matpat42s Aeonity Blog

There's no place like

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 08:43:53 -0600

China for the holidays.... The Christmas holidays are rapidly approaching. with New Year's and Chinese New Year's hot on each other's heels. You know, When I came to China, I was expecting a respite from the maddening commercialism of the American gift giving season. I was looking forward to a Christmas in a nation that was blissfully unaw... Read More

Full of Turkey

Fri, 23 Nov 2007 01:12:29 -0600

and feeling nappish. Ohhhhhh, I ate too much!! Today was the Thanksgiving feast that the Americans make for the Chinese and Korean staff. We had Turkey, and mashed potatoes and gravey and salads and chicken and duck and stuffing and, and, and. The food was fantastic. After the meal we all had to tell what we are thankful for ans we sang so... Read More

Gaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 10:11:02 -0600

Okay, now that I have got my screaming out of the way..... In some ways, the endless adventures of an American in China know no bounds. For example: there is no such thing as baking chocolate here. I bake for the holidays. Gives me a great way to give everyone gifts that they can chuck without feeling guilty that they will hurt my feeling... Read More

Nothing spectacular

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:16:01 -0600

Well, I got my custom made britches back. They fit beautifully and are very comfortable. I have to say I am pleased. I bought a bike to replace the one that had been stolen. A cute little fold up person powered bike that I can take into my building with me and into my classroom where I teach. Every month, the school has an English corner/Ko... Read More

Yeah, I'm pathetic.

Mon, 12 Nov 2007 06:54:24 -0600

Well, not generally so, generally I'm pretty good. I'm pathetic when it comes to blogging. I mean, really every two weeks? That is sad. It has been a busy couple of weeks. Term ending, new term beginning, planning for the interns coming to my school to teach at the language camp we sponsor. I have also been the victim of a crime wave here ... Read More

Got those wedding bell blues

Wed, 31 Oct 2007 15:17:29 -0500

Eh, not really. Just seemed like a fun way to start off this particular entry. My friend Sam got married last weekend. I was invited to the wedding dinner. Here in China the civil ceremony is not nearly as important as the celebration with friends and family. So we went to the dinner. One of my colleagues and I were the only white people t... Read More

Facebook, MySpace, and other means of keeping up

Tue, 23 Oct 2007 13:26:13 -0500

I have been on My Space for some time. I don't use it all that much. It's kind of dull, and I don't really want to spend the time farting around with it when I could be thinking of things to write that might be clever, informative or at least not embarrassingly stupid. At the behest of some of my more wired, more technically-minded, and addict... Read More

Ranting, Sweet and Sour pork, and slow boats on small lakes

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 10:49:23 -0500

I've a million things to rant about. Traffic, parking, MSG headaches, my cat jumping on my desk where he knows he isn't allowed. I just don't feel like ranting. Ranting makes for good blogging, though. A blog is a place where average Zhou can vent his spleen with minimal negative consequences. But, really, what positive influence, consequence,... Read More

Blogging is hard!

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 10:08:16 -0500

Especially when you are not feeling well and not much is going on. Well, not much exciting. We are winding down to mid term at school, which means that since my conversation classes are only ten weeks long, I will be getting new students, and possibly a new schedule. Eh, just business as usual. I'm also trying to avoid a case of the flu. ... Read More

Here and there

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 23:25:49 -0500

One of the hard things about being and expatriate is that I still have to deal with things in the USA. Now granted, this has been made infinitely easier thanks to the internet. I can pay my bills on line, send instructions for how I want things done, I can even make phone calls! I can get money out if my American accounts using an ATM. Things t... Read More