Dear Friends,

Greetings from mid-Michigan! Well, time flies and another year is gone. We have been in Michigan a bit over two years. Here are some highlights for what had happened in 2000 in the Huang family:

The biggest event was that we all went to China for a family reunion in the summer. This is also the first time Guijie's parents and mine met. Guijie and the kids stayed in North China for about a month, then we all met in Beijing.

David turned 13 recently and is now a teenage officially. He continues to do well in school and when in good mood even helps remove snow in the cold Michigan. He received a scholarship from his school because of his good performance in trombone playing. Melissa is now 9 and started gymnastics. Her art craft was shown in the Okemos library and was also printed in a community calendar.

My brother Zhiyi is still continuing school at Lansing Community College. He won a $250 prize in a national writing contest in May. Hopefully he will find a job as soon as he graduates.

Guijie started her second Bible Study Group here in the area, the Watchmen Group, consisted mainly of retired people in the community.

I traveled a lot in the year 2000. First I traveled to Thailand in March, a pretty place where I took many bee pictures, some of which can be seen on my cyberbee website. Even though the site could have been better if I had more time, it was nevertheless picked by the journal Science as the "Best web of the week" in April. My travel route after that: Arizona in April, China in August, Sante Fe in October (Great color for the aspen trees! I even had time to bike with a friend ) and December in Montreal, where I ate 4 new species of insects (the total now is 14). My bug-eating page continues to get unnecessary attention (in the sense that they are not too work-related). My lab is now more or less established. I recently submitted my three year evaluation for appointment renewal, even though I have been here only for 2 years. It might take another 2-3 years to get the dreaded "Tenure". I have spent so much time typing grants and reports that my hands are starting to have the early symptoms of carpal tunnel (repetitive motion syndrome).

We thank our Lord that He has provided us abundantly during 2000 and trust that you too can count your blessings in many ways. We pray that the year 2001 will bring more joy and happiness for you, your family, your friends, and your work place. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Zhiyong, Guijie, David, Melissa, and Zhiyi