Holland

Tuesday, May 5, we took a trip to Holland--Holland, Michigan. It is 95 miles from East Lansing on the coast of Lake Michigan. We took TiLan and her parents with us. TiLan lives in the Student Living Center and is graduating from MSU with her Ph.D. in Finance. She will be teaching at Clemson University in South Carolina. Her parents are here from China for her graduation. We went to experience the Holland Tulip Festival where they celebrate spring with a week-long extravaganza of displays, entertainment, and TULIPS. We enjoyed the day very much even though we could not communicate with TiLan's parents. Elder O'Dell taught Mr. Tang how to say, "See you later, Alligator" -- go figure! And he learned to say something in Mandarin Chinese.

The city of Holland retains a remarkable flavor of old Holland. For the festival, residents don authentic costumes and share Dutch customs, arts, dancing, music, and handicrafts such as Delft china, wooden shoes, lace, and wooden bowls.

Ranelle