It is rainy again today and quite cool. My trusty pocket clock/calendar/thermometer/alarm/calculator/currency converter says 75. That seems very cool. I doubt I will do anything outside today as it is supposed to keep raining. In class we spent a good 15 minutes discussing the differences and similarities between “walk” and “stroll.” Are the words interchangeable? Are there times when a “walk” can be a “stroll” but other times it is not, and vice versa? Things like this are more or less intuitive to English speakers, but present challenges to [View Full Entry]

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Today was quiet and much like yesterday. I guess I am getting into a rut. Went to work, stopped at the library to read on my way home. Ate dinner. Walked home. The only variation is sometimes I walk home, then eat dinner. It rained very hard this morning. The temperature is very pleasant now. It has been cloudy all day. There is little humidity. I stopped at the market on my way home. Not for any reason, I just like it. I usually just grab some street food for dinner, or go to my noodle shop. Here are some pics. [View Full Entry]

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I thought I would vary my day a bit. In the Shenzhen Daily there was an article about an exhibit of ancient Chinese porcelain at the Shenzhen Museum. Unfortunately I went to the wrong Shenzhen Museum, and by the time I realized the mistake it was 16:00. The Museum closed at 18:00. So I will put it off until tomorrow or the next day. Here are a few pics of ancient artifacts at the museum I did visit. The pics of the porcelain will come later when I find the correct venue. As usual, the museum descriptions were in Chinese only, [View Full Entry]

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I got it right today. I made it to the correct museum to see the antique porcelain. Of course I did not know what I was looking at since everything was in Chinese. I guess that is to be expected in China. Right inside the museum door, in the lobby, was an exhibit of calligraphy. There was a portrait of an old man who I assume was the calligrapher. I could see several different styles in the calligraphy, but what they represented is unknown. Then to the porcelain. I gathered from the newspaper article that this porcelain was made before the [View Full Entry]

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The place I found to live is in a typical Shenzhen neighborhood. It is a small area of a few blocks in which there is everything you need. There are all sorts of stores, a market, restaurants, bus stops, schools, and dozens of smaller apartment buildings. There are two new, very large hospitals at one end of the neighborhood. The other sides are bordered by large, new office and apartment buildings. I went downtown yesterday. It was packed. Just for fun I went into a large electronics mall. Inside were hundreds of vendors selling everything you can imagine in electronics, computers, [View Full Entry]

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Because I was bored I visited a temple today. My orientation starts next week and I have nothing much to do between now and then. So I jumped on a bus and after about an hour and a half ended up at a temple whose name I already forgot. It was similar to the temple I visited on my first trip to China. It was located on the top of a mountain and the area around it was beautifully maintained. It cost 20 yuan to ride a bus to the top of the mountain where the temple was. A few people [View Full Entry]

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I arrived in Shenzhen late Monday night. By the time I got the ferry from Hong Kong to the Shekou wharf was close to midnight. The Jing Ming Da guest house was closed for remodeling, so I found a place close by and settled in for the next week so. I had intended to have my hair cut before I left, but things went so quickly, I didn’t have a chance. I went by the Hair Cuttery on Saturday, but it was packed. I didn’t want to take the time, and I didn’t see my favorite girl working. You can never [View Full Entry]

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The other night there was a story on the news about a penguin display at the Flower Park. It sounded very impressive and interesting. The penguins were brought back by a group of Chinese scientists who spent the winter at the South Pole. They were on display along with exhibits about the expedition. Sounded interesting, so I hopped on the bus and within a few minutes I was at the Flower Park grounds. The penguins were in the large exhibition building to the left of the main entrance. Admission to the building was 50 yuan (about $7.50 USD), a very steep [View Full Entry]

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I thought the traffic in Hanoi was bad, but Saigon makes it look like a sleepy burg. Everyone in both cities seems to have a motor bike, and everyone seems to ride them more or less constantly. There are few private cars, mostly are taxis. There are some busses and and an occasional truck. Not only are the streets clogged, but the sidewalks are often impassable because of the many bikes parked in front of stores, cafes and businesses. Pedestrians end up walking in the streets, adding to the congestion. Occasionally the police will try to clear the sidewalks and impound [View Full Entry]

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The tour began at 08:00 in the morning. The van came by the Rising Dragon Hotel where I stayed. It is in the heart of the Old Quarter, just a few blocks from Hoan Kiem Lake. After picking up the rest of the passengers, the tour began. The tour guide was a tiny little girl who reminded me of Rachael Ray, the TV cook. She was, bubbly, pleasant, friendly and spoke excellent English. Her voice had a little rasp, just like Rachael Ray. Our first stop was at the National University which was founded in 1484, if I remember correctly. In [View Full Entry]

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