 
Cheers!
H/U/G
