 Kris Sonsin - sunketing | All Comments |
Comments | |
| 21st December 2009 Elyse | FUN - From: I met the nicest man... Sounds like a great weekend. I wish I could have gone to get the book and to meet him, but I tutored instead. |
| 20th December 2009 lol | - From: And this makes 200! well, it seems your chinese have reached the Dark Cheery Mocha level. lol. :) |
| 19th December 2009 Mom and Dad | Bravo!!! Way to go, Kris!! - From: And this makes 200! Great story! Congratulation on your Chinese language success! We only wish that Starbucks offered these dark cherry mochas in the US. |
| 19th December 2009 sunketing | pasting - From: A trip to the post office Many envelopes are also require paste. And it's not a plastic wand to smear the paste, but an actual (sticky!) brush. |
| 18th December 2009 Dad | Stamps - From: A trip to the post office Paste pots?? Egads. I've never had to paste-pot a postage stamp in my entire life. People in the US now get upset when the postage stamps aren't self adhering and they have to lick them. How spoiled we Americans are! |
| 10th December 2009 marktomarket | Music - From: Quick Bit I absoltuely agree... Especially in old train.. the music from starts till end, give me a break ... and the music in Chinese Shop just most of time doesnt fit... If one shop make loud music to attract client, next shop will make it louder, monkey see monkey does... Xin |
| 9th December 2009 Dad | Must be nice.. - From: Quick Bit Gee. Private banking. When I pick up your $$ at the Western Union counter at the local Fry's grocery store, I have to stand to fill out the form, wait in line along with all the people complaining they were overcharged 3-cents on a can of tuna or trying to cash in non-winning lottery tickets. Then, I have to walk over to the Wells Fargo bank branch at the opposite corner of the parking lot and stand in line there while realizing that the "free" coffee is cold and that they are, once again, out of cookies. The things I do for my favorite kid! |
| 6th December 2009 ChinaMatt | - From: It's the Little Things, part 十 A couple of these bring back memories of living in Shenzhen. But, the bus driver story is shocking--it's rare that a bus driver will go out of his way to help a passenger (happened to me once when I left my glasses on a bus and the driver passed them off to someone else to take back to the depot). |
| 28th November 2009 Ron Ford | Thanksgiving - From: Giving Thanks Kris, What wonderful thoughts you just expressed. I agree with everything you just elaborated. And, as we say in the Navy, Bravo Zulu (Well Done!) |
| 26th November 2009 UB&AC | Thanks - From: Giving Thanks Kris, Happy Thanksgiving to you. Reading your thanks makes us appreciate all we have. We are also grateful for the help you have received while you have been sick. What great friends you have. Sure hope you will be feeling all better soon. Hugs to you, Uncle and Aunt in Oregon |
| 25th November 2009 Katie | Have an IV! - From: Sick, part 3 That's really funny, because we had a similar joke for the student health center at my first college: Headache? Have a pregnancy test! Broken leg? Have a pregnancy test! Lost an eyeball? Have a pregnancy test! |
| 24th November 2009 Sally Arner | Still sick?!? - From: Still Sick Kris, we are praying that you are getting better. If not, please see a Dr. there about it to get over it faster. We love you.....Ron and Sally Arner (your mom and Dad's friends from Arizona. |
| 23rd November 2009 sunketing | eating - From: And we're back I'm just happy I made it over a year before burning out. And I'm also happy that Carrefour--with its fantastic imported foods section--is right across the street. |
| 22nd November 2009 Elyse | Hate Eating - From: And we're back I hear you about the eating. Pete and I have been going through this recently and I went to Ole for the first time since being in China. Next on the list is IKEA. |
| 15th November 2009 sunketing | paper - From: Pirates, Students, and Sheep--Oh My! They use their own paper. Some students don't have any and they get some from a friend. There's no way I'm buying them all paper, either! |
| 7th November 2009 Katie | Fellow teacher question - From: Pirates, Students, and Sheep--Oh My! Hey, so here's my question - did you give the students paper to draw their pumpkins on? Or did they use notebook paper? Any time I want the kids to do anything, it has to be in their own notebooks, because even with my fabulous salary, I can't really buy 850 pieces of paper for every lesson I want them to draw or write something. Any ideas? |
| 2nd November 2009 Aunt Caroline | Wow!! - From: The Wedding Banquet Kris, What a dress!! You looked great. Sounds like a fun celebration. Yes, we are behind in your blogs but we do read and enjoy them. Thanks for including us. UB & AC |
| 12th October 2009 Dad | - From: A Royal Tomb, an Orchid Garden, and a Memorial Interesting that you were able to tour a recently opened tomb. When we were in Xian last spring, they told us that many of the Ming tombs had not been opened out of concern that doing so could damage what was inside - same reason they are going slowly excavating the Terra Cotta soldiers; many were painted but exposure to the air causes the paint to disappear. |
| 20th September 2009 Brooke K. | - From: Please pass the air conditioning I would send you our old A/C unit if I could! :) Sadly, we will soon not need it though, for us, it is still fairly 'hot' at 80 something. |
| 17th September 2009 Cynthia | Mmm...windy tea - From: I didn't blow away! Glad to hear you didn't get blown away, or swept away by a tsunami! Though, finding a good tea shop is almost as noteworthy...lol. Good tea, very critical. The Muslim noodle shop is causing me a little bit of noodle envy here in the land of questionable pasta salad, so be sure to eat extra for those of us who are noodle deprived! :) |
| 15th September 2009 sunketing | Thanks! - From: Home is where the heart is Thanks for your good wishes! I hope you keep enjoying my blog. |
| 13th September 2009 long | - From: Home is where the heart is I am really happy for you. I've been following your blog for a while. Good luck on your time in China. |
| 5th September 2009 jim | - From: Lost and Found I am looking forward to hear all about it. This is really good. |
| 4th September 2009 Sally Arner | Lost and Found - From: Lost and Found That is so neat you will get to see your teacher. Several years ago I received a wonderful letter from a former student of mine in one of my Kdgt. classes. He had read What I learned I learned in Kdgt. Then he wrote me a letter about how much he liked my Kdgt. A real treasure for me to read. So you will be able to see Zhang Laoshi and catch up. She will be so proud of you. Good going!!!have lots of fun........My son, David, was in Canton with the Phoenix Boys Choir when he was 12. He also toured in Japan, Teipe, and Singapoor. The boys stayed in the homes of the people in the countried. Your mom's roommate in Kenosha, Wisc., Sally |
| 4th September 2009 anonymous | - From: Lost and Found Awesome! |
| 3rd September 2009 Ron Mees | Congratulations Kris, and some thoughts!! - From: A Moment of Reflection at Midnight Many happy returns Kris, 30 is a big milestone, yep whomever you talk to they all say that , but it is usually a different age, depending on how old "they" are! The good news is you survived your 20's and are transitioning into what I found to be a very exciting period "the 30's" . I too made a radical change in my "career" of about 12 years at age 30. I had been happily married for about 7 years, and my wife likewise had a career going in finance, that eventuallyled to her becoming the youngest female Chief Financial Offcier of a Bank inCalifornia, she by the way, accomplished that just before she turned 30! Like me, she too faced a career change after succeeding in a male dominated world of banking and a few years later (late 30's) she quit a lucartive job and career, went back to cololege and graduated with honors and became a math teacher at Junior then High School.....so as you can tell, I have aprofound respect for the number that starts with a 3, you are armed with an expereince of teaching in a mysterious country to most, and the guts to tackle whatever you REALLY want..keep up the greta blog, and sorry we missed the Dinner at Ron Ford's! Happy Birthday Kris, and many many more!, Cheers, Ron Mees |
| 2nd September 2009 Mom and Dad | - From: A Moment of Reflection at Midnight You were a VERY BEAUTIFUL lump. Love you. Us |
| 2nd September 2009 Brooke | - From: First Day Back I just wanted to say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Sounds like your first day back went pretty well. I wish I could sit in! :) |
| 29th August 2009 Staci and Martin | - From: A bit more info about the year Okay, we still never actually MET, that was ridiculous. Martin and I want to come into Nanshan from our isolated boonies placement one of these days and hang out...and I promise we're not like any of the frat beer-bottle dropping newbies. :) Happy birthday! |
| 28th August 2009 Sally Arner | Birthday greetings - From: A bit more info about the year Happy belated birthday to you Kris. Hope your year of teaching will be wonderful over there. I love reading your blogs, highlight of my day.... Sally, your mom's friend |
| 29th July 2009 Ron | NICE - From: A View of Lake Erhai Nice story - great, tranquil pictures. I would like to see this place! |
| 24th July 2009 The train attendants | - From: The Train Ride to Kunming 3. This way they can more easily make sure everyone gets off at the correct stop. -------------------------------- This is correct. The train attendants will wake up the passengers ahead the correct stop during night. |
| 19th July 2009 Sally Arner | I hate typhoons - From: I hate typhoons I am happy that you made it through all of that and will be onto Phoenix. I know your folks are eager to see you. And I hope you have lots of fun together. Some day I hope to meet you. Sally |
| 15th July 2009 Gwen | Cheese - From: It's the Little Things, part 六 I'm happy you got to eat some cheese. That must have been really nice!!! |
| 7th July 2009 Sally Arner | Independence Day - From: Happy Independence Day I am a friend of your mom's since we were roomates during our first teaching in Kenosha, Wisc. It has been so fun to read your travel blogs. I taught for DoDS in Germany the year after your mom and I taught in Germany. We have become acquainted as couples now that we all are in Az. We had lunch with Nancy and Bill at Applebees in Prescott yesterday. They are excited about your coming out...I just think you are a wonderful writer and have enjoyed your blogs so much. Glad you are going back to China to teach next year. Hope to meet you someday. Have fun traveling,Sally |
| 6th July 2009 sunketing | Brrr - From: Happy Independence Day Yep, I was freezing. I keep following the river. I wish I knew which one it was! |
| 5th July 2009 Dad | - From: Happy Independence Day There are some nice pictures on Google Earth of Kangding, showing the river running through the town. Elevation is nearly 9,000 feet. Must be much cooler there than back along the coast near Shenzhen and Hong Kong. |
| 22nd June 2009 sunketing | the hike - From: I Did Not Leap high and long. I've read different numbers depending on the source. 22km long (I've heard up to 30), the highest point being 2660m. |
| 21st June 2009 Dad | - From: I Did Not Leap What is the altitude there, and how far was the hike, both distance and altitude change? |
| 16th June 2009 Yunnan Province | - From: It's the Little Things, part 五 Actually Lijiang, Zhongdian(Shangri-la) and XiShuangBanNa have much more to offer than Kunming. |
| 7th June 2009 Emily | panda purse - From: A Temple Offering and SoHo Hello I love the panda purse. I told my hubby that when we go, that I want one. lol |
| 3rd June 2009 Kate | - From: Big Buddha! I love the pic entitled "the crazies"!! |
| 31st May 2009 sunketing | LOL - From: I made it! Thanks--I had no idea! (None of us did.) |
| 26th May 2009 Wenny | oyster fields - From: I made it! Those "fishing boats" are actually oyster fields.. :D |
| 29th April 2009 Sarah W | intriguing - From: It's the Little Things, Part 四 thank you for sharing that...it really shows that you need to stop and look around you every once in awhile...and that doing little things for people really makes their day and yours :) |
| 23rd April 2009 Barbara Carlton | photographs - From: My Parents' First Visit to China: Part 一 Your pictures are impressive, you have a great eye. Hong Kong looks prettier than I expected. Glad that yall got together. Happy Trails, Barbara Carlton |
| 17th March 2009 kate | - From: in my head and out of my mind i like the things you say we don't admit to doing. because it's soo true. see you this afternoon. |
| 17th February 2009 Julia | Trains - From: A Train Ride in India Indian trains are really crazy, i went on a 28 hour journey last year, it was crazy and warm. Not to forgett the Chai people =) |
| 16th February 2009 Philip | Interesting! - From: Tai Chi Class wonderful experience,Tai Chi sounds exciting! |
| 20th January 2009 Jo | - From: I've left the Pink City for Venice It's a small world after all...Minnesota to India...amazing. I am so excited to read your reflections and see your pictures! Have a wonderful time my friend! Love and hugs! |
| 14th January 2009 Renee | Wishing you fun ... - From: The First Half of January Hope you have fun in India ... remember to be safe (sounds like your parents huh ... sorry!). Looking forward to hearing about it. |
| 2nd January 2009 Gwen | India! - From: For being in a land that doesn't celebrate, I've been just as busy What? You're going to India!! Awe-some. Happy New Year!! |
| 1st January 2009 sunketing | The India adventure - From: For being in a land that doesn't celebrate, I've been just as busy Thanks! I talked to my Dr back in August before I left for China about what I need to do for traveling in India and have that under control. |
| 31st December 2008 Jo | - From: For being in a land that doesn't celebrate, I've been just as busy Happy New Year! Hugs :) |
| 31st December 2008 NYCkid | i know where you are going - From: For being in a land that doesn't celebrate, I've been just as busy came across your blog, very interesting. I know where u r going. Just make sure to check with your dr to have necessary vaccines done.You think China is a challenge & adventure? Wait till you get to your winter destination. But I m sure you will enjoy the trip with an open mind. |
| 27th December 2008 acacia | christmas - From: It Came Upon a Dinnertime Clear... happy christmas! i guess the best way to celebrate a holiday you don't celebrate is to go to a country that doesn't celebrate! looks like a great time. happy new year- acacia & nick |
| 24th December 2008 Jo | - From: It Came Upon a Dinnertime Clear... Merry Christmas sweetie! Looks like your friends know how to make a girl feel all warm and fuzzy...give her lots of Great Wall wine and a scarf :) Love and hugs! |
| 23rd December 2008 Bill Cheng | Change is good - From: I've Changed Cheer up! :) Change is good. A lot of people are afraid of changes. We should embrace changes. For cheering you up, I will make you a snow angle and have some eggnog for you. Cheers! And Merry Christmas! |
| 19th December 2008 sunketing | flower teas - From: All the Tea in China... Perhaps I just wasn't looking in the right places then! Good to know for future reference. |
| 16th December 2008 Andrew | Very nice post on tea - From: All the Tea in China... As a big fan of tea, this is a nice post to read. We do not cover any tea or food at our site, www.chinaprimer.com, so it's nice to read about a fond tea experience. Since I live in the US now, I do buy my tea from Teavana. However, I will say that I only buy their plain teas and not their mixed teas. The reason is you are not getting as much tea for your money since they mix in fruits or other ingredients. If that is what you like though, then Teavana is a great place. |
| 16th December 2008 Tiffany Journeys East | Flowers bloom in the U.S. too - From: All the Tea in China... Just FYI, I have purchased and enjoyed Rose, Jasmine, Chamomile, and Chrysanthemum teas all in the U.S. They are just as you described, dried flowers to soak in hot water. It's really not that uncommon on the east coast. |
| 8th December 2008 sunketing | Brrr, indeed! - From: Fun, Fun, Fun I'm from Minnesota, so I certainly know what you are talking about! There are a number of teachers in my program who are from Michigan, Ohio, and New York, so they know too. I don't know of any Chinese people who know about wind chill, though. We are so far south they don't really have it here. Of course, they don't forcast the heat index either when it gets hot! |
| 7th December 2008 Bill Cheng | Yah, its verrrry cooooold in Canada! - From: Fun, Fun, Fun This message is from Toronto, Canada. While I'm reading your blog, it is freezing outside with a -14C temperature and windchill is close to -30C. Ha, is there anyone in ShenZhen who knows about windchill? |
| 3rd December 2008 Dad | - From: "Oh, My God, It's JACKIE CHAN!!" Hey, Kris. Did you see Jackie Chan? BTW: my 1970 car was a 1962 VW bug which had windows down AC in the summer and heat that probably warmed up the car about 5 degrees in the winter over the outdoor temp. I courted my future wife (Kris's mom) in Minnesota in the winter, and I knew she loved me when she rode in my VW night after night without complaining. :) |
| 26th November 2008 Jo | - From: It's the little things that make me smile: Part 二 Happy Thanksgiving my wonderful friend! Your blog is always a special part of my day...and your little things list was particularly sweet today. You make my world a better place just by being in it! I have many things to be thankful for, and your friendship is one of them. Many hugs and much love, Jo |
| 22nd November 2008 sunketing | Meat for the Big Cats - From: Ligers, and Tigons, and Panda Bears, Oh My! Now they make people pay extra to go down a special fenced-in path. They sell you meat on a stick, which you can feed to the cats through the holes in the fence. Sufficed to say, the cats attack the fence. I didn't see any live chickens. |
| 22nd November 2008 Petron | Big Cat - From: Ligers, and Tigons, and Panda Bears, Oh My! I was in the SZ zoo a couple of years back, but back then, they had a crazy thing going. You take this tram and go towards this area with all the big cats. Then some guy hands you a stick with a peice of chicken on it..yes to feed the lions/tigers. Many or the people there kept teasing the cats and getting them ticked off. Ten to top it off, this dude offer to sell me a live chicken so that I can throw it to the cats. Yeah, really freaky. Maybe they stopped doing it, which would be greatl |
| 16th November 2008 Dad | Best zoo story - From: Ligers, and Tigons, and Panda Bears, Oh My! The best zoo story still has to be the one from San Diego two years ago when the zookeepers were finding fast food wrappers and other food trash in the fox's enclosure. They set up a spy cam and found out that the foxes had figured out how to get out of their enclosure so they were sneaking out at night to raid the garbage cans in the zoo, then returning to their pens before dawn. |
| 12th November 2008 What a tour! | - From: 莲花山公园 Pagoda(ta, 3 tune) is also a Chinese world. It usually is a buddhistic place. Actually, the building in the photo is a TingZi(2 tune, 3 tune), just a good looking structure for rest. Another word "tower" is for the structure in the walls, such as Great Wall and City Wall(For example Xi'an City wall). The tower in Chinese is Lou(2 tune). City tower (ChengLou) is for the old building in the wall, LouFang is for the building for living etc. |
| 8th November 2008 Jim | Stub - From: I Found Solace no clue=service charge stuff you can't read= Total____ Adult fare___Seat according to number. Good blogs, enjoy reading them. |
| 6th November 2008 Dad | Nader and independents - From: Glued to My Computer Nader did get about 1% of the U.S. presidential vote and two other third party candidates each got a little less than that. One case about 10-years ago when an independent candidate did very well was when Independent Jesse Ventura beat both the Republican and Democratic candidates to get elected governor of Minnesota. It is always possible but takes a huge effort in part because you run without any party support in what is a two party country. |
| 5th November 2008 sunketing | Kidnap? I think not. - From: Glued to My Computer Nader is still on the ballot. You can also write in your cat if you want to. No one is forced to vote for either the democrat or the republican candidate. I realize that only the rep or the dem has a chance of winning and agree that it can defeat the purpose of voting for a 3rd party candidate. But a lot of people don't vote for that reason. If they voted, and Nader's numbers went up, he'd be allowed into the debates and increase his ability to reach a larger audience. Many Americans, while defining themselves as either a dem or a rep, are very centered, leaning one way or the other. This is because there are a variety of issues. They want a candidate who will not only do the things they want to see done, but also NOT do things they don't want done. Sometimes voting for the 'NOT' makes a stronger case for a particular vote, especially in sensitive areas, like the war and abortion. One can argue that America isn't ready for Nader. On the flip side, it can also be argued that we're also not ready for Buchanan. |
| 4th November 2008 I have a question. | - From: Glued to My Computer choose your candidate based on the issues, not the party lines. ----------------------------------------------- I totally agree with your father. This election year, just like many election years, there are only two candidates. My question is, if you do not like them both, but you have to chose one of them, does that mean D and R parties 'kidnap' the other Americans? Naders seem to never win. What do you think about this? Just to satisfy my curiosity. |
| 4th November 2008 Dad | - From: Glued to My Computer OMG. My then teenage daughter actually listened to her dad!!! I'm in shock! |
| 3rd November 2008 thompson | thank you - From: It's a Shenzhen Ex-Pat Halloween, Charlie Brown! thank you for coming to the event. glad u had a great time |
| 1st November 2008 photoman | Myfeeling - From: Candy and "Bread" read your blog just like watch the soap movie "Friends", funny and warm |
| 31st October 2008 sunketing | Response to "just 2%???" - From: Clarification & Reflection My info may have been off, but yours is much further off. I don't think 50% of Americans get into college, much less students in a country with 4x the population. My school doesn't suck. I realize you were kidding, but in reality, my school is highly recognized and we've had to add 2 extra year 7 classes to accomodate all the extra students we're accepting. |
| 31st October 2008 sunketing | Response to "now much more students can enter into colleges" - From: Clarification & Reflection Thanks for correcting me. I have a number of very bright students and it was upsetting think that they might not get the opportunity to continue their education because of such a high benchmark. I'm glad to know that more of them will be able to persue their goals and hopefully be more financially secure. |
| 29th October 2008 Hello | just 2%??? - From: Clarification & Reflection Only 2% got accepted by a college? is it a typo or does the school just suck? ;) What i learned is that the national average is way above 50%, and over 80% in more develped areas like the coastal provinces.... |
| 29th October 2008 Now much more students can enter into colleges. | - From: Clarification & Reflection Now much more students can enter into colleges. About from 1998, Chinese gov expanded the higher education. About 25% (more than 50% high school) students can enter into colleges. The amount of urban area is higher and rural area is lower. |
| 28th October 2008 Jo | Amen Sista! - From: Clarification & Reflection "I need to live my life for me and do the things I want and need to do for me. Living watching others' happiness is wonderful, but it's not the same as creating your own." Couldn't have said it better...Love you! |
| 28th October 2008 sunketing | Dumplings and soy sauce - From: What One Eats Admittedly, I chose the dumplings because they have a picture on the bag telling me what's in them (I don't eat pork or beef) and because they were on sale during Mid-Autumn Festival. Thank you for your help with the soy sauces! I never knew there was a difference between what you use to dip and what you use to cook with. Why are there 2 kinds? And do you have any brand recommendations? |
| 28th October 2008 photoman | nice done! - From: What One Eats Nice done!!! There is a lot of flavor of dumplings. And this type "Wan zhai ma tou ~Ô4" , maybe one of the best, of course it is expensive one. And, soy sauce, hehe .Really . There is various soy sauce. But usually you should know two type of it. That's ok . That is light soy sauce which labled "sheng chou ½" is used to dip and dark soy sauce which labled "lao chou ½" is used to cook. The previous one is more delicious, salty and light. The other is more heavy ,dark and ... and Brown Sauce. hehe |
| 28th October 2008 photoman | That is a busy week - From: The Week in Review That is a busy weekThat is a busy weekThat is a busy week |
| 26th October 2008 Thanks for sharing your story | - From: 我去香港了！！ »™/† GoodGood Chinese |
| 20th October 2008 Webbhog | teaching outside the box - From: My Budding Artists I think I have to give extra points to the teacher for thinking up an interesting way to learn. Having fun while learning is like finding a job you like. If you do, you never work a day in your life. |
| 20th October 2008 sunketing | a description of Cheetos - From: Finally! The "Chee" in Cheetos DOES mean Cheese! Cheetos (in the States) are a cheese flavored snack food found next to the potato chips at the market. They are made of puffed corn. There are Cheetos "Puffs" which are light and airy in texture, and Cheetos "Crunchy" which making crunching noises when you eat them (like a potato chip). They are covered in orange, sweet-ish cheese flavored powder that turns your finger tips orange when you eat them. They are my favorite snack food and highly addicting. |
| 20th October 2008 photoman | what is Cheetos ? - From: Finally! The "Chee" in Cheetos DOES mean Cheese! like some Inflated food? |
| 17th October 2008 WebbHog | Your not alone - From: My Chinese is getting better I read your blog and will continue to. I love the way you write it and enjoy every word. Worlds apart but I can relate to what your going through. Fan from Canada.... :) |
| 6th October 2008 Low Blood Sugar | Cheetos Trick - From: The "Chee" in Cheetos means CHEESE So my friend taught me this trick: If you want to eat cheetos without getting orange fingers just use chopsticks! |
| 26th September 2008 Debbie Loughrey | I am enjoying your blog! - From: @%#*!! I broke my beer! Hi Kristin: I am a friend of your Dad's from Westfield High School. He sent me the link to your travel blog and I just wanted to let you know that you have more than a sole reader - assuming he is one, I am another. I thoroughly enjoy the whole thing, especially the trip to the tailor - great directions! Try a hammer and screwdriver for that beer. All you need is one hole big enough to get a mouthful! deb |
| 16th September 2008 Jo | - From: Sexy Undertaker... Confucious say: You will receive box of goodies from far off land soon. And somebody miss you much. |
