Saturday, March 15, 2008
Spring in China
Now that spring is on it's way in - we've started seeing fruit vendors on the streets. Today we spotted a couple selling more exotic fruits out of the back of their truck, so we picked up a pineapple for 80 cents and they even clean it for you! If you can see in the picture, the pineapples are smaller than we ones we find in the US, we were told that these came from Hainan, a small island off the south coast of China.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Blocked Websites in China
There are many websites that remain blocked in China. The government doesn't allow people to access many "free speech" sites like blogs, etc. But normally news sites like the New York Times or the BBC can be accessed.I've been meaning to compile a list of all the sites I can't see and,below is a list of sites I haven't been able to access since I moved here in December.
- blogspot.com/blogger.com (all blogs - I can't even view my own blog!)
- Amnesty International
- Human Rights Watch and basically any other website related to Human Rights
- Wikipedia
- Wordpress (all sites)
- *Update: There is an article in today's news about some monks that were killed for protesting China's rule over Tibet. I'm unable to access the whole article. boo!! 8/14/08
Harry Connick Jr. Concert in Shanghai
Last night I went to a concert - this marks my second cultural (well music related) outing in Shanghai. We were lucky to get to free tickets to the Harry Connick Jr. concert!
He's always been a favorite of mine, I think he has a fantastic voice, and he's an amazing jazz/blues pianist. If you like jazz mixed in with a little pop, Harry Connick is your guy (not to mention he's not bad to look at either) ;-).
The concert was held at a pretty large venue, the Shanghai Gymnastics Center. When we arrived I wondered if Harry could bring in a full house. Well he didn't, the venue was probably about 1/2 filled and mainly with expats, although there were a good number of Chinese in the audience as well. Harry opened with an instrumental piece and moved on to do some more memorable numbers like, Only you and Here come the big parade. He's very charismatic and even pulled a Chinese man up on stage for a quick Q&A about Chinese food. It was very entertaining!
I had a great time! It's great to see Shanghai pulling in musicians other than just popular pop groups like Maroon 5 or Celine Dion. :-)
He's always been a favorite of mine, I think he has a fantastic voice, and he's an amazing jazz/blues pianist. If you like jazz mixed in with a little pop, Harry Connick is your guy (not to mention he's not bad to look at either) ;-).
The concert was held at a pretty large venue, the Shanghai Gymnastics Center. When we arrived I wondered if Harry could bring in a full house. Well he didn't, the venue was probably about 1/2 filled and mainly with expats, although there were a good number of Chinese in the audience as well. Harry opened with an instrumental piece and moved on to do some more memorable numbers like, Only you and Here come the big parade. He's very charismatic and even pulled a Chinese man up on stage for a quick Q&A about Chinese food. It was very entertaining!
I had a great time! It's great to see Shanghai pulling in musicians other than just popular pop groups like Maroon 5 or Celine Dion. :-)
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
My favorite new quote...
"All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt."
-Charles M. Schultz
-Charles M. Schultz
Bjork in China!
Man, we are getting overloaded with celebrities! Apparently Bjork was in China for some concert dates and I missed her. :-(
Being the fabulous, creative artist that she is she made a few political comments that upset the Chinese government.
Click here to see what she said.
Being the fabulous, creative artist that she is she made a few political comments that upset the Chinese government.
Click here to see what she said.
Chinese Classes
I've recently returned to Shanghai from California and started "official" Chinese language classes at a University here in Shanghai. To be honest I was a bit apprehensive about the classes, language classes at a university can be a little intimidating for someone who hasn't been in college for a few years!
But, I'm happy to say the classes are going well so far! There's an interesting mix of international students from all over - Spain, Norway, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, Argentina and Columbia. There are far fewer "westerners" than there are Europeans or Latin Americans....
I have a full load of classes everyday - Monday through Friday, that include Listening, Reading and Speaking. So far the homework load isn't huge, but I have a feeling things are going to get much harder as the weeks progress....let's hope my Chinese progresses too!
But, I'm happy to say the classes are going well so far! There's an interesting mix of international students from all over - Spain, Norway, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, France, Argentina and Columbia. There are far fewer "westerners" than there are Europeans or Latin Americans....
I have a full load of classes everyday - Monday through Friday, that include Listening, Reading and Speaking. So far the homework load isn't huge, but I have a feeling things are going to get much harder as the weeks progress....let's hope my Chinese progresses too!
Chinese New Year Photos
We spent Chinese New Year in Houzhou with Andy's parents and family from Taiwan. The relatives are mainly cousins that his mother grew up with in Taiwan and their children. They also brought andy's great-uncle from Taiwan, he's 89 years old and demonstrated some calligraphy for us while we were there.
The trip started on the bus. Yeah, I know - I wasn't excited about it either, but due to the train situation (the weather caused massive train problems) we opted for the 2 hour bus ride from Shanghai.
The celebration was at Andy's 2nd cousin's home in the Houzhou countryside - he is a farmer and lives in a farmhouse where he and his family raise chickens, rice, bamboo and other vegetables. It was really really interesting to see. As you can see from the photos, the snow was plentiful! It was freezing, and we all were bundled up to stay warm, even inside!
We ate some amazing food, and drank homemade chinese rice wine to stay warm. We played poker, mahjong and set off what seemed like hundreds of fireworks!
The trip started on the bus. Yeah, I know - I wasn't excited about it either, but due to the train situation (the weather caused massive train problems) we opted for the 2 hour bus ride from Shanghai.
The celebration was at Andy's 2nd cousin's home in the Houzhou countryside - he is a farmer and lives in a farmhouse where he and his family raise chickens, rice, bamboo and other vegetables. It was really really interesting to see. As you can see from the photos, the snow was plentiful! It was freezing, and we all were bundled up to stay warm, even inside!
We ate some amazing food, and drank homemade chinese rice wine to stay warm. We played poker, mahjong and set off what seemed like hundreds of fireworks!
Monday, February 4, 2008
While in California...
It's been awhile since I've blogged, but here are some fun pictures (and one scary one...see if you can figure out which one!) from our short trip to Tahoe for some skiiing and snowboarding at Kirkwood. The show was quite nice and it started falling again as we drove home, we actually saw a three car accident due to the new snow on the ground - a little scary!
Censorship in China
Censorship in China has has been pumped up due to the Olympics next August in Beijing. Of course none of this is ever discussed on any of the news channels here in China, but it seems that weekly there are more and more articles about it on The New York Times website and the BBC website.
Here's one that was posted today, titles "Great Firewall of China"
I only really notice the censorship when I'm trying to access sites like, Wikipedia, Blogs, etc. What I notice more is the lack of "real" news on the television stations. With the recent terrible weather and the horrible conditions people have been facing the self-censorship of the news is more obvious than ever. The only way to really learn about what is happening is to check non-chinese news resources. The only news one will hear about in China is that "the weather has been bad, but all the stranded people in the train stations are patient and understanding of the situation." Which is a load of crap. People have been stranded in train stations for days now without hot water, electricity, etc. The government has been totally unprepared for the weather, it's really quite awful.
Here's one that was posted today, titles "Great Firewall of China"
I only really notice the censorship when I'm trying to access sites like, Wikipedia, Blogs, etc. What I notice more is the lack of "real" news on the television stations. With the recent terrible weather and the horrible conditions people have been facing the self-censorship of the news is more obvious than ever. The only way to really learn about what is happening is to check non-chinese news resources. The only news one will hear about in China is that "the weather has been bad, but all the stranded people in the train stations are patient and understanding of the situation." Which is a load of crap. People have been stranded in train stations for days now without hot water, electricity, etc. The government has been totally unprepared for the weather, it's really quite awful.
Monday, January 14, 2008
Back in California
We're back in Sunny CA for a week - I'll start adding new posts once we're back in China!
Beijing Pictures!
Some photos from my short trip to Beijing - I've had some trouble uploading photos in China (slower connection) so now that I'm back in CA I can upload much faster! Enjoy. :-)
You'll see photos of the Forbidden City (with Mao's photo), Tienanamen Square (with soldiers), and Mao's Mausoleum (public viewings are common, people line up around the block to see his body).
You'll see photos of the Forbidden City (with Mao's photo), Tienanamen Square (with soldiers), and Mao's Mausoleum (public viewings are common, people line up around the block to see his body).
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Today's News
Today Shanghai had the heaviest fog of the year (wait, isn't it just Jan 7th, 2008?) - check out the hardcore front page story that was on today's newspaper, The Shanghai Daily:
Fog envelops Shanghai this morning by -- MORNING traffic was chaos due to the heaviest fog of the year and the Shanghai government said no employee should be punished for being late for work this morning.
The fog covered almost all of eastern China. In...
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Beijing Reminds me of Texas
Beijing! The capitol city of China, full of history and change. Home to the Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square, and one of the most fully restored sections of the Great Wall, and it still reminds me of Dallas, TX.
Why??
It's HUGE! The city is full of huge wide streets, massive buildings, large freeways and everything is spread out. This is not a walking city like Shanghai, it's a massive place where a car or taxi is much mandatory since the subway system isn't great.
But this trip was short and I saw the main sights above last year when I was in China so this trip was focused on other things. I saw a few museums and went to the silk & pearl street for the first time. What an experience - if you're looking for ANY "name brand" items, purses, wallets, clothes, literally anything you can find it here including all kinds of kitschy Chinese items. But be prepared to be harassed by all of the stall girls who work there, they love to call out to the foreigners "hey, pretty lady! You want new sweater, you like nike?! Come here!" It's an experience that's for sure!!
Why??
It's HUGE! The city is full of huge wide streets, massive buildings, large freeways and everything is spread out. This is not a walking city like Shanghai, it's a massive place where a car or taxi is much mandatory since the subway system isn't great.
But this trip was short and I saw the main sights above last year when I was in China so this trip was focused on other things. I saw a few museums and went to the silk & pearl street for the first time. What an experience - if you're looking for ANY "name brand" items, purses, wallets, clothes, literally anything you can find it here including all kinds of kitschy Chinese items. But be prepared to be harassed by all of the stall girls who work there, they love to call out to the foreigners "hey, pretty lady! You want new sweater, you like nike?! Come here!" It's an experience that's for sure!!
Happy New Year!!!
Happy new year from Shanghai! We spent out night out with some friends, drinks, dinner at a Spanish tapas restaurant and then on to the Bund to ring in the new year at a bar called "New Heights". It was a great time with a fantastic view!!
I hope to have some pictures up of it all very soon!
Happy 2008 to everyone!
I hope to have some pictures up of it all very soon!
Happy 2008 to everyone!
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