merrillrose

I suppose over time I've started to fancy myself a seasoned traveller, with "gravel in my gut and spit in my eye." It seems I've loosened up a bit and let out a bit of slack on the travel prep, since I managed to surprise even myself with my utter packing failure tonight. It was a comedy of errors. I left the office psyched for my Tokyo trip and spent the evening bouncing and flouncing around my apartment picking out clothes and shoes to bring along. I very cleverly put my work files on a thumb drive and gave myself a pat on the back for remembering power adapters for Japan. Midnight rolled around. I finished my midnight snack, got into pajamas. And then was hit with the mistake that I consistently make - business cards. ... read more

Greetings all - it's been a while! I've spent a wonderful summer at home, visiting friends and family, and traveling to Europe. September is here, accompanied by cooler weather and the inevitable acceleration of the pace of life. And I have a job! Wait, let me say that again. I HAVE A JOB!!! After several months of traipsing to interviews, trailing resume paper behind me and exuding general angst and grumpiness, the search is over. I got a job working for Digitas, which conducts digitally-focused advertising all over the world. And here's the best part: the job is in Hong Kong! The big start date isn't until November 1, so I decided to spend this interval of free time back in Kunming. In preparation, I took a trip to New York to obtain a tourist visa ... read more

It was fantastic to come to New York for the weekend and be at Josh and Elyssa's wedding. It was worth every second spent in cars, shuttles, taxis, airplanes, and buses. My favorite travel moment of the weekend: I read a newspaper on the plane and when I was done, stuck it underneath my seat. My pinched-face flight attendant came over, and with a major 'tude, she said: Flight Attendant: "You can't put that there." Me: "Sorry, why not?" Flight Attendant: "Newspapers are slippery. I could trip on it." Me: "It's under my seat." Flight Attendant: "Well it's slippery." Me: "But it's under my seat." One more explanation and two scowls later, I removed my newspaper and stuck it in the seat pocket. The wedding was beautiful and it was a real treat to see so ... read more

The Debate If you've been reading the news, you're probably aware that Google has threatened to make an exit from China. Google accused Chinese hackers of infiltrating its computer network, and the Secretary of State has backed up Google's demands for an explanation. In addition, Google is frustrated with the censorship applied to its search engine in China. The Chinese government also recently announced that it would begin scanning text messages for "unhealthy" content, and within the last year, both Facebook and YouTube have been banned from the Chinese Internet, as well as many blogging and photo-sharing sites (I access these sites using a VPN that connects me to a U.S. IP address). With all of these issues in the news, I thought it would be interesting for the 10-year old students I teach to have ... read more

Many people think of China as a land where the dominant characteristics of society are homogeneity and obedience. This is true, to a point. For example, when I asked eight-year old Chinese students to write laws for an imaginary country, two of the most important laws were "protect national secrets" and "carry an identity card." But China, especially southwest China, is also home to an impressively diverse group of ethnic and cultural minorities. The only problem, of course, is reaching these places, and transportation in China can be a headache. The most popular way to get around China is by taking the bus. In rural areas, you don't even need to buy a ticket. The easiest way to hop a ride is to put out your hand and hitchhike until a bus with empty seats ... read more