Monthly Archives: September 2010
More Chinglish!!
I keep thinking I’ll run out of funny packages and signs at my university. But China seems to have an inexhaustible well as I keep finding plenty!
We Wuz Robbed
I’ll tell you the end of the story first. Our camera was stolen, from our apartment, and the thief got away. Unfortunately we only have the one camera and therefore I couldn’t take pictures of the hilarious night that ensued. So you will have to do with pictures I found all over the web to &hellip Continue reading
The Big Picture: China Edition
Over at Boston.com they have a feature called “The Big Picture” in which they showcase some dramatic/slice-of-life/unknown events through high quality photographs. This time they pointed their lens at China and I think there are some amazing pictures. All of these pictures were taken within the past few months. These are 2 that I especially &hellip Continue reading
Sunday is the New Thursday
Foreign teachers usually have a hard time with the Chinese yearly school calendar, and not without good reason. The schedule here is crazy, complex and changes every year so that even the students and Chinese teachers have different stories. Take, for example, today. It is Sunday, normally a day off. But today we are pretending &hellip Continue reading
It’s as hot as….
This past week was hot. Damn hot. I would come home from teaching 4 hours of class with a shirt so wet with sweat it had salt stains all over it when it dried. And I wasn’t the only one who suffered, the poor students did too. In writing class we talked about description this &hellip Continue reading
The Crazy First Emperor
Quick, name the two most famous tourist sites in China. Yep, you got it, the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors. Believe it or not the two were the mastermind of the same guy: the first emperor. If you’ve seen the movie Hero, then you know who I’m talking about. He had many names, but &hellip Continue reading
In the Snack Aisle
There are plenty of weird things in the snack aisle, but this is a new product that just began showing up everywhere. Of course I had to try it. I figure I’m a fan of the cucumber chips so why not? The verdict? Not bad. The chips were nice and crispy. (Potato chips are a &hellip Continue reading
China in the News (and not for depressing reasons)
The LA Times has recently had some great articles on China. Usually when people report on China it is political and government based things or environmental articles. But maybe in a testament to China’s growing power in the world, articles are now shifting to be more human interest in nature. And I don’t mean personal &hellip Continue reading
Kicking Ass at the Shaolin Temple
I’ve never taken a kung fu class (or karate) and I’ve only seen one Bruce Lee flick yet I have always wanted to go to Shaolin Temple. I’ve read Matthew Polly’s book about training at Shaolin (twice) and even he desribes it as touristy and yet I and have always imagined it as a serene &hellip Continue reading
