Underwater Hockey

Last night I attempted to stay up until 6am to keep Jono Berry company, as it was his last night in China and he would be leaving for the airport at…you guessed it…6am. We ate dinner at Dong Bei Ren (they hadn’t run out of the mushroom dish! yes!). Then headed over to Windows Scoreboard for some drinking games (kings), card tricks, and breathing in second-hand smoke. Then we went to Velvet Lounge, which is very much not my scene…it’s much too cool for school, and I’m much too ridiculous a girl. Anyway, we found a table outside and were just chilling out, when my friend Emily brings over her new friend Chris Tommaso. We start chit chatting and it turns out that he plays underwater hockey. What the what? Underwater huh? No, you’re kidding right? Alas, no, ladies and gents. Such a sport is a real thing but is not a spectator sport and gets little to no publicity. Hmmm, what other sport is awesome and played worldwide but doesn’t get good publicity….I’m drawing a blank, folks. ;)

Check it out (also search it on youtube.com….I can’t add a link cuz China has deemed youtube.com worthy of censorship…even proxies won’t work with it):

http://www.underwaterhockeyworld.com/

Who knew?
Em

C.R.E.A.M.

I spent the past weekend exploring Macau - the Las Vegas of the East. I spent the vast majority of my time exploring the inside of the Wynn Casino while playing poker. Nothing like relieving crazy Chinese gamblers of their money. I ended up making a month and a half's wages after playing for one weekend! Its a shame that I hadn't visited Macau earlier... If I had known how easy the games were, I would have been going down every weekend. It's probably for the best though - playing poker isn't good for the health or the sleeping schedule (I basically played all night, slept in the morning, and explored the city in the afternoon).

In addition to being a gambling haven, Macau is also a really cool old Portuguese city. I had a great time wandering around the old city snapping pictures. It was bizarre to see old stone buildings and European architecture after so long in China. I'm surprised that I noticed something like architecture, but it is actually a shocking difference. All the other buildings in China seem to be either old school Chinese hutong-type buildings, modern skyscrapers, or 70's ex-soviet style dormitories. It's odd what you notice after a year in China...

Jon
P.S. For those who don't know C.R.E.A.M. = Cash Rules Everything Around Me (from the Wu Tang Clan)

Children’s Day

In the States, we have Mother’s Day and Father’s Day… and in China, today we had Children’s Day. To celebrate, the kindergartens where I teach had an English performance. They sang a few songs that they have learned in this semester. My afternoon kindergarten performed in the morning, so I had to missed their show, but I’m sure they did great.

Usually, parents come to the show while they ooh and aah at their way-overly dressed little dumplings. Unfortunately, foot-and-mouth disease has been going around (bizarre, I know…), so the schools are limiting the number of people in and out of the school. So only teachers were allowed to watch the show…which pretty much made the whole thing seem a little pointless. Why show off how well they can twirl if the only people watching are the folks who see those moves every day? But they were still so cute! Bonus: I only had to work a total of 40 minutes today, with no afternoon classes. Sweet leisure time!

I took some great photos of the kids, however, the proxy server is being a bum and won't let me upload any files. Hopefully this will be remedied and you will all be able to bask in the glow of the cuteness emitting from these little Chinese dumplings.

Ciao for now,
Em

Oh, Cruel Sun

Yesterday, I had a physiotherapy appointment to work on my back problem. It went really well. I started seeing a new doctor who seems really smart and has helped me tweak the exercises I was doing so that they’re more helpful and more fitted to what I need, and I’ve actually begun to feel a bit of improvement… Let’s just say, my back doesn’t hurt quite as much on a constant basis. Yes!

New news: in addition to swimming every other day, I’m also allowed to jog! Slowly, gradually, with great caution, but nonetheless, jog I shall. And jog I did. While the freesbisti did their thing today at the park, and while I attempted not to feel intense jealousy their ability to run and sprint and lay out with ease, I jogged around the field slooooooooooooooooowly for about 15 minutes. It hurt a little at first, but I got in a good groove. Ya hear that, Body! You’re gonna get better! Ha! Then I did my stretching routine, and watched the fit gals and girls scrimmage.

Even though the sun was blazing, I was so out of the habit of playing sports and hanging out outside that the concept of sunscreen didn’t even give me the courtesy of crossing my mind. Result: even though I’m wearing a tube top, it still looks like I’m wearing a regular tank top. Stark contrast between red and scarily pale. It doesn’t hurt (too much) and I haven’t started peeling (yet). Moisturize I will.

Lesson: even though it’s gazillions of miles away, the Sun will smack you up like nobody’s business. So take precautions. Use protection. ☺

- Emma

Shaq

I was on my way to a math tutoring job in Minhang (Chinese for demolished dead zone) and I was happily chatting away with my cabbie about the NBA finals. Side note: basketball is huge here and people love the NBA, especially Kobe. I hate Kobe and love Shaq, so I started talking to the cab driver about Shaq. He didn't seem to understand, so I said it slowly. Shaquille O'Neal. Then he got it and said "Oh, O'Neal. Women jiao ta O'Pang." A rough translation of this is "Oh, O'Neal. We call him O'Fat." Hilarious.

Jon

Pesky Censorship

The Chinese government's censorship of Blogger has made blogging more difficult than I had anticipated. They are slowly figuring out and shutting down the proxy servers that I've been using. Bah.

In any case, life is moving along here in Shanghai. The weather is consistently amazing. Almost every day the sun comes out and shines down brightly. It's wonderful - it's amazing how much sunlight can effect one's mood. (300 days of sunshine every year in Colorado!)

Recently, I've also been doing a lot of planning for our month-long trip in Western China. I'm ridiculously excited about this adventure! Spending 30 days exploring Xinjiang and Xizang has been one of my dreams since we arrived in China. I've been checking out information on the web and in guidebooks about the area and the pictures are amazing! It's going to be refreshing to get out of the mass of steel, concrete, and people and into a more natural environment, Oh man, I can't wait!

Jon

Censorship

With the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre coming up, the Chinese government decided that the best course of action would be to block Blogger.com (oh, and make it really hard for foreigners to acquire visas). Gah. So, so very annoying.

You might be thinking to yourself right now, "Self, if blogger is blocked in China and Jon is in China, then how is he updating the blog." This is a good question. Basically, there are a whole host of different proxy servers that can be used to get around the Great Firewall and effectively avoid the blocks that the PRC has instituted in all of its infinite wisdom. The government censorship is really doing nothing more than impede my ability to post quotidian posts about life over here. 加油，中国！

Anyways, this is the reason that I haven't been posting recently, but I will dig under the Great Firewall to bring you revolutionary news, such as what I had to eat yesterday (delicious pasta made by Emma) or the Ratatat concert that we're going to tomorrow...

Hope all is well in the outside world!

- Jon

Awesome

You can't do this on your bike...


Seen right outside my apartment last week...

- Jon

X-Games

About a week ago one of our friends gave us 4 free tickets to the Asian X Games. With nothing better to do on a Saturday morning, Emma, Kevin, Zoey, and I made our way out to watch the best alternative athletes in Asia as they skateboarded, rollerbladed, and jumped motorcycles. We poked around the grounds for a couple of hours and watched skateboarders do jumps on the halfpipe, rollerbladers zoom around their course, and extreme drink/food companies shamelessly promote their products (nothing like free shots of Mountain Dew!) I'd say that the two highlights for me were the motorcycle jumping (which was insane) and seeing how much change we could stick between Emma's toes (an astounding 8 RMB in 1 yuan coins and 8 RMB in jiao). Mostly though, it was really fun to relax and wander around the games. Here are some pictures!

Skateboarder doing sweet tricks

Motorcycle Madness

More Motorcycle Madness

Emma showing off her skills!

Me desperately trying to stretch my toes apart (to no avail)

How much money can you fit in between your toes?

- Jon

Jeju Pictures (Part 1)

View of the Ocean from the Hotel

Dinner, Pre-Rubix Chaos

Kevin doing what he does best

Post-changing Orange Fashion Show

Shanghai Seven

Throwing Action ShotPost-tournament Team Photo

- Jon

Fiesty Children

Most of my little students are charming and adorable and eager to learn, but some are a little….rambunctious. Not normal kid-rambunctious…bordering on defiant, which just doesn’t happen (or isn’t allowed) in China. Well, last week, a little punk (who has been pushing all of the teachers’ buttons for awhile) stood up from his miniature chair, walked into the middle of the room (we sit with the chairs in a horse-shoe shape), and projectile spat…yes, spat…on to the floor. I froze. I was so stunned. I expected the teacher to haul his ass into the hall and give him a piece of her mind…and hand…which I’ve seen to be the norm. But no. She just gave him a glaring look, and I proceeded with the lesson. Yikes.

I guess I give the kid kudos…it was a pretty ballsy move.

- Emma

Trashcan Smoker

A long time ago I talked about building a meat smoker in China. The project has been developing really slowly for a couple of months (mostly due to laziness, but it is also difficult to locate and acquire certain materials in China). Anyways, last week I was able to track down the last necessary piece (a very small hot plate) with the help of one of my students and TaoBao (China's version of eBay). With all the pieces in place, all that remained was a little metal cutting and hole punching. Unfortunately, I don't have access to the required tools, so yesterday Charlotte and I hit the road in search of tools.

We walked down Wulumuqi Lu past the fruit shops and flower ladies. Eventually we happened upon a bike repair man in an alley. This might sound a little sketchy for our readers outside of China, but its pretty much par for the course out here. So we asked the bike repair man if he could drill some holes in our trashcan/meat smoker and he said no problem, but his friend would have to bring a drill over. We're all just standing around in this alley waiting for the drill to arrive and the guy asks where we're from. We tell him that we're American and he starts talking about 9/11, Obama, and terrorists. It was really weird. Usually, when you tell people that you're American they just smile say "Obama" and give you the thumbs up or they just look at the other Chinese people smile and say "mei guo de" or American... Anyways, this goes on for a little while and then his friends arrives with the drill hops off and starts checking out the trashcan. He decides that it should be 50 RMB to drill 4 little holes and 1 big hole. His price estimate takes me by surprise and we deny it right off the bat. We try to bargain the guy down to 20, but he won't go any lower than 30 RMB. I don't understand why though... The job was for 5 minutes of labor. If I asked a mechanic in the US to drill the holes, he'd probably laugh and do it for free... In the end, the guy gets all angry at us and storms off with his drill and we carry the trashcan back to the apartment.

As we walk into the apartment complex, I realize that the complex's repair guys probably have the tools necessary for the job. We ask the security guards and we are led down to the underground repair man lair (basically a room where all the repair guys just sit around and chat all day). We explain the situation and sure enough, the guys pull out a couple of drills and we go to town on the trashcan. Everybody seemed to enjoy the process - I got the holes I needed and the repairmen thought the whole project was hilarious. We told them that the holes were for an art project...

All in all, it was a solid little adventure and now the smoker is ready for its first test! I'm sure you'll hear more about it in the near future!

- Jon

Heavy is the head that eats the crayons...

(One of my favorite quotes from the most recent 30 Rock episode)

It's been an eventful week or so. I've been a bit behind on the writing, but I'll try to just keep plugging along.

This past Sunday was one of my favorite days in Shanghai. Things started out in the morning with a cooking lesson from Phil's Mom. Emma and I subwayed over to Line 3 and met Phil at the train station. After a short walk through the pleasant early summer weather, we arrived at Phil's house and started cooking immediately. We all hung out in the kitchen while Phil's Mom began cooking. She taught us how to many tons of amazing Chinese dishes (hong shao niu rou, some crazy tofu wheat gluten thing, delicious monster shrimps, yummy lima-like beans). Emma was taking notes on the process and I was scribbling down all sorts of nonsense in Chinese. It was actually a pretty hilarious conversation to follow. I'd ask for the Chinese name for some sort of mushroom and Phil's Dad would tell me and then I'd write down the characters and ask some other question. Phil'd Dad would respond in Chinese (and sometimes Shanghainese) and I'd try to keep up with the conversation (Phil would back me up with English translations whenever necessary). It was a lot of fun just sitting in the kitchen and chatting! The meal itself was also amazing and Phil's parents were amazing hosts! Emma and I are going to invite them all over some time for a big Italian dinner. Everybody wins :)

After this glorious Chinese feast/cooking lesson we all made our way over to the Century Park fields for a 4-hour frisbee fest. Teams from Nanjing and Ningbo joined us for a 5-team friendly round robin. The weather was perfect and it was great to run around. Nothing like a little sunny frisbee after lunch :) It was awesome to have so many people from the Nanjing and Ningbo areas join us too. Their teams are really making progress and rapidly developing skills. It's great to see!

A good day isn't complete without a trip to the Dong Bei Ren restaurant for some cheap eats and cold beer. The food service was a bit slow (we arrived at 8pm which is too late apparently), but there was plenty of beer and lots of fun drinking games were played. My favorites involved overlapping hands slapping the table and counting games (which are surprisingly difficult when not played in your native language...)

All in all, a very successful day!

- Jon

Midget Obsession

One of my friends in Shanghai recently sent me this unbelievable article.

Lion Mutilates 42 Midgets in Cambodian Ring-Fight

An African Lion much like this is responsible for the death of 28 Cambodian Midgets

Spectators cheered as entire Cambodian Midget Fighting League squared off against African Lion

Tickets had been sold-out three weeks before the much anticipated fight, which took place in the city of Kâmpóng Chhnãng.

The fight was slated when an angry fan contested Yang Sihamoni, President of the CMFL, claiming that one lion could defeat his entire league of 42 fighters.

Sihamoni takes great pride in the league he helped create, as was conveyed in his recent advertising campaign for the CMFL that stated his midgets will "... take on anything; man, beast, or machine."

This campaign is believed to be what sparked the undisclosed fan to challenge the entire league to fight a lion; a challenge that Sihamoni readily accepted.

An African Lion (Panthera Leo) was shipped to centrally located Kâmpóng Chhnãng especially for the event, which took place last Saturday, April 30, 2005 in the city’s coliseum.

The Cambodian Government allowed the fight to take place, under the condition that they receive a 50% commission on each ticket sold, and that no cameras would be allowed in the arena.

The fight was called in only 12 minutes, after which 28 fighters were declared dead, while the other 14 suffered severe injuries including broken bones and lost limbs, rendering them unable to fight back.

Sihamoni was quoted before the fight stating that he felt since his fighters out-numbered the lion 42 to 1, that they “… could out-wit and out-muscle [it].”

Unfortunately, he was wrong.

You don't hear about that everyday... Unfortunately, I've been informed that its not true...

- Jon

Gregory Brothers

The Gregory Brothers rock my world!



Enjoy the video!

- Jon

Jeju: Part II (Frisbee)

There were all sorts of horror stories regarding the Jeju weather. Before we left for Jeju, veterans of the tournament told me stories of 35 mph winds in years past (wind is the bane of a frisbee player's existence). Luckily, the sun was shining and the skies were calm from Saturday morning until the end of the tournament. In fact, I don't think I could have asked for better weather. It was glorious!

I've been to tons of frisbee tournaments in a handful of countries and Jeju stands out in my mind as one of my favorites. The whole tournament is organized by the local Korean government and they cover all expenses for the weekend. They also provide shuttles from the hotel to the fields, delicious Korean lunches (kimchi be damned), and even provide alcohol and food at the party. The games were played on fields that were used when South Korea hosted the World Cup. It's actually kind of unbelieveable. Frisbee players aren't used to getting that kind of official sanction or support.

The tournament facilities and organization were top-notch, but there was a lot of other great things about this tournament. I like the idea behind Gnarly 9's tournaments. (For the non-frisbee players out there: Gnarly 9's are tournaments where each team is limited to 9 players. These tournaments place a special emphasis on endurance and team chemistry.) 9's tournaments force teams to come together and play as a unit. It is a great way to develop team chemistry on the field and I thought that our team did a great job of that this weekend. It was also pretty sweet to play a greater variety of teams. We played teams from China, Korea, and Japan. There was even a team from Guam at the tournament! The frisbee scene in Shanghai is great, but its really nice to see the whole international frisbee community in action.

I don't want to go on too long about the tournament because its over and done with now, but I feel like I should give the readers some sort of report so here goes... The first day consisted of 4 pool play games. We played a Japanese team and 2 tough Korean teams (during one of the Korean games I caught a forearm to the face while marking a huck giving me a nice black eye) and Beijing. Things were pretty messy in the first game, but we rolled to an easy victory (11-2 or so). The next game started off badly with the Korean team getting ahead of us, but at 4-2 we started hitting out stride and didn't look back. I think it was good for our team to go down a bit early in the tournament because it forced us to figure things out offensively (and prompted our effective to switch to vert stack). We ended that game and the next one with decisive victories at 11-6 before playing Beijing. This was a fun game to play in because it contrasted the differing styles of the two Chinese teams. Beijing is full of smaller guys (who have very good throws) and the Shanghai team is full of big runners (who can't throw to save their lives). We set the tone early in this game with some pretty aggressive D and lots of big hucks and rolled to an 11-6 win. It was a satisfying victory! On Sunday we finished up pool play against a team from Jeju Island and then faced Evil HuWa (Shanghai's second team) in the quarterfinals. It was fun to play both of those teams, but the best game of the day came in the semis against a very good Japanese team. I don't remember too many details from this game, but I do remember that both teams played really well. The IKU team took half around 7-5, but we stormed back in the second half to take the game around 13-11. It was a great comeback and I enjoyed the game immensely. Unfortunately, we met a much fresher Korean team in the finals and fell to them 13-7 or so (I cramped up at 4-4 in this game). On a whole, it was a great weekend for frisbee :)

Pictures will follow shortly. I'm still going through the 4398we849854789 pictures taken by Kevin!

- Jon

Jeju: Part I (The Hike)

I spent the past weekend playing frisbee, partying, and exploring Jeju Island. Jeju is a relatively large island located south of South Korea and northeast of Shanghai. It is a common honeymoon destination for Korean couples and, for some reason, the local government has also decided to sponsor an international frisbee tournament there. Bizarre... Anyways, I'm going to break my Jeju blogging up into three sections. This first section will be about my exploration of the island on Friday, The second section will focus on the frisbee tournament and the last part will be about the Rubik Cube party.

About 15 Shanghai frisbee players arrived together in Jeju early Friday afternoon. Our first impressions of Jeju were overwhelmingly positive. I had been told horror stories about the windy/rainy spring conditions in Jeju, but found the island surprisingly clear, sunny, and calm. It was gorgeous! After passing through customs in the airport, we hopped on a bus to our subsidized hotel rooms (thank you Jeju government - China, get on the ball!) Sun Beachy hotel was everything I hoped for (a bed) and more (buffet breakfast) and it had great views of the water to top things off. Side note: pictures will follow as soon as I can snag Kevin's memory card...

Our next stop on the island was a small Korean restaurant. Ordering food was damn near impossible due to our utter incompetence using the Korean language. In the end, we dragged the waitress outside and pointed at pictures of food on the wall. Sad state of affairs... In an odd way, this experience helped me get a better picture of my Chinese skills. In China, I am constantly aware of my language deficiencies. It is always apparent what I am NOT able to say as I fumble through conversations. But, here in Korea for the first time I felt what it was like to be completely useless in another language. It helps me see how far I've come in Chinese and how much I CAN say.

After lunch, Hugh and I wandered down to the water where we bought delicious oranges and explored the bridges and rocky beaches. I stopped ot read on a rock for 20 minutes or so as Hugh went boulder-hopping away. After finishing my chapter, I packed up my book and set off in search of Hugh. I followed the bends of the shoreline for over an hour exploring caves, scaring mountain goats, being scared by pheasants, and yelling for Hugh. I was always confident that I'd find him around the next bend, but around sundown I gave up hope and headed back. It didn't make any sense though - one side of the shore was ocean and the other was a cliff. Where could he have gone? Ah, some mysteries will never be solved. Anyways, the path was beautiful and I enjoyed myself immensely. If Jeju were a cab driver, I'd give it 4 stars.

- Jon

B-Boy Battle & Sake Bar

On Saturday night, I went to see a b-boy battle at Racks, a bar & billiards lounge. Lining the hallway and the floor were skater-looking kids, all Asian, with clothes that looked they had been graffiti and hats with a super stiff rim. For the first hour or so, kids were just goofing around and doing their thing....not much of a show. Which I thought was a huge disappointment....until I realized that the show hadn't started yet! Whew! There was then a combo of crew and individual battles. One crew had a girl, and it was awesome. She mostly did acrobatic stuff, but it was still hot. I got some great footage too....they are so talented and crazily strong and flexible. I am not worthy!!!

One slight disappointment was that I thought the famous Korean crew, The Gamblers, were going to be there. Ever since I saw the documentary Planet Bboy (which you should all see), they've been on my radar. Instead, one guy from the crew, "Bruce Lee," was a judge. At least I got to see his moves at the beginning...he was clearly the best one there.

Later I went to a sake bar with Geoff: 100RMB for all you can drink sake and Japanese Smirnoff Ice-esque beverages. I only had one square cup (yeah, weird) of sake before switching drinks… that stuff was mighty strong for my test buds. The best part, though, were the strange characters I met. One guy looked like the epitomized stereotypical California dude. And where was he from? You got it. When he said where he was from, I somehow heard Washington, so I asked, “Oh, you’re from Washington State?” He responded, “You’re from Washington State?” I said, “No, are you from Washington State?” Again, he asked, “You’re from Washington State?” At which point I gave up: “Yes, I’m from Washington State.” Not like I cared that much anyway…He now lives in Macau (which is the Vegas of China) and is in Shanghai doing market research: he sells diamonds for Ermenegildo Zegna, but only on sunglasses. You know the big bug glasses with studded shiny hints to add bling? That fact alone had me giggling for a while. But more inner laughter ensued when he pitched his “brilliant” idea for a play. He had no plot line, no beginning characters. Just the first two lines of the theme song: “The nights of Shanghai! The lights of Shanghai!” It’s now stuck in my head, so he may be on to something. Silly boy.

After some short yet comical side conversations, another guy comes over to me (mind you, Geoff has abandoned me at his point and is nowhere to be found). Somehow, he gets the idea that Geoff has a crush on me, and though he does adore me, I’m sure….he’s more like my brother than anything else. I tried to deny it to Sir Creepy, as he closed in on me and squinted his eyes all dazed-like, but he wouldn’t budge. That started the story of lies. I just started making stuff up, most of which I can’t remember, but it was really fun to start spewing out fun stories and making up random stuff about me (e.g., I only date Asian and Black guys…Sir Creepy was white, so it seemed convenient). Somewhere in there I did mention that I had a boyfriend, but the creepiness prevailed. The best part was his jacket: an MC Hammer style gold silk jacket with two giant fish on the front boob area…and it was reversible!!! Ha! He even took it off and flipped it inside out to show me. It was all I could do to not laugh…

Later, he asked for my number (persistent bugger), and for some reason I gave him a wrong number: I changed the last digit of my actual number. I know, I know, I should’ve just said something like, “No, sorry…” But I didn’t…and here’s the kicker: he got another digit wrong in addition to the fake one. So I could’ve given him my real number and he still would have gotten it wrong!

Overall, a splendid day.

- Em

Eco Design Fair

On Saturday, I volunteered at the Eco Design Fair, which showcases green products that use organic materials and are environmentally and socially responsible, sold by vendors at little stands. There was organic produce, all natural toothpaste, travel packages for eco-tours, and more. I MC-ed the fashion show, which highlighted really beautiful clothing from a bunch of different designers and stores that use natural fibers, no dyes, organic processes, etc. A huge bonus was that I also got to wear a smokin' hot black dress (boobalicious-ness was a bonus) and a silky coral scarf. I also got my make-up done....so indulgent in girlyness, I love it! I also got free lunch (a delcious falafel wrap)...bonus.

Then I took pictures and paroused....clearly, I bought some stuff: delicious Australian yogurt, yogurt cake, yak cheese, and a t-shirt from the organization Roots & Shoots, which develops organic gardens in Shanghai and was founded by Jane Goodall, who is a rockin' lady.

To top it all off, it was such a gorgeous day! Super warm, beautiful and sunny, a light restorative breeze - it made me so happy! I'm really affected by the weather, which is a bummer since Shanghai is usually so cloudy and gloomy. But when a gorgeous day comes along, I feel so much more relaxed and positive and spontaneous and giddy. :) Don’t worry: I’m not completely devoid of smiles on cloudy days…at least I try not to be…

- Em

Dilbert

I love Dilbert and these two made me laugh:


Now I'm off to Jeju Island for a Gnarly Nines tournament! Hooray for frisbee and traveling!

- Jon

More Pictures from Tianjin and Beijing

Checking out a sweet bridge at the Summer Palace

Outside the Bird's Nest in the Olympic Green

Kevin being evil

Workers' Forward!

Pictures at Tiananmen

Milan wearing the wig at the tournament

Celebrating at the top of the Great Wall!

Standing Room Only

Our return from Beijing happened to coincide with the Tomb Sweeping holiday here, so the train was packed beyond capacity and we were unable to purchase any tickets that included seats. Instead, we were left with tickets that guaranteed us arrival in Shanghai, but no seats for the 13 hour overnight journey. Chinese railways be damned!

We started off crammed in the aisle between seats on car 3 (a hard seat car). Our plan was to make our way to the dining car as quickly as possible and chill there until they kicked us out. Unfortunately, the Chinese railways were one step ahead of us. Knowing that the hard seat compartments would be crowded well past capacity, they locked the doors between hard seat cars and the sleeper cars (effectively sealing us in the 3rd class seating). Luckily, Phil's smooth talking got us entrance to the sleeper cars. We chilled in the dining car just chatting and celebrating Sara's birthday with a little cake until around midnight. At this point, we were kicked out of the dining car. We all spread out in the sleeper cars in a weak attempt to avoid being kicked back into the crowded hard seat compartment. This weak attempt did little good and I was rounded up by an attendant and booted back to where I belonged. Since I was stuck in the hard seat compartment (without a seat), I decided to make the best of things and struck up some friendly conversation with my neighbors. We ended up playing Chinese card games until 3:30am! It was a blast :) After some sweet card games and chatting, I ended up just lying down in between the seats and falling asleep. It was more comfortable than I expected...

Here are some pictures from the trip to Beijing (in reverse order):

Me sleeping on the train back from Beijing

The triumphant team returns home

Artsy shot of the Great Wall

Resting at the top

Marking some territory

Ok, I'm bored of posting pictures. I'll get some more up tomorrow...

- Jon

Pessach

Last Saturday, I hosted a Passover seder at our apartment. I was a little nervous (more anxious than I should've been) because it was the first seder that I was hosting without the help, guidance, and culinary skills of my mom. But she sent some amazing recipes, like the kosher-for-passover cake (with chocolatey nutty goodness) that is legendary in our household. There's only one place to buy supplies for Passover in Shanghai, and it's at a Jewish center mostly used for kindergarten and Hebrew classes. They had one room on the third floor with some basic Passover needs, like kosher wine, matzo, matzo meal, brisket...but it was by no means a store. I got their last box of matzo meal, for which I was eternally grateful. I cooked a few dishes in the days prior, and then spent most of the day cooking on Saturday....just like my mamma did. I think the biggest hit was the matzo kugel...so scrumptious and delicious. I'm actually thinking of making some more...just cuz.

We had over mostly Jews with a smattering of non-Jews, and we read a uber simplistic kids' version of the Exodus story (part of the Haggadah), sang some songs led by Sara and Dan, read the 4 questions, and told a silly but still humorous joke using the Jewish-grandmother tones and accents. Then we feasted and feasted some more. Overall, it was a pretty big success (even though the nerves of hosting and organizing got the best of me at times), and now we have leftover cake to last at least a month....who am I kidding? A week. Either way, boss'm.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter!

- Emma

Beijing: Part 2

The Great Wall escapade is only part of my tale from Beijing. Day 2 started off with a little train ticket purchasing. Chinese communication was hugely successful, but unfortunately acquiring seats was a dismal failure. Due to the Tomb Sweeping holiday, all seats were already sold, so we ending up with standing room only tickets for our 13 hour return journey to Shanghai (more on that later...)

Anyways, Kevin, Adam, and I kicked off our day with a little exploration of the Summer Palace. On our way out to the Summer Palace we stopped at a little street stand and feasted like kings on chuanr (meat skewers) and rou jia mo (pitas filled with shwarma meat, cucumber, and la jiang). It was AMAZING! Some of the best street food I've had in China... Ok, so we make it to the Summer Palace and the grounds are sweet. I can understand why the emperor wanted to spend his summer months there. There were cool buildings, tree-lined avenues, and beautiful lake views in every direction. Equally omnipresent were saleswomen climbing all over the place with boxes of 1 RMB coconut-flavored popsicles. It was a hot day and we had more than our share of popsicles. Hit the spot. We spent a couple hours wandering around the palace grounds and highlights would include cooling my feet in the lake and reading the plaques at each building (all of which were apparently burned down by the evil Anglo-British forces in the 1860s...)

After checking out the Summer Palace, we made our way over to the Olympic Green (but not before making another stop at the rou jia mo stand and filling up again). The buildings at the Olympic Green were really impressive. I loved the Bird's Nest. It looked like the stadium had an exoskeleton... Very cool. The Water Cube (although equally unusual and iconic) was not nearly as interesting (although I'm told its better viewed at night). We spent a fair amount of time just hanging out and people watching at the Olympic Green. And by people watching I mean using Kevin's sweet long-range lens to take pictures of people really far away. I think we took over 1000 pictures on the weekend and a full 200 were probably taken here...

Daylight was fading at this point, but we decided to hightail it over to Tiananmen Square. It's not everyday we're in Beijing after all... Tiananmen was sweet. I've been before (on my 2006 venture), but I really like the area. I love the workers' statues that line Mao's Mausoleum (which was unfortunately closed by the time we arrived) and there are always crowds of Chinese tourists checking it out and locals flying kites or just enjoying the sun. It was a perfect place to end our whistle-stop tour of Beijing...

Next, I will tell the tale of our standing room only journey home.

- Jon

Beijing: Part 1

We woke up entirely too early Sunday morning and reconvened the gang at Dongzhimen station where we boarded a bus to the outskirts of the city. We wanted to get out to the Jian Kou (sp?) section of the Great Wall and the idea is to ride the bus as far as we can before switching to an alternate mode of transportation for the last leg of the journey. We got off the bus at the end of the line and were immediately surrounded by a small swarm of drivers all jockeying for position and bickering amongst themselves over the best rate. Luckily, we had Phil serving as tour guide extraordinaire and he bargained to get a deal for all 8 of us to cram into a mian bao che (bread car) for 200 RMB. That's 3 red flags for Phil!

The ride wasn't too exciting (which is how you want it in China) and we arrived at a fish farm at the base of a mountain. We attempted to eat some lunch, but failed miserably. We didn't fail, so much as the waitresses failed. This restaurant was probably one of the most poorly organized establishments I've ever been to... There were hundreds of customers on the roof top (which was beautiful) and they were all yelling "fuwuyuan" (waitress) constantly. It was kind of hilarious actually. Eventually, a couple of waitresses scurried over, took our orders, and then promptly forgot everything. Food was being made, but none of it was going to the right tables. After receiving 1/4 of the food we ordered in an hour, we got fed up, paid for what we ate, and left. On to the wall!

It was a gorgeous day and hiking went swimmingly for the first hour or so. Until our trail dead-ended at a cliff face. At this point, Kevin, Milan, and I monkeyed our way straight up the cliff face (which, in retrospect, was pretty dangerous) and continued trailblazing our way upwards. After some intense bushwacking and rock climbing we made our way to the peak of our little mountain, unfortunately, we weren't really much closer to the Great Wall and now we weren't anywhere close to a path. We decided that going back down the way we came up was too dangerous, so we scrambled/slid down the other side of the mountain until we reached a new path. No more than 5 minutes later, the rest of our gang ambled up. Reunited and rejuvenated, we continued on this new path towards the Wall.

It was pretty late in the afternoon when we summited, but the view was amazing! The skies were clear and blue (a rarity for China) and the weather was perfect. We walked along the wall for a couple of hours and had countless photo taken by Kevin (who is somewhere between professional photographer and stalker). I'm going to weed through the photos tomorrow (we took 1000 on the weekend) and post some of the better ones... Anyways, not too much else to tell, except that the hike was really sweet. I haven't been hiking much out here in China and I missed it.

The day finished up with convincing the gondola man to turn the machine back on for us (so we could get back down the mountain while it was still light), a little frisbee in the parking lot, a ride back to Beijing with Henry (our driver), and a BCD (boozy Chinese dinner) back in the city. Day 1 = Success!

- Jon

Tianjin Continued

Post award ceremony, our exhausted Shanghai Hobo/Baijiu heroes jumped on the Beijing bus and joined all tournament participants at a restaurant. We parked ourselves at a big corner table, started eating lots of delicious Chinese food, and opened up a crate of free beer (thank god for sponsorship). The food was amazing and the beer flowed like...beer. No more than 15 minutes go by before we are informed by the Beijing players next to our table that we are being involved in a game. I like to call this game - drink the beer. Anyways, the idea is that any time a cap is thrown into your glass you are obliged to drink. Basically, this means that a veritable hail of caps are being flung back and forth between tables and lots of beer is being consumed. The recipe for a good party :)

I don't want to get into many more details for the night, except to list these highlights:

1) Watching Burrowes and Phil drink in the beer frisbee race. Who knew a 120 lb man could drink so much?
2) Joe being hilarious and ridiculous. I also believe he showed a group of girls his PA.
3) All the MVPs being told to take their shirts off to accept their awards. Jeff's band-aid enhanced nipples were particularly hilarious.

After all of this nonsense, we jumped back on the party bus and headed to Beijing. I don't remember too much from the bus except that I had a great time and left almost all of my belongings on the bus (luckily, they were recovered by Beijing players)...

More Beijing adventures to follow soon...

- Jon
P.S. To read more about Tianjin or Asian Ultimate in general check out Tao's blog (one of many) at http://china-ultimate.blogspot.com/search/label/Tianjin%20tournament

Tianjin Madness

I'm back in Shanghai now after an eventful weekend. I'm going to break things up into pieces (mostly because I'm too lazy to write it all out at once). Things kicked off on Friday night when I met up with 6 other silly Shanghai frisbee players in the train station... We packed into our overnight train and we were off! The train ride to Tianjin was pretty uneventful. Mostly it consisted of us trying to play cards in the dining car and being told that we weren't allowed... Who does that?

After a relatively tame night, our train arrived arrived in Tianjin at 6am. We were disgorged into what can only be described as a smoggy haze enveloping the entire city of Tianjin. The pollution was incredible. There was no sunrise or sunset - just reddish, hazy dawn and dusk. We enjoyed some of Mr. Li's Beef Noodles at the train station and trekked over to the fields (stopping in a park on the way to play hackeysack/badminton with old people.) It was ridiculous how many old people were out and about at the crack of dawn. Why do old people wake up so early? After a couple of distractions and a police officer running over, blowing his whistle, and giving us the "time-out" hand signal (trying to get us to stop playing catch), we made it to an industrial park. I mean industrial in every sense of the word. This park brought images of Soviet-era bloc countries and Detroit put together...

The tournament itself was pretty sweet! We picked up two girls from Beijing - Larke and Lauren (who were awesome) and played 5 games with our 9 players. We didn't play particularly well, but we had a blast playing together. We managed to eke out a victory in the finals (although none of us really know how) and were rewarded with a big trophy and gaudy official certificates from the local government. Ah, China :)

Next issue - Tianjin party and bus to Beijing...

- Jon

The Life of a Teacher

Since I started teaching…even when I was student teaching…I have been much more prone to getting sick because of my wonderful germ-ridden munchkin students who just love to slobber, stick their fingers up their noses and in their mouths, and then so kindly and lovingly give me a high-five. But since I’ve started teaching kindergartners in Shanghai, I’ve been sick pretty much all the time, with cold symptoms always hanging around. But recently, it all came to a head. I woke up Saturday morning and I couldn’t open my left eye. Curious…in my still tired and confused state, I rubbed my eye pretty furiously and it finally opened with a bit of gucky resistance. I took a glance in the mirror and saw that my eye was crusty and pussy around the edges and lashes, and was uber red. At least it was only in one eye…oy.

I made sure to wash my eye and my hands frequently. I checked on-line to see what I was in for. Some seemingly reliable source said it should be cleared up within 3-5 days, even with no medicine, especially if it was viral (which, according to the infallible internets, applied to me). I emailed my boss and let her know my condition and that I might need to miss a day of work (that day being Tuesday since I already had Monday off due to some random Chinese national holiday). But I never got a response. After a couple of days of hanging out with some Suzhou friends (with caution, I assure you), I re-contacted my boss to try and find out what was what, seeing as my eye was still scarily red. She said I needed to see a doctor and so I did. And lo and behold, I received good news from the medical genius at the local eyes, ears, nose and throat hospital. He gave me two kinds of eye drops to take every two hours (which have really been helping lessen the redness and the itchy pain), AND he said that I would need another 3 DAYS REST. Yup. No work until Friday. One day work week…not too bad. My boss wasn’t too happy because she needed to find a quick substitute for 3 days. But what could I do? Doctor’s orders…

I still have another 2 days of chillin’ out and recovering. I really can’t complain (well, sans red itchiness I could deal with, but I’m not complaining). Jon is a little afraid of my contagiousness, but I have been super careful and I haven’t touched my eye ONCE! I’m pretty proud of myself.
The kicker now is that I’m also having more cold symptoms (coughing, sore throat…), so the trio combo of back/hip pain, conjunctivitis, and a cold is rocking me pretty hard. But I’m staying pretty positive, and enjoying the time off (even though I don’t get paid for days missed), so all is relatively well.

Take care all, and be careful around snotty kids (pun intended?).
Em

Fireman Training

Everyday after I leave class I pass by the school track. Usually there are a couple of old people wandering around doing tai chi and playing with weird toys (I can't describe them sufficiently, so one of these days I'll just snap a picture). Students sit in small groups on the field in the middle of the track enjoying some sunshine or eating some snacks. All of this is fairly familiar, but there is something special about our Jiaotong University track - fireman training.

Everyday a fire truck pulls up and unloads a couple dozen firemen. They don't train like normal people though, they train like professional athletes. These guys are ridiculous. They sprint around the track carrying all sorts of bizarre parafanelia. Sometimes they run with backpacks full of rocks, sometimes with full gas masks, and sometimes just carrying two rolls of fire hose. These guys are horses... If my building is on fire, I'm glad that these guys are coming to the rescue...

Jon

Ningbo!

I have been lazy about updating this recently, but I'll try to fill you in on some recent happenings...

I spent the weekend playing frisbee in a hat tournament in Ningbo. Even though the weather was on the cold/rainy side, the tournament was still a blast! It was great to get out and run around for the whole weekend. Emma came to hang out and cheer me on too! A pleasant weekend of frisbee and hanging out with good friends. I couldn't really ask for much more... Life has been pretty relaxed recently. I've been studying a lot and working hard on my Chinese, but I think I've adapted to the student life here in Shanghai. I like having the freedom to spend my days as I please. Initially, I was worried that I wouldn't like Shanghai (I think I'm ready to live in a less urban landscape), but I'm appreciating life here. I love the restaurants here and its nice to be close to frisbee and friends.

I guess there isn't too much else to say. Right now, I'm organizing a venture up to Tianjin for a 1-day frisbee tournament and then a couple days of sightseeing in the Beijing area. I'm pretty psyched to get back to being a tourist! I know that I want to re-visit the Great Wall and I want to see all the new Olympic buildings, but I'm not sure what else I should do during my short time up North. Any ideas for the best things to see on a whistle-stop tour of Beijing?

Jon

Beard Dream Team?

A friend in Shanghai suggested that my future included a place on Beard Team USA. Please check out the website at www.beardteamusa.org/meet.html


It's hard to believe that there's actually a team of bearded fools who travel great distances (even internationally) for competitions. I guess some of you might draw similar parallels to frisbee, but this is BEARD competitions. Awesome.

I haven't been writing much recently because I've been so busy studying Chinese and organizing a ridiculous adventure to Tianjin, but I will be back in action next week. Now, I've got some morning classes and then off to Ningbo for some frisbee!

- Jon

Dreams

I haven't done a very good job of keeping up with the blog this past week, but no news is good news. I've been trucking along in class, learning more words, practicing my speaking, and generally improving my Chinese. I've been working out a little and trying to gear up for the coming frisbee season (I've also been arranged a pretty ridiculous trip up to Tianjin...) I've also been eating a ton of delicious food recently. It's been a really busy, but good week.

On a completely separate topic, I don't dream very often. Usually I go to bed pretty exhausted and sleep soundly through the night without any dreams. The nights when I do dream my dreams are usually fairly mundane. It'll just be a normal day in the life of Jon. (I have bizarre theories on dejavu too, but those can be discussed later). Last night, was by no means a normal dream though. It had elements of me going back to 7th grade (I kept telling them that I was 24 and had already graduated from high school) and it also morphed into this weird world with monsters that were snatching people. I don't want to get into the details of the dream, except to say that there was a conversation in Chinese in my dream and I understood it and responded in Chinese! How cool!

- Jon

Different Aspirations

Last entry I was writing about my Chinese teacher's shocking view of gender roles. It got me thinking about some of the cultural differences between Americans and Chinese. Now, I'm not going to get into a deep analysis on the issue, nor will I even attempt to catalogue all of differences (and similarities) that I've come to understand during my time here. I'm just want to share anecdotes when something surprises me...

I tutor a girl in business english 3 times a week in the evenings. During our most recent meeting, we were talking about our childhoods and what we wanted to be when we grew up. I asked her what she wanted to be when she was in middle school and she said "I wanted to be a scientist." This kind of blew me back. I can't remember any kids in my middle school who wanted to be scientists. Everybody wanted to be a singer or a professional athlete or something. I remember wanting to be a park ranger. So, I asked her if her dream job was a common one amongst Chinese kids. She looked surprised that I would even ask. She said it was by far the most popular job. Maybe 50% of the kids in her middle school wanted to grow up to be scientists... Wow.

On that note, I'm off to teppanyaki where I will realize my American dream of all-you-can-eat and drink steak, sushi, shrimp, beer, etc...

- Jon

Krazy Kindergartners

When I’m teaching the young ones, sometimes they do little weird things that are so cute and so hysterical. Like when I really annunciate my words and over-emphasize how the mouth is supposed to look when you speak, and a student tries to imitate (usually involving the letters l, r, and/or n…sometimes all 3…which are particularly difficult for them to pronounce). He’ll be a foot away from me and try his best…just sticking his tongue out and waving it around in a bizarre and totally irrelevant way. It looks like he’s trying to mimic an enthusiastic lizard. I can’t help myself but start to giggle. It’s so endearing and so cute and so amazingly ridiculous.

Also, some students love to yell the songs instead of singing them. One girl (around 3 years old) always uses her full lung capacity to sing our good morning song. She doesn’t really get the r in morning, but it doesn’t matter. The intense energy she’s mustering up explodes out her head, turning her face red, popping out her neck veins, and making her look like she’s just about to keel over. So dedicated!

Lastly, I just learned that one of my student’s names is Noddy. Say that outloud (yup…sounds like naughty). Amazing. Turns out his name fits him well. Here are some other fun names (starred = popular):

Abner (he’s the one in the picture)

Apple*

Minnie*

Raining

Fairy

Thaigle

Jerry Ding

Elva

Happy

Sunny

Sun

Key

- Emma

MRI and X-Rays

Ever since October—when hurt myself merely pivoting in Frisbee after having climbed the gazillion steps at Huangshan and my muscles and joints were super tight—I have had serious back and hip pain. At first, I couldn’t move I was in so much pain. Five months later, the pain is constant but not constantly excruciating. That’s why I didn’t go to the doctor before: I was worried that I would spend an exorbitant amount of money on a visit and tests only to hear that I need to rest and stretch. But the time has come. I haven’t played Frisbee in 5 months and it’s been too depressing to miss out! And the pain has gotten a little worse since it got a little better.

Yesterday, I got an MRI and x-rays at the local hospital. Three of my coordinators from work went with me to help with translation and such, which was so extremely kind and generous. Plus, we had guanxi (“connections”): the dad of one of the graduated kindergartners from my school works in orthopedics at the hospital, so I got to skip a lot of lines, which means a ton when you’re in China where the lines are endless (I picked a good job, eh?). Anyway, after 2 days of tests and waiting rooms, I got the results back. Apparently, two parts of a bone on the right side of my pelvis are smushed together where there should be a space. It’s like they’re clamped together. I was prescribed an anti-inflammatory to loosen the area up.

This Saturday, I have an appointment with a western doctor at a western hospital, so I’ll show him my test results and hope that he can give me good insight on a diagnosis and on what kinds of exercise/therapy I should do now.

It’s hard to stay positive because it’s so ever-present and inhibiting in my activities, and I kick myself for not having seen a doctor sooner (I was way too preoccupied about money. If I had had insurance and could get physical therapy with no problem, I wouldn’t have thought twice….silly girl). BUT, as Jon so lovingly reminds me, I need to stay on the sunny side of things and think positively, especially since mental stress can add to physical pain. Though difficult, Jon and all my friends (yes, you!) have been super supportive. I don’t know what I would do without all of your love and strength.

Here’s to optimism (and finally taking care of myself!).

Ciao for now,

Em

The End of an Era

Last night, I shaved off my beard. Here are a couple shots of it in all of its multi-colored glory:

Front Shot

Side Shot

I shaved the beard off in pieces. I left it in a fu man chu for a little while. I also left a moustache for awhile, but those pictures are too dirty to post online.

Fear the fu man chu

It's kind of weird how different I look with the beard, the fu man chu, moustache, and then clean-shaven. I'd say that I look about 5 years younger without a beard. It's nice to be able to feel my face, but I do miss stroking the beard while I'm in class...

Speaking of being in class, today our teacher was explaining how to use the word "responsibility" in Chinese. Her example sentences involved a man's responsibility and a woman's responsibility in a relationship and they accurately portray Chinese views on gender roles. She said that it is the man's responsibility to make money (not terribly PC, but still pretty acceptable) and the woman's responsibility is to "look pretty". At this comment, a couple of Western jaws dropped, but I was surprised by how little effect the comment had on our class... I rarely write about little tidbits like this, but they keep life here interesting.

- Jon

Migraine Free

A couple of days ago I had an incredibly painful headache. It was some of the worst pain I've ever had and it was completely debilitating. I couldn't do anything. I couldn't study, I couldn't watch movies, I couldn't read, I couldn't even sleep... It sucked. The pain would come in waves too. Everything would be fine for a couple of minutes and then suddenly it would feel like my head was being ripped apart. What was really weird was that it came out of nowhere - I have no idea what could have triggered it. I'm assuming it was a migraine, but I wish I knew why it happened (so I could avoid having another one)... In any case, the migraine is gone now and I'm just left with a lingering (normal) headache. There is a silver lining to this cloud though... I've appreciated these past two days so much more, just because I'm not in intense pain. Nothing else matters when your head doesn't feel like it's being torn apart. On that happy note, I will leave you loyal readers. More posts will follow soon!

- Jon

The Best Car Commercial I've Ever Seen

Check out this Honda commercial. Apparently it's all legit and it took them a few hundred tries to get it right. Oh, all of the pieces are different parts of the car...



Awesome!

- Jon

Family Response to the Beard Vote

Here is an email I got from my mom about the beard vote...

Juan,
Since I read the blog on occasion, I figured I'd take my shot at a vote. Keep the beard. Seems like fair punishment (not sure what for, but feels right).
xox, Mom

- Jon

Chinese Gym Experience

I recently joined a gym in Shanghai (which is conveniently located near Jiaotong University) because Geoff found a really good deal. The point of this post isn't to tell you about my workout plan, but instead to relate an amusing anecdote... A couple of days ago, I entered the gym to lift some weights. First, I went into the locker to change out of my normal clothes and into some shorts. Now, the men's locker room isn't the most comfortable place in the world (what with all the naked men wandering around), but there's a general understanding that if you keep a reasonable personal distance between people and don't stare, then its all good. Anyways, I'm changing into my shorts in front of my locker and a completely naked Chinese man comes up (maybe within 16 inches of me) and starts peeling a hardboiled egg (the trash can was near my locker). Hilarious. I'm just looking over at him wondering what the hell he's doing standing naked in the locker room peeling an egg. So, he finishes peeling his egg and walks back over to his stuff and sits down and eats it. Still in the nude. Then, the dude pulls out another egg from his bag marches back over to me, peels it, and starts eating it right there. WTF, mate? At that point, I was all set, so I left the locker room giggling. Who knows how long that guy was in there naked eating eggs...

In other news, last night I saw a YouTube video that was a Chinese take on the Lazy Sunday SNL skit. Check it out...

Ok, so thats it from me now. Off to play frisbee... Will write more later!

- Jon

Medicine Man

I’ve been sick with cold/flu symptoms for about 4 days now, 2.5 of those days I’ve stayed home from teaching the little munchkins (projecting my voice through loud speaking and singing over rambunctious kiddies just wasn’t gonna happen…). I was going to wait it out, but I figured that since I took a couple of days off work, I should make it legitimate and go to the doctor. So I called my coordinator and she came over to my apt to take me along. When I got downstairs, she said I could choose the next step: go to a hospital-like place where they’d give me “western” medicine, or go to her friend’s apartment to get “Chinese” medicine…what the heck, I went with the latter. So we took a long-ish cab ride out to an apartment complex with a labyrinth-like passageway. On the way we passed an elderly bunch doing physical exercise on the brightly-colored plastic machines (imagine an elliptical machine, made for a kid but still adult-sized, with no motor…they’re everywhere here).

We finally reached Dr. Ge’s apartment (his name is pronounced like you’re just saying the sound /g/, with a stretched out down-up tone). It was small and cold, made of concrete, like all buildings here (insulation is not so popular). He sat me down at his desk that was covered in calligraphy tools and in a chair lined with fake fur. He tried to speak to me in Chinese—I bumbled responses while my coordinator was speaking on the phone—and then took my pulse…apparently that was all he needed. Oh, he also picked up the desk lamp and stuck it in my face so he could look down my throat…Yup, just what he thought: a cold. Wow, Doc. I’m so glad I came to you! However, while I was there, the phone rang a bunch of times asking for Dr. Ge’s services…apparently he’s pretty popular, and we got VIP special treatment. J

He gave me some medicine (I’m still awaiting another one that my coordinator will personally deliver…along with some noodles and vegetables….what a sweetheart!), and when I asked what it was for, they responded: It’s for a cold. I would just need to have some trust and faith in this dynamic duo.

I still feel fatigued, and the medicine won’t show clear effects for at least a day or so, but I’m glad I went. It didn’t cost me anything (that I know of…) and I got to see the inner workings of a very friendly and popular Chinese doctor.

Off to rest some more…

- Emma

Beard Vote, etc...

Those of you in China know that through a combination of laziness and... well, just laziness really, I have let my facial hair grow out of control for the last month. I'd say that we're in the full-on homeless beard range now. Basically, its do-or-die time for the beard. In the interest of entertainment, I have decided to leave the fate of my beard in your hands (my loyal readers). Each of you can vote (by blog comment, email, gchat, skype or in person) to either keep the beard or shave it off and I will abide (like The Dude) by your decision. One caveat - Emma's special privilege earns her 5 votes. Here are some pictures of the current beard...

Left side of the beard and goofy grin

Right side sans goofy grin

This is the look I use to scare little Chinese children (then they yell hu zi!)

Emma designed some sweet shorts with the Shanghai Huwa frog on them. The order just arrived a couple days ago. Check it out!!!


Last, but not least, here is yesterday's joke of the day that made me laugh. Hope you enjoy it too!

A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a man below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him half an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."

The man below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 42 degrees north latitude and between 58 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be an engineer," said the balloonist.

"I am," replied the man, "but how did you know?"

"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost."

The man below responded, "You must be a manager."

"I am," replied the balloonist, "how did you know?"

"Well," said the man, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and you expect me to solve your problem. The fact is you are exactly in the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

- Jon