Seeing Paddy with his colleague on the streets of Shanghai made me wonder what the role of Shanghai was in the Sino-Japanese War that began in 1937 and lasted for eight bloddy years. It turns out that Shanghai fell to the Japanese forces in the opening phases of the that war. Wikipedia is a great place to start examining The Battle of Shanghai . Are you going on any battle tours, are there monuments to see? Does your program study the colonialism that imposed on China by the great Western Powers? Can you give us a sense of what you are "glimpsing" in China? Or is it just another Hogwarthe special program with a different theme? Are you guys doing anything on the Boxer rebellion?, the Opium Wars? Maybe you can add something to the Wikipedia article about the Battle of Shanghai? I would love to see modern pictures of some of the Battle sites.
C
You are on a stool with a Catholic guy looking at the world through ethnic eyes.
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Takin' It to the Streets
I don't have the mental energy to write anything particularly interesting or insightful right now. It's about 9:30pm and we've been going since 8:30am with academics and administrative issues. So I'll just give a "prepackaged" tour of the rapidly vanishing street world of 
Shanghai.
Walk through this gate to enter what remains of the old Chinese district of the city. Only a few square blocks of it remain in this district. The neighborhoods, which are hundreds of years old, are being bulldozed to 
make way for the new high-rise condos and office towers.
One has to look pretty hard in Shanghai to find Ming Dynasty architecture - or at least architecture evocative of the Ming Dynasty - still standing. We ventured into this neighborhood in the first place to taste noodles at a little Islamic place (top photo above). Once again my experience in the city boils down to a search for more snacks. Anyway... it was about 100 degrees f with 75% humidity, so you can imagine Paddy melting as we made our way into these back streets
pullulating with life, though I took the Duc's advice and simply embraced the heat. As you can see from the photo on the right, the width of the street is about 30 feet across (im standing in a shop on the opposite side of the street from this food vendor. Of course
I couldn't resist just a little taste of their wares, especially I figure since I was taking their pictures. What I opted for was a kind of Chinese grilled quesedilla filled with a bitter chopped grass and garlic spread. And here's a glimpse into the dumpling place on the other corner across from our noodle shop. Notice the woman working her way through a bowl of noodles on the inside. 
Well of course my noodles proved wonderful. Fresh hand-shaved noodles were 
quick boiled in water then added to a bowl along with raw onion wedges, green and red peppers, and large chucks of roasted beef. 
In the pic on the right you can see the guy who just hand-made the noodle dough shaving from the block into a vast of boiling water.
I'm squinting because the 
sweat is literally cascading down my forehead into my eyes. This is double the heat Paddy is used too, but well worth it.
The 'chef' then laddled hot broth -- some of the tastiest broth I've ever had (made with a beef stock created from the entire leg of a cow that simmers away all day, reducing to a deep complex flavor) -- into the bowl and topped with a large handful of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro. To top it all off I had on the table a pot of crushed red chillies in oil to use at my own discretion (used a couple of big spoonfuls). This was one spicey, yummy treat, and the meal set me back all of one Yankee greenback, which included a 20 oz bottle of beer. Mmmmmmmm...so good!
Democracy in China?
Hmmmm Democracy? I doubt it. What the official media here reports about 'reform' and touts as some sort of rural grassroots democracy movement appears to these eyes to be nothing but the old system of corruption, graf, and bureacratic legerdemain. Case in point: I'm reading a 
magazine article reporting on "democracy as practiced in the countryside in China's Zhejiang Province." Now I can tell that the editors (for editor read 'big-daddy bureaucratic communist imprematuer') included this acticle in what is essentially an English language tourist magazine in order to show long-nosed Western ghosts how far China has come in fostering participatory government. BUT...well what it explains is how village leadership is contested in elections between local big-wigs essentially by bribery. "It would be terrific if there was an election for village head every year," said one farmer who had been treated to 27 free banquets over the summer. Another 'candidate' for village pubah pledged to spend $12,500 of his own money on public improvements and donate his salary to an entertainment center if elected. Democracy? Far from it say I. But then is it really that far from how really things operate in the States? 
Now I'm sure the Duc will have a good chuckle at my initial naivete, but I think I'm beginning to figure out how things work here. It's woefully inefficient and based soley upon interpersonal bargaining (there is no sense of Western professional standards) and may be summed up in the one phrase that has become my mantra when trying to explain to students why something is soooooooo crazy: It's China. The learning curve is great - I've been here 3 weeks and continue to be astounded at 'the system' that permeates every relationship.I include the photos to show that while on the outside China often appears to be adopting capitalism and constructing Western-style cities there still exists a core of old China buried in the rubble under these sparkling skyscrapers. You have to get close in to see the reality (and even then I don't completely understand it).
Thursday, July 06, 2006
PaddyWop
Italy in the Final
I am going to go to an irish pub to celebrate the Italian victory over the Germans in July 4, 2006. Italy is closing in on her fourth cup and only the filthy french stand between Italy and football glory. The 2-0 victory was especially sweet, coming as it did on Indenpendence Day.
I thought about all the speeches these guys were making all over the country on the fourth and wondered how many of them would have had the stones to sign the delclaration. It was indeed a courageous age. The British would have hung any one of theme instantly if they had been caught. It was the first time that a people organized themselves and told those British soldiers to go on home. I hope I can hear the song tonite!
Everyone, go and read the Declaration of Independence. Would you have the courage to sign it? Do you have the courage to stand against this government as they erode our freedoms in the guise of protection. As they say in New Hampshire and we so often forget........Live Free or Die!
I am going to go to an irish pub to celebrate the Italian victory over the Germans in July 4, 2006. Italy is closing in on her fourth cup and only the filthy french stand between Italy and football glory. The 2-0 victory was especially sweet, coming as it did on Indenpendence Day.
I thought about all the speeches these guys were making all over the country on the fourth and wondered how many of them would have had the stones to sign the delclaration. It was indeed a courageous age. The British would have hung any one of theme instantly if they had been caught. It was the first time that a people organized themselves and told those British soldiers to go on home. I hope I can hear the song tonite!
Everyone, go and read the Declaration of Independence. Would you have the courage to sign it? Do you have the courage to stand against this government as they erode our freedoms in the guise of protection. As they say in New Hampshire and we so often forget........Live Free or Die!
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Tuesday, July 04, 2006
Monday, July 03, 2006
In Annapolis Harbor
Padhttp://www.blogger.com/dyWopI am sitting in the Hard Bean Cafe in Annapolis harbor thinking about the slaves that used to come ashore here. I remembered Paddy railing about Roots the last time I was here with him. It makes me think of all of the billions of chinese who have just as much cause to dislike us. We are going to fight them before this century is over. It might not be a classic battlefield battle but it will be a war none the less.
I saw so much wealth today in Annapolis harbor. This is what places like Hogwarthe are organized to protect. If there was ever a chance for a country to rid itself of that class distinction in was the United States of America. But we didn't. Our commercial culture has dehumanized us all. We are just pretenders Paddy. History will give us a good try.
I saw so much wealth today in Annapolis harbor. This is what places like Hogwarthe are organized to protect. If there was ever a chance for a country to rid itself of that class distinction in was the United States of America. But we didn't. Our commercial culture has dehumanized us all. We are just pretenders Paddy. History will give us a good try.
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Rumblings from China?
The following article (reprinted here in its entirety due to the NYTimes' fascist DRM) made me think of Paddy. Kristof, if you'll recall, was the Times' Beijing bureau chief, and won a Pulitzer for his reporting on Tinanmen Square. The editorial is sobering, to say the least:
Rumblings From China
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
BEIJING
In the 17 years since the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy
movement, China has enjoyed an economic miracle and remarkable
political stability. But my hunch is that that period of smooth
sailing is now coming to an end.
Wildcat protests, some violent and involving thousands of people, have
been exploding around the country. By the Chinese government's own
count, there are now more than 200 protests a day, prompted by
everything from layoffs to government seizures of land.
The protests may grow if, as seems likely, China's economic model
appears less miraculous in the years ahead.
Labor costs are rising, and increased attention to the environment
will also raise production costs. The rapid aging of China's
population (a huge problem in coming decades) will reduce the labor
force's share of the population. It's also hard to sustain 10 percent
annual growth rates as the base becomes steadily larger.
All this is likely to mean somewhat lower growth ahead. Some low-wage
manufacturing jobs may move to cheaper countries like Vietnam,
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Job shortages already anger newly minted university graduates. So even
a modest slowing of China's growth rate would mean more economic
frustration for people to protest about.
The upshot is that I sense more fragility in the system than at almost
any time in the 23 years that I've been visiting or living in China.
Party officials say they feel it, too, and I think that's why the
leadership is so reluctant to devalue the yuan: it doesn't want to
risk factory closures, job losses and unrest.
These protests are becoming a part of daily life. When I was outside
the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing, as my Times
colleague Zhao Yan was being tried inside on trumped-up charges of
leaking state secrets, a cluster of peasants appeared with red banners
denouncing the seizure of their land. They pushed a wheelchair-bound
80-year-old, who was savvy enough to cry whenever a camera came near.
"We're just ordinary people with no power and no money," shouted the
demonstration's leader, Jin Xinhua. "There's nothing we can do but
protest."
It's possible to see the rise of protests simply as the evolution of
China into a more open society. Some in the Communist Party leadership
have argued for following the Taiwanese model toward greater
democracy, and one attraction for Beijing is that the Communists might
well win free elections if they held them.
But evolution doesn't seem to be President Hu Jintao's vision of the
future; he's a man who has praised North Korea's political model.
The basic problem for Mr. Hu is that the incentives have changed over
the last half-dozen years, encouraging more challenges to the system.
As one dissident told me, in the past getting in trouble would mean a
10-year term in prison, alone and forgotten. "Now, if I go to prison,"
he said, "I'll get out after a year, and I'll be a hero."
True, some people are sent to prison longer (like my colleague, Mr.
Zhao), but few people seem much intimidated.
"I'm not worried," laughed Jiao Guobiao, a professor who was fired
from Beijing University for writing scathing essays about the
Communist Party — which he continues to write. "If they want to arrest
me, let 'em."
The upshot is a growing boldness spreading throughout the land. On
this trip, a half-dozen people regaled me with stories about State
Security (China's K.G.B.) giving them confidential warnings to toe the
line — which they scoffed at.
This boldness is significant because over the last half-century, the
times when Chinese rose up to demand broad political change (1956,
1976, 1986, 1989) have not been the times they were most upset, but
the times they were least scared. And now again, they're not very
scared.
So the country today reminds me of early 1989, before the Tiananmen
protests, or of South Korea and Taiwan in the mid-1980's as citizens
began defying the dictatorships in those places. All around China,
from Thailand to Indonesia to Mongolia, rising incomes and education
levels eventually led to major protests demanding more accountable
government.
I'm a believer in China, and I think it will end this century as the
most important country in the world — after a wild ride. For now, my
premonition is that the ferment in China will grow, and that the long
calm since Tiananmen may be coming to an end.
Well Paddy? Do things seem tense over there? Inquiring minds wish to know...
- The Duc
Rumblings From China
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
BEIJING
In the 17 years since the bloody crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy
movement, China has enjoyed an economic miracle and remarkable
political stability. But my hunch is that that period of smooth
sailing is now coming to an end.
Wildcat protests, some violent and involving thousands of people, have
been exploding around the country. By the Chinese government's own
count, there are now more than 200 protests a day, prompted by
everything from layoffs to government seizures of land.
The protests may grow if, as seems likely, China's economic model
appears less miraculous in the years ahead.
Labor costs are rising, and increased attention to the environment
will also raise production costs. The rapid aging of China's
population (a huge problem in coming decades) will reduce the labor
force's share of the population. It's also hard to sustain 10 percent
annual growth rates as the base becomes steadily larger.
All this is likely to mean somewhat lower growth ahead. Some low-wage
manufacturing jobs may move to cheaper countries like Vietnam,
Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Job shortages already anger newly minted university graduates. So even
a modest slowing of China's growth rate would mean more economic
frustration for people to protest about.
The upshot is that I sense more fragility in the system than at almost
any time in the 23 years that I've been visiting or living in China.
Party officials say they feel it, too, and I think that's why the
leadership is so reluctant to devalue the yuan: it doesn't want to
risk factory closures, job losses and unrest.
These protests are becoming a part of daily life. When I was outside
the No. 2 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing, as my Times
colleague Zhao Yan was being tried inside on trumped-up charges of
leaking state secrets, a cluster of peasants appeared with red banners
denouncing the seizure of their land. They pushed a wheelchair-bound
80-year-old, who was savvy enough to cry whenever a camera came near.
"We're just ordinary people with no power and no money," shouted the
demonstration's leader, Jin Xinhua. "There's nothing we can do but
protest."
It's possible to see the rise of protests simply as the evolution of
China into a more open society. Some in the Communist Party leadership
have argued for following the Taiwanese model toward greater
democracy, and one attraction for Beijing is that the Communists might
well win free elections if they held them.
But evolution doesn't seem to be President Hu Jintao's vision of the
future; he's a man who has praised North Korea's political model.
The basic problem for Mr. Hu is that the incentives have changed over
the last half-dozen years, encouraging more challenges to the system.
As one dissident told me, in the past getting in trouble would mean a
10-year term in prison, alone and forgotten. "Now, if I go to prison,"
he said, "I'll get out after a year, and I'll be a hero."
True, some people are sent to prison longer (like my colleague, Mr.
Zhao), but few people seem much intimidated.
"I'm not worried," laughed Jiao Guobiao, a professor who was fired
from Beijing University for writing scathing essays about the
Communist Party — which he continues to write. "If they want to arrest
me, let 'em."
The upshot is a growing boldness spreading throughout the land. On
this trip, a half-dozen people regaled me with stories about State
Security (China's K.G.B.) giving them confidential warnings to toe the
line — which they scoffed at.
This boldness is significant because over the last half-century, the
times when Chinese rose up to demand broad political change (1956,
1976, 1986, 1989) have not been the times they were most upset, but
the times they were least scared. And now again, they're not very
scared.
So the country today reminds me of early 1989, before the Tiananmen
protests, or of South Korea and Taiwan in the mid-1980's as citizens
began defying the dictatorships in those places. All around China,
from Thailand to Indonesia to Mongolia, rising incomes and education
levels eventually led to major protests demanding more accountable
government.
I'm a believer in China, and I think it will end this century as the
most important country in the world — after a wild ride. For now, my
premonition is that the ferment in China will grow, and that the long
calm since Tiananmen may be coming to an end.
Well Paddy? Do things seem tense over there? Inquiring minds wish to know...
- The Duc
Estonians reign at wife-carrying championships
I just couldn't resist sharing this one. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13655368/ And the winners received their wife's weight in beer asthe prize. Amen brother! Finally - something for those who have saftig wives to be proud of. WOP, what do ya think about passing this one on to Brian at Nany's - maybe he can incorporate a new game into the Booze-Cruise this summer.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
The Inimitable Mr. Kwan
While he illicits endless annoyance as an administrator, the man does know his food and drink. Here he treats to a night a
t 'New Heights' overlooking the Bund. The wine was adequate. The vodka was watered down. The food was Western (but good - had a lovely pork chop, though I question how much it was 'inspired' by Sichuan since it had no spice whatsoever - but it was still rather yummy). But the view...the view was spectacular. 
While dining we were treated to the spectacle of the gradual creep of the light display that is Shanghai at night (they love their colored lights here guys, 
really). This has to be the best venue in the city for observing the powering-up of the Bund. Only Sasha and Aaron will appreciate this: The building of which we were on top is Three on the Bund, which also houses Jean Georges. Long story short (well maybe it's not that long afterall untill we go), Taeko and I have definite plans for an eating outing. 
Friday, June 30, 2006
Where Are My Informers?
I want info on SPS. Rumors abound of listlessness, aimlessness, mindlessness, shiftlessness - and that's just the faculty! I want facts, or at least gossip. Come on Moon Pie, you're supposed to be my man on the inside. Have you secured a copy of that cheap imitation of Southside yet? You better grill him well tonight WOP for usable informtion (or at least some good stories).
PaddyWop
PaddyWop
I am sitting in my office thinking about many things. I am always thinking about many things. I sometimes wonder if I ever do anything. I think and think but do I ever do. I don't know the answer to that question.
I am going to go to Nanny's and think about that some more tonite. I will go with my friend the poet. Paddy is mad at me because I have not been been keeping up my share of the Blog. I agree with him. But it is not the same with his stool empty. He has been doing a great job. I mean he is in China. His photos are exotic and interesting. He is doing something that just might make a difference in the world. The stuff that I am doing right now will just make the world more like it already is.
Is there anything more important than a beer and some good music? If there is tell me why it is more important. Is the street food in China better than the street food in Adams-Morgan? Maybe it is all the rain here for the last week. I thought I was going to have to start building an Ark. I will get some audio up on here shortly. Keep the China pictures coming!!
The Wop
I am sitting in my office thinking about many things. I am always thinking about many things. I sometimes wonder if I ever do anything. I think and think but do I ever do. I don't know the answer to that question.
I am going to go to Nanny's and think about that some more tonite. I will go with my friend the poet. Paddy is mad at me because I have not been been keeping up my share of the Blog. I agree with him. But it is not the same with his stool empty. He has been doing a great job. I mean he is in China. His photos are exotic and interesting. He is doing something that just might make a difference in the world. The stuff that I am doing right now will just make the world more like it already is.
Is there anything more important than a beer and some good music? If there is tell me why it is more important. Is the street food in China better than the street food in Adams-Morgan? Maybe it is all the rain here for the last week. I thought I was going to have to start building an Ark. I will get some audio up on here shortly. Keep the China pictures coming!!
The Wop
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Paddy's Descent Into Beer and Snacks
Time for a little distance between me and the program. I'm skipping lunch at the moment; need a little me time as they say. So I'm in my room enjoying a cold Tsingtao, 
listening to the soundtrack from the movie Patton, and having a good chuckle over WOPs 
attempts to fix the webpage. While organized, useful information is at a premium in China, food is readily available at every turn, so I don't really mind missing lunch.This lady has become a regular on my mid-morning chow break curcuit. For the equivalent of 25 cents she serves up a wonderful hand wrap. First she paints a Chinese tortilla with a sweet brown
sauce, adds chillie sauce, fresh cilantro, sprouts, noodles, garlic, and an oil-poached egg, and 
wraps it all up like a burrito. Outstanding! As you can see, I also have the option of beef, sausage, tofu, and ummm mystery meat. I have a feeling she and I will maintain a healthy and productive business relationship over the next four weeks - the steamed bun lady next to her lost out big time, considering my appetite for Shanghai street-food.
Now the vendor in the above photos makes a sort of crepe by spreading an egg-based batter over her flat griddle. She then fills it with chillie sauce (ubiquitous on the street), green onions, and some kind of ground meat I think. Then she wraps the crepe around a crispy block of pastry, so the entire thing 
looks something like a big filled envelope, which she then cuts into two with her trowl. I haven't tried this one yet, but it's on the radar screen.
Off course there's always the old standby: wok-fried noodles (with plenty of chillies of course).
Ahhhhh...I'm already distracted from the impending revolution. Whereas Pu Yui had his concubines and opium, Paddy's got his street-food (and concubines and opium- eehhm).
This other guy with the big dragon-urn serves tea (as you might expect, Paddy only uses him as a photo-op).
Normally I avoid chicken...especially after 
5 years in the Hogwarts' Dorm...but how can you walk by fried chicken made in a bakery without
at least giving it a go? And as the flyer says: JUST DO EAT! Eat your heart out Nike; no copywrite lawyers here!
Martial Law A Viable Option
To say it was a bad morning carries no nuance. To say it was a frustrating morning insinuates personal involvement with the source of the problem. To say it was an annoying morning doesn't convey the magnitude. I think I should say: "It was an SPS year one morning!" (WOP knows what I'm talkin about here.) Naw, it wasn't all that bad, now that I look back on it. But I was steaming mad for a good Irish minute or two. The morning witnessed a near perfect storm of administrative shortsightedness, Chinese 'little emperor/princess syndrome,' TA unprofessionalism, Communist (almost Byzantine actually) bureaucractic compartmentalism, topped off with what I've found to be a peculiarly Chinese avoidance of giving clear and consistent information.
[stopped writing at 4pm - started again at 10pm]
Ok, let me ammend the above already. It was that bad. And got worse this evening when we had field-study briefings for tomorrow. First of all a group of 16 students missed the entire briefing because their dinner lasted too long. Ok, I can deal with that. Oh, and by the way, on the written schedule we received for the week 'Dine In' apparently means we take the kids OUT to a local restaurant. Hmmmm, curious you might say. It gets even better. Mr. Kwan, hale and hearty at table, finger on the pulse of the market, Asia-maniac, refuses to follow the practical route and actually give usable information to his administrative team.
---- For fuck's sake...what a day. It's now 2am and we've been dealing with a window-breaking incident since 10:30pm - more bout that maybe later. -- For double Fuck's sake...it's now 12 noon the following day and the State is buckling from confusion and discontent. The angry mobs have yet to take to the streets, but they are certainly gathering in the dark recesses of the city. We've been forced to issue an October Manifesto of sorts to retain some loyalties among our Teaching Assistants (after I sort of bit the head off of one who tried to tell me this morning that she was offended that I had read a newspaper about a Chinese sports commentator who openly rooted for Italy against Australia and was shamed into apologizing to the nation) - the pampered pukes! It's almost time to secure the armory and sieze powder supplies.
To paraphrase Sullivan Ballou: I have no misgivings about or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how the Program now leans upon the triumph of the Administration. And how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of previous years and I am willing, perfectly willing, to lay down all the joys of my life to repay that debt.
[stopped writing at 4pm - started again at 10pm]
Ok, let me ammend the above already. It was that bad. And got worse this evening when we had field-study briefings for tomorrow. First of all a group of 16 students missed the entire briefing because their dinner lasted too long. Ok, I can deal with that. Oh, and by the way, on the written schedule we received for the week 'Dine In' apparently means we take the kids OUT to a local restaurant. Hmmmm, curious you might say. It gets even better. Mr. Kwan, hale and hearty at table, finger on the pulse of the market, Asia-maniac, refuses to follow the practical route and actually give usable information to his administrative team.
---- For fuck's sake...what a day. It's now 2am and we've been dealing with a window-breaking incident since 10:30pm - more bout that maybe later. -- For double Fuck's sake...it's now 12 noon the following day and the State is buckling from confusion and discontent. The angry mobs have yet to take to the streets, but they are certainly gathering in the dark recesses of the city. We've been forced to issue an October Manifesto of sorts to retain some loyalties among our Teaching Assistants (after I sort of bit the head off of one who tried to tell me this morning that she was offended that I had read a newspaper about a Chinese sports commentator who openly rooted for Italy against Australia and was shamed into apologizing to the nation) - the pampered pukes! It's almost time to secure the armory and sieze powder supplies.
To paraphrase Sullivan Ballou: I have no misgivings about or lack of confidence in the cause in which I am engaged and my courage does not halt or falter. I know how the Program now leans upon the triumph of the Administration. And how great a debt we owe to those who went before us through the blood and suffering of previous years and I am willing, perfectly willing, to lay down all the joys of my life to repay that debt.
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
While Paddy's Away...
Alright WOP, all your playing around with the color and shit has resulted in a rather screwy page. I get an initial flash of horrid monkey-shit green when the blog comes up, which then resorts to the original bland template colors and the postings start about 12 inches down the page. What's going on over there man? Are you spending your entire day watching football at the bar in Nanny's and then attempting to alter the code? Come on, clean it up Buster.
Paddy Goes Native - Not Exactly
Keeping up two blogs is fuckin' killin my social life - not to mention destroying my sleeping habits (which were fairly bizarre to begin with). And then I log on here thinking I might find significant intellectual engagement of sorts, but discover that Wop has been playing with colors. Sweet Jesus man! The image returns of WOP dressed up in his Buster Brown outfit, complete with 
straw hat with that ribbon hangin down the back, holding a huge round lollipop, jumping up and down waving... I understand that no one out there but Mulgrew will identify with that verbal portrait ...and no, I havent been drinking. Oh, and I haven't been smoking either. Can you believe it? Of all the fucking places to go on this planet while trying to quit smoking, China has got to be the worst. The entire country is one giant smoking section; I'm sure there must be some sort of federal tax imposed on non-smokers. Maybe it's part of the attempt to curb the population increase. Anyway would be fuckin brilliant; if I were still smoking, which I'm not at the moment (will be 10 days tomorrow).As an alternative, I visited Jing'an Temple (the rainbow colored swaztika
s called out to me) and lit up in another way. Though the insense didn't quite satisfy like a Lucky Strike, the bowing kept me distracted enough to avoid the smoke shop for another hour or so. (I was reciting the Hail Mary by the way, for those of you out there thinking I was searching for some sort of non-existence.Pffft!) Apparently I missed the Festival of the Bathing Buddha, but I gotta figure that in this heat and humidity the ol' Buddha is just bathing in sweat, which is a bit of a turn off as festvals go in my book.Ok so this temple dates back to like AD247, but not really since most of it was destroyed in the mid-19th century (probably by some long-nosed, w
hite ghost barbarians after the monks refused to beg for opium), and yet the only bit of information my guidebook wants to tell me about the place is that some wise-guy named Khi Vehdu ran the temple in the 1930s, that he was almost 2 meters tall (what is that, like 6ft?), had a large following (posse more like it), and that each of his seven concubines owned a house and a car. Golly! No wonder there are more and more monks signing up every day. 
I'm not sure if it's the concubines, the cars, or the Burger King on the back wall of the Temple. Well at least we all know why the Buddha is so happy.Ok, so a few hundred gong-smacks later I realized I fail miserably with the sincere Buddha thing and moved on to Tai-chi.
Monday, June 26, 2006
Paddy's Program Begins
Well our 51 high-school students arrived yesterday (except for some silly princess from New York who 
thought her flight was on monday rather than sunday), and i spent 14 hours in Pudon International yesterday meeting students. I think I have a new insight into another mindless job, i.e. standing outside a customs gate waving a sign for some dumb-ass businessman or tour group. Paddy now has a real full-time job on his hands. On top of that, I also have two blogs now to maintain, since I've decided to do one for the program as well (check it out at www.glimpseschina.blogspot.com). Damn you Wop for getting me hooked!
I
thought Wop would get a kick out of this sign I came across in the airport. Commuism may be dead in China, but vestiges of the dream remain. (I'm not convinced that the real workers can actually afford international travel, but it's good to know they have a service dedicated to the principal of the Internationale anyway).
The last of the students arriving at our hotel - yes I'm basically living out of a hotel room for 7 weeks. This is a conference center for foreigners on the campus of East China Normal University. Of course they have to keep the foreigners happy and insulated from the realities of normal living conditions.
So how was Nanny's last weekend? And has anyone located Moon Pie yet?
thought her flight was on monday rather than sunday), and i spent 14 hours in Pudon International yesterday meeting students. I think I have a new insight into another mindless job, i.e. standing outside a customs gate waving a sign for some dumb-ass businessman or tour group. Paddy now has a real full-time job on his hands. On top of that, I also have two blogs now to maintain, since I've decided to do one for the program as well (check it out at www.glimpseschina.blogspot.com). Damn you Wop for getting me hooked!I
thought Wop would get a kick out of this sign I came across in the airport. Commuism may be dead in China, but vestiges of the dream remain. (I'm not convinced that the real workers can actually afford international travel, but it's good to know they have a service dedicated to the principal of the Internationale anyway).
The last of the students arriving at our hotel - yes I'm basically living out of a hotel room for 7 weeks. This is a conference center for foreigners on the campus of East China Normal University. Of course they have to keep the foreigners happy and insulated from the realities of normal living conditions.
So how was Nanny's last weekend? And has anyone located Moon Pie yet?
Saturday, June 24, 2006
Gaelic spreading
PaddyWop
I came across an artile today that Paddy and his boys will appreciate. Gaelic Spreading Around the World. It is not Italian but at least the British have never stamped it out!
I came across an artile today that Paddy and his boys will appreciate. Gaelic Spreading Around the World. It is not Italian but at least the British have never stamped it out!
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