Sunday, January 24, 2010
Could this be China?
This looks typical to me. It may be India but it is no different here. There is a system, believe it or not. The bigger you are then you have more rights unless I get there first then you have to yield to me. But the horns are constant even when they are not necessary. I no longer pay attention to them. If i see that I have a clear path then I go. But some car or E-bike is coming and they start the horn going. I ignore them. They can see me. The taxis are a worry because you never know what they will do. If they have a fare then their objective is to get rid of him/her as quickly as possible so they are on the wrong side of the street going as fast as is safely to do so. It is an adventure sometimes to drive in a taxi. It can be as close as you want to get to a simulation ride at Disney without having to pay the admission fee. Not all taxi drivers are like that but most are. They say that in China if you are hurt and need to go to a hospital, flag a taxi. He will get you there much faster than an ambulance. I believe it because traffic does not give way for an ambulance or a police car for that matter even with lights going and sirens. But taxis will drive anywhere. Sidewalks, even. They want to get the next fare. It can be an adventure. I have not seen too many taxis in an accident but I have seen many with dents.
By the way, every taxi that I seen in China is a Volkswagen Santana. They seem to have a monopoly here. What a market! It is never a problem to get a taxi unless it is raining. But even then you never have to wait long. Just put your hand out and one will be there. 4am or 4pm you can get one quickly. It took a long time for me before I would get a taxi because none speak English but now I can tell them where I want to go so it is not a big deal. Tomorrow I will take a taxi to Nanjing. My train leaves at 9:08 for Shanghai. So I will be at the train staion about 6:30. I can take a taxi from there for 20rmb. The train costs 18rmb. But the taxi is much faster. I will need to wait until he has 3 passengers and then he will go. On Jan 2 I was at Nanjing bus station and there were so many people that the taxis were asking 150rmb per car. But it is quieter now so 3 passengers at 20 each should be enough. When I get to Nanjing then it will take me 30 minutes by subway to get to the main train station (they have 3) and then I will catch my 9:08 train to Shanghai which arrives at 11:45. That gives me lots of time to take the Shanghai subway and the train to the airport. I figure I should be at the airport by 1:00. My plane leaves at 5:00 so I am ok. I have gone this route before. It is not easy to get from Ma'anshan to Shanghai. But I will be there.
Friday, January 22, 2010
lydia
haha, this is Lydia. Funny girl; cute, very short and fun. She breezed through my home this morning. She is moving from off-campus to an apartment on-campus and she needed to wash her drapes. She was in and out in minutes!
She has helped me many times and I have cooked meals for her and her friends. Cute, short, very good English, and not a good singer at KTV, like me, but we had fun trying. We watched Avatar in Chinese. She translated parts for me. Anyway, this is her.
Don
She has helped me many times and I have cooked meals for her and her friends. Cute, short, very good English, and not a good singer at KTV, like me, but we had fun trying. We watched Avatar in Chinese. She translated parts for me. Anyway, this is her.
Don
Thursday, January 21, 2010
(No Subject)
Sorry but I get annoyed at all of the biased comments on CBC and other Canadian sites.
I get annoyed sometimes with the preconceived notions that people have. We like to think that we are doing good and we are. But so many other countries are doing good also. Small countries. Finland, Iceland, Israel, Peru, Jordan, Iran, China, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. I read so many comments by Canadians that are bashing countries for not helping but they are helping. China had the first mobile medical unit on the ground of any country that wasn't already there and Haiti doesn't officially recognize China. Surgeons, osteopaths, gynecologists, they were ready. They had dogs on the scene within 48 hours sniffing out survivors. China is accustomed to disasters and they have teams ready to go immediately. The USA has to recon and then do something. I can't imagine watching my daughter have her leg amputated without anesthesia. I can't imagine me having to go through that
Chinese doctors have performed over 100 surgeries on the street and treated 100's of others. You can only do so much. USA and Canada get all the news but there are 100's of countries that are there. So if you hear someone complaing that so-and-so is not there then tell them to read the news. Everyone is there.
Don
I get annoyed sometimes with the preconceived notions that people have. We like to think that we are doing good and we are. But so many other countries are doing good also. Small countries. Finland, Iceland, Israel, Peru, Jordan, Iran, China, Korea, Venezuela, Mexico, etc. I read so many comments by Canadians that are bashing countries for not helping but they are helping. China had the first mobile medical unit on the ground of any country that wasn't already there and Haiti doesn't officially recognize China. Surgeons, osteopaths, gynecologists, they were ready. They had dogs on the scene within 48 hours sniffing out survivors. China is accustomed to disasters and they have teams ready to go immediately. The USA has to recon and then do something. I can't imagine watching my daughter have her leg amputated without anesthesia. I can't imagine me having to go through that
Chinese doctors have performed over 100 surgeries on the street and treated 100's of others. You can only do so much. USA and Canada get all the news but there are 100's of countries that are there. So if you hear someone complaing that so-and-so is not there then tell them to read the news. Everyone is there.
Don
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Xuzhou where Rover came to lunch
Hi,
I got back from visiting former student, Julie, in Xuzhou. I am glad that I don't live there because I could often end up in the wrong city. I can't seem to get pronunciation correct. Whenever I say the name people think I am saying Suzhou (Soo-joe) because I say shoo-joe for Xuzhou but the proper way is more like shew-joe with a different 'U' sound then we have in English. When I bought my train ticket the clerk sold me one for Suzhou so I had to write the name so she could understand what I wanted.
I only stayed one night. That was enough. Julie is a smart girl but very serious. Her friend Emma is a friendly and pleasant girl. Julie's parents were very nice. Whenever I have dinner with Chinese families I am always treated very well. They want me to be pleased with their hospitality and they worry that I may not like their food. Always very hospitable.
I arrived on Tuesday about noon and I checked into the hotel and then we went for lunch. Julie ordered a lot of food for only three of us. THere was a lot left over to take home for supper. And we had dog, gourou (go-roe). I didn't know it was dog until the next day. She told me it was duck. Well, that's what I heard but she said later that she had said dog, but with the accent and restaurant noise I heard duck. It was served with a spicy green vegetable and we rolled it a pita bread and ate it as a wrap. I found it a bit tough and dry. I can't really tell you what it tasted like because, first of all I thought it was duck so it tasted something like duck to me, and, second there were a lot of spices in the vegetables so it was difficult to tell the flavour of the meat. It was very dark, but so is duck. I only had one because there was another wrap with ground pork and another vegetable that I liked better and I had a couple of them. In Chinese rou (roe) is meat. Like jirou is chicken, yuroe is fish and niurou is beef, etc. But sometimes a special dish can use that too; like bazirou (pork cooked in a special way with a tasty sauce) so I assumed that gourou was some special dish rather than a type of meat. But gourou means dog meat. That night a bought a box of gourou to give to her family as a thank you. When I gave it to her the next day, that was when I found out that it was dog. All along I had thought that it was just some kind of specialty dish.
We saw several historical sites that were interesting. The best was the Han Tomb built around the 1st and 2nd century. They carved the tombs inside a small mountain. It covered a lot of area. It was quite interesting. We also visited a Buddhist temple, Yulong Lake (but it was too foggy) and a memorial to the PLA victory over KMT in the Huaihai campaign.
On Tuesday evening I had dinner with her family and an aunt and niece. There is a picture of part of the spread. One of the fish that we had is poisonous if not prepared properly. As usual the food was very good. Most times there are one or two that I don't care for but there are lots of other dishes to choose from. There is no excuse for getting up from the table without being full.
It was a pleasant trip but not outstanding.
Don
I got back from visiting former student, Julie, in Xuzhou. I am glad that I don't live there because I could often end up in the wrong city. I can't seem to get pronunciation correct. Whenever I say the name people think I am saying Suzhou (Soo-joe) because I say shoo-joe for Xuzhou but the proper way is more like shew-joe with a different 'U' sound then we have in English. When I bought my train ticket the clerk sold me one for Suzhou so I had to write the name so she could understand what I wanted.
I only stayed one night. That was enough. Julie is a smart girl but very serious. Her friend Emma is a friendly and pleasant girl. Julie's parents were very nice. Whenever I have dinner with Chinese families I am always treated very well. They want me to be pleased with their hospitality and they worry that I may not like their food. Always very hospitable.
I arrived on Tuesday about noon and I checked into the hotel and then we went for lunch. Julie ordered a lot of food for only three of us. THere was a lot left over to take home for supper. And we had dog, gourou (go-roe). I didn't know it was dog until the next day. She told me it was duck. Well, that's what I heard but she said later that she had said dog, but with the accent and restaurant noise I heard duck. It was served with a spicy green vegetable and we rolled it a pita bread and ate it as a wrap. I found it a bit tough and dry. I can't really tell you what it tasted like because, first of all I thought it was duck so it tasted something like duck to me, and, second there were a lot of spices in the vegetables so it was difficult to tell the flavour of the meat. It was very dark, but so is duck. I only had one because there was another wrap with ground pork and another vegetable that I liked better and I had a couple of them. In Chinese rou (roe) is meat. Like jirou is chicken, yuroe is fish and niurou is beef, etc. But sometimes a special dish can use that too; like bazirou (pork cooked in a special way with a tasty sauce) so I assumed that gourou was some special dish rather than a type of meat. But gourou means dog meat. That night a bought a box of gourou to give to her family as a thank you. When I gave it to her the next day, that was when I found out that it was dog. All along I had thought that it was just some kind of specialty dish.
We saw several historical sites that were interesting. The best was the Han Tomb built around the 1st and 2nd century. They carved the tombs inside a small mountain. It covered a lot of area. It was quite interesting. We also visited a Buddhist temple, Yulong Lake (but it was too foggy) and a memorial to the PLA victory over KMT in the Huaihai campaign.
On Tuesday evening I had dinner with her family and an aunt and niece. There is a picture of part of the spread. One of the fish that we had is poisonous if not prepared properly. As usual the food was very good. Most times there are one or two that I don't care for but there are lots of other dishes to choose from. There is no excuse for getting up from the table without being full.
It was a pleasant trip but not outstanding.
Don
Christmas in February
Hi,
I mentioned in the past about Chinese New Year's being similar to Canadian Christmas. Well it has hit home. I have not been here during the past two Spring Festivals. The fireworks have started. Chinese New Year's is on Feb 14. But it has started. Yesterday I went for groceries. The aisles were clogged. I had a hand-basket and often I couldn't get down an aisle. Like the last shopping day before Christmas! And they still have a month. The store is about the size of a usual Sobey's or Superstore. They had 50 tills and 45 were open. The other 5, I assume were on break. I didn't mind except for being constantly hit in the back of my ankles by carts or being pushed by some old woman while I was buying some ground pork and she wanted some. I wish I had my camera. It was like a bus or train staion on a busy weekend. I had to keep saying TIC, this is China. Amazing. I have never seen so many people in a store except on Boxing Day in Canada!
It didn't bother me in the least except for getting hit on the legs but that is normal. Everyone pushes here. If you don't then you will never get where you want to go. You learn to push. Too many people. Survival of the fittest. So many times I have been in line for some service and people come and move in front of me. Sometimes I will grab them and shove them behind me and they are surprised. But you need to be aggressive if you are in a hurry. It is normal to get in front. Kids, women, men will move up if there is a space. They drive the same way! Most times I will let them but if I am at a bus or train staion and I have to catch one soon then I won't take it. Once I moved to the front of the line and they looked at me and no one said anything. If you are important then you don't have to wait. Usually I will wait.
I hired cleaners for my apartment. The university sent two guys. I had to leave. They washed the floors. They never lifted a shoe to clean under it. I paid good money. They never touched the kitchen counter, toilet, a wall or window. I could've done what they did in an hour. I complained. So now there are two women here cleaning. I want walls, windows, everything. I want it to be the same as it was when I moved in. You have to complain if you don't like something otherwise no one will do anything. You can't assume that things will be done to your satisfaction. I have learned to complain. When I do, they listen and something gets done. But you have to pick your battles. Some of the teachers complain all of the time. I don't. So when I complain they listen.
Today I am going to a movie with an English major, not my student, Lydia. We will see Avatar, in Chinese, should be interesting. Nice kid; very short, chubby (well it is kind of hard to tell with 50 layers of clothes! :) but funny, good English and good company. We went to KTV (karaoke) on Thursday and she sang mostly English songs. I had to ask her to sing some Chinese songs because I like the sound of them even if I don't understand the words. Last night I was walking home from the training school and she saw me and yelled. She had a friend with her. So I invited them for supper. Good kids. We talked. I learn something new everytime I talk to some of these kids. So different. Their dreams are the same as ours but the way to get there is very different. It's almost like Victorian England; marry someone who has money, or status, or who is taller than you; there are so many rules. It seems like love takes a back seat unless you are rich. In 10 years there will be 24 million men looking for wives. If you are a woman then you should come to China. Lijun has been home for 2 weeks and has already had 3 guys interested.
Bye
Talk to you later,
Don
I mentioned in the past about Chinese New Year's being similar to Canadian Christmas. Well it has hit home. I have not been here during the past two Spring Festivals. The fireworks have started. Chinese New Year's is on Feb 14. But it has started. Yesterday I went for groceries. The aisles were clogged. I had a hand-basket and often I couldn't get down an aisle. Like the last shopping day before Christmas! And they still have a month. The store is about the size of a usual Sobey's or Superstore. They had 50 tills and 45 were open. The other 5, I assume were on break. I didn't mind except for being constantly hit in the back of my ankles by carts or being pushed by some old woman while I was buying some ground pork and she wanted some. I wish I had my camera. It was like a bus or train staion on a busy weekend. I had to keep saying TIC, this is China. Amazing. I have never seen so many people in a store except on Boxing Day in Canada!
It didn't bother me in the least except for getting hit on the legs but that is normal. Everyone pushes here. If you don't then you will never get where you want to go. You learn to push. Too many people. Survival of the fittest. So many times I have been in line for some service and people come and move in front of me. Sometimes I will grab them and shove them behind me and they are surprised. But you need to be aggressive if you are in a hurry. It is normal to get in front. Kids, women, men will move up if there is a space. They drive the same way! Most times I will let them but if I am at a bus or train staion and I have to catch one soon then I won't take it. Once I moved to the front of the line and they looked at me and no one said anything. If you are important then you don't have to wait. Usually I will wait.
I hired cleaners for my apartment. The university sent two guys. I had to leave. They washed the floors. They never lifted a shoe to clean under it. I paid good money. They never touched the kitchen counter, toilet, a wall or window. I could've done what they did in an hour. I complained. So now there are two women here cleaning. I want walls, windows, everything. I want it to be the same as it was when I moved in. You have to complain if you don't like something otherwise no one will do anything. You can't assume that things will be done to your satisfaction. I have learned to complain. When I do, they listen and something gets done. But you have to pick your battles. Some of the teachers complain all of the time. I don't. So when I complain they listen.
Today I am going to a movie with an English major, not my student, Lydia. We will see Avatar, in Chinese, should be interesting. Nice kid; very short, chubby (well it is kind of hard to tell with 50 layers of clothes! :) but funny, good English and good company. We went to KTV (karaoke) on Thursday and she sang mostly English songs. I had to ask her to sing some Chinese songs because I like the sound of them even if I don't understand the words. Last night I was walking home from the training school and she saw me and yelled. She had a friend with her. So I invited them for supper. Good kids. We talked. I learn something new everytime I talk to some of these kids. So different. Their dreams are the same as ours but the way to get there is very different. It's almost like Victorian England; marry someone who has money, or status, or who is taller than you; there are so many rules. It seems like love takes a back seat unless you are rich. In 10 years there will be 24 million men looking for wives. If you are a woman then you should come to China. Lijun has been home for 2 weeks and has already had 3 guys interested.
Bye
Talk to you later,
Don
(No Subject)
I have been reading about Haiti. I have gone to many web sites; not just CNN or CBC, Al-Jezeerah, and others. I am very disappointed in the comments that many Canadians have made. They see this as an opportunity to go country-bashing. "Oh! We have done so much but those other countries have done nothing". China had a team on the ground the next day. They are so busy jumping to conclusions that they don't have time to check the facts that are dozens of countries involved. I have seen China mentioned and middle-east. They see this as an opportunity to verify their biases. I don't care for people who have have those pre-conceived ideas.
All of the countries that were ctiticized were there. China, cuba, Mexico, Venezula, Iran, etc. but people don't hear about that so they automatically assume that they aren't there or they don't want to hear that their assumptions are wrong.
I mainly check CBC because I am Canadian. I know that they are primarily interested in getting news to other Canadians, that is thir job. But I am so disappointed in some of the comments. The biased based comments disturb me. I thought we were past that.
Don
All of the countries that were ctiticized were there. China, cuba, Mexico, Venezula, Iran, etc. but people don't hear about that so they automatically assume that they aren't there or they don't want to hear that their assumptions are wrong.
I mainly check CBC because I am Canadian. I know that they are primarily interested in getting news to other Canadians, that is thir job. But I am so disappointed in some of the comments. The biased based comments disturb me. I thought we were past that.
Don
TIC (That is China)
Hi,
I know that I have complained sometimes about the lack of heat here. My apartment is ok. Maybe 15-18C. I was chatting with some students last night on MSN and they were wanting to visit me. They have no heat and it was -8C and they were freezing. All 6 of of them could have slept in my king-sized bed; they are not very big! That would have been interesting; and would probably get me fired!
But there is no heat on the campus except for our apartments. Even the Dean's office or the classrooms have no heat so the students and teachers have about 4 or 5 layers of clothes and they sleep that way too; well, maybe they will take their coat off. Shower once a week, sometimes just a stand-up sponge bath. It is too cold for them to shower. Even in my warm apartment, when I take a shower I feel cold for a little while after I turn off the nice hot water. They don't have hot water. They have to buy it. They have these big thermoses and they put them by the road and they are filled with hot water. They will pay for that. Not much but then they can have some tea or instant noodles or wash their clothes or themselves.
The students have limited electricity. They are allowed a fan in the summer because it can be suffocatingly hot, enough power for the lights in the room (which go out at 11pm), and their laptops. There is one classroom in each building that has lights so if you want to study or sleep you can go to those rooms. No hair dryers; no kettles. No extra electrical appliances of any kind. So even if they bought a heater, they couldn't use it. They would blow the breaker. One girl had an electrical hand warmer and it blew the breaker.
Maybe they feel that it is a test of their desire to fit in. I don't know. If you want a shower then you will be with 50 others in the same room. No modesty is needed. And they are lined up waiting for the shower. I go to markets and I want to try a shirt or pants and they put up a blanket and then I can try it on. I have seen many girls do that and guys. So I can see you! Hello? No one cares. But China is conservative in so many ways but when it comes to being naked then they don't care. Not in public, mind you. But with their friends or family it is not important.
They do not have an easy life but the school is easy for them. In my courses a Grade 6 kid could pass even if they didn't come to class. I had one failure in Negotiations; She never attended a class and blew the exam. But I had others who never attended and passed.
I think it is a fascinating country. If you ever have a chance to visit, then you should do so. Put it on your list of 100 things I will do before I die. It is fascinating. I can't say that it is all good, but it is so interesting. I have lived with a Chinese family, I have visited with others, and they are such good people. i have learned so much. It has been a life-altering experience.
I think 2010 will be a good year. I hope it is for you.
TIC (That is China)
Don
I know that I have complained sometimes about the lack of heat here. My apartment is ok. Maybe 15-18C. I was chatting with some students last night on MSN and they were wanting to visit me. They have no heat and it was -8C and they were freezing. All 6 of of them could have slept in my king-sized bed; they are not very big! That would have been interesting; and would probably get me fired!
But there is no heat on the campus except for our apartments. Even the Dean's office or the classrooms have no heat so the students and teachers have about 4 or 5 layers of clothes and they sleep that way too; well, maybe they will take their coat off. Shower once a week, sometimes just a stand-up sponge bath. It is too cold for them to shower. Even in my warm apartment, when I take a shower I feel cold for a little while after I turn off the nice hot water. They don't have hot water. They have to buy it. They have these big thermoses and they put them by the road and they are filled with hot water. They will pay for that. Not much but then they can have some tea or instant noodles or wash their clothes or themselves.
The students have limited electricity. They are allowed a fan in the summer because it can be suffocatingly hot, enough power for the lights in the room (which go out at 11pm), and their laptops. There is one classroom in each building that has lights so if you want to study or sleep you can go to those rooms. No hair dryers; no kettles. No extra electrical appliances of any kind. So even if they bought a heater, they couldn't use it. They would blow the breaker. One girl had an electrical hand warmer and it blew the breaker.
Maybe they feel that it is a test of their desire to fit in. I don't know. If you want a shower then you will be with 50 others in the same room. No modesty is needed. And they are lined up waiting for the shower. I go to markets and I want to try a shirt or pants and they put up a blanket and then I can try it on. I have seen many girls do that and guys. So I can see you! Hello? No one cares. But China is conservative in so many ways but when it comes to being naked then they don't care. Not in public, mind you. But with their friends or family it is not important.
They do not have an easy life but the school is easy for them. In my courses a Grade 6 kid could pass even if they didn't come to class. I had one failure in Negotiations; She never attended a class and blew the exam. But I had others who never attended and passed.
I think it is a fascinating country. If you ever have a chance to visit, then you should do so. Put it on your list of 100 things I will do before I die. It is fascinating. I can't say that it is all good, but it is so interesting. I have lived with a Chinese family, I have visited with others, and they are such good people. i have learned so much. It has been a life-altering experience.
I think 2010 will be a good year. I hope it is for you.
TIC (That is China)
Don
What should I do?
Hi,
I am sitting here at 4pm on Saturday pondering about the future. What have I learned? I have been in Chinese family's homes, lived with them, and trying to learn the language and their culture. It is not easy to understand the differences between us. But I work hard in that I talk to them; tell me about your life, I want to know what your life is like. I think they have a difficult time. China is not an easy place unless you have guanxi Gwan-SHEE) Guanxi is connections. Your family is rich or your father has a good government job. Or your family has friends. Those who don't are under tremendous stress. I feel sorry for some very good kids who take my class. Good English, big ambitions, but they don't have guanxi. There are others who have it and they will coast through university and not learn anything. Useless. TIC ( that is China)
It is very frustrating as a teacher to see so many kids who are useless. But it is not my responsibily. But I get angry sometimes. Welcome to China. I can give you so many good kids and the rest I would throw away.
Sorry, just some anger coming out.
Don
I am sitting here at 4pm on Saturday pondering about the future. What have I learned? I have been in Chinese family's homes, lived with them, and trying to learn the language and their culture. It is not easy to understand the differences between us. But I work hard in that I talk to them; tell me about your life, I want to know what your life is like. I think they have a difficult time. China is not an easy place unless you have guanxi Gwan-SHEE) Guanxi is connections. Your family is rich or your father has a good government job. Or your family has friends. Those who don't are under tremendous stress. I feel sorry for some very good kids who take my class. Good English, big ambitions, but they don't have guanxi. There are others who have it and they will coast through university and not learn anything. Useless. TIC ( that is China)
It is very frustrating as a teacher to see so many kids who are useless. But it is not my responsibily. But I get angry sometimes. Welcome to China. I can give you so many good kids and the rest I would throw away.
Sorry, just some anger coming out.
Don
Modern Binary Explosives
Hi,
It is a scary thought but I never worry when I fly. If it happens, then it will happen. If I were so scared then I would never leave the ground. But I think it is more dangerous to cross a street here in China then it is to fly anywhere. I have had some near misses doing that! It is not a nice feeling to see a taxi coming at you in the wrong lane doing 70kph in a 30kph zone! That has happened too many times! It is an adventure to try to cross a street here but TIC (That Is China!)
In the same way, I do not worry about food, especially in the winter. In the summer with 35C and meat sitting out, then I may worry. But everything you eat is cooked now; no precooked heated food. If I go to a restaurant, the food is cooked then. That is a difference. I would worry more about eating at KFC or McDonalds. I can see the food sitting in the warmers. But in a Chinese restaurant the food is cooked for you and not preheated and sitting there for maybe 2 hours. Everything I eat I can see it being cooked. I have had some problems with some bad food but in almost two years of being here it has only happened twice. One time was really bad. Maybe 4 days of pain. But I would never hesitate to eat street food or eat in any restaurant. In Bahamas, Mexico, wherever I am, I will eat the local food. If they can eat it then I can eat it also.
Don Grube is an American who has lived in Changzhou for maybe 11 years. You can google him. A very successful businessman. 65 now, I think. He is from Texas and has about 600 rifles at his home in Oklahoma; that is true, I have seen pictures of his A/C'd, temperature controlled, gun room. He is a collector, and a hunter. He is married to a retired Chinese English teacher named Angel; well her English name is Angel. I fired rifles when I was in Army cadets and I represented my company in a competition. I was 16 and I had never shot a rifle before, but I was very accurate. But it is not something that I would want to brag about. Out of 100 in my company, I finished 2nd. Oh, I also ran 6 miles and finished 6th out of 600. So I was in better shape then, hahaha.
Since 2001 I have flown to 5 countries and only China takes your lighter. Even lighters that are in your checked baggage are confiscated. I have flown through USA and they don't care about lighters; Thailand, Canada, Korea, don't care. Maybe they do now. But you can't leave China with a lighter. But even in checked baggage? That is a bit extreme. Last year I went to the Paralympics in Beijing. You had to go through screening like the airport and they took all lighters. There were 100's of acres of open space. I knew that I couldn't light up in a venue but outside? I was walking outside the Wheelchair Basketball arena waiting for Canada to play a game and a guy came out in a wheelchair and lit up. I immediately went to him for a light. I said how can you have a lighter? He said who is going to search my chair? He was from USA.
But if you go to an airport or a train station most of them have smoking rooms. So at Pudong airport in Shanghai, they take your lighter but then you can go to the smoking room and there are lighters bolted to the walls. It is such a strange place. People ignore rules. When I went to Korea last summer to visit Hyo Jin, people follow rules. They line up; if they cross a street they will use the crosswalks and will only cross on a green light; they use an escaltor and if you want to stand then you go to the right, those who are in a hurry and want to walk can use the left. last year in Beijing, they had students holding up signs to tell people to do that but no one paid any attention.
Funny country. They can't queue, they can't follow simple rules; directions are difficult. The school is pissed because I have 10 students who did not attend enough classes to write the final exam. I am not their babysitter; they are adults. Sorta. Most act like teenagers. And they are teenagers. But if you go to school in Canada then you are responsible; not your teacher. If I choose not to attend your class then the teacher doesn't care. I took German one year. I showed up for maybe 3 classes. I wrote the final exam and I passed. But I studied for 2 days to learn enough to pass. I barely passed.
I am rambling, I know. But I have nothing to do until Monday night. My final 'final exam'. Done. Nada. Meiyo (a liitlle Chinese...MAY-yo). I can't wait to see some sun. By March it will be warm here and then I will start complaining about the heat because the summer is brutal here. I think I like the winter better than the summer. I like to complain, haha.
Have a good year.
Don
It is a scary thought but I never worry when I fly. If it happens, then it will happen. If I were so scared then I would never leave the ground. But I think it is more dangerous to cross a street here in China then it is to fly anywhere. I have had some near misses doing that! It is not a nice feeling to see a taxi coming at you in the wrong lane doing 70kph in a 30kph zone! That has happened too many times! It is an adventure to try to cross a street here but TIC (That Is China!)
In the same way, I do not worry about food, especially in the winter. In the summer with 35C and meat sitting out, then I may worry. But everything you eat is cooked now; no precooked heated food. If I go to a restaurant, the food is cooked then. That is a difference. I would worry more about eating at KFC or McDonalds. I can see the food sitting in the warmers. But in a Chinese restaurant the food is cooked for you and not preheated and sitting there for maybe 2 hours. Everything I eat I can see it being cooked. I have had some problems with some bad food but in almost two years of being here it has only happened twice. One time was really bad. Maybe 4 days of pain. But I would never hesitate to eat street food or eat in any restaurant. In Bahamas, Mexico, wherever I am, I will eat the local food. If they can eat it then I can eat it also.
Don Grube is an American who has lived in Changzhou for maybe 11 years. You can google him. A very successful businessman. 65 now, I think. He is from Texas and has about 600 rifles at his home in Oklahoma; that is true, I have seen pictures of his A/C'd, temperature controlled, gun room. He is a collector, and a hunter. He is married to a retired Chinese English teacher named Angel; well her English name is Angel. I fired rifles when I was in Army cadets and I represented my company in a competition. I was 16 and I had never shot a rifle before, but I was very accurate. But it is not something that I would want to brag about. Out of 100 in my company, I finished 2nd. Oh, I also ran 6 miles and finished 6th out of 600. So I was in better shape then, hahaha.
Since 2001 I have flown to 5 countries and only China takes your lighter. Even lighters that are in your checked baggage are confiscated. I have flown through USA and they don't care about lighters; Thailand, Canada, Korea, don't care. Maybe they do now. But you can't leave China with a lighter. But even in checked baggage? That is a bit extreme. Last year I went to the Paralympics in Beijing. You had to go through screening like the airport and they took all lighters. There were 100's of acres of open space. I knew that I couldn't light up in a venue but outside? I was walking outside the Wheelchair Basketball arena waiting for Canada to play a game and a guy came out in a wheelchair and lit up. I immediately went to him for a light. I said how can you have a lighter? He said who is going to search my chair? He was from USA.
But if you go to an airport or a train station most of them have smoking rooms. So at Pudong airport in Shanghai, they take your lighter but then you can go to the smoking room and there are lighters bolted to the walls. It is such a strange place. People ignore rules. When I went to Korea last summer to visit Hyo Jin, people follow rules. They line up; if they cross a street they will use the crosswalks and will only cross on a green light; they use an escaltor and if you want to stand then you go to the right, those who are in a hurry and want to walk can use the left. last year in Beijing, they had students holding up signs to tell people to do that but no one paid any attention.
Funny country. They can't queue, they can't follow simple rules; directions are difficult. The school is pissed because I have 10 students who did not attend enough classes to write the final exam. I am not their babysitter; they are adults. Sorta. Most act like teenagers. And they are teenagers. But if you go to school in Canada then you are responsible; not your teacher. If I choose not to attend your class then the teacher doesn't care. I took German one year. I showed up for maybe 3 classes. I wrote the final exam and I passed. But I studied for 2 days to learn enough to pass. I barely passed.
I am rambling, I know. But I have nothing to do until Monday night. My final 'final exam'. Done. Nada. Meiyo (a liitlle Chinese...MAY-yo). I can't wait to see some sun. By March it will be warm here and then I will start complaining about the heat because the summer is brutal here. I think I like the winter better than the summer. I like to complain, haha.
Have a good year.
Don
RE: Contract
From: xxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com
To: xxxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Contract
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 09:42:08 -0400
To: xxxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: Contract
Date: Fri, 8 Jan 2010 09:42:08 -0400
Don's on TV! You're famous Buddy! Now, I want to see the video clip!
I honestly love reading your emails about the way of Life over there, Don. I have kept all the correspondence you have emailed in a folder, titled "Don". Such an interesting view of things over there. Really good blogging material!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I sat with students after class yesterday and they said 'tell us about the differences between Canada and here'. Where to begin? Night and day with the differences. I could teach a whole term of classes on the differences. What we think about the world if you turn it 180o then you get China. It is so different! I am not saying anything about who is right or who is wrong. Some of each culture is right. But, man, some things here are not right. I don't care if you are socialist or conservative or an extreme environmentalist but some things do not ring true with me. I think they will implode soon. The one-child policy is not working. There are now too many old people and not enough young people. They retire at 55. So there is so much pressure on the kids. I talk to them a lot.
I have to go teach.
Don
I honestly love reading your emails about the way of Life over there, Don. I have kept all the correspondence you have emailed in a folder, titled "Don". Such an interesting view of things over there. Really good blogging material!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| From: | (xxxxxxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com) |
| Sent: | January 8, 2010 9:38:44 PM |
| To: | (xxxxxxxxxxxxx@hotmail.com) |
I sat with students after class yesterday and they said 'tell us about the differences between Canada and here'. Where to begin? Night and day with the differences. I could teach a whole term of classes on the differences. What we think about the world if you turn it 180o then you get China. It is so different! I am not saying anything about who is right or who is wrong. Some of each culture is right. But, man, some things here are not right. I don't care if you are socialist or conservative or an extreme environmentalist but some things do not ring true with me. I think they will implode soon. The one-child policy is not working. There are now too many old people and not enough young people. They retire at 55. So there is so much pressure on the kids. I talk to them a lot.
I have to go teach.
Don
No strip poker!
Hi,
Just a quick note because it is 7:30am on Saturday and I need breakfast and then I will go to the training school to teach.
The subject above is referring to the fact that students, everyone actually, wear so many clothes. Everyone wears long underwear. I haven't worn that since I was a kid unless I knew I was going to be outside somewhere for a long time. But here people are always cold. I had a text message last night from some students and they are freezing in their dorms. It got to -8C last night I think. I have A/C but it doesn't do a great job. I am thinking about getting a thermometer because I think it may be 15C or less and I have it set at 28C. We are south of the Yangtze. Barely. I can see it if I walk a few miles. So south of the Yangtze you don't need heat. North of the Yangtze they have heat. Beijing for instance. Yesterday, when I went to class, it was -2C. I could see my breath in the classroom. So students all wear long underwear (top and bottom, it's a big seller here), shirt, sweater and winter coat along with their normal underwear. They are continuously telling me that I need to dress warmer. Some of the small children look like Inuit babies. They have so many clothes on that they are rounder than they are tall! So if you are going to play strip poker with them you had better win a lot of hands! So many clothes. I am comfortable when I walk outside, nice scarf, good coat, gloves. But I never feel really warm inside unless I go to some Western restaurants that have heat like Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds. I will really feel warm in a couple of weeks when I can soak up some sunshine.
Don
Just a quick note because it is 7:30am on Saturday and I need breakfast and then I will go to the training school to teach.
The subject above is referring to the fact that students, everyone actually, wear so many clothes. Everyone wears long underwear. I haven't worn that since I was a kid unless I knew I was going to be outside somewhere for a long time. But here people are always cold. I had a text message last night from some students and they are freezing in their dorms. It got to -8C last night I think. I have A/C but it doesn't do a great job. I am thinking about getting a thermometer because I think it may be 15C or less and I have it set at 28C. We are south of the Yangtze. Barely. I can see it if I walk a few miles. So south of the Yangtze you don't need heat. North of the Yangtze they have heat. Beijing for instance. Yesterday, when I went to class, it was -2C. I could see my breath in the classroom. So students all wear long underwear (top and bottom, it's a big seller here), shirt, sweater and winter coat along with their normal underwear. They are continuously telling me that I need to dress warmer. Some of the small children look like Inuit babies. They have so many clothes on that they are rounder than they are tall! So if you are going to play strip poker with them you had better win a lot of hands! So many clothes. I am comfortable when I walk outside, nice scarf, good coat, gloves. But I never feel really warm inside unless I go to some Western restaurants that have heat like Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonalds. I will really feel warm in a couple of weeks when I can soak up some sunshine.
Don
Contract
Hi,
This contract officially expires July 31 but I plan to be home before that. Last year I was finished by June 12. I will fly back to Ottawa for a week and then to Charlottetown; train, plane, who knows? I really don't know if I will come back again or not. If the school offers me another contract I will seriously consider it but, if not, I don't think I want to try another city. An American teacher that I met last year was on his 8th school in as many years and he is 2 years older than I am. But he never made friends with any students or other teachers. I make friends in each city and then it is always hard to leave. I don't think I have the desire to go to another school and learn my way around another city. It takes a lot of effort to learn your way around a new school and a new city. And then to try to make new friends. Here, I know this city well. You could blindfold me and drop me somewhere and I would find my way back. It might take me awhile because it is about the size of Halifax, but I would make it. If AHUT comes up with another contract then I may come back. It is easy work and a good lifestyle here. I have made friends and I meet new people every week it seems now. I am very happy that I chose this school. I could have gone to Tianjin, near Beijing, (at least they have heat there) but I wanted to be close to Changzhou and that helped me a lot during the past year; to be able to visit Lijun, Don & Angel, and the other teachers, Joseph in Shanghai and Amanda in Shengsi Island and Hangzhou.
When I was coming home on New Year's Day from visiting with Lijun, I met a Chinese teacher at the Nanjing bus station. He teaches English to non-English majors and his English is very good although with some words he has a strange accent. 'Usually' comes out sounding like 'uually' and 'very' like 'wary'. But he certainly has a large vocabulary. He said he recognized me from the campus. I suppose most students and teachers recognize me by now. I stick out for sure; foreigner, gray hair, tall! He has been teaching at AHUT for 10 years. He was very interested that I work for the School of Economics here at AHUT. I assumed that he was an English major but judging from his conversation and his knowledge of Economics' terms I suspect that that was his major. I didn't take many Economics courses but I took the course to be a stockbroker and my major was Bus Admin and I often follow the Business news so I could converse with him; even when he started talking about homogeneous economies! He was very interesting to talk to. He had some interesting views on how Chinese culture has affected the economy here. I haven't heard a Chinese person speak against some aspects of the culture here before. Usually, it is all about harmony! All for the country! We swapped phone numbers so we will get together after the final exam week next week for a lunch or a drink. He is unmarried. Quite an interesting guy.
So, after all this rambling, I don't know about next year. If I can come here, then I probably will but I don't feel that I have the energy to break in a new city. But, if I go home, what will I do?
Haha. Had another Chinese lesson today. Now he is trying to get me to read Chinese characters. That, I think, is a lost cause. There are more than 10,000 of them as far as I know. And some of them have so many lines that I can't tell the difference between them. Some of the simple ones I know; the ones with only a few strokes. Of course, I don't know what the word means sometimes even if I can pronounce it correctly. Other words I can pronounce but I don't know the characters! Such a difficult language. But I will keep trying. If we stop learning then our brains will dry up! We need to keep exercising it.
He told me that he saw me on TV! I was with little children. The training school is the only place that I teach children. I work there tomorrow. That is not a good thing. The university has rules, although most teachers do the same or tutor. But, officially, we need permission. If the Dean sees me in an ad for the training school, he may not be happy. It is technically against the law. My work permit is for AHUT, not the training school. If the University does not like it, I could be on the next plane home.
Oh well, worse things could happen! haha
Don
This contract officially expires July 31 but I plan to be home before that. Last year I was finished by June 12. I will fly back to Ottawa for a week and then to Charlottetown; train, plane, who knows? I really don't know if I will come back again or not. If the school offers me another contract I will seriously consider it but, if not, I don't think I want to try another city. An American teacher that I met last year was on his 8th school in as many years and he is 2 years older than I am. But he never made friends with any students or other teachers. I make friends in each city and then it is always hard to leave. I don't think I have the desire to go to another school and learn my way around another city. It takes a lot of effort to learn your way around a new school and a new city. And then to try to make new friends. Here, I know this city well. You could blindfold me and drop me somewhere and I would find my way back. It might take me awhile because it is about the size of Halifax, but I would make it. If AHUT comes up with another contract then I may come back. It is easy work and a good lifestyle here. I have made friends and I meet new people every week it seems now. I am very happy that I chose this school. I could have gone to Tianjin, near Beijing, (at least they have heat there) but I wanted to be close to Changzhou and that helped me a lot during the past year; to be able to visit Lijun, Don & Angel, and the other teachers, Joseph in Shanghai and Amanda in Shengsi Island and Hangzhou.
When I was coming home on New Year's Day from visiting with Lijun, I met a Chinese teacher at the Nanjing bus station. He teaches English to non-English majors and his English is very good although with some words he has a strange accent. 'Usually' comes out sounding like 'uually' and 'very' like 'wary'. But he certainly has a large vocabulary. He said he recognized me from the campus. I suppose most students and teachers recognize me by now. I stick out for sure; foreigner, gray hair, tall! He has been teaching at AHUT for 10 years. He was very interested that I work for the School of Economics here at AHUT. I assumed that he was an English major but judging from his conversation and his knowledge of Economics' terms I suspect that that was his major. I didn't take many Economics courses but I took the course to be a stockbroker and my major was Bus Admin and I often follow the Business news so I could converse with him; even when he started talking about homogeneous economies! He was very interesting to talk to. He had some interesting views on how Chinese culture has affected the economy here. I haven't heard a Chinese person speak against some aspects of the culture here before. Usually, it is all about harmony! All for the country! We swapped phone numbers so we will get together after the final exam week next week for a lunch or a drink. He is unmarried. Quite an interesting guy.
So, after all this rambling, I don't know about next year. If I can come here, then I probably will but I don't feel that I have the energy to break in a new city. But, if I go home, what will I do?
Haha. Had another Chinese lesson today. Now he is trying to get me to read Chinese characters. That, I think, is a lost cause. There are more than 10,000 of them as far as I know. And some of them have so many lines that I can't tell the difference between them. Some of the simple ones I know; the ones with only a few strokes. Of course, I don't know what the word means sometimes even if I can pronounce it correctly. Other words I can pronounce but I don't know the characters! Such a difficult language. But I will keep trying. If we stop learning then our brains will dry up! We need to keep exercising it.
He told me that he saw me on TV! I was with little children. The training school is the only place that I teach children. I work there tomorrow. That is not a good thing. The university has rules, although most teachers do the same or tutor. But, officially, we need permission. If the Dean sees me in an ad for the training school, he may not be happy. It is technically against the law. My work permit is for AHUT, not the training school. If the University does not like it, I could be on the next plane home.
Oh well, worse things could happen! haha
Don
I think it is a joke
Hi,
last term was my first term here. At the end of the term they asked me for an attendance score. No one told me I needed to keep attendance! My TA sat in every class and read a book. He never mentioned attendance. So I told the school to give them all 100%; they gave them 90% and I had students pissed off at me because they were there every class!
This term I took attendance; not every class and not always in the first period. Many students would skip out after the first period and so sometimes I would call attendance in the second period. But now I have heard that most teachers do not call attendance. I am confused. They have rules but the rules are not told to me.
Apparently, students have to attend 60% of the classes; I found out this week. I have 10 students who have not done that in my Marketing class. My TA said I will have to give them 60% or they will complain, heaven forbid that they may have to tell their parents why they couldn't come to class. So they will have 60%. There are good students and then there are others who should never graduate but they will. There is no such thing as repeating a course. You go through with your classmates. Don in Changzhou said it best when he was looking for some help. You cannot trust that a person who has a degree here is capable. There are many that are but there are more that are not. They push them through. Last year Lijun had 5 roommates, all marketing majors because she started out as a marketing major and it didn't matter that she switched to Enhlish. You stay with the same roommates all through university. Last year her roommates had one course and they didn't go. So would you hire one of them to a marketing job? She has her degree!
The students who are serious work very hard. The others play basketball, don't come to class and don't give a shit. But they will pass.
Don
last term was my first term here. At the end of the term they asked me for an attendance score. No one told me I needed to keep attendance! My TA sat in every class and read a book. He never mentioned attendance. So I told the school to give them all 100%; they gave them 90% and I had students pissed off at me because they were there every class!
This term I took attendance; not every class and not always in the first period. Many students would skip out after the first period and so sometimes I would call attendance in the second period. But now I have heard that most teachers do not call attendance. I am confused. They have rules but the rules are not told to me.
Apparently, students have to attend 60% of the classes; I found out this week. I have 10 students who have not done that in my Marketing class. My TA said I will have to give them 60% or they will complain, heaven forbid that they may have to tell their parents why they couldn't come to class. So they will have 60%. There are good students and then there are others who should never graduate but they will. There is no such thing as repeating a course. You go through with your classmates. Don in Changzhou said it best when he was looking for some help. You cannot trust that a person who has a degree here is capable. There are many that are but there are more that are not. They push them through. Last year Lijun had 5 roommates, all marketing majors because she started out as a marketing major and it didn't matter that she switched to Enhlish. You stay with the same roommates all through university. Last year her roommates had one course and they didn't go. So would you hire one of them to a marketing job? She has her degree!
The students who are serious work very hard. The others play basketball, don't come to class and don't give a shit. But they will pass.
Don
It's cold here
When I slept at Lijun's home the temperature reached 0C and no heat. I was freezing despite two quilts and all my clothes except my coat. By Tuesday it will be -8C. How would you feel to be sleeping without any heat? It is so natural for them. All they do is take their coat off and go to bed. They sleep in the same clothes for days. The same clothes as they wear when they walk down the street, maybe three layers. They are warm. Every winter she sleeps with her parents. In the summer she sleeps in her bed with a fan because summer is very hot here. They will not turn on the A/C in the winter. Too expensive.
My A/C goes almost 24/7 but it does not give off much heat. I still have to wear sweaters. I will buy a heater. I am sure that the university will not be happy with my electricity bill but I want to be warm! I haven't felt warm in months. A few days, the sun shines in here and I turn off the A/C and it feels good. But that is rare. Most days here are between -5C and 5C. And there is no heat anywhere! Classrooms, restaurants, stores, home. So you are always feeling cool if not cold. Pizza Hut is the only place where I have felt heat. But it is expensive so I have only been there twice. It's like camping outdoors!
Don
My A/C goes almost 24/7 but it does not give off much heat. I still have to wear sweaters. I will buy a heater. I am sure that the university will not be happy with my electricity bill but I want to be warm! I haven't felt warm in months. A few days, the sun shines in here and I turn off the A/C and it feels good. But that is rare. Most days here are between -5C and 5C. And there is no heat anywhere! Classrooms, restaurants, stores, home. So you are always feeling cool if not cold. Pizza Hut is the only place where I have felt heat. But it is expensive so I have only been there twice. It's like camping outdoors!
Don
my new years at lijun's, not even the beginning
Hi.
Some background. for those of you who don't know. Lijun (aka Jenny) was an English major. In Canadian age she is 23, Chinese 25. She has graduated. Personally, she acts likes 17. She approached me last year to try to practice her English. I get that often. Even from students who are not my students. I have had many students who just want to talk to me. I don't mind. I have the time. If they are not my students I don't care. But there are the ones who want to learn. I will sit and talk for hours with them. I will ask them questions about their life, if their English is good enough, and I will encourage them to ask about me and Canada. Many times the conversation is limited but they are trying....better than my Chinese I tell them. But last year lijun invited to her home for a weekend. I had no idea what I should do. But I went. We sat for hours talking. Her parents have no English. It was a nice time.
OK. New Years to Lijun's this year. (Her birthday is Dec 31.) I am not sure where to begin. Her and her parents have a nice apartment. He is a carpenter and does nice nice work. I have seldom seen so many cupboards as are in Lijun's bedroom and she has a king size bed. Their home has two big bedrooms, a big living room with a large TV, a bathroom and a small kitchen. Well, bigger than mine! But a toilet not a squat one.
This is what they do and I don't understand. Her family have a nice home. A toilet, a bathtub, a nice kitchen and two huge bedrooms. Her mother's parents live almost next door. They are really nice people; both of them.They live on next to nothing. 3 rooms. I wanted a piss and lijun said here... it was a chamber pot! I thought, which century am I in. I asked her where can we have a bath? Gramppas. Where is it? Outside, next door. We all share that. But her and her parents have all those things! Their nice apartment. But all they do is sleep there in the cold.
OK. I could not live that way for long. We went back to her parents place. I slept in lijun's king size bed while she slept with her mother and father. They have A/C but they never turn it on in winter. Too much money. I went to bed with all of my clothes on and quilts and I felt cold. I guess I didn't have enough sweaters or underwear.
I slept with my suit and suit shirt on shirt on. It was like freezing, maybe0C . They are nuts!
Dom
Some background. for those of you who don't know. Lijun (aka Jenny) was an English major. In Canadian age she is 23, Chinese 25. She has graduated. Personally, she acts likes 17. She approached me last year to try to practice her English. I get that often. Even from students who are not my students. I have had many students who just want to talk to me. I don't mind. I have the time. If they are not my students I don't care. But there are the ones who want to learn. I will sit and talk for hours with them. I will ask them questions about their life, if their English is good enough, and I will encourage them to ask about me and Canada. Many times the conversation is limited but they are trying....better than my Chinese I tell them. But last year lijun invited to her home for a weekend. I had no idea what I should do. But I went. We sat for hours talking. Her parents have no English. It was a nice time.
OK. New Years to Lijun's this year. (Her birthday is Dec 31.) I am not sure where to begin. Her and her parents have a nice apartment. He is a carpenter and does nice nice work. I have seldom seen so many cupboards as are in Lijun's bedroom and she has a king size bed. Their home has two big bedrooms, a big living room with a large TV, a bathroom and a small kitchen. Well, bigger than mine! But a toilet not a squat one.
This is what they do and I don't understand. Her family have a nice home. A toilet, a bathtub, a nice kitchen and two huge bedrooms. Her mother's parents live almost next door. They are really nice people; both of them.They live on next to nothing. 3 rooms. I wanted a piss and lijun said here... it was a chamber pot! I thought, which century am I in. I asked her where can we have a bath? Gramppas. Where is it? Outside, next door. We all share that. But her and her parents have all those things! Their nice apartment. But all they do is sleep there in the cold.
OK. I could not live that way for long. We went back to her parents place. I slept in lijun's king size bed while she slept with her mother and father. They have A/C but they never turn it on in winter. Too much money. I went to bed with all of my clothes on and quilts and I felt cold. I guess I didn't have enough sweaters or underwear.
I slept with my suit and suit shirt on shirt on. It was like freezing, maybe0C . They are nuts!
Dom
Family vs individual
Hi all,
It is now the morning of Jan 2 but it is still Jan 1 in Canada. So Happy New Year. It hope this year is better than last year for everyone.
I spent New Year's Eve at Lijun's home in Liyang, which is about 1:30 by bus west of Changzhou. When I caught the bus for changzhou on Thursday morning, I was planning to spend it with her and her boyfriend in Changzhou. When I got to Changzhou, she sent me a short message saying she was in Liyang and asked me to go there. I wasn't too happy about that but, as it turned out, she hadn't had any choice in the matter.
Since she graduated she has been living with her boyfriend most of the time. Her parents don't approve of him and told her in June to break it off with him. She didn't. But she never told her parents. She always told them that she was staying with some former roommates. They never travel, and with cell phones, who knows where anyone is. Few people who rent have a land line. Anyway, she decided that she would tell them so that they would realize that she was serious about him. She asked them if he could visit her home during the New Year break (3 days here). They said absolutely not, never. Then they got on the bus on Thursday morning, took her from work, back to her place to pack and then back on the bus to Liyang. Not much choice. Abduction; not uncommon. Yesterday, they introduced to a guy 5 years older. I sat in on their first meeting. THey have another lined up as well. Different culture. She was a sad girl the past couple of days but more or less resigned to the situation.
In one of my courses I taught about cultural differences and one of the aspects was collectivism vs individualism. Individualistic cultures teach members to be independent; stand on your two feet. China is a very collectivistic culture. The group is most important and individuals are expected to contribute to the welfare of the group. Individual wants are secondary. This applies to the country, your company, but it is particularly strong for family units. Members of the family will seek advice from the other members on any important decisions and will do whatever the elders deem best for the family. That could be things like: which major should I take, should I take this job, should I get my licence and buy a car, etc. Even if they are 30 years old and married. One of the main criterion for Lijun's marriage is that her husband has to have his own home. Here that means owns his own apartment. Lijun's boyfriend's family could not afford to buy him one and he is a recent graduate like her and if he saved enough for a downpayment on a place it might take 5 years or more because he does not make much. The family of the guy they introduced her to owns two apartments. He was short and thin. She wasn't impressed. But they will have a date or two and then they will decide if they want to keep seeing each other.
I went to a wedding last weekend where the bride was 22 and the groom 29. This seems to quite common. Unless the guy's family has money, it takes time to save enough to purchase a house. By that time most of best women his age are already married to older guys, so the family starts looking around for suitable girls. They dated 6 months and married. Love is not the primary motivator unless the family has money and can afford that luxury. That's not to say that you have to marry someone that you don't like. But they will keep looking until they find someone acceptable to you and to them. For most families, there are 4 grandparents, two parents and one child. The family is looking for security in the future. There is tremendous pressure and stress on the young people to succeed. They study very hard, often taking 10-12 courses each term. When they graduate, they are looking at 6 day weeks and sometimes 12-hour days for not much money unless they have 'guanxi' (connections).
When the child is growing up, the parents and grandparents will do everything they can for the child. Lijun's family is extremely frugal. They will walk all over the city rather than take a bus for 1rmb. But I have seen her father spend 40rmb on treats for her at the store. When I bought dinner at a restaurant for the family last year, that was the first time that Lijun could remember eating in a restaurant with her parents. You can buy a tasty rice or noodle dish anywhere for 5rmb. So 40 for treats was quite an expenditure. But, in return, when the child graduates they expect that devotion to be returned, and it usually is.
I asked students last year if it was more important to marry for money or love. More than half said money. 'Then we will learn to love each other after'.
She is unhappy this weekend but is resigned to the situation. There will be no possibility of her seeing Mark again, probably. Her family will not allow her out of their sight now. She starts a new job there on Monday. 6am-6pm, 6 days a week. It will be very boring for her because her friends have either moved away or are married. She does have the Internet so she can keep in touch with the rest of the world. I will go back in February around Chinese New Year to see how she doing.
Life is not easy in China
Don
It is now the morning of Jan 2 but it is still Jan 1 in Canada. So Happy New Year. It hope this year is better than last year for everyone.
I spent New Year's Eve at Lijun's home in Liyang, which is about 1:30 by bus west of Changzhou. When I caught the bus for changzhou on Thursday morning, I was planning to spend it with her and her boyfriend in Changzhou. When I got to Changzhou, she sent me a short message saying she was in Liyang and asked me to go there. I wasn't too happy about that but, as it turned out, she hadn't had any choice in the matter.
Since she graduated she has been living with her boyfriend most of the time. Her parents don't approve of him and told her in June to break it off with him. She didn't. But she never told her parents. She always told them that she was staying with some former roommates. They never travel, and with cell phones, who knows where anyone is. Few people who rent have a land line. Anyway, she decided that she would tell them so that they would realize that she was serious about him. She asked them if he could visit her home during the New Year break (3 days here). They said absolutely not, never. Then they got on the bus on Thursday morning, took her from work, back to her place to pack and then back on the bus to Liyang. Not much choice. Abduction; not uncommon. Yesterday, they introduced to a guy 5 years older. I sat in on their first meeting. THey have another lined up as well. Different culture. She was a sad girl the past couple of days but more or less resigned to the situation.
In one of my courses I taught about cultural differences and one of the aspects was collectivism vs individualism. Individualistic cultures teach members to be independent; stand on your two feet. China is a very collectivistic culture. The group is most important and individuals are expected to contribute to the welfare of the group. Individual wants are secondary. This applies to the country, your company, but it is particularly strong for family units. Members of the family will seek advice from the other members on any important decisions and will do whatever the elders deem best for the family. That could be things like: which major should I take, should I take this job, should I get my licence and buy a car, etc. Even if they are 30 years old and married. One of the main criterion for Lijun's marriage is that her husband has to have his own home. Here that means owns his own apartment. Lijun's boyfriend's family could not afford to buy him one and he is a recent graduate like her and if he saved enough for a downpayment on a place it might take 5 years or more because he does not make much. The family of the guy they introduced her to owns two apartments. He was short and thin. She wasn't impressed. But they will have a date or two and then they will decide if they want to keep seeing each other.
I went to a wedding last weekend where the bride was 22 and the groom 29. This seems to quite common. Unless the guy's family has money, it takes time to save enough to purchase a house. By that time most of best women his age are already married to older guys, so the family starts looking around for suitable girls. They dated 6 months and married. Love is not the primary motivator unless the family has money and can afford that luxury. That's not to say that you have to marry someone that you don't like. But they will keep looking until they find someone acceptable to you and to them. For most families, there are 4 grandparents, two parents and one child. The family is looking for security in the future. There is tremendous pressure and stress on the young people to succeed. They study very hard, often taking 10-12 courses each term. When they graduate, they are looking at 6 day weeks and sometimes 12-hour days for not much money unless they have 'guanxi' (connections).
When the child is growing up, the parents and grandparents will do everything they can for the child. Lijun's family is extremely frugal. They will walk all over the city rather than take a bus for 1rmb. But I have seen her father spend 40rmb on treats for her at the store. When I bought dinner at a restaurant for the family last year, that was the first time that Lijun could remember eating in a restaurant with her parents. You can buy a tasty rice or noodle dish anywhere for 5rmb. So 40 for treats was quite an expenditure. But, in return, when the child graduates they expect that devotion to be returned, and it usually is.
I asked students last year if it was more important to marry for money or love. More than half said money. 'Then we will learn to love each other after'.
She is unhappy this weekend but is resigned to the situation. There will be no possibility of her seeing Mark again, probably. Her family will not allow her out of their sight now. She starts a new job there on Monday. 6am-6pm, 6 days a week. It will be very boring for her because her friends have either moved away or are married. She does have the Internet so she can keep in touch with the rest of the world. I will go back in February around Chinese New Year to see how she doing.
Life is not easy in China
Don
just some thoughts
Hi,
I know I haven't sent many emails in awhile. And I will send some pictures home soon
China is unusual. I was to a market the other day and there were chickens, ducks and geese for sale; live. It is common here. If you wanted one they would dispatch it for you very quickly. It was not a nice sight to see but it is normal. But at least you know your chicken is fresh. I also saw dog at the market for the first time. Four dead ones and three waiting. These are not poodle sized maybe spaniel sized? I suppose you could buy one and take it for a pet or they would probably skin it and clean it for you.
As I said, China is unusual. I don't critize or complain. I talked to some friends one night and I thought is it any different than killing a lamb or a calf for our pleasure?
I don't know. But we eat beef and pork and we don't know how or care how it got to our plate. If you look at a calf or a lamb, it is a beautiful animal, but we eat it. In Europe thay eat horse, but we think that is not right. In Africa people eat beetles. What is right or wrong? I doubt that I will eat it but I have eaten turtle, frog, jellyfish, so who knows; maybe I will eat dog.
We have different thoughts on what we should eat or not eat, but I can't say I am right or that they are wrong.
Don
I know I haven't sent many emails in awhile. And I will send some pictures home soon
China is unusual. I was to a market the other day and there were chickens, ducks and geese for sale; live. It is common here. If you wanted one they would dispatch it for you very quickly. It was not a nice sight to see but it is normal. But at least you know your chicken is fresh. I also saw dog at the market for the first time. Four dead ones and three waiting. These are not poodle sized maybe spaniel sized? I suppose you could buy one and take it for a pet or they would probably skin it and clean it for you.
As I said, China is unusual. I don't critize or complain. I talked to some friends one night and I thought is it any different than killing a lamb or a calf for our pleasure?
I don't know. But we eat beef and pork and we don't know how or care how it got to our plate. If you look at a calf or a lamb, it is a beautiful animal, but we eat it. In Europe thay eat horse, but we think that is not right. In Africa people eat beetles. What is right or wrong? I doubt that I will eat it but I have eaten turtle, frog, jellyfish, so who knows; maybe I will eat dog.
We have different thoughts on what we should eat or not eat, but I can't say I am right or that they are wrong.
Don
FYI on money
Just a short note about money. I have been getting raises ever since I moved here. Not in Chinese income, I still make the same, but in Canadian money! When I came here in Feb 2009, 1rmb would buy me $.137CAN now 1rmb will buy me $.155CAN so when I convert my rmb's I will get more $CAN. Pretty cool. I like that idea. That's a 13% raise for me!
christmas will soon be here
Hi,
Time is flying by. I can't believe that it is almost Christmas. Decorations have been up since the first of the month and the major department stores have been playing carols since then. I think Pizza Hut staff have been wearing Santa hats for longer than that. The carols are mostly in English with some Chinese ones. I wonder what the average person thinks when they can't understand the reason and there are all of these foreign songs playing that they can't understand.
安 徽 工 业 大 学 is the Chinese for my school. Literally Anhui Gongye Daxua. (Anhui Technological University). I can recognize it when I see it. It's easy to take a taxi to get home because they use a short version (like us saying UPEI to a taxi driver). It's 'An Gong Da'.Of course we have two campuses far apart and that has caused some confusion but I know the city well and if I see that he is going the wrong way I quickly correct him by telling him that I want the one on Hudong Beilu (East Lake North Road or North East Lake Road, whichever you prefer. Hudong is East Lake and beilu is North Road). The other is on Yushan Donglu (East Mount Yu Road). Yushan is Yu mountain and donglu is East Road). You catch on to it after awhile. We use N-S-E-W. Here they use W-E-S-N. So where we say NW, they say WN. Most of the major streets have a East-Middle-West section or a North-Middle-South section. Many Canadian cities do that with long streets, like Bloor East and West. The directions are qi (chee)-west, dong (long 'o', not like in ding-dong!)-east, nan-south and bei (bay)-north. That's why there is a nanjing and a beijing here; they were formerly the south capital and the north capital. Just a little language lesson. haha
I am preparing two exams this week for my Negotiations class. We need to have 2 exams because they hand out the exams alternately to try to prevent cheating. Of course it doesn't work competely. They are ingenious cheaters. Marks are so important to their future job chances that they will do whatever they can to get an edge; except maybe actually stuying and learning the material in many cases! I think many use their cell phones to cheat. I am sure that they text each other for answers but I can't ban cell phones because many of them use their phones as dictionaries to find the English words. I don't really care because the school doesn't like it if many fail. A few is ok. My TA taught a course last year and 40% failed and she had to scale the marks. The school wasn't happy.
I have about 4 weeks left until Spring Festival. Already I am getting invitations from students and friends to visit them. I can't be everywhere. We will have about 5 weeks off, I think. One week is already committed to visiting family in Canada. I will not make many decisions until I find out which dates my friends have off. I will visit some close friends but not too many. The vacation time will go by quickly and then I will be back in the classroom.
I have no plans yet for Christmas. I have class until noon. After that I am free. I will talk to the other foreign teachers soon to see if they want to get together for a dinner. Some chickens, potatoes, some kind of chicken gravy. We'll see. Perhaps we will go to the western bar that evening. They will probably have some kind of celebration for the foreigners in town. Most foreigners end up going there at some time during their stay here. The owner is very friendly and all of the staff speak English.
I'lll let you know.
Don
Time is flying by. I can't believe that it is almost Christmas. Decorations have been up since the first of the month and the major department stores have been playing carols since then. I think Pizza Hut staff have been wearing Santa hats for longer than that. The carols are mostly in English with some Chinese ones. I wonder what the average person thinks when they can't understand the reason and there are all of these foreign songs playing that they can't understand.
安 徽 工 业 大 学 is the Chinese for my school. Literally Anhui Gongye Daxua. (Anhui Technological University). I can recognize it when I see it. It's easy to take a taxi to get home because they use a short version (like us saying UPEI to a taxi driver). It's 'An Gong Da'.Of course we have two campuses far apart and that has caused some confusion but I know the city well and if I see that he is going the wrong way I quickly correct him by telling him that I want the one on Hudong Beilu (East Lake North Road or North East Lake Road, whichever you prefer. Hudong is East Lake and beilu is North Road). The other is on Yushan Donglu (East Mount Yu Road). Yushan is Yu mountain and donglu is East Road). You catch on to it after awhile. We use N-S-E-W. Here they use W-E-S-N. So where we say NW, they say WN. Most of the major streets have a East-Middle-West section or a North-Middle-South section. Many Canadian cities do that with long streets, like Bloor East and West. The directions are qi (chee)-west, dong (long 'o', not like in ding-dong!)-east, nan-south and bei (bay)-north. That's why there is a nanjing and a beijing here; they were formerly the south capital and the north capital. Just a little language lesson. haha
I am preparing two exams this week for my Negotiations class. We need to have 2 exams because they hand out the exams alternately to try to prevent cheating. Of course it doesn't work competely. They are ingenious cheaters. Marks are so important to their future job chances that they will do whatever they can to get an edge; except maybe actually stuying and learning the material in many cases! I think many use their cell phones to cheat. I am sure that they text each other for answers but I can't ban cell phones because many of them use their phones as dictionaries to find the English words. I don't really care because the school doesn't like it if many fail. A few is ok. My TA taught a course last year and 40% failed and she had to scale the marks. The school wasn't happy.
I have about 4 weeks left until Spring Festival. Already I am getting invitations from students and friends to visit them. I can't be everywhere. We will have about 5 weeks off, I think. One week is already committed to visiting family in Canada. I will not make many decisions until I find out which dates my friends have off. I will visit some close friends but not too many. The vacation time will go by quickly and then I will be back in the classroom.
I have no plans yet for Christmas. I have class until noon. After that I am free. I will talk to the other foreign teachers soon to see if they want to get together for a dinner. Some chickens, potatoes, some kind of chicken gravy. We'll see. Perhaps we will go to the western bar that evening. They will probably have some kind of celebration for the foreigners in town. Most foreigners end up going there at some time during their stay here. The owner is very friendly and all of the staff speak English.
I'lll let you know.
Don
protesters
Hi,
There were protesters on the street today. I have never seen that here. There were no signs but even there were I would not be able to read them. My school has a bus that takes us to the other campus where I teach. Many people were holding hands across the street. Just holding hands and not saying anything. Three lanes each way. My bus made a Uturn and went a different route. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera. When class finished the route was clear but there were maybe 100 police officers standing around. I am sure all of the protesters were arrested. China does take protests kindly. Even peaceful ones like that .That does not happen often here. For the most part, people are happy. They have a free market economy so you can live the American Dream in China. Get rich. But there are very many poor.
I would like to know what cause they were trying to pursue but I doubt that I will ever know. China is a mix of free market and socialism (communism?) but it works. Students can find jobs that pay little (maybe $200 a month is good if you have a degree) but they can advance quickly if they have the drive.
I have a friend, Jack, who is an English major with a speach impediment, and makes 2000 each month teaching Math. None of the teachers at my training school make that much. He has ambition. He has a registered company and hands out his business card to everyone. His mother finished primary school. His father got to high school. He makes more money than they do. And he is still a student. His 2000rmb (about $300) is more than the average income here. He is driven. He will be a success. Everyone wants to be rich here. There is a huge middle-class that are working 6 days a week for 12-14 hours every day.
I love China. It is such a beautiful country. There is so much diversity. Some students ask me 'Do you like China?' 'Do you like Chinese food?' I say yes to the former. The latter I usually ask them 'Do you like all Chinese food?'. They usually say No. I tell them that I like most foods but not every one. People are friendly, helpful, and you get stared at a lot. Last night I was in KFC and a young girl, maybe 7, came up and just stood there looking at me. That is not unusual. She never saw a 'foreigner' before. It is a nice place to be. It is too bad that it is so far to go home. If you want a good experience, come here. Honestly. I can hook you up with my agent and she is wonderfull. Tell her what you want. She is a god-send when it comes to finding jobs here. And also very pretty. Very nice person. She will not get you a shitty job at 30 hours a week in some hell hole.
If you want to experience life on a different level, then China is for you. The work is easy. Do you speak English? The Chinese language is not easy but I am learning a little.
Maybe next year I will have my family visit but it is too expensive. My first quote is 11900 to go to Toronto. It is Spring Festival so everyone is going somewhere. It is amazing. Many husbands are going home to visit their families. They live in different cities. Two years ago they had snow storms and there were no trains. 400,000 people were waiting in Guangzhou.
I love it. Except for the crowds of people. Sooo many people. There is little time to be alone. Even in a park or riding my bike. But it is a wonderful country with some beautiful people. Especially the girls! Gorgeous!
I want to live here for 6 months and home for 6 months. There are people here that I love. I don't know if I could live in Canada for 6 months but maybe 3 would be good. I would miss people like Judy and Cherry. They are my family here. If you are lucky you will meet them some day.
Love Don
There were protesters on the street today. I have never seen that here. There were no signs but even there were I would not be able to read them. My school has a bus that takes us to the other campus where I teach. Many people were holding hands across the street. Just holding hands and not saying anything. Three lanes each way. My bus made a Uturn and went a different route. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera. When class finished the route was clear but there were maybe 100 police officers standing around. I am sure all of the protesters were arrested. China does take protests kindly. Even peaceful ones like that .That does not happen often here. For the most part, people are happy. They have a free market economy so you can live the American Dream in China. Get rich. But there are very many poor.
I would like to know what cause they were trying to pursue but I doubt that I will ever know. China is a mix of free market and socialism (communism?) but it works. Students can find jobs that pay little (maybe $200 a month is good if you have a degree) but they can advance quickly if they have the drive.
I have a friend, Jack, who is an English major with a speach impediment, and makes 2000 each month teaching Math. None of the teachers at my training school make that much. He has ambition. He has a registered company and hands out his business card to everyone. His mother finished primary school. His father got to high school. He makes more money than they do. And he is still a student. His 2000rmb (about $300) is more than the average income here. He is driven. He will be a success. Everyone wants to be rich here. There is a huge middle-class that are working 6 days a week for 12-14 hours every day.
I love China. It is such a beautiful country. There is so much diversity. Some students ask me 'Do you like China?' 'Do you like Chinese food?' I say yes to the former. The latter I usually ask them 'Do you like all Chinese food?'. They usually say No. I tell them that I like most foods but not every one. People are friendly, helpful, and you get stared at a lot. Last night I was in KFC and a young girl, maybe 7, came up and just stood there looking at me. That is not unusual. She never saw a 'foreigner' before. It is a nice place to be. It is too bad that it is so far to go home. If you want a good experience, come here. Honestly. I can hook you up with my agent and she is wonderfull. Tell her what you want. She is a god-send when it comes to finding jobs here. And also very pretty. Very nice person. She will not get you a shitty job at 30 hours a week in some hell hole.
If you want to experience life on a different level, then China is for you. The work is easy. Do you speak English? The Chinese language is not easy but I am learning a little.
Maybe next year I will have my family visit but it is too expensive. My first quote is 11900 to go to Toronto. It is Spring Festival so everyone is going somewhere. It is amazing. Many husbands are going home to visit their families. They live in different cities. Two years ago they had snow storms and there were no trains. 400,000 people were waiting in Guangzhou.
I love it. Except for the crowds of people. Sooo many people. There is little time to be alone. Even in a park or riding my bike. But it is a wonderful country with some beautiful people. Especially the girls! Gorgeous!
I want to live here for 6 months and home for 6 months. There are people here that I love. I don't know if I could live in Canada for 6 months but maybe 3 would be good. I would miss people like Judy and Cherry. They are my family here. If you are lucky you will meet them some day.
Love Don
A good article on travel or living in China
Hi,
I was surfing the net last night for Chinese information sites because I am thinking about a web business and I was checking out the competition. I found this excellent article in wikitravel. It is long but it is worth reading. It took me a long time to read it all...maybe two hours? I am not sure. I have experienced about 75-80% of what he talks about and I have sent those experiences home in emails. The only parts I had trouble with were the treatment of foreign teachers and unscrupulous schools with illegal teachers. I may be naive or lucky but I haven't had anything near that kind of experience. I thank my agent, Amanda, for that and also the homework I did before I decided on my first school. I had 8 offers. But I chose a good one. I haven't experienced a bus ride or train ride in rural China yet and I doubt that I will. I have traveled around Eastern China but not the south part yet, which I hear is gorgeous. The west is almost totally rural and mountainous or desert so I am not really interested.
Anyway, he describes life in China very well, from the street food, the spitting, the pushing and shoving, disrespect for minor laws like stop signs, the toilets, the staring; but he also shows Chinese in a good light by their friendliness, willingness to help, great food. It's an essay on China. But, except for the two points that I mentioned, I agree with him. It is worthwhile reading. It gives a great history on China, which I know little about, and lots of helpful hints for me with the Chinese characters and the pinyin. I learned a lot. If you want to have a good description of my daily life in China, this is close. I think my emails are at a most personal level and this is general but it is mighty close by times.
http://wikitravel.org/en/China
Don
I was surfing the net last night for Chinese information sites because I am thinking about a web business and I was checking out the competition. I found this excellent article in wikitravel. It is long but it is worth reading. It took me a long time to read it all...maybe two hours? I am not sure. I have experienced about 75-80% of what he talks about and I have sent those experiences home in emails. The only parts I had trouble with were the treatment of foreign teachers and unscrupulous schools with illegal teachers. I may be naive or lucky but I haven't had anything near that kind of experience. I thank my agent, Amanda, for that and also the homework I did before I decided on my first school. I had 8 offers. But I chose a good one. I haven't experienced a bus ride or train ride in rural China yet and I doubt that I will. I have traveled around Eastern China but not the south part yet, which I hear is gorgeous. The west is almost totally rural and mountainous or desert so I am not really interested.
Anyway, he describes life in China very well, from the street food, the spitting, the pushing and shoving, disrespect for minor laws like stop signs, the toilets, the staring; but he also shows Chinese in a good light by their friendliness, willingness to help, great food. It's an essay on China. But, except for the two points that I mentioned, I agree with him. It is worthwhile reading. It gives a great history on China, which I know little about, and lots of helpful hints for me with the Chinese characters and the pinyin. I learned a lot. If you want to have a good description of my daily life in China, this is close. I think my emails are at a most personal level and this is general but it is mighty close by times.
http://wikitravel.org/en/China
Don
The Greatest Christmas Decoration Ever!!!!
This is funny. I can see why it would be a traffic hazard. It might even cause some people to have a heart atack!
it reminds me of one Hallowe'en when a neighbour dressed himself up as a scarecrow, old hat, old shirt, straw sticking out of his pants and sleeves, and sat beside his door on a bale of straw without moving. As children and parents came to the house some would go over to him and touch him and he would say 'Boo'! Scared the hell out of them and their parents. We laughed so much.
One time my daughter worked as a model. One job she had was to model some clothing for a store. She had to stand outside the store and pretend that she was a mannequin, one of those artificial people that they dress up and put in store windows. She had sunglasses on so that she could blink her eyes but she had to stand perfectly still for 45 minutes and then she would get a 15 minute break. Try standing perfectly still for 45 minutes. Very difficult to do. People would come up to her and poke her or make comments, 'is she real?' 'she looks so real!'. Some teenage boys came and started touching her because they thought that she was artificial. She reacted and they jumped! They ran away.
Enjoy. I am getting a Christmas tree this week. A small thing but it will have lights and decorations. The stores here are playing Christmas carols in Chinese and in English. KFC staff have been wearing santa hats for two weeks. They don't know much about Christmas but it is getting so much like the West. Commercialism. Stores have Christmas decorations and very few people are Christian but Walmart and RT-Mart and the English store, Tesco, lead the way. The people just think that it is something they should do. Like Valentine's Day. They're not sure why but if it well help me sell more stuff then I am all in favour of it.
it reminds me of one Hallowe'en when a neighbour dressed himself up as a scarecrow, old hat, old shirt, straw sticking out of his pants and sleeves, and sat beside his door on a bale of straw without moving. As children and parents came to the house some would go over to him and touch him and he would say 'Boo'! Scared the hell out of them and their parents. We laughed so much.
One time my daughter worked as a model. One job she had was to model some clothing for a store. She had to stand outside the store and pretend that she was a mannequin, one of those artificial people that they dress up and put in store windows. She had sunglasses on so that she could blink her eyes but she had to stand perfectly still for 45 minutes and then she would get a 15 minute break. Try standing perfectly still for 45 minutes. Very difficult to do. People would come up to her and poke her or make comments, 'is she real?' 'she looks so real!'. Some teenage boys came and started touching her because they thought that she was artificial. She reacted and they jumped! They ran away.
Enjoy. I am getting a Christmas tree this week. A small thing but it will have lights and decorations. The stores here are playing Christmas carols in Chinese and in English. KFC staff have been wearing santa hats for two weeks. They don't know much about Christmas but it is getting so much like the West. Commercialism. Stores have Christmas decorations and very few people are Christian but Walmart and RT-Mart and the English store, Tesco, lead the way. The people just think that it is something they should do. Like Valentine's Day. They're not sure why but if it well help me sell more stuff then I am all in favour of it.
Some new pics
If I had access to Facebook these would all be posted there. I haven't had access is many months and it does not appear likely that it will restored. So, in lieu of that, I will have to send pictures in emails. It's unfortunate because I could post my pictures and they would be there even if I want ed someone to see them later. Now, I have to try to remember to include people. Much more difficult.
Enjoy your snow, haha. We had snow here a month ago but it disappeared and hasn't shown it's face since.
Don
Enjoy your snow, haha. We had snow here a month ago but it disappeared and hasn't shown it's face since.
Don
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Some street scenes
I have not sent many pictures home because all I had was my cell and it doesn't take great pictures. But I waited until I could get a good buy on a digital camera and I finally bought one. Some of the pictures are not great because I need to adjust the settings. I walked around one sunny day and thought that I would take some pictures of ordinary people and scenes. I never think to do that because they are so common to me but I tried to think about you and the pictures that I have sent. You can tell that it was not a warm day but not as cold as shown by the way they dress. They pile layers on here. But I can't blame them because many do not have heat in their homes. I went a couple of weeks without heat and it feels, after awhile, that you are never warm because the stores and restaurants and classrooms don't have heat either.
I also bought a webcam and mike yesterday and I took two pictures of me and Judy. She left today for Hefei for a new job. She's a sweet kid. Only 24. One of the nicest persons that I have ever met. But Hefei is only about 3-4 hours by bus; like Charlottetown to Halifax, I guess. So if she doesn't come here then I will go there sometimes to visit. Tomorrow I am going to Changzhou to visit some of my friends and that's about 3 hours. I usually go once a month. Anyway, enjoy the pics.
Don
P.S. I need to lower the resolution. They're too big. It will take auite a few emails if I send them all. I will try to pick the most interesting ones.
I also bought a webcam and mike yesterday and I took two pictures of me and Judy. She left today for Hefei for a new job. She's a sweet kid. Only 24. One of the nicest persons that I have ever met. But Hefei is only about 3-4 hours by bus; like Charlottetown to Halifax, I guess. So if she doesn't come here then I will go there sometimes to visit. Tomorrow I am going to Changzhou to visit some of my friends and that's about 3 hours. I usually go once a month. Anyway, enjoy the pics.
Don
P.S. I need to lower the resolution. They're too big. It will take auite a few emails if I send them all. I will try to pick the most interesting ones.
Friday, January 15, 2010
love life in China
Certainly, 'made in China' is common. All of my shoes were made in China but I can't buy any size 12's here, they are all exported. I have never seen a pair of shoes here that fit me. I have managed to buy 2 pairs of pants because I am too tall. But I found 2. Shirts are no problem. But a winter coat was a challenge. Luckily, because of my size, they are usually on sale. No one buys the odd sizes. My coat is XXXXXXL! It fits well. Not a very nice coat but warm. It think in $Cdn about $6. But I bought a nice cloth coat 2XL for about $20. It feels very comfortable. The cheap stuff is not bad but cheap. If I don't like it then I can throw it away and buy something else. One zipper has already stopped working. But I can get all of the zippers replaced for $4 by the street tailors. There are women who sit by the road and do tailoring. Not made to measure suits but stitching torn clothing or replacing zippers. Chinese do not throw anything away. Last summer I took all of my shirts, which were long sleeved shirts for winter, and I went to a street tailor and told her to cut the sleeves and finish them so I could have short-sleeved shirts for summer. 12 shirts. $6.
You can get what you want here. A shoe shine is less than $1. There are ear cleaners here that will clean your ears of wax, also less than $1. I haven't done that yet but I will before I leave. A massage will cost between $3-10 for an hour depending on where you go. Maybe they will offer extra services for $25. Just hand. It is an amazing country. A country of differences. There are many poor and many rich and a huge middle-class that want to be rich. I talk to every one of my friends. I want to know what their life is like. It is so different than yours and mine. It is not better or worse; just different.
In Canada we are an individualistic society; look out for yourself, make your own decisions. Here it is a collectivist society; I will ask my family, can I marry this person?, can I take this job?. I have friends that are going through this. I give them my opinion but their culture does not allow them to have personal feelings. They have the feelings but their parents and family rule. I hurt for them. One girl told me that she was not allowed to have a boyfriend until she graduated because it would detract from her studies. She is a Masters student..not young. She has had a boyfriend for 3 years and her parents don't know. Lijun, my best friend last year, has a boyfriend and her parents do not approve of him. She lives with him in Changzhou and tells her parents that she is living with girl roommates. She can't marry him. Her parents will match her up with a nice boy sometime. It is such a different life style here. Sometimes I get frustrated. I just want to shake them. Then I realize that it is their culture. It is not mine. I am not right! Am I? Who's to say? It works here. As much as I hate to see that, it is life here. I have no right in saying what is right or wrong. We have our own values and beliefs...they do too. But I hate to see my friends going through that. I am invited to a wedding on Dec 26. Nice girl. But it was a setup marriage. She came here for dinner and told me she was getting married. I didn't ask her any questions but I could tell that she was not excited. I assumed that it was arranged. Later I found out that he is 29, she is 22, and he wants a family. Apparently he has a home. That is the main criterion for marriage here. They have known each other for 6 months. Love is not important...what is good for the family..I will learn to love him...that is how they think. So many beautiful girls who can't marry the one they love...I feel for them...but that's life in China.
You can get what you want here. A shoe shine is less than $1. There are ear cleaners here that will clean your ears of wax, also less than $1. I haven't done that yet but I will before I leave. A massage will cost between $3-10 for an hour depending on where you go. Maybe they will offer extra services for $25. Just hand. It is an amazing country. A country of differences. There are many poor and many rich and a huge middle-class that want to be rich. I talk to every one of my friends. I want to know what their life is like. It is so different than yours and mine. It is not better or worse; just different.
In Canada we are an individualistic society; look out for yourself, make your own decisions. Here it is a collectivist society; I will ask my family, can I marry this person?, can I take this job?. I have friends that are going through this. I give them my opinion but their culture does not allow them to have personal feelings. They have the feelings but their parents and family rule. I hurt for them. One girl told me that she was not allowed to have a boyfriend until she graduated because it would detract from her studies. She is a Masters student..not young. She has had a boyfriend for 3 years and her parents don't know. Lijun, my best friend last year, has a boyfriend and her parents do not approve of him. She lives with him in Changzhou and tells her parents that she is living with girl roommates. She can't marry him. Her parents will match her up with a nice boy sometime. It is such a different life style here. Sometimes I get frustrated. I just want to shake them. Then I realize that it is their culture. It is not mine. I am not right! Am I? Who's to say? It works here. As much as I hate to see that, it is life here. I have no right in saying what is right or wrong. We have our own values and beliefs...they do too. But I hate to see my friends going through that. I am invited to a wedding on Dec 26. Nice girl. But it was a setup marriage. She came here for dinner and told me she was getting married. I didn't ask her any questions but I could tell that she was not excited. I assumed that it was arranged. Later I found out that he is 29, she is 22, and he wants a family. Apparently he has a home. That is the main criterion for marriage here. They have known each other for 6 months. Love is not important...what is good for the family..I will learn to love him...that is how they think. So many beautiful girls who can't marry the one they love...I feel for them...but that's life in China.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
What happened to autumn?
Well I think we went from Summer to Winter. There is only a short spring and autumn here. We go from 25C to 10C in a few days. This week, maybe snow on the weekend with a low of maybe -5C and no heater in my home. So I guess I will not be riding my bike much this week. Snow? That will be strange. On Saturday it was 26c and I was sweating. If you want to know my weather just check for Nanjing weather. I am one hour from there so it's the same here. China is always full of surprises. Yesterday, I wore a shirt, sweater and jacket. I don't wear long underwear like most Chinese but maybe I will this year.
The trees are turning to red, orange and yellow but there are still a lot of green leaves on them but I expect that will change this week. By the following weekend I expect most maples and other (deciduous?) trees will be bare.
My Chinese is improving but I still can't carry on a conversation but I will soon, I believe. Now whether I can understand or not will be a question. I know the Chinese for 'please speak slowly' and 'I don't understand' so that's a start! haha.
Enjoy your day. If not, then there is always tomorrow. In Chinese language there is only a present tense. Some people say that there is no such thing as the present. There is only a past and a future. Maybe that's true. So in the next hour I will be living the future and then it will be the past. I don't worry about the past. I can't change that no matter how hard I try. So forget that. We only go through life once. This is not a dress rehearsal. I want to enjoy each minute that I have left. Hopefully, many 1000's of them.
I love China. I love being here. I would not trade my experiences for anything. For those of you who have never been here, come here once before you die. Even a week. It will change you. It will change how you feel about the world. It will change how you feel about yourself. Crowded? Oh yeah. Very crowded. Nice people? Mostly, yes. Many are the nicest people that I have ever met. It is a life-altering experience to walk down a street, to say xie xie to people who help me, to ask questions, to try to explain what life is like in Canada and to try to understand what life is like for them. I don't pretend that I know because I don't. I am working on it. But I can't understand a lot of things that are going through their minds. Their thinking is much different than the way I think. Not to say they are wrong and I am right or the other way. Just different. I ask a lot of people a lot of questions, like Yamin, Lijun, Amanda, Jack, Vicky, Judy, Cherry, and so many others. So many friends. I am learning. Slowly. You need to open your mind. To accept that what you see is true. Maybe you will shake your head and say that it can't be what it seems to be but it is. It is just different. My home is on the other side of the world. But here is also my home. If I am in Canada I will miss China. If I am in China I will miss Canada. I am half-and-half now. I hope to live here for many years. Maybe retire here. Maybe not. Maybe I will go home. But it won't feel the same any more. I am different. I look the same, maybe talk the same, walk the same but I am not the same. I feel better. I feel good.
There has been a lot of bad press about China. Most of it is from companies like Fox and CNN. I can't say much about that because China controls the country's news here. I can't even open Facebook. But I can read the news from home. But I think we all need to question the news no matter where it comes from. For those of you who are old enough, remember VietNam? Remember how the US downplayed their casualties and exaggerated their victories? If as many people were killed as they said there wouldn't be many people left there but they still lost the war. I met a veteran from the Korean War. He fought for North Korea. Very nice man. No English but his daughter is a friend of mine. It felt a little strange to me because I believe my uncle also was there for the Southern side. But it doesn't matter now. That is history. The Japanese did terrible things here during the 30's and 40's. Awful stuff. But that is also history. But history that you never heard about in Canada. Come to Nanjing and see the museum. Look up 'the rape of nanking (nanjing now). Ugly. They are making fantastic advances here. I feel like I am on the edge of massive progress. So much is happening, so fast, they can barely see what is happening.
Nice country. Nice people. Come here and experience it. I thought about teaching in other countries but no more. I like to swim on a warm beach and I will do that but not here. Maybe Philippines or Thailand or Cambodia. But it is not warm enough here in January. Maybe Hainan.
You can read about China but you need to experience it.
Don
The trees are turning to red, orange and yellow but there are still a lot of green leaves on them but I expect that will change this week. By the following weekend I expect most maples and other (deciduous?) trees will be bare.
My Chinese is improving but I still can't carry on a conversation but I will soon, I believe. Now whether I can understand or not will be a question. I know the Chinese for 'please speak slowly' and 'I don't understand' so that's a start! haha.
Enjoy your day. If not, then there is always tomorrow. In Chinese language there is only a present tense. Some people say that there is no such thing as the present. There is only a past and a future. Maybe that's true. So in the next hour I will be living the future and then it will be the past. I don't worry about the past. I can't change that no matter how hard I try. So forget that. We only go through life once. This is not a dress rehearsal. I want to enjoy each minute that I have left. Hopefully, many 1000's of them.
I love China. I love being here. I would not trade my experiences for anything. For those of you who have never been here, come here once before you die. Even a week. It will change you. It will change how you feel about the world. It will change how you feel about yourself. Crowded? Oh yeah. Very crowded. Nice people? Mostly, yes. Many are the nicest people that I have ever met. It is a life-altering experience to walk down a street, to say xie xie to people who help me, to ask questions, to try to explain what life is like in Canada and to try to understand what life is like for them. I don't pretend that I know because I don't. I am working on it. But I can't understand a lot of things that are going through their minds. Their thinking is much different than the way I think. Not to say they are wrong and I am right or the other way. Just different. I ask a lot of people a lot of questions, like Yamin, Lijun, Amanda, Jack, Vicky, Judy, Cherry, and so many others. So many friends. I am learning. Slowly. You need to open your mind. To accept that what you see is true. Maybe you will shake your head and say that it can't be what it seems to be but it is. It is just different. My home is on the other side of the world. But here is also my home. If I am in Canada I will miss China. If I am in China I will miss Canada. I am half-and-half now. I hope to live here for many years. Maybe retire here. Maybe not. Maybe I will go home. But it won't feel the same any more. I am different. I look the same, maybe talk the same, walk the same but I am not the same. I feel better. I feel good.
There has been a lot of bad press about China. Most of it is from companies like Fox and CNN. I can't say much about that because China controls the country's news here. I can't even open Facebook. But I can read the news from home. But I think we all need to question the news no matter where it comes from. For those of you who are old enough, remember VietNam? Remember how the US downplayed their casualties and exaggerated their victories? If as many people were killed as they said there wouldn't be many people left there but they still lost the war. I met a veteran from the Korean War. He fought for North Korea. Very nice man. No English but his daughter is a friend of mine. It felt a little strange to me because I believe my uncle also was there for the Southern side. But it doesn't matter now. That is history. The Japanese did terrible things here during the 30's and 40's. Awful stuff. But that is also history. But history that you never heard about in Canada. Come to Nanjing and see the museum. Look up 'the rape of nanking (nanjing now). Ugly. They are making fantastic advances here. I feel like I am on the edge of massive progress. So much is happening, so fast, they can barely see what is happening.
Nice country. Nice people. Come here and experience it. I thought about teaching in other countries but no more. I like to swim on a warm beach and I will do that but not here. Maybe Philippines or Thailand or Cambodia. But it is not warm enough here in January. Maybe Hainan.
You can read about China but you need to experience it.
Don
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