You've got to laugh.....

It is imperative that you have a sense of humor if you're going to live outside your own country and culture! No exceptions! So what happened today?

I finally got a bike! Not a moment too soon, I had been on the bus so much that I think they were going to offer me a job as a driver.......Anyway, winter (such as it is) has arrived here in Kunming and I have NO heat. 32 degree's farenheit isn't that cold to a guy from New York... But when it's that way inside you get a little cold.

Okay, to the point! In order to buy a heater, I needed a way to get it home - I.E. a rack on the back of my bicycle. I'll spare you the details of going to 8 bicycle stalls till I got what I needed and fast forward to paying for the thing that was just installed. A couple of words can make a big difference! I confused ¥16 for ¥60... And proceeded to try and bargain with him for what I thought the correct price should be - ¥20. In Chinese you say ten six to mean 16. I thought I was hearing six ten.... Well, you've just got to laugh! The guy selling the stuff sure enjoyed me arguing to raise the price... :)

Project Grace

Wow, time certainly flies! It's almost Christmas and I've only posted once this month... My appologies! :) Several weeks ago I had a chance to visit Project Grace. This School for the Disabled is located near Bai Ma right here in Kunming. A friend of mine invited me to come have a look at what they, maybe visit an English class.

If you've been in contact with disabled or have really thought about it, there is quite a challenge there! In my home country it can be difficult for a moderate to severely disabled person to find a decent job with which to support themselves. In many Asian nations, including here in China, it is difficult indeed. With such a large labor pool and so many things done by physical manpower, what niche can you find if you are for instance missing an arm? I believe that in general our lives are what we make of them. Yes, disabled people can be happy & satisfied with their lives!! A bold statement, but I believe it. However it would be foolish to ignore the fact that they face many additional challenges as a result of their state.

(Teaching English at Project Grace)

Enough of that. if you're interested in hearing more about Project Grace, check out these links on it (or google for your own): Homes International, Bangkok Post (older article).


So! Invited to visit an English class? That was apartently code for teach the English class! Uh oh! Thank God for Palm Pilot... I was grouped with 3 girls and a guy, all of whom had rather meager English skills at this point. So on my little palm screen I showed pictures of family, picture of home, pictures of animals, etc... Simple questions of what is this animal? Is it rough or soft? What sound does it make? You get the idea... :) We had a great time! I'm so pleased to see what this place is doing and I believe it will make a huge impact in the lives of the children!

Engrish

Engrish. For those who are perhaps unaware, Engrish is not exactly a misspelt word. Instead it cleverly displays a truth of many Asian nations... There isn't exactly a sound for "R". Nor is there quite a sound for "L". Instead there is a sound somewhat inbetween. Okay, so what's the point?


There are many things I enjoy about China, and the ... interesting signs you come across are one the great joys I get to stumble upon almost daily! Some are easy to find, there for everyone to see. Some are a bit more recluse. I found this one after climbing up a trail on West Mountain for maybe 40 minutes! You're following a path through beautiful forest and hills, enjoying the first clean air since .... well, since the last time you went to West Mountain, and suddenly you come upon this!

(Sign on a West Mountain Trail)

Strictly forbilden! No felling plants! Or else! :) This is absolutely NOT a slam on the nationals. Their language is very different to English and translation can be challenging. But it does bring a smile to my face every time I find it!

Oh, and I couldn't help but spot the irony of this next photo. Advertising tries to be clever, but sometimes it loses due to similarities and coincidence... or am I the only one to find humor in this? :)

If you've got any Engrish that you've come across, please share it!

Happy Thanksgiving

So you'd like to think that something like getting internet hooked up would be straight forward, right? Well perhaps is should be, but it was anything but.... But I'll save that one to grumble about another time. Instead, let me wish you a Happy Thanksgiving! We definately celebrated here. I got together with all my foreign friends and we had a HUGE feast - including turkey! The food was incredible and plentiful. We then went out for a guys and girls game of American football! Boy am I out of shape... Well, that's not true. Round is a shape too.


Sunday we went for another round of football - this time guys only, four on four, tackle! We had an awesome time...I was the star running back! :) One little oops happened on the last play of the day though....I tackled a guy pretty hard & smashed facces with him. There's still one or two teeth that I can't feel. They're there, but still numb. Oops!


The apartment is up and running, I've got all the basic furnishings now. I do have a guest room in case any friends would like to visit...? I just got done having six guys stay for a week and a half. It was an AWESOME time, but I'm ready to start getting to bed at a decent hour again. That's it for now, much more to come over the next week! :) I'll finish off with a picture from a trip to Green Lake.

(Artist at Green Lake)

New Apartment

I'm in a rush for this post 'cause...... I just rented my new apartment! I'm seriously excited - I looked at nearly 10 places in all, and this one captured me immediately when I saw it. It is VERY clean - those of you who have looked for apartments in Kunming know how exceptional that is. Come to find out that the previous renter's were Americans who knew how to take care of a place. It's HUGE, by far the largest I've ever stayed in. Only one small drawback to the whole thing.... There's nothing in it! :) So I've got alot of shopping (and spending. sigh...) ahead of me, hopefully beginning with a refridgerator today - oh! and a mattress! I'll probably post some pictures in a few days when I get internet turned on over there..

Anybody have extra furniture they'd like to donate? :)

Journey to the West Mountains ... & Kunming Zoo

I met up with a friend of mine from back home and he's been taking me around Kunming, showing me some of the tourist stuff! I'm not usually one for tourist sights, but for some reason I've felt differently this time...On the 28th we went to the West Mountains, and it was AWESOME! It's off of the southwest side of the city, just across the lake. After travelling through the smog filled city day after day, this was truely a breath of fresh air. We took a taxi up the mountain, but many were walking along the road...It would take them probably 4-5 hours to get to the very top! Anyway, besides the clean air, green trees, and beautiful view, the best part of the trip was an artist. :) For ¥7 he would paint your name on a banner, with amazing colors and cool stuff worked into it like butterflies, bamboo, sunrise, etc... The photo is a bit blurry because he moved so fast and with that ... well ... artistic flair. :) Then they laminate it for you - a must have for your wall at home!

(The Amazing Artist of the West Mountains)

Two days later I got a chance to go to the Kunming Zoo! Everybody loves the Zoo, right? Well, I found it to be so-so. Not much money for this zoo, located in the center of downtown Kunming. The animals are mostly kept in small cages which was especially sad for the lions and tigers. In fact, they're often just conrete and metal bars, not even trees or grass. There are some really nice paths though, and in the spring time with everything blossoming I bet it looks and smells fabulous! A guess it's a cross between a park and a zoo. I think I'll go back again some time with some friends..

("Monkey Island" - at the Kunming Zoo)

Horseback Riding - Yeeeehaw!

So last Saturday a friend of mine had her 17th birthday...Being a friend of hers and the family, I finally decided to come along and join in the celebration - Horseback Riding! This is all on the same day that she had to go for 5 stitches in her finger...but that's another story. If you know me, you know that I have NEVER been on a horse before! I've never lived on a farm, never milked a cow, and never ridden a horse. Never even touched one before saturday.

(Everything perfect except I forgot to bring my hat that day!)

And if you're like me, take the opportunity!!! It's awesome! :) For about ¥50 I got to ride for over an hour. For you Americans, that's less than US$7! Now never having been on a horse before, I expected it would be a kind of boring slow trip with someone holding the reigns the whole time.


Not so! Between 40-50% of the time we were galloping! Oh yeah! And there was no one telling me what to do (I wouldn't have understood anyway). No one holding the reigns but me. Whew! Yeehaw! A fabulous time! I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I could do without the trotting though - that speed seems designed to do nothing but bruise you...Speaking of which, I think after 5 days of recovery that all the aches and pains are nearly gone now. :)