Winnie and I took the train to Hangzhou on Saturday morning to visit friends. Shortly after we boarded a little dispute broke out across the aisle from us. There was a Swiss couple that was arguing with a guy from Hong Kong about who was supposed to be sitting there. The Hong Kong guy had [...]
Entries from October 2007
October 25, 2007
Taking a Break from Posting
I promised myself I would blog tonight, but my heart is just not in it. It has been a bit of a stressful day at work — even if as Winnie says most of it was probably self-induced — and I really want to chill out tonight. We’re off to Hangzhou on Saturday and I [...]
October 15, 2007
Thought for a Monday
When your office manager asks you if you put on weight, you need to consider going to the gym more than one a week. That’s my plan for tomorrow.
J.
October 15, 2007
The Crackdown on Foreigners on The Run-up to the CPC Congress
The 17th CPC Congress started today in Beijing and instead of writing about who is going to be the successor to Hu Jintao — lots of other people are already doing that. Instead I’d like to draw your attention to two interesting blog posts about the crackdown on foreigners who overstay their visas in the [...]
October 10, 2007
An Awesome Commercial from Chinese TV
I read a great post on EastSouthWestNorth today:
“
[in translation]
A few days ago, I saw the most awesome television ad ever on Linfen TV.
Three women met in the middle of the street and the [...]
October 8, 2007
Signs Mother Nature is Trying to Tell You Something
Your second umbrella of the day snaps in half in the middle of a tropical storm 10 minutes from home.
I’m not sure if this means Tropical Storm Krosa will just be strong or it wants to kick my ass but I am listening loud and clear –stay indoors tonight.
J.
October 3, 2007
An Excellent Example of Political Harmony in China
From Time’s China Blog:
“Perhaps the most profound insight into harmony I’ve heard recently came a few weeks ago during a party in the Beijing courtyard where I live. My neighbor Feng, a postal worker with a lazy eye and unerring sense of humor, had consumed an inharmonious amount of baijiu, the official firebrew of China. [...]
October 1, 2007
Thoughts on Listening to Cantonese
It’s the end of my third day here and things have been going amazingly well so far. Winnie and I have just be spending time with her family and doing lots of shopping. The one I’ve felt since I’ve been here is that I have gone back to square one when it comes to speaking [...]
