Today was the first day of break and so Geoff and I went to McDonalds for lunch. The place looked like the New York Stock Exchange. The Chinese haven't really got the concept of waiting in a line yet, so imagine a crazy lunch hour rush at McDonald's with no lines and you have something similar. Once we got our food, there was no place to sit and so we finally had the good fortune to spot two businessmen right when they were about to get up from a table that sat four, so we went and sat down. A few things to keep in mind here. This place is cramped and crowded, standing room only. There are two of us, and four seats at our table. We waited to see if anyone would come and sit next to the foreigners for nearly twenty minutes. Several people looked like they might, but then quickly turned away. Others simply ate standing up. When we left, it was a mad dash to our table. Afterward, we walked down to the Lotus Center which is a rather large department store. Inside the Lotus Center is well decorated with all the Christmas spirit of anywhere in America. Still can't quite figure that one out, but it took me record time to get annoyed with Christmas carols this year. Geoff and I bought a small Christmas tree and a few decorations (think Charlie Brown)and when we came back to campus decorated a little bit. A little later on, all the staff had a belated Thanksgiving dinner that, even though was lacking in the traditional elements, certainly was not lacking in spirit. As always, Geoff had his camera there and took a few hundred pictures then whittled them down to these.
Geoff's PicasaWeb
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving
Want to know how they celebrate Thanksgiving in China?
OK, I'll tell you.
It's just like any other day. Thanksgiving is a strictly American holiday so the vast majority of the sutdents weren't even aware of the holiday. It's kind of like Americans and Boxing Day. You are aware it exists, and it's even on some calendars but you have no ideas on the specifics besides the fact that its celebrated in some other country. As far as the American staff here, there was really nothing special to commemorate the day. On Sunday, however, there is talk of a pot luck. Certain things are pretty hard to get such as turkey, cranberry sauce, real gravy, and stuffing but we'll see how it turns out.
OK, I'll tell you.
It's just like any other day. Thanksgiving is a strictly American holiday so the vast majority of the sutdents weren't even aware of the holiday. It's kind of like Americans and Boxing Day. You are aware it exists, and it's even on some calendars but you have no ideas on the specifics besides the fact that its celebrated in some other country. As far as the American staff here, there was really nothing special to commemorate the day. On Sunday, however, there is talk of a pot luck. Certain things are pretty hard to get such as turkey, cranberry sauce, real gravy, and stuffing but we'll see how it turns out.
Monday, November 23, 2009
For Once, the Rich White Man Has All The Power :)
At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep."At midnight the cry rang out: 'Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'"Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out." 'No,' they replied, 'there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'"But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut."Later the others also came. 'Sir! Sir!' they said. 'Open the door for us!'"But he replied, 'I tell you the truth, I don't know you.'"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour. Matthew 25:1-13
The Internet died here this morning and it's looking like it won't be repaired for a solid ten days to two weeks. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth on this morning, but it barely affects me. I have had my own internet, DanNet, for a few months now. Yesterday, it was TIP Net, ChinaNet and DanNet. Now it's only DanNet. Effective this morning, I own a full monopoly on Internet services for this campus.
People soon realized that I had nternet, so they were saved! Of course I was happy to help them...for a nominal fee. I may not have a master's in international economics but there is a few things I have learned...among them being Supply and Demand. Since this break in service occurs on Thanksgiving Week, I am giving people one free hour during ideal American calling hours to contact home. It got so bad that earlier the Dean of the entire campus was in my room, asking (and paying) to use DanNet. However, most people can't seem to understand why I don't just set up my router for everyone to use. After all, be a nice person and all that. The answer comes from the Gospel According to Dan:
"At that time, TIP will be like ten facilitators who turned on their computers and went out to check their email. Nine of them were foolish and one of them was wise. The foolish ones depended on the campus for their Internet, the one who was wise bought his own equipment. The email was a long time in loading, and they all became impatient and did other things. At noon, the cry rang out: “Here is the proxy to load your email, come out and install it!”Then all the facilitators got back to their computers. The foolish ones said to the wise “Give us some of your bandwidth, for ours is really slow.”“No” he replied, “there may not be enough for both you and me. Instead, go to those who sell wi-fi and buy some for yourselves.”But while they were off campus, the router broke. And the one who was wise, turned on his own equipment and checked his email, and updated his blog. And the internet was password protected.Later, the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they said, “Unlock the internet for us!” But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I will not.”Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour when the router shall break."
The Internet died here this morning and it's looking like it won't be repaired for a solid ten days to two weeks. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth on this morning, but it barely affects me. I have had my own internet, DanNet, for a few months now. Yesterday, it was TIP Net, ChinaNet and DanNet. Now it's only DanNet. Effective this morning, I own a full monopoly on Internet services for this campus.
"Excellent...."
People soon realized that I had nternet, so they were saved! Of course I was happy to help them...for a nominal fee. I may not have a master's in international economics but there is a few things I have learned...among them being Supply and Demand. Since this break in service occurs on Thanksgiving Week, I am giving people one free hour during ideal American calling hours to contact home. It got so bad that earlier the Dean of the entire campus was in my room, asking (and paying) to use DanNet. However, most people can't seem to understand why I don't just set up my router for everyone to use. After all, be a nice person and all that. The answer comes from the Gospel According to Dan:
"At that time, TIP will be like ten facilitators who turned on their computers and went out to check their email. Nine of them were foolish and one of them was wise. The foolish ones depended on the campus for their Internet, the one who was wise bought his own equipment. The email was a long time in loading, and they all became impatient and did other things. At noon, the cry rang out: “Here is the proxy to load your email, come out and install it!”Then all the facilitators got back to their computers. The foolish ones said to the wise “Give us some of your bandwidth, for ours is really slow.”“No” he replied, “there may not be enough for both you and me. Instead, go to those who sell wi-fi and buy some for yourselves.”But while they were off campus, the router broke. And the one who was wise, turned on his own equipment and checked his email, and updated his blog. And the internet was password protected.Later, the others also came. “Sir! Sir!” they said, “Unlock the internet for us!” But he replied, “I tell you the truth, I will not.”Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour when the router shall break."
Saturday, November 21, 2009
The Roomie's a Shutterbug
So not only is my new roommate the cat's pajamas (goes with the retro theme ;) but he is a pretty avid photographer and has some great equipment. He put together an album that you can see here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/geoffrey.hill/First17Days#
you can get some good shots of our campus as well as our students here.
http://picasaweb.google.com/geoffrey.hill/First17Days#
you can get some good shots of our campus as well as our students here.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
How To Lose Guan Xi...in Color!
The past few days at meal times, our program director Julia has been eating with my class to get to know the students. This has been pretty good because the students have a new target to ask a million questions a day. That is, until yesterday when one of the lower students couldn't remember the particular vocab for his question, so he just asked it in Chinese. We like to keep an English-only environment, so Julia gave him a citation.
It looked something like this...
A citation is pretty much just a reminder to use English and a warning that if you get enough of them, you're in trouble. The first citation is practically meaningless, but the students didn't see it that way and were quite upset with Julia for giving him one since it was only a few words. Well rules are rules so Julia didn't bend on it, and seeing as though she is my boss, I didn't either. So today, the students sat on the complete opposite ends of the table crowding each other so not as to have to sit near Julia.
Hey, at least it built class unity. :)
It looked something like this...
A citation is pretty much just a reminder to use English and a warning that if you get enough of them, you're in trouble. The first citation is practically meaningless, but the students didn't see it that way and were quite upset with Julia for giving him one since it was only a few words. Well rules are rules so Julia didn't bend on it, and seeing as though she is my boss, I didn't either. So today, the students sat on the complete opposite ends of the table crowding each other so not as to have to sit near Julia.
Hey, at least it built class unity. :)
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Snow Problems
This is from the China Daily in an article from yesterdays paper.
Heavy snowstorms in northern China have killed at least 32 people today, according to officials. More than 15,000 buildings had collapsed due to large amounts of snow and 300,000 hectares of winter crops were destroyed, according to the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The ministry estimated that 9.6 million people were affected in some way by the snows, and a further 166,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Most of the deaths were caused by traffic accidents, the ministry said.
Heavy snowfall started on Monday in central and northern parts of China, including the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Shandong. The capital of Beijing was struck by three successive snowfalls, and dozens of flights at airports were canceled or delayed. Beijing and the surrounding area is not very well equipped to handle the snows, as they have few de-icing supplies or snowploughs.
The snowfalls are the heaviest in China since records started being kept in 1949, according to the civil affairs ministry. State media suggested some of the snowfall was started artificially, by cloud seeding.
Heavy snowstorms in northern China have killed at least 32 people today, according to officials. More than 15,000 buildings had collapsed due to large amounts of snow and 300,000 hectares of winter crops were destroyed, according to the Chinese Ministry of Civil Affairs.
The ministry estimated that 9.6 million people were affected in some way by the snows, and a further 166,000 people were evacuated from their homes. Most of the deaths were caused by traffic accidents, the ministry said.
Heavy snowfall started on Monday in central and northern parts of China, including the provinces of Hebei, Shanxi, Henan, Hubei, Shaanxi, and Shandong. The capital of Beijing was struck by three successive snowfalls, and dozens of flights at airports were canceled or delayed. Beijing and the surrounding area is not very well equipped to handle the snows, as they have few de-icing supplies or snowploughs.
The snowfalls are the heaviest in China since records started being kept in 1949, according to the civil affairs ministry. State media suggested some of the snowfall was started artificially, by cloud seeding.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
This Just Isn't Right....
So all the press is covering obama's every movement since he slithered into China last night, including his travels to the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, (locking down dang near the entire city as well) and I have just one question....
How come he didn't have to go through seven days of isolated quarantine like every other foreigner in the country?
How come he didn't have to go through seven days of isolated quarantine like every other foreigner in the country?
What's More Annoying Than a Gloating Packers Fan?
A: A Gloating Packers Fan 12,000 miles from Green Bay.
Schedule
I know that I have a rather unpredicatable posting schedule but I post when the news happens. Not everyday does something "blog worthy" happen. For the most part, it is a typical get up in the morning, go to work, come home at night type thing. Due to the session, I don't really have much of a chance to leave the campus, so that means for the most part I am surrounded by Americans. Let me update you on my typical day.
7:15 - Wake up.
8:00 - 9:50 Class starts. I usually try to be there at least 20 minutes early. My class this session is very low in English speaking ability so it often involves a lot of repeating things and learning to talk very slowly.
10-12 - I use this time to catch up on other things that are happening or will happen throughout the day.
12-1245 Lunch. I sit with my class and get asked the same questions every day. (Do you have a girlfriend? Do you like Chinese food? Do you miss America? Have you ever been to *insert rural province here*? What do you think of China? Doyouhaveagirlfriend? DoyoulikeChinesefood? DoyoumissAmerica? Whatistheairspeedvelocityofanunladenswallow? Haveyoueverbeento*insertruralprovincehere*? WhatdoyouthinkofChina?Doyouhaveagirlfriend?DoyoulikeChinesefood?DoyoumissAmerica?Haveyoueverbeento*insertruralprovincehere*?WhatdoyouthinkofChina?)
As you can see, it all kind of runs together after a while. They will ask these same questions every day for the entire three weeks.
1-4. I use this time to prep for my next class and/or sneak in a nap.
4-5 - Physical exercise time. This is a challenge to plan for. Our director wants the students to have more exercise in the day so he wants us to incorporate a game time. This is pretty hard when you have 30 plus students all in their late twenties to mid forties, who are also business professionals. There are just some things you can't do. ("red rover, red rover, send the primary school headmaster for Chaoyang District right over!") So coming up with a new activity each day that not only suits the students, but the weather as well is a challenge to say the least. Speaking of the weather, we now put things in the refrigerator to keep them from freezing solid. I left a can of soda on my window sill last night and this morning it was rock hard. It turned out alright as now I am enjoying a nice Coke slushie.
5-5:50 - Club time. This is another class that the students go to where they learn more about western things, such as holidays, sports, etc. The lesson planning for this is pretty easy but sometimes it gets a little fun trying to fill an hour talking about Thanksgiving. Go ahead, write down everything you know and do for thanksgiving. See if it takes you more than ten minutes.
6-6:50 - Dinner. See "Lunch"
7-8 - Reading time in the classroom. The students head back to the classroom and fill their minds with new information from American magazines and English language newspapers. Then they write a summary of the article as well as any new words they have learned while doing so. And that's the way it works in theory... In reality, I spend most of my time reminding them to do this, because students seem to think this is "The Sun is Down So I Officially Don't Have to Do Any Work Now" Time. For others, it is "I Don't Understand Any of This So I'm Just Going to Sit Here and Pretend" They are firm believers in the philosophy of "Asking Questions Only Makes It Harder."
Still others follow the more leisurely way "I Bet I Can Sneak A Quick Cigarette and Cell Phone Call Since We're Not Really Doing Anything Now." Time.
8-Only God Knows When - Staff Meeting. Normally pretty quick unless somebody asks an inane question or brings up a controversy about the schedule or something else completely off focus. Somebody always does.
That's the end of my work day, so after that I find time to relax and catch up on things in America and there's always a conversation I look forward to that makes everything better at night. So if you're wondering why I don't post more often, it's because the schedule hasn't deviated from the above in a while. I post when I have news that I feel is worth sharing, hence the title "News From Dan". If I posted everyday, it would be the "Daily Grind From Dan" and who would want that?
7:15 - Wake up.
8:00 - 9:50 Class starts. I usually try to be there at least 20 minutes early. My class this session is very low in English speaking ability so it often involves a lot of repeating things and learning to talk very slowly.
10-12 - I use this time to catch up on other things that are happening or will happen throughout the day.
12-1245 Lunch. I sit with my class and get asked the same questions every day. (Do you have a girlfriend? Do you like Chinese food? Do you miss America? Have you ever been to *insert rural province here*? What do you think of China? Doyouhaveagirlfriend? DoyoulikeChinesefood? DoyoumissAmerica? Whatistheairspeedvelocityofanunladenswallow? Haveyoueverbeento*insertruralprovincehere*? WhatdoyouthinkofChina?Doyouhaveagirlfriend?DoyoulikeChinesefood?DoyoumissAmerica?Haveyoueverbeento*insertruralprovincehere*?WhatdoyouthinkofChina?)
As you can see, it all kind of runs together after a while. They will ask these same questions every day for the entire three weeks.
1-4. I use this time to prep for my next class and/or sneak in a nap.
4-5 - Physical exercise time. This is a challenge to plan for. Our director wants the students to have more exercise in the day so he wants us to incorporate a game time. This is pretty hard when you have 30 plus students all in their late twenties to mid forties, who are also business professionals. There are just some things you can't do. ("red rover, red rover, send the primary school headmaster for Chaoyang District right over!") So coming up with a new activity each day that not only suits the students, but the weather as well is a challenge to say the least. Speaking of the weather, we now put things in the refrigerator to keep them from freezing solid. I left a can of soda on my window sill last night and this morning it was rock hard. It turned out alright as now I am enjoying a nice Coke slushie.
5-5:50 - Club time. This is another class that the students go to where they learn more about western things, such as holidays, sports, etc. The lesson planning for this is pretty easy but sometimes it gets a little fun trying to fill an hour talking about Thanksgiving. Go ahead, write down everything you know and do for thanksgiving. See if it takes you more than ten minutes.
6-6:50 - Dinner. See "Lunch"
7-8 - Reading time in the classroom. The students head back to the classroom and fill their minds with new information from American magazines and English language newspapers. Then they write a summary of the article as well as any new words they have learned while doing so. And that's the way it works in theory... In reality, I spend most of my time reminding them to do this, because students seem to think this is "The Sun is Down So I Officially Don't Have to Do Any Work Now" Time. For others, it is "I Don't Understand Any of This So I'm Just Going to Sit Here and Pretend" They are firm believers in the philosophy of "Asking Questions Only Makes It Harder."
Still others follow the more leisurely way "I Bet I Can Sneak A Quick Cigarette and Cell Phone Call Since We're Not Really Doing Anything Now." Time.
8-Only God Knows When - Staff Meeting. Normally pretty quick unless somebody asks an inane question or brings up a controversy about the schedule or something else completely off focus. Somebody always does.
That's the end of my work day, so after that I find time to relax and catch up on things in America and there's always a conversation I look forward to that makes everything better at night. So if you're wondering why I don't post more often, it's because the schedule hasn't deviated from the above in a while. I post when I have news that I feel is worth sharing, hence the title "News From Dan". If I posted everyday, it would be the "Daily Grind From Dan" and who would want that?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Layouts....They Are a'Changing!
As you can see, there are some major changes around here. I happen to like them, so if you don't, tough :) I think that the new banner has a sort of "retro postcard" feel to it.
You can thank the blog's makeover on the new roomie, Geoff. Back in Cincinnati, he owned his own graphic design firm, so tonight was a night of hexadecimal color codes, CSS code and Macromedia Fireworks. Getting into the technical side of things, this blog is best viewed in Mozilla Firefox. If you don't have it, get it at mozilla.com. It's easy, it's free and it's a heck of lot better than Internet Explorer. You win, Caitlin.
You can thank the blog's makeover on the new roomie, Geoff. Back in Cincinnati, he owned his own graphic design firm, so tonight was a night of hexadecimal color codes, CSS code and Macromedia Fireworks. Getting into the technical side of things, this blog is best viewed in Mozilla Firefox. If you don't have it, get it at mozilla.com. It's easy, it's free and it's a heck of lot better than Internet Explorer. You win, Caitlin.
Monday, November 9, 2009
What Kind of 401(k) Does the Kingdom of Heaven offer?
As you might have seen from a post a while back, payday is a bit different here then in the United States and usually this doesn't cause too much of a concern, but for the past few days it has been a divisive issue on campus. Our pay is ten days late and as of today has been delayed until Friday at the earliest. Needless to say, the workers are not amused.
As for me, it doesn't really bother me. I have enough saved over from previous months to tide me well into 2010 and I know that I'll get paid eventually. I'm really not concerned about this at all, and myself and a few others as well as the leadership here have been trying to convince the others, most notably the new recruits, to put down the pitchforks and torches and listen to some reason. There are three main reasons why I am not worried or upset about a delayed paycheck, er..stack of bills. They are as follows.
The first one is cultural. This is China. If any place in the world is going to act the opposite of America, it's going to be China. While a set standard of pay (such as every Friday, or the first and fifteenth) is the standard in America, such agreements are practically non-existent anywhere in China. Employees either work on commission, or know that they will receive an envelope filled with cash sometime during the month. Delays happen. It may not be as efficient as the American system, but it works and it's the culture. Frankly, I'm not one to mess with the system that pays over a billion and a half people. That seems dangerous. Sure, it's different from what we know and love. But so are squat toilets, boiled intestine surprise, and room temperature beer. But we got used to them. Doesn't mean we have to like them, but it does mean we have to go by them. When in Rome and all that.
Second reason is our employer. We work for ESEC who in turn has a partnership with Peking University. One of the largest and most prestigious (if not the most prestigious)university in all of Asia. Hilary Clinton and Obama have both left slime trails on the main campus on their official visits. The founder of modern China and the guy whose mug graces all the bills on the country started out as the librarian at Peking University, or Beida as it's more colloquially called. It has around 50,000 students in 14 major departments and operates large hospitals, printing houses, research centers, and many more things. You can't go five feet in downtown Beijing without seeing the Beida logo on something. ESEC is one fish in a very busy river. So expecting that they will be consistently on time with the pay of a mere twenty five or so foreigners on a slightly backwater campus, in a culture where the myriad professors and deans themselves probably don't have this luxury, is ridiculous. Delays happen. Especially when you have our location on the totem pole. It's selfish and dangerously ethnocentric to think that special privileges should be extended to you just because you are used to something else.
The third reason is the most important. None of us are here for the money, as what we make here translates into roughly minimum wage in America for much more than 40 hours a week. Even if you did come to China for the money, almost any other English program will pay more. We came, all of us, because we were called by a higher authority. I, for one, think it shows a lack of faith to suggest that the One who called us here would abandon our financial needs when we got here. Sure it might stretch us a little, (for instance, I can remember when I was 12 hours away from complete homelessness on the streets of Seoul with no cash whatsoever) but that only serves to increase our faith. Now, I'm not saying I don't care about money whatsoever, that's most certainly not true, but I'm not going to completely lose focus on my purpose for being here just because I'm getting paid a bit late. Paul's first letter to Tim he says "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." Food? Check. Maybe not always the best looking and/or tasting but I have it. Clothing? Check. And quite stylish may I add. Content? That's what we need to be working on now.
So basically what I have been trying to say to those who are stressed about our financial crisis here is, Chill out. He's in control. The new session starts tomorrow. Do your job and Friday will be here before you know it.
As for me, it doesn't really bother me. I have enough saved over from previous months to tide me well into 2010 and I know that I'll get paid eventually. I'm really not concerned about this at all, and myself and a few others as well as the leadership here have been trying to convince the others, most notably the new recruits, to put down the pitchforks and torches and listen to some reason. There are three main reasons why I am not worried or upset about a delayed paycheck, er..stack of bills. They are as follows.
The first one is cultural. This is China. If any place in the world is going to act the opposite of America, it's going to be China. While a set standard of pay (such as every Friday, or the first and fifteenth) is the standard in America, such agreements are practically non-existent anywhere in China. Employees either work on commission, or know that they will receive an envelope filled with cash sometime during the month. Delays happen. It may not be as efficient as the American system, but it works and it's the culture. Frankly, I'm not one to mess with the system that pays over a billion and a half people. That seems dangerous. Sure, it's different from what we know and love. But so are squat toilets, boiled intestine surprise, and room temperature beer. But we got used to them. Doesn't mean we have to like them, but it does mean we have to go by them. When in Rome and all that.
Second reason is our employer. We work for ESEC who in turn has a partnership with Peking University. One of the largest and most prestigious (if not the most prestigious)university in all of Asia. Hilary Clinton and Obama have both left slime trails on the main campus on their official visits. The founder of modern China and the guy whose mug graces all the bills on the country started out as the librarian at Peking University, or Beida as it's more colloquially called. It has around 50,000 students in 14 major departments and operates large hospitals, printing houses, research centers, and many more things. You can't go five feet in downtown Beijing without seeing the Beida logo on something. ESEC is one fish in a very busy river. So expecting that they will be consistently on time with the pay of a mere twenty five or so foreigners on a slightly backwater campus, in a culture where the myriad professors and deans themselves probably don't have this luxury, is ridiculous. Delays happen. Especially when you have our location on the totem pole. It's selfish and dangerously ethnocentric to think that special privileges should be extended to you just because you are used to something else.
The third reason is the most important. None of us are here for the money, as what we make here translates into roughly minimum wage in America for much more than 40 hours a week. Even if you did come to China for the money, almost any other English program will pay more. We came, all of us, because we were called by a higher authority. I, for one, think it shows a lack of faith to suggest that the One who called us here would abandon our financial needs when we got here. Sure it might stretch us a little, (for instance, I can remember when I was 12 hours away from complete homelessness on the streets of Seoul with no cash whatsoever) but that only serves to increase our faith. Now, I'm not saying I don't care about money whatsoever, that's most certainly not true, but I'm not going to completely lose focus on my purpose for being here just because I'm getting paid a bit late. Paul's first letter to Tim he says "Having food and clothing, with these we shall be content." Food? Check. Maybe not always the best looking and/or tasting but I have it. Clothing? Check. And quite stylish may I add. Content? That's what we need to be working on now.
So basically what I have been trying to say to those who are stressed about our financial crisis here is, Chill out. He's in control. The new session starts tomorrow. Do your job and Friday will be here before you know it.
Friday, November 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Things That Please Dan
- 1 kuai mutton sticks.
- 1.5 kuai Tsingtao
- the new coffee machine on campus.
- chahshka!
- temperatures that are above freezing, for a change.
- www.youku.com
- the Dallas Cowboys defense
- the lack of same on the New York Giants
- being able to actually watch these games
and lately,
- getting up in the morning and finding out that Republican governors are elected in two states that went blue a year ago.
- checking again to find out that Maine voters defeated a gay marriage bill.
- doing a little research that shows Maine is the 31st straight state (no pun intended) that has shot down gay marriage amendments. You think that when every state it has been introduced in, including California and Vermont -- the two most supportive states--it might be time to give up the idea. Not being able to get this bill passed in either of those states nor any other state is akin to not being able to pass a pro cattle raising amendment in Texas, Wyoming, or Oklahoma.
I know that this isn't a political blog, and for my part I have tried my best to keep it that way, but every once in a while it's a good thing to let ol' Dan have his say. Thanks!
- 1.5 kuai Tsingtao
- the new coffee machine on campus.
- chahshka!
- temperatures that are above freezing, for a change.
- www.youku.com
- the Dallas Cowboys defense
- the lack of same on the New York Giants
- being able to actually watch these games
and lately,
- getting up in the morning and finding out that Republican governors are elected in two states that went blue a year ago.
- checking again to find out that Maine voters defeated a gay marriage bill.
- doing a little research that shows Maine is the 31st straight state (no pun intended) that has shot down gay marriage amendments. You think that when every state it has been introduced in, including California and Vermont -- the two most supportive states--it might be time to give up the idea. Not being able to get this bill passed in either of those states nor any other state is akin to not being able to pass a pro cattle raising amendment in Texas, Wyoming, or Oklahoma.
I know that this isn't a political blog, and for my part I have tried my best to keep it that way, but every once in a while it's a good thing to let ol' Dan have his say. Thanks!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Weekend Update
It has been a great start to the break between sessions and so far a lot has been going on.
Saturday
I didn't even realize it was halloween until I stopped by an American chain restaurant for dinner and the waitresses were dressed up. I guess that's what happens when you're not surrounded by constant commercial advertising. =)
That night we had a quick Halloween party that was a lot of fun with the theme being "scary things."
For example...
Then Sunday morning, I woke up and heard what sounded like soft rain falling, so I opened up my curtains to find that the city had been coated in a fresh layer of snow overnight. My guesstimate was four inches in some places. No, this isn't usual. It snows in Beijing, but not this early!
Finally, today was a busy one. Four in the morning found my boss Holly and I headed out to Lush to actually watch the Vikings-Packers game, courtesy of the NFL posting the game online (for a not-so-nominal fee of course...) and then this being Holly's birthday, Brett Favre won the game for her and we took her out to dinner at the Kro's Nest, an American style pizzeria with family style dining. The Kro's Nest has several plaques at the entrance declaring it to have won The Family Friendly Award for such and such a year and Excellence in Family Dining for another year by this and that organization. They even had coloring pages and crayons for the kids, which is pretty rare for Beijing.
yes, that is Kaptain Kro smoking a cigarette while bringing you alcohol. In "the most family friendly restaurant of 2008."
Saturday
I didn't even realize it was halloween until I stopped by an American chain restaurant for dinner and the waitresses were dressed up. I guess that's what happens when you're not surrounded by constant commercial advertising. =)
That night we had a quick Halloween party that was a lot of fun with the theme being "scary things."
For example...
Then Sunday morning, I woke up and heard what sounded like soft rain falling, so I opened up my curtains to find that the city had been coated in a fresh layer of snow overnight. My guesstimate was four inches in some places. No, this isn't usual. It snows in Beijing, but not this early!
Finally, today was a busy one. Four in the morning found my boss Holly and I headed out to Lush to actually watch the Vikings-Packers game, courtesy of the NFL posting the game online (for a not-so-nominal fee of course...) and then this being Holly's birthday, Brett Favre won the game for her and we took her out to dinner at the Kro's Nest, an American style pizzeria with family style dining. The Kro's Nest has several plaques at the entrance declaring it to have won The Family Friendly Award for such and such a year and Excellence in Family Dining for another year by this and that organization. They even had coloring pages and crayons for the kids, which is pretty rare for Beijing.
yes, that is Kaptain Kro smoking a cigarette while bringing you alcohol. In "the most family friendly restaurant of 2008."
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