tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51659760330918188842024-03-13T08:55:26.762+08:00Titles are best chosen after the workMy life in China: interesting things, ordinary things, confusing things, silly things...kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-14849222508786947202010-05-30T00:10:00.005+08:002010-05-30T00:33:26.870+08:00*MY* Mongolia Map...<span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">GLITCH! Dangit! The link below goes to a map of "A Day in My Life" in Beijing, which is the first map you'd see if you go into my maps. I can't seem to link specifically to the Mongolia map... it's there if you want to dig it up... I'm still going to try to work on it... :( Here is a picture of the map you'd ideally see.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdrUgkBSHHA5B1WjZZmS4KR2l-YDIvIrJMbvXJy9k5ZB3HmMFVh-p1lNbX4PMjqJTMWmXeWqUpR_V_6MHtRmeXx9b4JBa-QIEKm9zlNgxk0BWwxU6fZxwnnbWBVjHDUngLWJBPmGMsto/s1600/Ulaanbaator.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 188px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAdrUgkBSHHA5B1WjZZmS4KR2l-YDIvIrJMbvXJy9k5ZB3HmMFVh-p1lNbX4PMjqJTMWmXeWqUpR_V_6MHtRmeXx9b4JBa-QIEKm9zlNgxk0BWwxU6fZxwnnbWBVjHDUngLWJBPmGMsto/s400/Ulaanbaator.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476727788095517698" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=111434989748663524557.000438af347bdafdfb849&ll=39.936592,116.404266&spn=0.106614,0.233459&t=h&z=12">http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=111434989748663524557.000438af347bdafdfb849&ll=39.936592,116.404266&spn=0.106614,0.233459&t=h&z=12</a><br /><br />Ok, so it's Google's map, but I put dots & lines & descriptions all over it to show the places I went. The location of the story beneath this entry, "Recycling Kids" can be found on the map, it's the icon of the hikers. Perhaps I will use this map to refresh my memory and tell more stories.... and yes, I realize no one reads this blog. But I don't care. Writing the little stories down refreshes my memory. Maybe someday my kid or a grandkid (or strangers) will like reading these little things.<br />So there.<br /><br />Or maybe someday I'll have Alzheimer's and this blog will be the only thing that makes me happy. Ya just never know. If I have it while you're reading this, you could also try giving me jigsaw puzzles; that oughta keep me busy for hours. Or put me on the computer with Google maps and tell me to find stuff.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-40470094378446711432010-05-29T11:07:00.004+08:002010-05-29T13:49:20.164+08:00Mongolia Memory: Recycling kidsNo, not trading them in or anything gross. A girl around 6 years old and a boy around 4-5, after dark, collecting cans & bottles. They kicked them along their route, because their arms were full of plastic bags overflowing with recyclables. I first heard them behind us as we were about halfway down a LONG set of outdoor stairs that went partway down a mountain. We'd been sightseeing, to a small mountain you can climb to see some kind of historical monument. You can meander down the back of the mountain over the grass & rocks, past a giant Buddha who stands overlooking the capital city, Ulaan Baator, which I can proudly pronounce properly.<br />:-D<br />I forget what the historical monument was all about, but I remember the shabby, rickety bus ride there and the walk back. I still have some little rocks I picked up from an excavation site on the way. I wrote "I am from Mongolia" on one.<br /><br />So on the way back from our dusk jaunt to this little mountain, halfway down that LONG flight of steps, my little rocks in pocket, water bottle in another... we start to hear clinks, clanks, & clunks falling down the stairs from the top. The kids were gently kicking, more like nudging, cans & bottles down the stairs with their feet... arms overflowing with shopping bags overflowing with recyclables.<br /><br />They wanted EVERY can they could get. They were not only cute, and it made such a lovely yet sad scene, but the thing that stood out after seeing so many kids begging... not only begging but physically grabbing tourists' arms and saying their few English words, "Money, money, eat, eat"... was that these two kids were walking near us, two white people, and NOT begging. Not asking for a cent. They were working for their money, at that age - hip height. My sightseeing buddy had lived in Mongolia for a couple months and I'm assuming he handled it in a good way. He didn't hand them money. He dropped it in their path. He dropped a 500 note (about enough for one night's worth of vegetables for a family). He didn't say anything, and neither did they. The girl stopped and looked at us, unsure of what to do. I wondered if she was thinking of telling us we dropped something. I didn't want her to feel like she'd stolen, so I turned back and smiled and gave a look that said it was for her. She smiled back and stooped down, managing to pick it up without putting down her armfuls of cans & bottles.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZtABgkMTCIhcMkD8khuwtAAAc1AU4CYn6uK5b0GNLmxElP9U7zPjGW_xV6LVCVTezrMiv_yr4kTd5RxWtlzDi_M1OB81T25Bj5JgA-iPEN3iYahhIJI9lLZwpnCtmjVsDqHnGYluRy8/s1600/mongolia_map.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzZtABgkMTCIhcMkD8khuwtAAAc1AU4CYn6uK5b0GNLmxElP9U7zPjGW_xV6LVCVTezrMiv_yr4kTd5RxWtlzDi_M1OB81T25Bj5JgA-iPEN3iYahhIJI9lLZwpnCtmjVsDqHnGYluRy8/s320/mongolia_map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476564769006414194" border="0" /></a>kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-74869317687803013372010-05-29T10:59:00.004+08:002010-05-29T11:07:05.199+08:00someone stole my weather widgetI had a lovely red weather widget in the top right corner that told the weather in Beijing. It's gone. Just disappeared. That's what happens when you ignore your blogs. People pillage them.<br />Hmm.<br />I find myself missing the striking color of it more so than actually knowing the weather in Beijing. It looked good.<br />*sigh*...<br />Life has been quite turbulent lately.<br /><br />On an unrelated note, when I got back to the US (2008) I was missing a picture disk of my entire trip to Mongolia. My pictures literally stop at the border, where I changed disks. I was thinking about Mongolia today, and when I gather my thoughts I'm going to write some of those memories being that I don't even have a photo and I don't want it to disappear... once I no longer remember it, it's gone.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-61943444131178335452010-01-21T08:27:00.006+08:002010-01-25T22:56:02.363+08:00Chinese New Year: my first firework and movingI moved from my first apartment to my second during the week of Spring Festival (aka: Chinese New Year, sort of). I spent a few days in my old apartment watching neighbors set off fireworks and packing my things. It was a slightly lonely time, as my son was in the U.S. and I was leaving the 2 kids I'd been tutoring, moving to a new area with a new job, etc.<br />I was "in between"... nowhere.<br />Not even sure if I should stay in China or not.<br />All around me Chinese people were talking about family, and excited about going back to their hometowns to see their parents or brothers & sisters. One girl at work came in <span style="font-style: italic;">so excited</span> about getting a train ticket after sleeping out for 2 days even though it was a "standing only" ticket for a 26 hour trip. Wow.<br />It made me miss my family and friends probably more so than at Christmas or other holidays of ours. I didn't hear any buildup or excitement about "our" holidays, but as Spring Festival approached, things got more & more sentimental. But it felt lonely because it wasn't "my holiday". It was a holiday I didn't grow up with, and I didn't fully understand. I felt the excitement and the love for family, but as an outsider I felt left out.<br /><br />So here I was, all alone, putting my things into a taxi and moving across the big wide city. Within a few days I had all my things moved and was all alone in <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/kanyixin/MyApartment18thFloorLiuFangBeijing#">my tiny new 18th story Chinese apartment</a> (as opposed to my larger, nicer, "western" one).<br />I looked out the window at night, hearing people yelling happily and laughing, and I got very sad. I may have even shed a tear. I went outside. I wanted to be a part of the festivities that were still going on about halfway through Spring Festival, and even though I was alone I figured I'd at least physically put myself out there in it and see if it would make me feel better or worse.<br /><br />There was a middle aged man hanging an ENORMOUS string of fireworks from a tree. It was at least 3 feet long and a foot wide; ALL fireworks. I couldn't imagine the sound it would make, and I stood around to watch. I felt awkward standing among my new neighbors, whom I had only seen now for a minute in the dark of night, and wondered if they could even tell I was a foreigner. I had some leftover loneliness in me, but decided to stick around....<br />... the man made sure the huge firework was secure, and as he turned my way I saw a big grin on his face. Little children were nearby, anxiously waiting for him to light it off, as well as plenty of adults, too. I don't know what made him do it, but he walked over to me, smiling, and handed me the lighter.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">He had </span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">no idea</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> how warm that made me feel.</span><br />He probably also didn't know I had never set off even a tiny American firework before, let alone something that could blow my fingers off.<br />I almost declined due to inexperience and the feeling that it wasn't "my holiday", but I decided to go for it. I mean, <span style="font-style: italic;">he did</span> give me the lighter. I smiled and walked over and lit it and ran to the radius everyone else was standing at, figuring anything more would make me look like an inexperienced chicken foreigner.<br />That thing was LOUD.<br /><br />That was one of the nicest moments of my life.<br />I felt welcomed, like I belonged there, like that was now my neighborhood, and it <span style="font-style: italic;">was</span> my neighborhood for a year and a half later. I walked it and rode my bike around it with groceries in my basket like I belonged there, partly thanks to that man who handed me the lighter, not having a clue it was my first night there and how lonely I felt and how warm and included that would make me feel.<br /><br />The following New Year I set off fireworks from the roof of that building, as I was the only one who had access (by climbing out my window). Chinese New Year and Spring Festival were now my holidays too.<br />I was invited.<br />And if I went back to visit I'd still walk around that neighborhood like it's mine; it still is, and I miss it like it's mine.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-16146478084136161742010-01-21T07:58:00.005+08:002010-01-25T22:58:24.171+08:00Chinese New YearFifteen days of "anything goes". In Beijing, when I was there, the law was that fireworks were not allowed within the 2nd Ring Road, which means the most populated part of the city (or maybe it was the 3rd?) Either way.... HA! What a laugh!<br /><br />If you look at my Picasa Photo Albums (top right of the blog) there's <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/kanyixin/200801FireworksChineseNewYear#">a folder called Chinese New Year</a>. The first few pictures were taken at the Drum and Bell Towers, which are pretty much in the dead center of the city (so much for that law), and from where various events were sounded out from the towers way back when. We were able to go up into the Drum Tower (for a fee, it's a mild tourist attraction now) and get a view of the whole city. Fireworks in every direction, popping up here & there, dotted along the horizon as far as the eye could see. I had the awesome feeling that all over China, in every city, the same thing was happening at that moment. Over a billion people all celebrating the same thing at the same time. I wondered what it would look like flying over in a plane. You could see fireworks below for hours, covering this huge land mass, for 2 weeks. Awesome.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAJ9GnJcGnHTlTlrWbgpA6ggO9fEEKISl59C4QUFSkmKHAwQJjFUeAdSXntnLvSK9wAj1NEZ9GOaZRUqQ_dL5P9LlYdmkKr7zDeVNmoHtvfEX4MZwbD2KN5Sb3yNVRxsQTInuhRAND4A/s1600-h/2008CNY01.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 108px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfAJ9GnJcGnHTlTlrWbgpA6ggO9fEEKISl59C4QUFSkmKHAwQJjFUeAdSXntnLvSK9wAj1NEZ9GOaZRUqQ_dL5P9LlYdmkKr7zDeVNmoHtvfEX4MZwbD2KN5Sb3yNVRxsQTInuhRAND4A/s320/2008CNY01.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5428994857513238482" border="0" /></a>The streets are covered in red paper from any ol' people setting off any ol' fireworks they could get their hands on or afford. I regret not taking a picture of the 5yr old boy I passed on the street stuffing firecrackers into an empty soda can, surely with the intent of watching the whole thing explode. I decided I'd rather just keep walking and not hang around to see if he burns his little hands; as much as I'd have loved that picture, I'd rather not be any part of it when he actually lights the fuse.<br /><br />At that time of year, I was actually among the most knowledgeable in the city as far as getting around on public transportation. Beijingers went to their hometowns for the vacation, and outsiders came into the city for fun. They didn't know where the buses went, but I rode them like an old hand, finding the newbies even slightly annoying in their giddy ignorance of which side of the subway tracks to stand on.<br />It felt good.<br /><br />More another time...kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-77501150527545769062009-04-17T11:49:00.005+08:002009-04-17T13:04:14.649+08:00Cyanide apples and a little girl...Sounds like the ingredients of a fairy tale. But no, just an ordinary day in my life tutoring Tiffany and Paulo, ages 9 & 11. I'd ride with them to and from school (going home in between) and they'd always have a snack on the way home, usually fruit. Tiffany would eat the whole apple.<br />I mean the WHOLE apple, all but the stem.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRdpoajJ5aanwFRW6gBSFmXF_DUzfp44LQy_9G-xat0IfdJbEmVA-T5gIctdtb9hE2ZVG0YfLeFN2ClbY1TNsmTS82OVVLtKtWSk7KymnES2ZVGPkGDUwHJPYRRUgk26Zsuo7ffBdMHU/s1600-h/927156.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 170px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJRdpoajJ5aanwFRW6gBSFmXF_DUzfp44LQy_9G-xat0IfdJbEmVA-T5gIctdtb9hE2ZVG0YfLeFN2ClbY1TNsmTS82OVVLtKtWSk7KymnES2ZVGPkGDUwHJPYRRUgk26Zsuo7ffBdMHU/s320/927156.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325518149595705218" border="0" /></a><br /><br />I once saw a homeless guy do that, but Tiffany was far from homeless. She was a bright, friendly, positive girl from a home that gave her everything. Yet still she didn't waste even an apple seed, and had a heart that could hold all the world's poor children, and it did, as she wanted desperately to give a backpack of school supplies to a poor rural town's fellow 3rd graders but her mother said she could only give away her old things and she would not buy any new things to give. She cried after her mother and brother left the room.<br /><br />I could write more about Tiffany and Paulo, and I just might, but I want to get back to the cyanide. It's in apricot pits, cherry pits, apple seeds, and some other nuts.<br /><br />I was eating some apricots at my apartment in China with a friend over. He kept the pits aside and asked for something I didn't understand as he looked around. His eyes brightened when he found a hammer. He squatted down and proceeded to bang the pits with the hammer on my tile floor, missing most of the time, pits escaping the hammer head, shooting under furniture and into other rooms. He finally got one open and ate the nut inside, which looked like a fat almond.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi070lCcopVwU2wrQnEKYz4o3-25wnxv3ZLYz__evvjsm4347s5Zemx0MoLgAlRUNdHCzFWWlhYsAcQVgoKkLi8y0OoO2EnCCMkF7VcSDMXLSXr-MlB7YUbXSlSe5WOZlybFceYOPju1uw/s1600-h/Sweet_Apricot_Kernels.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi070lCcopVwU2wrQnEKYz4o3-25wnxv3ZLYz__evvjsm4347s5Zemx0MoLgAlRUNdHCzFWWlhYsAcQVgoKkLi8y0OoO2EnCCMkF7VcSDMXLSXr-MlB7YUbXSlSe5WOZlybFceYOPju1uw/s320/Sweet_Apricot_Kernels.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5325516470214165970" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The second one he broke open he gave to me, anxious to see my delight as he introduced me to the new exotic taste of... suntan lotion. My face cringed up and I wondered why on earth anyone would eat these things by choice. I assumed they must be healthy. Well, they are and they aren't....<br /><br />They taste like bitter almond and contain a tiny bit of cyanide. This makes many people say we should not consume them, and the internet abounds with stories of people going to the hospital after swallowing cherry pits. Thing is, the cyanide doesn't really come out if you swallow the pits whole.<br />And two reasons<span style="font-style: italic;"> for </span>eating the seeds of apples at least (most people are still too afraid to eat apricot pits even though some cultures do it regularly):<br /><br />1.) It's been said that the skin of the fruit contains the antidote for cyanide. So the idea is that if you eat the whole fruit, those few seeds will not hurt you, but if you eat a cupful of apple seeds crushed or chewed with no apple skin, you can die. Who the hell'd want to eat a cupful of crushed apple seeds anyway? They taste like miniature apricot pits, which taste like poison. Not something you want to add to your banana bread unless you're looking to off some- ... anyway...<br /><br />2.) It's been discovered (don't ask me for my sources, I don't remember) that apparently cancer tumors are the only thing found in the human body that can bond with cyanide, counteracting it. So when they find each other in you, I guess they sort of... become friends and both get born again as mellow non-harmful-whatevers. No more cancer cell, no more cyanide molecule. They've fiddled with this as a potential cure for cancer but it's also been labeled as "quackery". Imagine if it's true that an apple a day can keep us out of Sloan and save billions of dollars in medication and doctor bills. No, really, IMAGINE it. Some cultures don't have cancer you know. They don't ever need to go to a doctor for it.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">WHY am I bringing this up?</span><br />I looked it up after eating a WHOLE apple yesterday and wondering how much better it might be for me than leaving the core. I do tend toward the idea of eating as naturally as possible, so I think I'm going to eat the whole apple from now on, even though the middle tastes like slightly bitter almonds. Hey, if there's a chance it might go in there and smart-bomb a few cancer cells before they have a chance to reproduce, it's darn worth it to me. Too bad we can't know if it's working. But it's clear that 5 apple seeds can't hurt.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-73185483394797449512009-04-14T12:39:00.007+08:002010-05-29T06:25:13.105+08:00Red Hair Dye Job Disaster<div>I decided to visit the local hairdresser on my street, the one with the cute little baby... I had actually seen people getting their hair done there, and it wasn't an all-night "hairdresser" like the ones by the bus stop that men come out of at 11pm, so I figured it'd be safe...<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">(<span style="font-weight: bold;">note:</span> In the U.S. I had only been to a hairdresser once - when I was the maid of honor in my sister's wedding; she made us all go together. Now WHAT on earth possessed me to go to a hairdresser in CHINA?? Please don't ask... a friend talked me into covering some grey, which I don't normally care about, but I succumbed to the peer pressure and adventure of doing something new...)</span><br /></div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I asked for my natural color, to cover a little bit of grey. I said everything right; it was VERY CLEAR what I wanted and they definitely understood. They said they can't just dye part, they have to do my whole head. They showed me a book of fake hair samples and I pointed to the color I wanted. But as they bleached out my color I wondered why they weren't putting any brown in... they thought I'd like it if they made me BLEACH BLONDE! They styled it all nice and I said "why didn't you put brown?" and he said, "but it's so pretty isn't it??" and I got mad saying I asked for brown, the brown in the book, and would you believe he said they were all out of that one?!? I said so why didn't you tell me, you just put no color?!? (knowing he just wanted to experiment on me) ...I was so mad.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>They told me to pick a different brown and they'd put it in... ...they suggested a brown, and knowing my colors I could see it had a very tiny hint of reddish in it. I said no, it has a little red (knowing that the red would be pulled out on the bleach-blonde) but they insisted it wouldn't be noticeable, and I decided to believe them. As they were rinsing my hair (and I couldn't yet see it) they quietly muttered things I didn't understand, and I said in chinese, "too much red, right?" and they didn't want to say, but, well, you can see for yourself...</div><div> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInEYQdWzb02F6DbvnTmg2Geqo3MYqI6dRC0qeUz_pEK7N0O3VRAJCb8kVRhEGqF4JmJi02dWkbs5-jqev_7nmxTucWb8s1mQheHB2yY4fb8-WddeaHjVYI4UYk9JAemtSbUOwPhoVbbg/s1600-h/07red03m.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324405692062403826" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left; width: 320px; height: 238px;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgInEYQdWzb02F6DbvnTmg2Geqo3MYqI6dRC0qeUz_pEK7N0O3VRAJCb8kVRhEGqF4JmJi02dWkbs5-jqev_7nmxTucWb8s1mQheHB2yY4fb8-WddeaHjVYI4UYk9JAemtSbUOwPhoVbbg/s320/07red03m.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div>I had to call my boss from the chair, cape on shoulders, making them pause their blow-drying, in tears, explaining why I had to miss a class. I held the phone up to the hairdresser and angrily cried in Chinese, "YOU tell my boss why I'm late!" Of course she didn't, and I didn't expect her to. My boss said, "Well, just get here as soon as you can no matter what color your hair is."</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>I was there FOUR HOURS total!!! I really did cry for real, and they started to feel bad and said they'd fix it. I said in my bad chinese, "two times you did it wrong, you want to do it a third time?? You think I'm stupid?!?" and they just said sorry, sorry, come back tomorrow, and I said "Really? Tomorrow you'll know how to make brown??" and I left, running home, trying not to miss my next class. I was so embarrassed to go into work, but then some of the other teachers said I looked sexy that way. Even if it was a lie it made me laugh and feel better.</div><div></div><br /><div>I let my hair rest 2-3 days then a Chinese friend took me to buy a box of brown from the supermarket and we did it at my house and it made it a tiny bit darker but not much. </div><div> </div><div> </div><div>After that, every 3-4 weeks I did another box of brown trying to make it darker and darker, but it would always fade back to red after a few weeks. This all happened TWO YEARS AGO this month (April 2007) and my hair still has light, dry ends. </div>kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-43098339694193161792009-04-09T13:08:00.003+08:002009-04-09T13:22:49.953+08:00Much nicer "old lady on a bus" story...It was the 104 bus, I believe.<br />I was near the back but not quite.<br />An elderly woman with a huge bouquet mostly made up of pink flowers got on and sat behind me. I could smell them from my seat. I decided this was a good opportunity to practice my Chinese. I turned around and said, "your flowers are very pretty, they smell nice". She smiled and said something; I don't remember what and perhaps I didn't understand. I continued, "Is it your birthday?" She laughed and said "No, no....." and said something about her son and a big event. My impression was that it was some kind of award ceremony or retirement party - something related to his work. The flowers were likely part of the decor, and being his mother she was allowed to take one home. I could be wrong. I could be WAY wrong, as I didn't understand 90% of what she said, but somehow I got that very strong impression.<br /><br />I've sometimes wondered how much of a conversation I invent when I'm listening and don't really understand. I know it's very easy to do. Our brains want to fill in blanks, and they are constantly doing this every day and we don't realize it. We sometimes call it a filter that each of us has, that alters the way we understand things from person to person. But when we only have a tiny bit of information missing it's not a big deal and only leads to occasional misunderstandings. When we are missing 90%, well, let me tell you from experience, we could be on an entirely different subject than whatever it is the other person is trying to convey. I saw this most clearly and measurably after I actually understood a particular Chinese TV show. At first I understood about 2-10%, and I imagined the rest. Now I understand about 75% and it's not what I thought. The guy who I thought was cheating on his wife and I didn't like him throughout the whole series was actually set up and innocent the whole time. Not only that but he's one of the two "good guys" in the whole thing.<br /><br />Hmm... anyone out there in what you think is a bad relationship might want to take up a new language.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-5690835358639496012009-04-09T12:26:00.005+08:002009-04-09T12:58:46.077+08:00Old lady waking me up...People in China doze off everywhere. I thought it was odd at first but I soon found myself closing my eyes and getting some serious relaxation done on subways, buses, etc.<br />Not on the bicycle.<br /><br />So one late night after work on the 110 bus I had one of those awkward seats that faces backward, facing another person. I was facing an elderly Chinese woman. I had a LONG ride ahead so I leaned on the window and closed my eyes. I was slightly dozing but not completely; still aware of anything that would be out of the ordinary, still aware of each time the bus stopped. After a lot of bus stops went by I guess she was wondering if I was completely asleep and had possibly missed my stop, or soon would. I don't know if she was messing with me to see if I'd understand Chinese or if she was simply treating me like she'd treat a Chinese person, but she suddenly "accidentally" bumped my foot with hers and said in a normal voice, "you asleep?". I opened my eyes and smiled, but she didn't see the smile - she turned away almost as if she didn't do anything so I didn't bother saying "thank you". It was almost like, "I'll do a small duty and the exact moment my job is done I will completely disengage from it as if I never even did a thing."<br /><br />What's that all about?<br />Was she messing with me to see if I'd understand her, or was she being concerned I'd miss my stop?<br />Either way, she left an impression.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkc2rRG5rMDwsXeL-VgxzoLZOP8zSLmX8EAT9cX0MWC45ARehEuuY6qFqIB2ib-rEEi0ur5xtfos9ykZnjklJ3qMUlcBEn80EeSe9BAm1uHfYZQl1NnbmRCUyxQMnsX7awRUxznSdlRIo/s1600-h/DSCF4499.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkc2rRG5rMDwsXeL-VgxzoLZOP8zSLmX8EAT9cX0MWC45ARehEuuY6qFqIB2ib-rEEi0ur5xtfos9ykZnjklJ3qMUlcBEn80EeSe9BAm1uHfYZQl1NnbmRCUyxQMnsX7awRUxznSdlRIo/s400/DSCF4499.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5322551132264772962" border="0" /></a>kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-52533555974395818232008-12-30T03:40:00.004+08:002008-12-30T03:49:58.957+08:00Dreams of sugar plums... er... rice milk teaI had a dream last night that I was in Beijing, walking down the street where I used to teach at Canon once a week, past a convenience store I usually went into before class to buy a particular rice milk tea (which I couldn't find other places) and some kind of snack before class.<br />As I walked past (in the dream) I thought, "Wow, it feels so nice to be here, and there's that store, I should go get one of those drinks and a muffin." But I was on my way to find some other place a few blocks away, so I kept walking, figuring there'd be plenty of time to go back for that drink later, because I was going to stay in Beijing for a while, and it felt so nice to know I'd be there for a long time....<br /><br />Then I woke up.<br /><br />I should've enjoyed the drink while I had the chance. Darnit.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-14865827570232302352008-11-06T03:47:00.001+08:002008-11-06T03:48:48.656+08:00Tuning my djembeMy small adventure partially restringing my djembe drum is coming soon...kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-66833806462060450322008-11-05T09:59:00.013+08:002008-11-06T04:06:45.473+08:00Great Chinese Expectations<div>Yay!<br /><div><div>I recently finished reading Great Expectations!</div><div>In Chinese!</div><div>Sounds impressive, huh?</div><div>Fine, it's a 5th grade level version, with pictures, and bilingual. </div><div>So it's not so impressive, but for ME it's great. I've been working on it on & off since I was in China; it's been one of my bigger goals in Chinese.<img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5264992429833520962" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 200px; height: 167px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwLCRUdjYTvp-LluXwFap3ayMvRYjp_xEeeHQRWeAyhTKwr8weMORp6usqh-423OFz7QS5CiwURfGISt5qdQUWqsJ-oPw27iNZojT1wUFp-NBm2z_yD6e9HVNUxAIE0ibZQK7ZZ9n6zYw/s200/Great+Exp1.jpg" border="0" />I'll give you an example in English of how much I understand. Blue is words I know, red dashes are words I don't know.</div><div>You can<span style="font-weight: bold;"> click the picture</span> to read the 'real' English words, or see which Chinese characters I know. Red underlined means I don't know that hanzi, yellow means I know them individually but don't know what they mean together used that way.<br />And here I'll type the literal translation though it'll sound funny. Do you like the anime-like illustrations? Pip with big cartoon crying eyes...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8f9m1AfrS6oWrGWw8n34-ueHhwWYKYh1MD1YZcp9OQDMu5IsTArOjQBcv98yQ22Re_htcbX-3AaAYJZaUx75DPzmklgUkPgE1wx-zeNex8eIECjiG27I5xJJuKPHzcI9iGUlcHYEki5o/s1600-h/Great+Exp2a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8f9m1AfrS6oWrGWw8n34-ueHhwWYKYh1MD1YZcp9OQDMu5IsTArOjQBcv98yQ22Re_htcbX-3AaAYJZaUx75DPzmklgUkPgE1wx-zeNex8eIECjiG27I5xJJuKPHzcI9iGUlcHYEki5o/s400/Great+Exp2a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265259227013405042" border="0" /></a></div><br /><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">"No, I don't agree, Pip," she said, "You should <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">__</span> a <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">__.</span>"</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">So I </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">___ </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">played, while Estella </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">___ </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">me. Finally, Miss Havisham <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">__</span> should let me go home.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">[Hey, this is like Mad Libs, maybe you can fill in the blanks with your own words and put it in the comments or send it to me for fun]</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">"I want you within 6 days come back." she said to my back (as I walked away), "Before you go, Estella will give you some things to eat."</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">Estella gave me some bread and a few pieces of meat </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">when make cow ___?" </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">[some kind of beef I guess]<span style="color: rgb(51, 204, 0);">[HAHA! edit: I got "cow" mixed up with "afternoon"; they look similar! So it's not "when make beef.." it's "for lunch", LOL...]</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">But there was no way <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">___</span> this food. I felt myself was only a small dog, because </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">__ __ __ __. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">I felt very <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">__</span>. Eyes <span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">__ </span>not stay tears come.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span> </div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);">When Estella saw me cry, she was very pleased. She smiling brought me to the gate.</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 102);"></span> </div></div></div>kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-20206804539754013452008-11-05T09:54:00.003+08:002008-11-06T04:07:12.318+08:00Cold PizzaI was reheating a slice of pizza in a frying pan, and wondering why it wasn't sizzling yet, feeling it, still cold....<br />I turned on the wrong burner.<br />I have an electric stove, so you can't see a burner on. A back burner was busy heating the air while my pizza was staying cold in the pan.<br />Duh.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-33281532112304930522008-10-31T14:01:00.002+08:002008-11-06T04:07:59.656+08:00Heat Fail (or is it cold fail?)Fine, I'm a wimp. I didn't do it. I wimped out and turned on my heat. I wanted to make it to November 15th like all the people in China, and like I did the past two winters, but I gave up. I failed.<br />Here's how I'll alleviate my guilt:<br /><br />A.) It's not like the chinese people don't WANT heat before Nov 15th. If they had a choice I'm sure they'd turn it on well before that. They'd probably think I'm dumb for not turning mine on if I'm allowed.<br /><br />B.) The day I turned on my heat (yesterday, 10/29) it snowed in my area. I didn't actually see the snow, but people said it did and the news said it did.<br /><br />C.) I saw my breath, in my house.<br /><br />I guess snow + seeing your breath = it's ok to turn on the heat. No need to go any further than that in 2008 USA. Now Harbin.... I wanted to live in Harbin, which is way north in China. They have an ice hotel and ice sculptures and ice festivals.... but I hate the cold.<br /><br />Well, I made it to the first snow and seeing my breath in my living room. I guess I can be proud after all. Good enough!<br />:)kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-4849846030404443942008-10-31T11:58:00.004+08:002008-10-31T12:24:20.930+08:00Forward THIS for good luck! AAARGHHHH!Ok, I've been sick of all the "forward this to 10 people" emails for about 10 years now. When will they ever stop?!? We've heard them all!<br /><br />The last one I got, though I appreciate the sender's good intentions, had some amusing discrepancies in it..... "This is a Chinese proverb. It originated in the Netherlands." Ok, so they meant the guy who started sending it out sent it from the Netherlands, I guess. But it came across as rather silly at first. "It's been around the world 8 times". Really? How do you know that, and how do you count "around the world"? Do you have to send it along like this: Netherlands, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, NY, NJ, PA, OH, ....... NV, CA, across the Pacific to Japan, China, etc...? Or if I send it directly to China and that person sends it right back to my area again does that count? Yeah, whatever.<br /><br />It said a guy sent it out right away and won $99 million dollars in his country. In his country? What is that supposed to mean? You know 99 million tughriks is only $86,766? Still, I'd take it.<br /><br />If you can tell me what country tughriks are from without looking it up, I'll give you one. It's worth $0.000876424.<br /><br />And another guy DIDN'T send his and his son fell gravely ill. But then he sent it and the son got better. Another guy didn't send it and he lost his job.... so..... you're giving me BAD luck? Gee thanks. You're basically forcing me to take action. How dare you MAKE something BAD or GOOD happen to me when I didn't ask for anything. And why do I have to send it to 20 people to deserve the good luck? What if I don't have 20 people I can email to? <br /><br />Finally, it said the good luck will come in 4 days.<br />Then it said within one day.<br />Then it said a few days.<br /><br />Well, now if I have a run of bad luck I know who to blame. Some guy in the Netherlands who probably forgot about it by now. I hereby state that all the bad luck people like me are supposed to get... goes to him.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-71615568574011281562008-10-21T23:20:00.005+08:002008-11-11T02:06:57.206+08:00Open mic night and 11hrs of warm waterOk so to complete the experiment, I checked on the water in the thermos after open mic night. There was less than a cup left, and after 11 hours total it was lukewarm. Warmer than the air, but cooler than my mouth. And it tasted a little like plastic. It was my first use of the thermos, though I did wash it. So if you buy this item, don't use it for guests more than 6-7 hours when it's new.<br /><br />Open mic night was great tonight, for the first time I started feeling more sure of myself and there was one song at the end where we all just gave it all our might. It was a fast, loud, hard song, but it wasn't just noise, it was pretty good. They tape everything there; maybe I can get a copy.<br /><br />:)<br /><br />I ended up with some little bruises on my hand, which tells me two things:<br />1 - I had fun and played well (so far the amount of hand pain actually equals how well I played)<br />2 - I'm playing wrong; I am now investigating proper hand positions.<br />A bruise means you broke a blood vessel, right? So I don't think that's smart, to go breaking blood vessels on purpose, and when I do, to continue beating on them, hitting the broken blood vessels hundreds more times.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-42507649126195142552008-10-21T07:50:00.006+08:002008-10-21T09:04:41.100+08:00Never underestimate the usefulness of a good Thermos(tm) and a hatIn my last entry I lamented the loss of my thermos mug from China. It kept liquid hot for over an hour, in February, with no lid. That's scientific genius, dontcha think?<br /><br />In the spirit of saving money, and of wanting to be tough like I was in China (waiting until November 15, when the whole city's heat was turned on all at once - those communists ARE powerful - magical even!) I want to prolong turning on my heat as long as possible. (maybe they wanted to wait until EVERY LAST PERSON was so cold that they'd be so thankful and appreciative to even have heat when it finally came on)<br /><br />So I'm going to try, and now that I announced it publicly (to all the millions of readers here) I'm going to have to really try to do it.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;"><strong>NOVEMBER 15</strong></span><br /><br /><br />Can you make it?<br /><br />Try it!<br /><br />Our NJ/NY weather is similar to Beijing. If millions of Chinese people can do it, surely you can too. You can get a feel for what it's like to live in a big city in China. <span style="color:#ff0000;">Don't turn your heat on until November 15th.</span><br /><br />Some ways to beat the cold, inside:<br /><br />- wear layers (no duh); this includes not only a sweater, but long johns under pants during the day as well as under jammies at night. I was amazed that EVERYONE had long johns on in China. Everyone does it, every day in the winter. It's a normal part of life in colder climates, just do it.<br /><br />- wear a thin glove on your "mouse hand" while on the computer; when even one part of your body feels cold, you may perceive your whole body to be cold, turning up the heat, when really it was just your feet, or just your mouse hand, and you can fix that easily.<br /><br />- wear double socks, and slippers<br /><br /><br />- get out an extra blanket and toss it on your bed (or under the top one if you care what it looks like)<br /><br />- wear a hat to bed; after all, you're bundled up under blankets but all that heat is escaping from your head, which is the only part sticking out. I did this last winter and it was actually quite cozy and nice. It makes a HUGE difference. Trust me, before you start turning on your heat, just do the simple thing of wearing a knitted-type hat to bed. And keep it on in the morning until you get going. A hat and two blankets, and you can keep your thermostat down several degrees for 8 hours a day while you sleep, I promise you.<br /><br />- take a water bottle to bed. I got that one from my cousin Patty; she had one for each kid. Then I learned that people in China do it too. Put it on your pillow before you lay your head down, then put it down by your feet or cuddle with it.<br /><br />- have a hot drink at all times; you'd be surprised at how much warmer you'll stay simply sipping something hot every now & then, and holding it to warm your hands<br /><br /><br />... and to help you always have a hot drink on hand... without even having to get up off the couch... is an amazing discovery called THE VACUUM. No, not the thing you clean your floor with. A REAL thermos bottle, a GOOD one, has a vacuum (the air is sucked out) between the inner and outer walls. Most "thermos" (which is a name brand, but whatever brand) bottles & mugs, cheap ones especially, have two walls, but not a vacuum, just air between them. That helps a little, but it's NOTHIN' compared to having a vacuum in that space. SERIOUSLY. Here's what I just bought:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjwqkgKkVdRIanFWflyzr4k0GQGvHjNrfMfU7WMjJS_cOKMPK8GVCNtLsKUQSU4I6O5f9_EJGxU2EapPYOdDsl8IK6Jkv-Fo-7ALwAUyntPFy8lPRu7238KJDLaoJ5xhsjIFNoSqMSpk/s1600-h/thermos.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259404210161010594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjwqkgKkVdRIanFWflyzr4k0GQGvHjNrfMfU7WMjJS_cOKMPK8GVCNtLsKUQSU4I6O5f9_EJGxU2EapPYOdDsl8IK6Jkv-Fo-7ALwAUyntPFy8lPRu7238KJDLaoJ5xhsjIFNoSqMSpk/s320/thermos.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><p>I got it from a Chinese food store, where they know the value of a good keep-water-hot-contraption. I'm broke lately, and please note I never buy anything except food, and electricity and phone... so to any very dear family members who may be reading this and I owe money to, please know I am not wasting my money on anything at all, and this $19.99 will actually keep my heat down, I'm not kidding. I actually drink straight hot water, and as I said, sipping it every now & then can make my whole body feel warm even when the temperature is as low as it was before drinking it.</p><span style="font-size:180%;color:#ff0000;">FIVE HOURS!!!!</span><br /><br />Maybe 6, or 7, I don't know, but it's been FIVE HOURS ALREADY and the small amount of water (2-4 cups) in this 2.5liter thing is still too hot for me to put my finger in. I have to sip it carefully. I could make tea with it. After FIVE HOURS. You boil one pot of water, pour it in and you have hot water on your coffee table or at your desk all evening until bed, or all day at work.<br /><br /><br />Shoot, I gotta go, it's Open Mic Night.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-14329044250544724382008-10-19T10:02:00.007+08:002008-11-06T04:08:40.624+08:00This fall's first soup (besides instant ramen)The cashier lady at the farmer's market store only spoke Polish. She said the total in Polish and said a little something extra when I was done in Polish. I said "Thank you". I hope it was the right thing. Maybe it'd be a good place for me to stick my ESL class flyers.<br /><br />I bought a few things, among them a healthy bread with sunflower seeds on top. Not too big, a nice small loaf. And remember the peas? Well I just bought the same size container of sunflower seeds. Out of the shell. Shelled is a little bit fun, but takes forever and it's more like a pastime activity than actual eating.<br /><br />No really, it really is a pastime activity in China. People buy a nice big 1-lb bag and a new 5kuai DVD off the street and head home for a cozy relaxing Friday night. Shoot, now I want shelled ones.<br /><br />And I bought "soup greens".<br />Pictured is half. The other half is in a pot with water, where else would it be?<br />The house smells really good right now.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg3wZgluWp-SqVWOc2XAyWyqQ-TuMLp8P2aw0DZq49OdvJj4pP2M6MJc1sOMOKWYf2vmqntwnmUxlAUiBVesck_LiEul1JNUhiG4PcbBb3woh0pez1HYry9p83yxCSZfb1u7j29jZklo/s1600-h/soup+mix.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDg3wZgluWp-SqVWOc2XAyWyqQ-TuMLp8P2aw0DZq49OdvJj4pP2M6MJc1sOMOKWYf2vmqntwnmUxlAUiBVesck_LiEul1JNUhiG4PcbBb3woh0pez1HYry9p83yxCSZfb1u7j29jZklo/s320/soup+mix.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258681605043250626" border="0" /></a> Soon I'll add half of the tofu and noodles.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I think today is the real beginning of fall. There was quite a chill in the air and I got the urge to make soup, so it must really be fall now. Today also felt like China. I made lots of soup there, and drank lots of hot water.<br /><br />Yeah, you heard me. HOT WATER. PLAIN. JUST DRANK IT. STILL DO. You got a problem with that? I never did that before China, but I tried it and it caught on. Feels nice.<br /><br />I miss my thermos mug. I can't believe I didn't bring it here, surely I could've stuck it in a box somewhere. It was GOOOOD. Not just a cheap sort-of-keep-it-warm thing.... oh no. This must've actually had a vacuum inside (like a real thermos should) because it kept my tea hot longer than anything I've ever seen! I did a test, and after 45min, with no lid on it mind you, I could not keep my finger in it for more than a few seconds without being burned. An hour and it was still hot. No kidding. In February.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJBNEhB-v9msukLHj1ZSss8zNZaSWIlJIZuJO47vur0b7NekpJjVPL9NufWW2bajo6VWTiEHOv-QOnjaU9bPnxChESaO9sUP6FExC1m79AQOGLoCMbICyLqk5VDl4eSV_oqitQuV-6ac/s1600-h/soup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhJBNEhB-v9msukLHj1ZSss8zNZaSWIlJIZuJO47vur0b7NekpJjVPL9NufWW2bajo6VWTiEHOv-QOnjaU9bPnxChESaO9sUP6FExC1m79AQOGLoCMbICyLqk5VDl4eSV_oqitQuV-6ac/s320/soup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5258681609356595058" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Look at the steam coming off that soup! It's got the soup mix above, plus:<br />boullion cubes<br />salt<br />a pinch of hot pepper<br />garlic powder<br />(*coughmsgcough*)<br />tofu<br />eggs<br />"midget bowtie" noodles (2/3's dumped in instead of half; there are way too many noodles)<br /><br />And my spoon from China. Those spoons are way more practical for liquids. They have some depth to them.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-11028277837122188342008-10-10T10:57:00.003+08:002008-11-06T04:08:58.081+08:00Pea AddictionI don't know about the rest of you, but I sometimes go on food binges. Not (always) in a bad way (though the recent sales on ice cream at Shoprite haven't helped much).... now it's dried peas. I'm on a slight health kick again, trying to eat more like I did in China, when I was 10lbs lighter. I gained weight almost instantly upon setting foot on American soil; we have cheese everywhere, that's one problem.<br /><br />I am shocked at myself, really. I always thought of peas as vegetables. My son had them every day as baby food, it was his staple for about a year. As real peas (not baby mush or soup) I rarely bought them on purpose, and I'd figure the few I'd consume here or there eating out couldn't possibly add up to much, healthwise. Well apparently I made up for it all in the past 3 days.<br /><br />108 grams of protein<br />54 grams of fibre<br />63 g of fat<br />27 g saturated fat (they've got some veg oil and salt on them)<br />216 calories<br />...in this container, when full, of a pound of dried peas.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7NTezfNdhK8mTNMMwYT5o97VclTUduiZM1fuIrikuzp0GFALe88dQgtOKgW3VabVDJwKuU3uWdW_dmBUTAggfGIhu3PEd8LFuNE3ZNX7mD44cgDaEDHn-0wdRq7aBGAtWD_0oe1kKFg/s1600-h/peas.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS7NTezfNdhK8mTNMMwYT5o97VclTUduiZM1fuIrikuzp0GFALe88dQgtOKgW3VabVDJwKuU3uWdW_dmBUTAggfGIhu3PEd8LFuNE3ZNX7mD44cgDaEDHn-0wdRq7aBGAtWD_0oe1kKFg/s320/peas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5255357314227357074" border="0" /></a><br />It'll be gone soon, there are less as I'm writing than when I took the picture 20min ago.<br /><br />I just keep eating them.<br />They're freakin' good.<br />Too bad they have artificial color, I just noticed that when I took the picture.<br /><br />And they were only $3/lb at a local Asian vegetable market, contrary to what some online health sites who are selling peas would have me believe ($5-10/lb). Considering I'm broke, and after all the unknown stuff I ate in China, I think the artificial color will be just fine for now.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-144917287479656342008-10-08T10:15:00.003+08:002008-10-08T10:25:05.323+08:00my presidential debate commentsIt's still going on and there are already articles on what's been said in the debates. In the good ol' days we wouldn't hear about it until tomorrow's paper or on the news shows afterwards.<br /><br />So I'm going to do it too. My unpolitical opinion is that McCain is scared of losing now. For a moment I even saw it on his face. He thought he'd have an advantage in this town-hall style debate but not so. Obama's pretty darn comfortable speaking in any situation it seems.<br /><br />On another note, I must say it's been pretty attack-free so far; the whole thing, all the campaigning. There've been a few things, like Obama being somehow related to a terrorist guy, and blahblahblah... but the little attacks get squashed pretty quickly, and there are far less than I expected and than I remember in past elections. One thing I remember thinking when I was younger about election time was that there were constantly ads trashing "the other guy", usually from both sides. Dirty play. And it was always one of the things I hated about politics. It's almost bearable nowadays.<br /><br />Uh-oh. How is this related to China? Well, one good thing about their lack of competition in government is that the people don't have to be subjected to campaign ads and debates.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-30185144786214525992008-10-03T11:20:00.003+08:002008-10-03T11:34:25.182+08:00Open Mic NightI had a blast at Open Mic Night a couple weeks ago. Well, "blast" is a strong word, but it was pretty darn cool. Felt good. Fun. Nice. Jammed out & stuff. It was the best I ever played my drum in front of (or with) anyone, ever. Well, there was that time I played til the sun came up at a Grateful Dead show but we won't say any more about that. We can't really say any more about it; it was 20+yrs ago and I barely remember it except that my hands really freakin' hurt afterwards, but it was the first time I drummed so there's a blur of it still in my mind.<br /><br />Here's me at an open mic night in Beijing (summer 2007) at the Stone Boat, which is a tiny bar/teahouse with a small stage outside. Bad outdoor nighttime pics.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ACOAc-dm_-zXAAVNGIJuiqB9D5NQln-KC3SOxhZAR4dLNB2ucFFiubdJ_6NGUii2EqotwhSh9W-LYLuEvQtiuiM9ozMKW3Lf0MNl4pUZd_h7pGYr6wGz66_7AoeX5ubfRdtzzaJ97zM/s1600-h/DSCF2735.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ACOAc-dm_-zXAAVNGIJuiqB9D5NQln-KC3SOxhZAR4dLNB2ucFFiubdJ_6NGUii2EqotwhSh9W-LYLuEvQtiuiM9ozMKW3Lf0MNl4pUZd_h7pGYr6wGz66_7AoeX5ubfRdtzzaJ97zM/s400/DSCF2735.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252764137338570818" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia97slfjrbe-17Er5hyDKAHn9AP6DtW439vAI15VfwLUPuzx4vzBG8_LbQFwzW19y-VCp-ririX_H1fflMhKADMwKaFuyjxmxYArsmimFwVsYusN_HQiqmVlamVR0Dnudskg3Zuf2X9Gk/s1600-h/DSCF2749.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia97slfjrbe-17Er5hyDKAHn9AP6DtW439vAI15VfwLUPuzx4vzBG8_LbQFwzW19y-VCp-ririX_H1fflMhKADMwKaFuyjxmxYArsmimFwVsYusN_HQiqmVlamVR0Dnudskg3Zuf2X9Gk/s400/DSCF2749.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5252764138060440594" border="0" /></a>Hey, I just wore those pants and sneakers today. And where's that shirt?? I could be wearing it to work! (need to wear black) I like that shirt. I'm gonna go look for it. (can "gonna" apply to my last blog?)kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-42457559132980301642008-10-03T10:35:00.006+08:002008-10-07T20:57:02.681+08:00"nukular" is more comfterbleShe did it, like Bush, Palin said "nukular" instead of nuclear. heehee. No, I'm actually not a freak about such things, though I would correct my students if they said it that way, so... you'd think the president and vp would say it right... but WHATEVER....<br /><br />hehe...<br /><br />Ok, so how does this relate to China? Uh... pronunciation, yeah that's it. All the little words we native speakers say wrong but those wrongs become natural and often even preferable to the correct pronunciations. When I was in China teaching English I had to correct my own pronunciation so that when my students imitated me they'd do it the right way, not the slang way or the drawling way or some regional-accent (NJ/NY) way.<br /><br />Let's think of some examples together, shall we?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">comfortable = comfterble</span> ... Almost all of us do that; don't you? It's difficult to correct, and not much reason to in the US. If we all do it it's ok, right? (eek)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 153);">February = Febuary</span> </span>... Once every few years I hear someone pronounce it like it's spelled, but again, I see no reason to not just keep saying "Febuary". In fact, let's go nuts and just stop spelling it with an R.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Wednesday = Wensday </span>... I've never in my life heard it pronounced like it's spelled and I'd sound like a dork if I said it that way.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">clothes = close</span> </span>... my students in China often said "clothe-es", 2 syllables. They don't have a TH sound in Chinese, so that's hard enough, let alone THS, so, to make life easier and let them just sound like us American-English speakers, I told them to just say "close". Maybe not right of me, but that's what it ends up sounding like and it's WAY better than "clothe-es".<br /><br />Can any of my zero readers think of any more?<br /><br />I know. It's sad. My idea of amusement is sometimes a bit... uh.... never mind. Goodbye.kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-80725806957393897982008-09-18T10:59:00.014+08:002008-09-18T12:53:20.093+08:00My last box arrived!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4SrRBlpHsEn1-On4cJu050a3BtwAlbCFSkhV5uXB1-jGbsoTCWGQGYekxTaAYoKD9rBdyp_3gs5Xfmv9harbLWflPyJKBTOlrPGBIxfdM88WWVRSUILe_Lmvl1UkQSjqH0hFLqNEDTA/s1600-h/2008.china.box01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247194803244164274" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS4SrRBlpHsEn1-On4cJu050a3BtwAlbCFSkhV5uXB1-jGbsoTCWGQGYekxTaAYoKD9rBdyp_3gs5Xfmv9harbLWflPyJKBTOlrPGBIxfdM88WWVRSUILe_Lmvl1UkQSjqH0hFLqNEDTA/s200/2008.china.box01.jpg" border="0" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhA-TJQ731eFSKTgf7W0av07O16lNrp6E0OptGdjgYxLUSvjyJt0T3HivAiGkP7QNNCYSqTrFht0J6ZsMD_3ddcnRg7mui-ldxUwxsR1B4x1GtdSPXqEEMWnt0Sy5qC7rPyc803vnpjc/s1600-h/2008.china.box02.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247194964829493106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNhA-TJQ731eFSKTgf7W0av07O16lNrp6E0OptGdjgYxLUSvjyJt0T3HivAiGkP7QNNCYSqTrFht0J6ZsMD_3ddcnRg7mui-ldxUwxsR1B4x1GtdSPXqEEMWnt0Sy5qC7rPyc803vnpjc/s200/2008.china.box02.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Ok, my 3rd and final box I had shipped from China came. I'm going to be brave and open it in "real time" right here. I'm dorky, excited, and sad all at once. It's the last bit of my life in China, finally arriving in the US. That's it. All done now. All 3 boxes were earlier than China Post quoted, though quite beaten up. Two of them had actual holes you could stick your hand in, like this one. Yes, the straps came like that. Pack WELL if you're shipping the cheap ground route overseas.`</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Now I'll go open it and see what was so special that it was packed in the first box I packed and was worth 343rmb to send and weighed 13.48kg. (29.7lbs, $50) I hope it's nothing embarrassing or stupid, because I'm about to show it to the world.....</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">....</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">......</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">.........<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">I forgot it was a box within a box....</span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRr52iWxHgd6jPRfO1VCJ9ah7GzgmVh7918ECKcy5i1mAiohmAO81IUIGfX45yjcYl_81pWJbcxYpbX7O8TFnuBzKNeOKj6N-1Qftk6fpBWHYQ4oSltOMzRBkioBTpVRVVSzqX1Zkyrw/s1600-h/2008.china.box03.jpg"><span style="color:#000000;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247201222022776530" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKRr52iWxHgd6jPRfO1VCJ9ah7GzgmVh7918ECKcy5i1mAiohmAO81IUIGfX45yjcYl_81pWJbcxYpbX7O8TFnuBzKNeOKj6N-1Qftk6fpBWHYQ4oSltOMzRBkioBTpVRVVSzqX1Zkyrw/s200/2008.china.box03.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="color:#000000;"><br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><br /><br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">....</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">......</span><br /><span style="color:#000000;">.........</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">YES! It was TOTALLY worth it! It was all books, no wonder it was so heavy. Good stuff, stuff I can't buy even in Chinatown. If I ordered just 3-4 of these books online (if I could find them and know if they're any good first) I'd pay that $50, and some of these are sentimental too... and some DVD's, some bracelets that will be gifts... </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><br /></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247202607741479570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB79kuiVR1v53wlI9x-slvXbUMrsTbj8M1P9mGs8btf1mJq8X65Kw6WAjRnf796SW3rB0HwFLyu7Fn1cKXTl5b8pK4XueTLIl13MJ0u4Qc4kFAfA59RA0KqT8JiTtLJQuuiaXQX8COXik/s400/2008.china.box04.jpg" border="0" /><br /></span><span style="color:#000000;">Boring part: naming everything in the picture. I won't be offended if you stop reading now, but I'm going to do it for the person who said "You can buy Chinese books in Chinatown." Sure, find me these books. </span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br />From top left, COUNTER-clockwise-ish:<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#990000;">Pamphlet from donating blood</span></em> (the thing with the guy's arm sticking out; he's famous and those ads were all over subways, etc); bracelets strewn about; <span style="color:#990000;"><em>pamphlet about the Olympic Torch</em> <em>Route.</em></span><span style="color:#333333;"> I </span>also have pictures of me with a real torch (behind glass) and some sketches of other possible torches, from working at Lenovo, who made it.<br /><br />Dark blue book:<span style="color:#000066;"> <em>How Languages Are Learned</em></span><br /><br />Yellow: <em><span style="color:#ff9900;">calligraphy practice book</span></em><br /><br />small handmade<span style="color:#006600;"> </span><em><span style="color:#006600;">notepad</span> </em>(green with fish)<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#000066;">handful of DVD's & CD's</span></em><br /><br /><em><span style="color:#ff6600;">Pinnochio </span></em>(bilingual)<br /><br /><span style="color:#cc6600;"><em>100 Topics for Business English</em>,</span> which I sometimes used in class but can also use for myself learning Chinese; it's evenly bilingual<br /><br /><span style="color:#993300;"><em>Teahouse</em> </span>(middle) - the script of the play; it's really super famous and I saw it in NYC before I went to China (all chinese, no english, beyond me but a high quality thing to study in the future)<br /><br /><em><span style="color:#666666;">2 DVD's of old 1930's Chinese movies</span></em>; beyond me now but good practice material for future; I think old movies like that are really interesting<br /><br /><br />dark blue book: <em><span style="color:#000066;">dictionary of characters</span></em> (yes, chinese characters can be arranged in dictionaries; it's not hard to look them up once you get the hang of it, but I'm still proud I can)<br /><br />small black, white, & red thing: <span style="color:#990000;"><em>deck of playing cards</em> </span>with pictures of the Nine Gates of Beijing from the 1930's.<br /><br />light blue: <span style="color:#333399;">writing practice books</span> (cute and cheap as heck; schoolchildren use them and you can buy them anywhere)<br /><br />colorful book with pink flower bit: <span style="color:#993399;">children's book describing flowers and plants.</span> I also have one describing vegetables & fruits, and a few of a different publisher describing animals, household items, etc. VERY useful. For example, "ONION: Onions grow underground. They have many layers, and when you cut them they will make you cry." Good vocabulary in a simple way.<br /><br /><br />stack: <span style="color:#006600;">YiJing (I-Ching)</span><span style="color:#006600;"> on top, another philosophy under that</span> (both above my level but fun to tackle a small paragraph of when I want a huge challenge, and awesome for the future: and thank you Raymond for them; if I could only choose one book I got in China to take home it would be the YiJing) ...<br /><br />Under those are<span style="color:#330033;"> 4</span> <span style="color:#330033;">elementary/middle school level science books</span>. They have a variety of topics, 1-2 pages on each, with Pinyin. It will be an extremely useful tool for studying; TONS of vocabulary, and the topics are so compact and neat. Chock full of info but bite sized. Picture follows....<br /><br />middle:<span style="color:#330099;"> Spitting On Ghosts:</span> A collection (bilingual) of old fables with morals and stuff. It's not great but it has pictures, like a cartoon book but not very funny.<br /><br /><span style="color:#000066;">In the box is misc...</span> Garfield comic book, small kid's books of poems or fairy tales, notebooks, etc.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7fM14QuwJRzAJtWtAXZXHdQ0z_wGFR4cvzzRjxzqRQYlC42gS5XpEPJ0om2s6qK2YVEMAOK-FJevndCFPrmaLWJaahoxmFjwHAPscZtLA57xNkCEUjlmypwQNIHzMGvXUELsHY4BcHM/s1600-h/2008.china.box05.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247216154697259538" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC7fM14QuwJRzAJtWtAXZXHdQ0z_wGFR4cvzzRjxzqRQYlC42gS5XpEPJ0om2s6qK2YVEMAOK-FJevndCFPrmaLWJaahoxmFjwHAPscZtLA57xNkCEUjlmypwQNIHzMGvXUELsHY4BcHM/s200/2008.china.box05.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5247218028705346562" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXAEgxqamlCiAMiaO7-yix8gB4Yy-OBDAhmS6DV-Eq5jWG90daaSl5vuIaZab8HzvGhkVFfcSc7VvCzKq5BMtJNK4Wylq1fzNG5dnxFHsOPthK4Q-E31Wv12msN5aSqHjle4bSMKDmgQc/s400/2008.china.box06.jpg" border="0" /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#000000;">Ok, I *really* have to go ... now what shall I read to bed?....</span><br /><br /><br />:D<br />....<br /><br />......<br /><br />........kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-37211055547355112952008-09-17T22:34:00.004+08:002008-09-17T23:00:12.754+08:00Little stuff I found<div>I unexpectedly had off today, so I'm unpacking a bit from moving. In a little bag I found some little items. They made me miss some things, particularly eating in the Lenovo cafeteria, and walking around there from the subway to work. The green ticket is 5 mao, half a kuai, and was to be used by non-employees like me who didn't have swipe cards. We buy tickets from an office then use them to buy food. I liked the food, though the employees there said they liked it too but only for the first few weeks, and I'd start to not like it very shortly. They were right. Same foods repeated, and not much tofu. But it's a nice warm fuzzy memory. <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaJ3-P4cVoE5ENbqlsSkSW-2z-FEmryhEpBo_C0hRjOx1wpNWyhUYQxAcmQ-vhJHpeZkd-ZpyRwbj9Y-1cvG8nq4AIwxr3uX9eaOERehEODsmNkbxRjwCn4rjk4TQ5qBTzgVpTjLxyi0/s1600-h/DSCF4882.JPG"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5246999896910675922" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaJ3-P4cVoE5ENbqlsSkSW-2z-FEmryhEpBo_C0hRjOx1wpNWyhUYQxAcmQ-vhJHpeZkd-ZpyRwbj9Y-1cvG8nq4AIwxr3uX9eaOERehEODsmNkbxRjwCn4rjk4TQ5qBTzgVpTjLxyi0/s400/DSCF4882.JPG" border="0" /></a></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaJ3-P4cVoE5ENbqlsSkSW-2z-FEmryhEpBo_C0hRjOx1wpNWyhUYQxAcmQ-vhJHpeZkd-ZpyRwbj9Y-1cvG8nq4AIwxr3uX9eaOERehEODsmNkbxRjwCn4rjk4TQ5qBTzgVpTjLxyi0/s1600-h/DSCF4882.JPG"></a> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaJ3-P4cVoE5ENbqlsSkSW-2z-FEmryhEpBo_C0hRjOx1wpNWyhUYQxAcmQ-vhJHpeZkd-ZpyRwbj9Y-1cvG8nq4AIwxr3uX9eaOERehEODsmNkbxRjwCn4rjk4TQ5qBTzgVpTjLxyi0/s1600-h/DSCF4882.JPG"></a></div></div><div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaJ3-P4cVoE5ENbqlsSkSW-2z-FEmryhEpBo_C0hRjOx1wpNWyhUYQxAcmQ-vhJHpeZkd-ZpyRwbj9Y-1cvG8nq4AIwxr3uX9eaOERehEODsmNkbxRjwCn4rjk4TQ5qBTzgVpTjLxyi0/s1600-h/DSCF4882.JPG"></a> </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBaJ3-P4cVoE5ENbqlsSkSW-2z-FEmryhEpBo_C0hRjOx1wpNWyhUYQxAcmQ-vhJHpeZkd-ZpyRwbj9Y-1cvG8nq4AIwxr3uX9eaOERehEODsmNkbxRjwCn4rjk4TQ5qBTzgVpTjLxyi0/s1600-h/DSCF4882.JPG"></a></div><br /><div>The big thing on the left is my VIP pass to an MMA event, which my son gave me for Christmas. <a href="http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewPicture&friendID=271063543&albumId=590360">My own pics are here,</a> and you can go to their real website at <a href="http://www.mmachina.com/">www.mmachina.com</a> . Going clockwise we have the green lunch ticket; a McDonald's salt packet; my archery card giving me about 40% off, I think; a piece of chinese Dove chocolate (yeah baby); and my ATM card with the account number covered by a toothpick from the Kempinski Hotel, which is very famous and fancy, and I never stayed in. I don't really know where I got that from, but I have a bunch. How exciting. </div>kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5165976033091818884.post-85074804972281321342008-09-16T04:23:00.014+08:002008-09-16T12:02:42.473+08:00There's a bathroom on the right... in Shanghai.<span style="font-weight: bold;">Ok, I haven't written for 2 months, since I've been back in the US. I want to keep this blog mainly about my time in China, so I'm going to add memories now & then. It'll be nice for myself (because really I'm the most important person here and not many of you really care about my time in China very much), but if someone out there finds it pleasant or amusing or interesting, well, that'll be a nice bonus and I'll feel good.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">So here we start anew... not with my present daily life (much), but with memories and/or comparisons, thoughts about China, etc.....</span><br /><br />I'm currently listening to a song called "Xiao Wei" which you too can listen to, see the video of, read the lyrics of (in hanzi, Pinyin, or rollover English) here...<br /><a href="http://www.chinese-tools.com/songs/song/85/xiaowei.html">http://www.chinese-tools.com/songs/song/85/xiaowei.html</a><br />...and everything got all misty and wiggly and black & white, and I heard that harp sound effect of when a tv sitcom person goes back in time in their mind....<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">I was in the back seat of Grandpa's SUV. Not my Grandpa, the Grandpa of the two Chinese kids I tutored. He'd drive one of them to and from school while their driver drove the other. I had to go along on all those 2-hour long rides at 7am and 2pm making sure the kids studied and didn't fall asleep or goof around in the car. Yeah, that part of the job stunk. But the hour without the kids, that was ok because I could look out the window and daydream... or listen to whatever music the driver was listening to, or try to talk to them a little. Grandpa had a CD of some soft rock, and Xiao Wei was a song that stood out in my mind. It's short and catchy, heard in supermarkets; everyone knows it. It was the first Chinese song I really "heard". </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);">In fact, I was walking to a store one lovely evening and 3 guys sitting on a little bridge sang the last line of it to me as I walked by. It's a Chinese way of flirting or goofing with somebody, to sing them a line of a song. I looked back and smiled in a way that said "You naughty boys! But it's ok, I liked it." I didn't know what the line even meant at the time but I had a vague notion, and I knew it was a love song. It meant he's going to pick a<span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 102);"> star from the sky with his very own hand and give it to me. The part I mostly heard them say was the last part, "give it to you with my very own hand", so they could've meant anything really,</span> </span>but they looked innocent enough and as if they'd mustered quite a bit of courage to sing that line to a "foreign girl" like that. All 3 of them sang it together. It was cute.</span><br /><br /><br />But that wasn't my memory. I meant my memory to be this...<br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">... riding in the SUV with Grandpa, hearing that song for the umpteenth time (wish I had that whole CD now), realizing it was a song about a guy loving something a lot, but being too dumb to realize it was a woman he was talking about. Sounds REALLY DUMB now. But after realizing the "love" part, I pondered, prepared my sentence, and dared to speak out loud to Grandpa in Chinese,</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">"Wow, I think he must really love Shanghai a lot."</span><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 51, 102);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 102);">Grandpa busted out laughing and told me he wasn't saying Shanghai, he was saying "xiao nu'hai"("girl"), which to my untrained ears (and in a song) sounded very similar. You see, (my defence coming)... our brains, when faced with uknown sounds or images, try to match it to the closest thing we know, and so I thought he said Shanghai and was singing about his love for the city. Yeah. But I laughed with Grandpa when I realized how dumb I just was. </span><br /><br /><br />Sort of like singing, "Theeeer'es a bathroom on the right..." because you never heard the phrase "there's a bad moon on the rise", so your 14 year old brain didn't even think of it. What. Tell me you didn't mess up that CCR lyric<span style="font-style: italic;"> somehow</span>.<br /><br />Here's the gist of the lyrics to "Xiao Wei" in English:<br /><blockquote><span style="font-style: italic;">There was a beautiful girl (not a city) whose name was Xiao Wei.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">She had a pair of warm gentle eyes</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">She quietly stole my heart</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Xiao Wei, can you realize how much I love you...</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I want to take you up into the sky</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">See all those beautiful stars...</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">I'll pick one down to give you with my very own hands.</span></blockquote>That's my own loose translation, not perfect.<br /><br />I have some pictures from inside that SUV, of the scenery, the kids, etc, but I can't find that ONE out of my 5 USB thingies right now. It figures I can't find <span style="font-style: italic;">that one. </span>kanyixinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00009911082045385751noreply@blogger.com0