New Neighbor – From Archives

30 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in welcome to my life

Well, my French neighbor moved out in early September and has been replaced by a German college girl. She moved in on Saturday and yesterday hosted 8 or so pals (all German it seems) at her place at 2 am to smoke pot. I went to her door in my nice pjs to complain.

When I knocked they all started to whisper and they turned out the lights. (You can see the light on through the space at the bottom of the door.) Silence ensued. No one came to the door. I could smell something like marijuana, but not quite. They remained quiet, not responding to the knocks. I figured they would stay quiet so I left.

I have no idea who thought it would be a good idea to move a college girl in faculty housing. It’s not fun for either of us.

Does pot smell different in different countries? Could they be using something to mask the odor?

Originally posted in fall 2006.

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English Names

29 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in China, culture, education, Teaching EFL

In China students typically chose to use and English name for their “English life.”

There are many choices like Emily, Vanessa, Will and Victor. Yet there are some that really give one pause. Should I tell this student that name will only give them trouble, however slight, in the US? Should I respect their right to choose?

Well, here are some of this school’s more unusual choices:

Album, Mars, Bruins, Brand, Lucifer (glad he’s not in my class), Choco, Bee/Plane (yep, the slash is part of the name), Mars, Ocean, Zero, Tone, Snaker, Mega, Ivy (a boy), Sickey (a girl), and Zero.

Well, it is easy to remember these names.

Back to Foshan

29 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in architecture, China, travel

Market

I returned to Foshan just to get away. Don’t know that there’s much more to do there, but the journey in itself was nice, easier than my first trip as I knew where I was going. Fewer hassles. I did hope the new complex would be open, or have more shops and cafés open. Not yet. Perhaps in the spring.

Fresh

One thing about Foshan: it’s tough to find a decent restaurant. I’ve said it before, I now realize we were quite spoiled by a wealth of good restaurants in Jinan.

Your Education in Hock

27 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by smkelly8 in education Tags: , ,

By MARTHA ANN OVERLAND

In this era of rising tuition, many people are asking, “Just how much is a college degree really worth?” Pawnshop owners in Vietnam know exactly what the going rate is.

“For a university degree, I pay about 800,000 dong [$50],” says Trinh Thi Tinh, whose pawnshop deals in everything from mobile phones to motorcycles in a crowded university.

From Chronicle of Higher Education

Again?

25 Nov 2011 1 Comment

by smkelly8 in China, expat life

I just got an email that the police want to see my passport again. This is the third time they’ll have seen it. This seems so fishy, like a shake down.

How I hate this part of China. It’s a real city on the make.

Black Friday

25 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in Misc

I often don’t buy anything the day after Thanksgiving. I used to work in retail and from the sales associates point of view, a couple fewer customers would be fine. This day really is just to crazy in so many ways.

Yet this week I succumbed. I ordered an iPad 2 and cover. It was a bit less. Now if I’d gotten it in August I’d have gotten a greater savings in the form of $100 in aps, but I’ll take the discount, gladly. The frenzy is reaching me even here in China where the signs of shopping season aren’t so great.

I think the tough job makes retail therapy more seductive than usual. Though the iPad will be delivered to Chicago so delayed gratification is part of this retail high.

As an aside, what would retailers do if things changed and their day in the black came say October 1st?

She Looks Serene

24 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in art Tags: ,

One Way, But I’m Only Driving One Way

24 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in China

I’ve seen more drivers, car and truck drivers, heading down the wrong side of the streets here in Xintang. I’m talking streets that are rather obviously marked with two lanes in both directions and a median in the middle. No collusions so far, but I’ve seen enough other collusions that it’s just a matter of time.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Breakfast

19 Nov 2011 12 Comments

by smkelly8 in Blogging Challenge, food, meme, travel Tags: , , , , , , ,

Beijing Breakfast Offerings

Xi'an Breakfast

Nepal Farmhouse Breakfast

New to The Daily Post? Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, you’re invited to get involved in our Weekly Photo Challenge to help you meet your blogging goals and give you another way to take part in Post a Day / Post a Week. Everyone is welcome to participate, even if your blog isn’t about photography.

Here’s how it works:

1. Each week, we’ll provide a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

2. To make it easy for others to check out your photos, title your blog post “Weekly Photo Challenge: (theme of the week)” and be sure to use a “postaday2011″ or “postaweek2011″ tag.

3. Subscribe to The Daily Post so that you don’t miss out on weekly challenge announcements. Sign up via the email subscription link in the sidebar or RSS.

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A Big Mistake

18 Nov 2011 Leave a Comment

by smkelly8 in China, expat life Tags:

Baiju I won’t need a reminder to never do this again. There was an opened, almost full bottle of Chinese alcohol, baiju in my kitchen. tastes like distilled dirty laundry water so I knew I’d never drink it. What to do with this bottle of it? You can’t give it to anyone important as it’s been opened. I have no idea of anyone who’d actually want this so I decided to throw the contents down the sink and recycle the bottle.

Huge mistake.

My kitchen now reeks. I don’t have a kitchen window. How long will it take to diffuse? I’ve got the fan going and some incense burning.

Live and learn.

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