Blogs from Yangzhou, Jiangsu, China, Asia - page 11

…..a box of chocolates from Jason's parents to each of the teachers who attended his 10th birthday party last week. It's good to be thanked for taking the trouble to attend a meal as guests of honour at a swish restaurant..... …..meeting at Kelly's place with Chinese teachers including Roger, the one who wants to get some music underway, Su Yin Hui, also Peter, who now, thanks to Roger, has an electric bass guitar. Kelly, who plays piano, is keen to be the keyboard player, in fact he's into anything that looks remotely as though it might happen..... …..during the conversation Roger makes the interesting comment that it's easier (for him) to read in Chinese rather than English because when he reads the Chinese characters it is a visual experience. He's looking at the meaning of ... read more

…..I can report now that the Yangzhou Yingwen Weekly is a source of USEFUL information. Not much but my friend Bruce from Monash University in Melbourne; “Your phrases in Mandarin are helpful. A few days ago, I summoned 2 Chinese students to award them 0 marks for their major assignment because they had cheated. They started to talk agitatedly in Mandarin. So, I sharply said, "Shuo Yingwen!" (Speak English). They looked very shocked (as if I'd understood what they were saying) & continued in English”..... …..it's cold. Very cold. The wind has been blowing from the west or north west & it feels as though it's straight from Siberia, & probably is. Combined with the rain it's not condusive to getting out & about & even walking the few hundred metres from the dorms to the ... read more

…..Communist China & freedom don't usually appear in the same sentence in the west. I have to say though that outside the political arena, there are many freedoms here which we are denied at home. The roads are a fine example. You are free to ride a bike, scooter or motorbike without helmet or lights, regardless of the time of day or whether the road is lit. You can choose whether to go the right or wrong way along the bike lane. No one minds at all. You are free to use your mobile phone any time you want, even when negotiating busy intersections. Intersections here can be very wide &, to the untrained eye, at peak times, scenes of unmitigated chaos yet, when you get used to them it's really not that bad when you ... read more

In Madison, Wisconsin everyone from ages 3 to 60 puts on a costume and shows the town a good time. In Billings, Montana, the kids get excited and go out trick-or-treating fully clad in snow coats and boots to tromp through the snow or in costumes and tennis shoes to run around in the warm autumn air. In Iowa City, the college students go out and party and the little kids go from house to house to collect their treats. In Tacoma, Washington kids run around with umbrellas and rain jackets covering up their costumes, and in Spokane, no one really knows what the weather will be like so they just go to the mall. In China, well… So the question remains... Is Halloween actually celebrated in China? Nope. Not a chance*. Good luck trying to ... read more