2004-09-21 - 1:38 p.m.
So, I have discovered that many American companies send the products they cannot possibly sell to America or western Europe to china.
No really. They must do it. How else can you explain a ketchup flavored potato chip? Chili flavored? C antelope ice cream? String bean ice cream? Kettle corn ice cream?
I'm not joking. I just took the kids out to the local ice cream parlor, and we choose things from the menu from the pictures. the kids each chose something called rainbow swirl that looked like rainbow sherbet, and I took a banana split.
The rainbow sherbet tasted like kettle corn. And the banana split... well it did have 3 scoops of ice cream, and bananas, but string bean ice cream? Something that looked like chocolate but tasted like mud, and I think pistachio ice cream.... The funny part is when you look at it like one big adventure it is actually kind of nice.
Will
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
Monday, September 20, 2004
Voice of Will: Interesting Place
2004-09-20 - 9:29 a.m.
China is an interesting place. So yesterday was the Introduction to freshmen and their families. What does this mean to us? It means we got to stand around the administration building for 2 hours, with surging throngs of chinese nationals who spoke very little to no english, while being eyed like we were prize exhibits in a zoo.
I didn't really mind it much. I got to stand around, and have people ask me in chinese (which I don't pretend to even understand) to come and take a picture with their little ... johnny? Ok, so I feel like a santa claus in a shopping mall on Dec 23 with all those wonderful children sitting on my lap getting their pictures... just smile and nod.
The kids were a terrific hit. (we knew they would be) They had crowdes 3 or 4 deep around them the whole time. I really hope all this attention doesn't spoil my already wonderful children... I even got to play "monster" with a 4 year old chinese girl. She came in with her father and older brother (freshman). I had the kids play with her after the initial shock of foreigners wore off. then I snuck up on her and...
"RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!!!!" Lots of giggles, and she hid behind her father lauging. So I stomped after her a little, hearing the shrieks of glee. The kids loved it, her father was laughing, and so were the students stuck in the registration lines... so I guess mission accomplished.
Will
China is an interesting place. So yesterday was the Introduction to freshmen and their families. What does this mean to us? It means we got to stand around the administration building for 2 hours, with surging throngs of chinese nationals who spoke very little to no english, while being eyed like we were prize exhibits in a zoo.
I didn't really mind it much. I got to stand around, and have people ask me in chinese (which I don't pretend to even understand) to come and take a picture with their little ... johnny? Ok, so I feel like a santa claus in a shopping mall on Dec 23 with all those wonderful children sitting on my lap getting their pictures... just smile and nod.
The kids were a terrific hit. (we knew they would be) They had crowdes 3 or 4 deep around them the whole time. I really hope all this attention doesn't spoil my already wonderful children... I even got to play "monster" with a 4 year old chinese girl. She came in with her father and older brother (freshman). I had the kids play with her after the initial shock of foreigners wore off. then I snuck up on her and...
"RRRROOOOAAAARRRR!!!!" Lots of giggles, and she hid behind her father lauging. So I stomped after her a little, hearing the shrieks of glee. The kids loved it, her father was laughing, and so were the students stuck in the registration lines... so I guess mission accomplished.
Will
Friday, September 17, 2004
Voice of Will: Adjusting
2004-09-17 - 9:15 a.m.
One of the biggest things I have had to adjust to is the bathrooms. China does not use US toilets (unless you are lucky). Their bathroom facilities are a trench in the floor, you squat over it, and use it. You bring your own TP, and you do not flush it (it goes in the trash). This takes some serious getting used to.
the other big difference is the current traffic laws.... there don't seem to be any. When you drive you take your life into your hands. Yes there are lines and lanes on the road. No one follows them. Yes there are road signs, but no one follows them. Stop lights, stop signs, traffic signals are all just *suggestions* I have seen a slow moving bicycle cart on the right, being passed by a motorcycle on the left, with a car passing in the oncoming traffic lane, with a motorcycle passing that car on the opposite sidewalk. All of them blaring down the road, honking their horns at each other. I'll be they should have some major accidents....
And the last major thing I have noticed is the level of pollution. You can actually taste it in the air somedays. Yesterday for example, you could only see about 500 yards total. and you only had about 200 yards of clear vision. the rest was a sort of hazy bluriness. Now couple that with driving, and imagine how things just JUMP out at you
Will
One of the biggest things I have had to adjust to is the bathrooms. China does not use US toilets (unless you are lucky). Their bathroom facilities are a trench in the floor, you squat over it, and use it. You bring your own TP, and you do not flush it (it goes in the trash). This takes some serious getting used to.
the other big difference is the current traffic laws.... there don't seem to be any. When you drive you take your life into your hands. Yes there are lines and lanes on the road. No one follows them. Yes there are road signs, but no one follows them. Stop lights, stop signs, traffic signals are all just *suggestions* I have seen a slow moving bicycle cart on the right, being passed by a motorcycle on the left, with a car passing in the oncoming traffic lane, with a motorcycle passing that car on the opposite sidewalk. All of them blaring down the road, honking their horns at each other. I'll be they should have some major accidents....
And the last major thing I have noticed is the level of pollution. You can actually taste it in the air somedays. Yesterday for example, you could only see about 500 yards total. and you only had about 200 yards of clear vision. the rest was a sort of hazy bluriness. Now couple that with driving, and imagine how things just JUMP out at you
Will
Voice of Will: Surreal
2004-09-17 - 11:18 p.m.
So the school I'm teaching at started 2 weeks ago, but this weekend is parents weekend, and the freshmen arrive this weekend, so there are lots of events going on on campus.
First some background. SIAS is the first American owned college in China. It is owned by a chinese national who has dual citizenship in the US. It was started 6 years ago with 200 students, and 13 teachers. Today there are 10000 students, and I believe over 250 instructors. SIAS offers the largest number of foreign faculty of any college in china.
So we go to one of the events, an evening "concert." I put "" around that word because it is very similar to a battle of the bands and kereoke (sp) at the same time. So we are watching the beginning, and there is a delay. One of the foreign teachers who speaks incredible chinese gets up with a guitar and starts working the crowd (about 1000 students, faculty, the owner and his parents, and faculty from neighboring schools. It is also being broadcast via FM radio and some television in the province) Well the foreign teacher thinks it should be fun to get other foreign teachers on stage. Guess who is the only ones to answer his call? My kids.
So we go down the stairs, the crowd parts like j-lo for a new fiancee and we find ourselves on stage. And we sing " If your happy and you know it clap your hands.... "
Now I'll give you a minute to digest this mental picture. An amphitheatre with 1000 chinese nationals who speak about grade school english, singing and dancing to "If your happy and you know it..." That is not to mention picturing me, and the kids doing this on stage. Needless to say it was a lot of fun, and the audience loved the kids. My kids are hams and loved it.
so we get off stage to thunderous applause, and the band who set up behind us starts the opening chords for "Hotel California." This stops me almost dead in my tracks. Then I hear the song.... in chinese.
so I get the kids to bed, and go out with some new friends to a local food place. I have a Fosters beer in one hand, a pepperoni (fake) pizza (real cheese though) in the other hand, and I hear rap from the CD player. "In the citttyyyy of compton!"
Yes the surrealism is complete, I can feel my eyeballs go 'click'.
Will
So the school I'm teaching at started 2 weeks ago, but this weekend is parents weekend, and the freshmen arrive this weekend, so there are lots of events going on on campus.
First some background. SIAS is the first American owned college in China. It is owned by a chinese national who has dual citizenship in the US. It was started 6 years ago with 200 students, and 13 teachers. Today there are 10000 students, and I believe over 250 instructors. SIAS offers the largest number of foreign faculty of any college in china.
So we go to one of the events, an evening "concert." I put "" around that word because it is very similar to a battle of the bands and kereoke (sp) at the same time. So we are watching the beginning, and there is a delay. One of the foreign teachers who speaks incredible chinese gets up with a guitar and starts working the crowd (about 1000 students, faculty, the owner and his parents, and faculty from neighboring schools. It is also being broadcast via FM radio and some television in the province) Well the foreign teacher thinks it should be fun to get other foreign teachers on stage. Guess who is the only ones to answer his call? My kids.
So we go down the stairs, the crowd parts like j-lo for a new fiancee and we find ourselves on stage. And we sing " If your happy and you know it clap your hands.... "
Now I'll give you a minute to digest this mental picture. An amphitheatre with 1000 chinese nationals who speak about grade school english, singing and dancing to "If your happy and you know it..." That is not to mention picturing me, and the kids doing this on stage. Needless to say it was a lot of fun, and the audience loved the kids. My kids are hams and loved it.
so we get off stage to thunderous applause, and the band who set up behind us starts the opening chords for "Hotel California." This stops me almost dead in my tracks. Then I hear the song.... in chinese.
so I get the kids to bed, and go out with some new friends to a local food place. I have a Fosters beer in one hand, a pepperoni (fake) pizza (real cheese though) in the other hand, and I hear rap from the CD player. "In the citttyyyy of compton!"
Yes the surrealism is complete, I can feel my eyeballs go 'click'.
Will
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
Voice of China: Baby Fish
2004-09-15 - 6:27 p.m.
Well we are grandparents (sort of). Our fish just had babies. It was kind of sudden and very unexpected. (well probably not unexpected for the pregnant fish).
My daughter Rae has decided we have to name them Nemo (he's the one with the black eyes daddy), and then Charles # (where the number is increased for each new charles.) We currently have 37 charles's and charles mom and charles dad and nemo.
We have a little store nearby that sells very small turtles, and I want to get 2, but my kids reminded me that turtles eat fish. I had to remind them they didn't eat Charles's.
Will
Well we are grandparents (sort of). Our fish just had babies. It was kind of sudden and very unexpected. (well probably not unexpected for the pregnant fish).
My daughter Rae has decided we have to name them Nemo (he's the one with the black eyes daddy), and then Charles # (where the number is increased for each new charles.) We currently have 37 charles's and charles mom and charles dad and nemo.
We have a little store nearby that sells very small turtles, and I want to get 2, but my kids reminded me that turtles eat fish. I had to remind them they didn't eat Charles's.
Will
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
Voice of Will: Been a while
2004-09-14 - 3:51 p.m.
Wow. As you can tell I have been away for a while. Ok... 18 months isn't a while, it is a life time, or many many lifetimes if you are a tste fly. I haven't forgotten about my blog, but each time I go to get online to update it, I get side tracked.
So a quick rundown.
My father in law found out he had liver cancer in Jan 03.
He died on April 1, 2003.
We (my wife and I) both graduated with dual bachelors degrees on May 15, 2003.
My wife got her Masters degree on Aug 23, 2004 (15 months for a masters isn't bad), and we moved to CHINA on Aug 24, 2004.
So we have been in china all of 2 weeks. I am definately a stranger in a strange land. We are 14 hours ahead of where we were in Flagstaff. So when I see dates, I have to remember I actually have one more day.
Let me tell you about driving in china. Road signs, the lanes on the road, and even traffic laws are all just "suggestions." No I mean it. You have bikes, and slow moving carts on the right hand side of the road, and you pass on the left. Ok that makes sense, but people don't stick in any kind of lane. They are all over the road. I've even seen (my buss did this) a car pass another car passing another car passing a bus (on a 2 lane road) our bus was on the left most sidewalk inches away from pedestrians who were dodging inside of shops. And the way you let others know where you are is to constantly honk your horn. needless to say any trip by bus, or cab is a hair raising adrenaline rush. The new video games coming out should come here, and make Driving in china, as the next grand theft auto game. I'll have more to tell and share later.
Will
Wow. As you can tell I have been away for a while. Ok... 18 months isn't a while, it is a life time, or many many lifetimes if you are a tste fly. I haven't forgotten about my blog, but each time I go to get online to update it, I get side tracked.
So a quick rundown.
My father in law found out he had liver cancer in Jan 03.
He died on April 1, 2003.
We (my wife and I) both graduated with dual bachelors degrees on May 15, 2003.
My wife got her Masters degree on Aug 23, 2004 (15 months for a masters isn't bad), and we moved to CHINA on Aug 24, 2004.
So we have been in china all of 2 weeks. I am definately a stranger in a strange land. We are 14 hours ahead of where we were in Flagstaff. So when I see dates, I have to remember I actually have one more day.
Let me tell you about driving in china. Road signs, the lanes on the road, and even traffic laws are all just "suggestions." No I mean it. You have bikes, and slow moving carts on the right hand side of the road, and you pass on the left. Ok that makes sense, but people don't stick in any kind of lane. They are all over the road. I've even seen (my buss did this) a car pass another car passing another car passing a bus (on a 2 lane road) our bus was on the left most sidewalk inches away from pedestrians who were dodging inside of shops. And the way you let others know where you are is to constantly honk your horn. needless to say any trip by bus, or cab is a hair raising adrenaline rush. The new video games coming out should come here, and make Driving in china, as the next grand theft auto game. I'll have more to tell and share later.
Will
Voice of Will: Flowers for Crissy
2004-09-14 - 7:17 p.m.
China is pretty awesome, but very scary, and slightly arousing!!
Oh man is this place just fun. For example for crissys birthday (today for you, and it has passed for me) I decided to get her some flowers. So I had someone watch the kids, and took a cab downtown. (taking a cab is literally taking your life into your hands but what the heck). I get to the flower shop, and in china you bargain for everything. If you don't bargain they will literally skin you alive. They don't have any respect for you and are rather mean if you don't. so I bargain over everything. I choose out a live tree, a dozen roses, an exquisite blown glass vase, and several fake flower arrangements. They don't speak english and i dont speak chinese.
How did we bargain you ask? Good question young padowan. I took a notebook, and a pencil and we bargained in pencil.
so I finish bargaining, and I think they asked me where I was going, so I showed them the other side of the notebook which has the school name on it, they reply SIAS. OK. And rattle off some more chinese. I dont' understand, but I'm hoping they are asking HOW are you getting there. So I say TAXI. And they start shaking their heads and waving their hands. I'm now very confused. They go outside and holler down a bicycle cart (you sit in the back, have a canopy over you, and the rider pedals you) The first guy pulls up and looks at me and my packages, grunts shakes his head and rides off. The little (about 4' tall) shopkeeper comes running out yelling at him and shaking her fist at him. She looks at me, and seems apologetic. Then this little old man (lots more grey in his hair than color, and railpost thin) rides up, and motions for me to get in. So I climb in his cart and they start loading me up. I've got the dozen roses in my arms, the vase under my feet, a fake flower display between my feet/knees, and 1 live tree on my right side. They place a 2nd tree on the left (I didn't bargain for it, or even buy it they just threw it in), and place my last flower display in the only available place left. MY CROTCH. So I'm stuck in the back of this cart, flowers and colors everywhere and an ORCHID CROTCH. I'm smiling, and some joker leans in with a camera and takes the picture (I want a copy of it, but he just kept walking). So we ride....
Now chinese road directions, speed, road signs, and even stop lights are ALL just *suggestions* The drivers here don't follow any rythme or reason I can figure out. YOu go around everyone, even on the other side of the road. And it is all one big game of chicken. (they must have some doosie car accidents). Well here we are, fully loaded with me, and flowers in the back, and we are riding in the middle of the road the 2.5 KM home. Cars are zipping by on both sides, honking their horns. and this little guy just keeps peddlings. We were going so fast we even out ran a motorcycle. All for only 5 yuan (or about $.60)
Will
China is pretty awesome, but very scary, and slightly arousing!!
Oh man is this place just fun. For example for crissys birthday (today for you, and it has passed for me) I decided to get her some flowers. So I had someone watch the kids, and took a cab downtown. (taking a cab is literally taking your life into your hands but what the heck). I get to the flower shop, and in china you bargain for everything. If you don't bargain they will literally skin you alive. They don't have any respect for you and are rather mean if you don't. so I bargain over everything. I choose out a live tree, a dozen roses, an exquisite blown glass vase, and several fake flower arrangements. They don't speak english and i dont speak chinese.
How did we bargain you ask? Good question young padowan. I took a notebook, and a pencil and we bargained in pencil.
so I finish bargaining, and I think they asked me where I was going, so I showed them the other side of the notebook which has the school name on it, they reply SIAS. OK. And rattle off some more chinese. I dont' understand, but I'm hoping they are asking HOW are you getting there. So I say TAXI. And they start shaking their heads and waving their hands. I'm now very confused. They go outside and holler down a bicycle cart (you sit in the back, have a canopy over you, and the rider pedals you) The first guy pulls up and looks at me and my packages, grunts shakes his head and rides off. The little (about 4' tall) shopkeeper comes running out yelling at him and shaking her fist at him. She looks at me, and seems apologetic. Then this little old man (lots more grey in his hair than color, and railpost thin) rides up, and motions for me to get in. So I climb in his cart and they start loading me up. I've got the dozen roses in my arms, the vase under my feet, a fake flower display between my feet/knees, and 1 live tree on my right side. They place a 2nd tree on the left (I didn't bargain for it, or even buy it they just threw it in), and place my last flower display in the only available place left. MY CROTCH. So I'm stuck in the back of this cart, flowers and colors everywhere and an ORCHID CROTCH. I'm smiling, and some joker leans in with a camera and takes the picture (I want a copy of it, but he just kept walking). So we ride....
Now chinese road directions, speed, road signs, and even stop lights are ALL just *suggestions* The drivers here don't follow any rythme or reason I can figure out. YOu go around everyone, even on the other side of the road. And it is all one big game of chicken. (they must have some doosie car accidents). Well here we are, fully loaded with me, and flowers in the back, and we are riding in the middle of the road the 2.5 KM home. Cars are zipping by on both sides, honking their horns. and this little guy just keeps peddlings. We were going so fast we even out ran a motorcycle. All for only 5 yuan (or about $.60)
Will
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