Staying Dry

Monsoons have been bringing fat, persistent drops of rain for at least a week--straight. I'm certainly not complaining. I like to think of each drop streaking down, leaving a trail of clean air in its wake. Pollution is something of a factor in most Chinese cities of any size, but as long as it's raining the air is great.

I always thought it would be cool to live in Seattle or London or somewhere usually overcast. I'm not sure why I thought that. Overcast is overrated. But good musical planning for those rainy days is just prudent, so here is some of my favorite rainy day listening: Nick Drake, Bob Dylan, The Sundays, Thievery Corporation.

Break Time

This guy is taking a break from digging in the tulip pond on our campus.

He was digging for water tulip roots along with his comrades-in-shovels. They'll sell the roots to be cooked with sugar for dessert.

But for now, it's break time.

Have a delightful weekend!

All Cheeks

We have English corner every Wednesday on campus. The students crowd around the foreign teachers and ask all kinds of interesting questions, like, "Do you like Chinese food?" and "Do you like China?" and "Do you like Chinese food?"

At yesterday's, this kid showed up out of nowhere and stole all the attention. Little punk.

Meet Your President

A picture from the China Daily website yesterday, when Condi Rice was visiting China on her Asian tour. (Sadly, I'm more interested in a possible U2 Asian Tour, but I'm not holding my breath.)

The caption for the photo reads "Chinese President Hu Jintao (right) meets with...Condoleezza Rice." Apparently the capable editors of China Daily wanted to avoid anyone thinking that the president of China was the black lady (left).

Street Cook

Thanks to all of you for visiting and commenting. Please register so I know who you are when you comment. (I know only one Anonymous, and there's no way he's commenting this much.) If that's not your thing, be sure to sign your name.

A suffocating fog has descended on Meizhou like a damp, gross, velvet curtain. Midday and evening are indiscernible, and exhaled breath is clearly visible in the humid 60-degree air.

In this picture, steam rises from a street vendor's woks and pots to join the fog above.

Day of Prayer

I teach only two days a week, and today was an off day. The weather’s nasty outside, so I stayed inside and did nothing interesting. But lucky for you, I have a lot of interesting photos!

A gold reclining Buddha (46 meters long, http://www.thaitravel.info/WatPho/) and a monk (1.5 meters tall, just a guess) in Bangkok from a trip to Thailand during the winter break.

Later that day, we were visiting the temple below. I talked to a local man who was there to pray, and he said that it was a day of prayer. He also said he’d never seen tourists at that temple before. Then he nicely told me to leave. Just kidding.

Hong Kong Cook

Hong Kong Cook
Originally uploaded by doggage.

This picture is from my first time in Hong Kong, when I was traveling through with Nathan. We were on our way to Meizhou to teach, and I remember the first few days in Hong Kong were completely overwhelming. The lighted billboards seem to make a ceiling over many of the streets.

Hong Kong is a good stopping off point for people coming to China; it’s not China, but it’s part way there.

Little Angel

This little girl belongs to the shopkeepers behind. Cute? Yes. Except her pose is her way of signaling that she has to go poddy. (I say "poddy" instead of "to the restroom" consciously.)

On seeing that their little angel needs to go tinkle, the shopkeeper parents will come out in front of their shop, lift their child into a squatting position, and un-Velcro the ready-made Velcro split in her pants. Little Angel then commences to do her business right in front of her parents' business. Cute? No.

Now, I didn't study business--I studied English. And I did have a couple cultural studies courses where we were encouraged to view other cultures objectively. But some of what I seem to see in China is not only illogical but anti-logical. Sure, different cultures always seem strange to foreigners. But some parts of Chinese culture seem designed to offend anyone who's governed by common sense.

Let's take Little Angel for example. Wouldn't a shopkeeper naturally think, "My shop has a sidewalk in front of it. And my customers have to walk on that sidewalk to enter my shop. So maybe the best place for my kids to 'use the restroom' might be somewhere other than that sidewalk"? Yes. A shopkeeper anywhere else in the world, perhaps.

Rainy Mood

Here's what I'm listening to. Please don't use this information against me.

Blogging Test

This is really a test. Not just this first post, but blogging. And not just my blog, but blogging as a whole. It's a test of mankind by an advanced alien race. What they do is, they go throughout the galaxy searching out intelligent life, to whom they introduce blogging technology. Then they sit back and watch to see if these "intelligent" beings can actually make anything useful out of it. Every life form has failed miserably, and I probably won't be any different. But here goes.