Following Li Yang’s “I’m mature. Nothing offends me” comments, we walked back to the hotel for lunch. We ate lunch and dinner in a private room at the hotel’s restaurant. They put out the same buffet for each meal. Good food, but the same stuff for each meal for 12 days. …. At lunch that [...]
I forget what song was playing. As a writer, I’m embarrassed by this. I should remember what I was listening to when I got hit crossing the street by a man driving an electric bike. I’m fairly certain the man didn’t honk, though if he did, I probably wouldn’t have heard it. Regardless, it’s [...]
I tutor a man who chose Danny as his English name. He’s such a great guy. He has a kind face, wears glasses, and dresses like a preppy. I was shocked when he told me he was 32. He looks much older. He drove me home Wednesday night. It was the second time he [...]
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1946375_1947252_1947256,00.html
Runners-Up
The Chinese Worker
In China they have a word for it. baoba means “protect eight,” the 8% annual economic growth rate that officials believe is critical to ensuring social stability. A year ago, many thought hitting such a figure in 2009 was a pipe dream. But China has done it, and this year [...]
Here are portions of some of the scripts I collected in class this week:
Echo: Thanks Zhang. I’m here at the wedding with a man who married a virtual girl. Hello, Mr. Pig, can you tell me your feeling?
Mr. Pig: Oh! This is my perfect day! I have a beautiful wife. Although she is not real, [...]
These two boys in one of my classes today goofed off while the two girls in their group did all the work. I called them out on it, and the one boy said his group was finished.
“Oh yeah?” I said. “Which news story did your group choose?”
“Pardon?”
I felt like I had him on the run. [...]
http://chineseculture.about.com/
You get what you pay for
Friday October 23, 2009
The Chinese saying is 一分钱一分货, “yi fen qian, yi fen huo” (pronounced ee fen chee-ahn, ee fen hoo-oh). This translates literally to one cent gives you one cent’s worth of merchandise. Makes sense, right?
There’s a whole industry of fake goods in China that lots of visitors to [...]
I have an acid reflux problem, and for years I took Prilosec. This summer, I started mixing apple vinegar and apple juice, and it worked really well. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find apple vinegar in China, but, to my surprise, I found something much better: apple vinegar drink. In my local [...]
Beer Monster has been talking to this cute Shenzhen University student. She came out with a big group of us Friday night, and her annoying guy friend tagged along. He goes by the name Link, wears glasses, is a bit chubby, and has dorky voice that makes you want to give him a wedgie or [...]
One of the adults I tutor is a woman named Wendy Lee. She’s my age, pretty, and has a six month old son. Wednesday night I had an interesting conversation with her about her family life. She and her husband both work for the same company, Coats China, which does business with adidas. Her husband [...]
