Global Jim goes to China

Weekend in Shanghai

2006-11-13T13:24:00.002+08:00

Well I've been in China now for almost five months. I've made it to a few cities nearby but have have yet to make the journey to Shanghai.
Until this weekend.
Thursday night I thought I would make a weekend of it and finally go to Shanghai.
I sent an instant message to a friend that I met online before I even came to China.
His name is Kai and we have been chatting on and off for at least 7 months now.
It was very interesting to meet someone on-line on the other side of the planet and to finally get the chance to meet up with.
He wasn't online so I just wrote that I was coming to Shanghai the next day and gave him my phone number.
I also caught Nina on-line and told her I was coming too.
I didn't have classes Thursday or Friday and I thought it would be perfect timing to make it to the big city. The weather had cooled down and there was no big events going on so the crowds should be minimal.

I decided to get up early and catch the 6:45 bus to Shanghai. It was a pretty good trip except it was one of those busses that stop along the way and picks up people traveling between the two cities. That turned a 3 hour bus ride into a 4 hour bus ride.

When I arrived in Shanghai I didn't have a map or even any plans. I kinda like flying by the seat of my pants.
Shanghai is a HUGE city. I have asked around and got different estimates as to how many people there are...anywhere from 17 to 20 million.
So with no map (I'm no good with maps anyway) I looked around and saw the Oriental Pearl Tower. I new that this was a major attraction in Shanghai so I started walking in that direction.
When my friend Aaron and adam came to Shanghai they told me they stayed at a hostel called the Captain and that it was close to the Bund river.
Here's a shot from close to the bus station.
I walked all the way to the Pearl Tower...that's the pointy one in the middle of the picture.

Getting closer.
It took me about an hour to get there...what a great walk!!

It was a bit hazy out.

And I finaledly arrived at the Bund.

As I stood gazing out at the incredible architecture a Chinese fellow named Cay started up a conversation with me. We chatted for a while and talked about the differences and similarities of our two countries. And took some pictures.

I was planning at staying at a hostel that a friend had recommended but my new friend Cay mentioned that there was a hostel very close to where we were and that I could find more information about the other hostels in Shanghai there.
Because of the great location I decided to stay there.

After checking in, my new friend/tour guide/interpreter...Cay took me to Old Town Shanghai.

Incredible tea house!

Except for the Chinese architecture...Old town was very modern.

After lunch I planned on visiting the Jin Mao Tower...the 4th tallest tower in the world.

But first I had to check out all of Old Town.

Mr. Cay.

I took the ferry across the river...that's how the locals do it. Anyway, I preferred taking a boat ride.

Nice ride across the river...it was very busy with barges.

There was a few restaurants at the top of the tower.

That evening I met up with my old friend Nina...The German gal. She took me out for a burger...The first one in four months!!

Then we met up with some of her friends in Shanghai for some KTV.
A crazy bunch from all over the world.
Swiss, German, Italian, Polish, German, French...You name it.

Everybody had a smashing good time!

The next day I woke up early and met a few of my bunk mates.
This is Alex...he's from Germany. Today was his last day in China after a few months of traveling around China.

I met another guy named Alex from Russia. He's been living in Spain for the last five years.
Russian Alex and I spent the day kicking around the Bund.

Here's Alex from Russia and myself.
At the top of the Jin Mao tower.

Except for the haze it was a great view.

This is German Alex. The pictures are not in order...I'm having a heck of a time with my blog and every time I try to move a picture it shuts the blog down.

This is the Oriental Pearl Tower and Alex.

There was a show going on at the bottom of the tower.

Later we met up with my internet friend Kai. He took us to Old Town...Second time for me but I thought Alex HAD to see it!

Once again...can't move pictures so here is a shot from the top of the tower.

Here are my new friends Alex and Kai at Old Town.

Alex got a bite to eat while Kai explained what everything was.

Me and Alex.
Afterwards we went walking around looking at the shops...Pig ears or tongue anybody?

We met Kai's girlfriend and a couple of her friends and Nina and some her friends for a few drinks and some Italian food...GOD...It was so good!!

Once again...can't move pictures...here is some more street food...

Kai helped explain what they were making.

Kai and his girlfriend...Cute couple!!

Here is a shot of the shopping district...I didn't have a beacon to use to find my way back to the bus station so I just headed in the general direction.

Back at the restaurant...Cheers!!

The River.

Sunday morning I got up early and walked around a bit before making me way towards the bus station.

What can I say?

The trip back was an adventure in it's self.
I thought it might be quicker to take a direct bus to Hanghzou and then one to Changxing.
Well I asked for my ticket to Changxing and got on the bus. Soon I realized that I was heading South instead ot West...I was on my way to Shouxing about an hour away. It Sounds like Changxing...
Once I arrived I asked for a ticket to Changxing...Mayo...that means none or I don't have in Chinese.
Well at this point I called my best friend here in China...Bill from the Rainbow school.
I handed the phone to the ticket lady and she told him that I would have to go back to Hanghzou to catch a bus to Changxing. OK...I gotta do what I gotta do.
Once I was back in Hanghzou they said no busses tonight.
I saw a couple of other foreigners with a Chinese Girl and struck up a conversation with them.
I told them what was going on and the Chinese girl offered to help me out.
She talked with someone who said that I could catch a bus trom the North bus station of I got there by 8pm. It was 6:30 so I figured I would make it there with no problem.
I had to take a taxi North for about 45 minutes...50 yuan...6 bucks.
Well the taxi drops me off and the first thing I notice is...The bus station is closed. DO I LOOK SURPRISED...NOPE. Just taking it all in stride!
So I call the school and tell them what's up and that I probably won't make it to my morning classes...No problem they say...just be carefull!!
At this piont all I have is 212 yuan in my pocket.
There's ahotel at the bus station so I go in and ask, "Duo Sheow Chin"...How much?
The room was 175 yuan...The bus ticket should be about 34 yuan. Not gnna happen.
I ask if they take credit cards....Nope. He motions in a direction and says"ATM".
So I head across the street and hit the ATM machine. It doesn't work. Do I look surprised? NOPE!
So I walk on down the street and look for a cheaper room.
By luck I find one that is 100 yuan with a 100 yuan deposit.
That gives me 12 yuan to eat on...I can live with that.

Well after dropping my backpack off in the room I take a walk down a little alley full of food vendores.
I found one of my favorite foods...Ma La Tang. This is one of the soup places that you pick out your own stuff and they cook it up. It is one of the best and cheapest places to eat in China...6 Yuan. I even had enough for a beer...3 yuan...36 cents.
So I headed back to my room with my 3 yuan in my pocket and hoped for better luck the next day.
So my thinking I was going to get back home quicker backfired.
My three and a half hour ride turned into a 24 hour detour.
I woke up about 8:30 the next morning and got my 100 yuan deposit back and headed back to the bus station.
Caught the RIGHT bus and was home an hour later.

On my way back on my scooter I saw a new litttle street market and couldn't resist stopping in.
I found some wool socks and some long underwear. Just what I needed.

OK...one more shot of Shanghai...I fount this place that I though was a Taco Bell.
It was just a Mexican restaurant using the Taco Bell logo.
They greet you with Adios when you walk in...You gotta love it!!
The food was eatable but far from Mexican.

Back at the Changxing market...Pet goldfish or turtles anyone?

And so ends my long weekend in Shanghai.

I want to thank all my new and old friends for a wonderful time.
Gloria will be here soon and we can do it again...All except the long ride home. I HOPE!

Jim

Blog Ping-Pong

2006-11-05T19:06:00.002+08:00

Well the Great Firewall of China is back up again and I'm having trouble logging onto my beta version blog II.
So the only way to post right now is to go to my first blog and do it here.
It seems to be working fine...For now.

What a pain!!

Anyway, Aaron, Adam and myself went to Houzhou and Nanjing this past weekend.
We spent the night hanging out with the teachers in Houzhou first...We couldn't catch a bus to Nanjing because we got a late start from Changxing.

Remember Jake?

We got up at 6:30 the next morning and went to the bus station and took the 3 hour ride to Nanjing....Big city!

It's located on the Yangtze river...I've been hoping to see the Yangtze for a while.
the Yangtze is huge...It kind of reminds me of the Mississippi river.

When we first got into town we took a taxi to a bridge that crosses the river. We were a bit hungry so we stopped at this little street vendor for a bite.

It was kind of rough looking but the food was good.

I was a little nervous eating here...It wasn't exactly the cleanest place in town.

But the food was really good...I sprung for lunch.
All three of us ate for$1.50.

Here's the kitchen....Like I said...It was rough!

Then we took a walk through a park to the bottom of the bridge.

An elevator took us to the top of the bridge...And presto...We're on the Yangtze river.

Aaron and Adam.

What an incredible view! There is a temple right in the middle of the picture...You can see the point on the hill. Well that's where we went the next day

This is the park we walked through to get to the bridge.

Adam and myself.

This is some kind of fishing platform below.

It is a huge bridge.

It took a good 30 minutes to walk across the bridge...And 30 back.

We were all looking for books to read...In English. Not one English book in Changxing. Aaron finished a couple of books he bought a few weeks ago in Houzhou so he lent them to me. Adam suggested we go to a University to look for books in their bookstore so we ended up at Johns Hopkins University in Nanjing. Only problem was, no bookstore.

This is one beautiful campus!

I guess this statue looked thirsty?

It's a nice city but not much different than any other city I've seen here in China.

Later on we checked into our hostel and went out on the town.

Another neat hostel!

Night life.

Confucius temple.

You have to love a city with water.

Happy shiny people having fun.

Then we had dinner at a hot-pot place. Each of us had our own little hot pot.

After walking around for a while we headed back to the hostel and relaxed for a bit when we met this nice girl from Sweden. She lived in Hong Kong for a year and was just traveling around China by herself now. This just proves how safe it is to travel in China.

The next morning we got up about 6:30 and headed to the temple.

After a few pictures.

The temple at the base of the mountain.

This HUGE statue was at the entrance.

The three Amigos....(or stooges?)

And there were people everywhere doing Ti Chi.

Even with swords....I bet he's never been mugged!

Then as you walk in the park to enter the temple you could hear all of these birds singing. Then I realizes that they were coming from the birds in these little cages that were hanging all over the place. The locals would bring their birds here and sit around and chat and listen to the birds.

I almost bought one of these.

At the top of the mountain...The Temple.

All I can say is...WOW.

I can still feel the pain in my legs from the walk up.

It was quite a hike to the top but well worth it!

So I took a little break.

No problem for these young bucks.

It was absolutely incredible!

Aaron is crazy about old stuff...He loved this place.

It was early so we missed the big crowds but there was still a lot of little tours going on.

And a group of people doing some kind of spinning top Ti Chi.

Another great view!

It was early so the morning haze hadn't quite burned off yet.

And lost of artwork.

The inside was just as awesome.

With a great museum. Aaron could have spent the whole day there.
But we had to get back home.

We did manage to find a bookstore in town where Adam and Aaron bought some Chinese language books...I'll buy them from them when they are done.
Adam took two years of Chinese in collage so his Chinese is pretty good.
I need to start with the books that Aaron bought...Beginners Chinese.

Back at the bus station ready to catch the bus home to Changxing.

Once again another wonderful adventure in China!

Jim

New Blog Web Address

2006-08-17T15:04:00.001+08:00

I have been having trouble with my blog and had to start a new blog.

You can go to;

http://globaljimschinaadventure2.blogspot.com/index.html

to continue the adventure...Sorry.

My Friend Mike

2006-08-09T21:14:00.002+08:00

Every day I make new friends here in Changxing.
My rout to school... And just about everywhere else takes me past this little ice cream shop.
I met this fellow named Mike my first week here...He speaks English very well and so I usually stop by and chat for a few minutes.

Tonight on the way home I asked him if I could take a picture of him and his friend Trei that works with him...Before I knew it everybody wanted their picture taken with the American.

I think the lady in the middle is the boss lady.

Everybody say "Ice Cream".

Even some of his customers.

Today after teaching at the school in the country we stopped in and had lunch at the place where the guy cooks the water buffalo.

Remember this guy?

The menu was the usual. A case filled with various fish pork and chicken parts. Tony couldn't decide what he wanted...Tony is Davids son.

He seems to be leaning towards the eel.

I poked my head into the kitchen and saw the eel...Ready for the wok.

Sevens little brother was with us. I can't even pronounce his Chinese name let alone remember it. So I asked him if he had an English name and he said no. Then I asked him if he wanted one and he said yes. Now, the teachers in the schools hand out names like tic-tacs. Without much thought about it.
I believe a name should fit the person in some way. Well his sisters name is Seven...That's Chee in Chinese and six is Leo. So since he was younger than Seven...Leo it was. I think he even looks like a Leo.

Here they are...Chee and Leo...Six and Seven.

I had some rice, batter fried pork parts, some fried eggs and my favorite...Water buffalo! Tony went with the eel.

And I would like to add that I'm getting pretty darn good with a set of chopsticks too!!

Duck Soup and a New Ride

2006-08-08T15:02:00.002+08:00

MAN IT'S HOT OUT THERE!!

The heat here in China is like the heat in Mississippi.
Because of the heat I haven't been getting out as much.
So the other day I told David...(the owner of the school) that I was ready for that bike that the school was supposed to provide me.

He told me he would pick me up at 1:00 after lunch and we would go buy me one.
We drove down the street from my place and stopped at a second hand bike store.
The bikes were complete junk. I took one for a test ride and found out that the brakes didn't work. It was only $9.00...you get what you pay for!
After a few other places that had similar bikes I told David that I would pay the extra myself to get a decent bike.

I asked him to go to a new bike store so I could look around a bit.
They had a nice assortment of bikes and varied in price.
David had his eye on a bike for me that cost 250 yuan ($31.25) It was ok but it wasn't really what I was looking for. I took it for a test ride and it just didn't feel right. I didn't care for the little basket in the front either.

I had my eye on a mid priced street, mountain bike hybrid. It only cost $11.25 more.
I could tell that David wasn't wanting to spend much money on the bike because of the first few places we went to.

Guilt got me and I told David that I was going to get the bike I wanted and that I would pay for it myself. We agreed that he would pay for part of it so he gave me 150 yuan $18.75.
So I ended up getting a nice new bike for $35. I've spent more than that on dinner back in America.
As a matter of fact...The same bike back home would easily cost $150.

So I should be out and about a lot more in the future....(yes mom this means more pictures)

On another note I had lunch at Bills yesterday and talked with Angela about our trip to Xian.
We will leave around Oct. 14 and take a sleeper train to Xian and spend a few days sightseeing.

Bills wife's parent were in town so I joined them for lunch.
Here are some pictures from lunch.

Ewen's parents and Bill working some watermelon.

Duck soup...I'm surprised they even plucked it...LOL

Fish ...With the head still attached...Of course.

Some fried fish.

Green beans, salted chicken and some potatoes. They even had chicken stomach...It wasn't too bad. I think it was gizzards and livers and stuff. I didn't get a picture of that.

That was yesterday....Today I had lunch with my friend Jin Qi Chen and his family.
I'm helping his son with his English in my spare time.
Na Na (grandmother) fixing lunch.

Kevins father goes to Japan about once a month for business. We talked about travel and I told them of my plan to visit Xian...They had never been there before.
There is another city near Changxing called Hangzhou. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful cities in China. It is next to a lake called West lake. I think it is like one our great lakes.
They said it was only an hour away and then chatted back and forth in Chinese for a few minutes and then asked me if I wanted to go there with them this Sunday. Hmmm....Another road trip in China...I am SO there.

Jim

Peaches in the Park

2006-08-07T07:44:00.002+08:00

WOW...Did I sleep good last night!

Jenny called me up yesterday and asked if I wanted to go pick peaches today. I knew it would be hot out but I'm not gonna let a little China heat keep me from having a new experience here in China.
So 8 o'clock rolls around and the bus pulls up.
I thought it was going to be like the country road trip...Just a few of us in the country.
Boy was I wrong. The bus seats about 10 people. As I stepped on I noticed kids stacked two deep.
This was field trip for Bills school. I had been Shanghaied in Changxing! Too late to back out, the kids made room for me.

So it's me, Jenny, the driver and 15 teenagers....AND HOT!

First thing I asked Jenny was "How long of a drive will it be?"

She didn't know...I just prayed it wasn't long.

Maybe 10 minutes later...We were there...Thank Buddha!

O.K. I thought the ride there was hot...Now came the hot part...Fighting my way through the peach trees....Without getting lost.

It was crazy hot but we had a good time anyway!

I hung out with the girls for a few minutes and hung out with the boys long enough for a few pictures and then I saw Jenny sitting in the shade...So I joined her.

I asked her how we were supposed to tell if a peach was ready to eat. They all had little paper bags wrapped around them? She said first you check to make sure it is big enough then feel it to see if it was a little soft, then you can take off the paper and look to see if has some redness to it.

I'm a little color blind so I just left it up to an expert...This lovely woman was picking the peaches and filling baskets with them. She piled a bunch into my basket and let me take her picture.

Forty five minutes later we all headed back to the bus. This woman wasn't with our group but her and her son were picking peaches too.

I also saw this little old man who worked at the farm...He was fertilizing some plants with what I can only guess was water buffalo poop.

As we got to the road the nice little peach lady began weighing our peaches and taking our money. No digital scales here!

The bus showed up and we all piled in and went to a nearby park to relax in the shade and eat some peaches. Here is our driver Fan.

So off to the park we went. This was a beautiful park with a huge mountain like structure that has a waterfall...But no water today.

This is our group and another group from the Rainbow school.

The guys wanted a picture with just...The Guys.

As you can see in this picture...My shirt is soaking wet...No, I wasn't playing in the water...All sweat.

As we took pictures I was noticing that the whole thing that looked like stone was just fabricated...Fake mountain...Go figure!

We all hung out and took pictures by the water and then sat in the shade and waited for the bus to arrive...We also ran into another group from the rainbow school. My friend Julin was in charge of that group.

So after eating some peaches in the shade the oven bus showed up again and took the kids back to the school and then me home....Mmm...Air-conditioning...And a nice soft bed!!

The nap would have to wait...I had an appointment to have lunch with a new Chinese friend at Liu's place...I took him some peaches.

Heck...I took everybody peaches yesterday.
Kevins grandma...The teachers at the school...Even my friend that works at the ice cream stand.

I like peaches but these were kind of like a cross between a peach and an apple. They were o.k. but I prefer a good old American peach.

I'll put some video clips of the days events on the video section if you want to check them out.

See you next time.

Jim

Lunch, Yahoo and a Good Nights Sleep

2006-08-06T06:44:00.002+08:00

Well it's been a few days since I've had anything new to post about.
This week I have a few pleasant surprises.

First I found a great little hole in the wall restaurant to eat at where the owner speaks a little English. I call it Chinglish.
Another American teacher named Hylan took me there and introduced me to the owner.
The name of the place is Ani Usao. The owners name is Liu Yuan Ping.
This is Liu on the left...His brother runs the register while his father and kids make deliveries.
A nice family business.

I've been eating there several times a week...

The food is hot, brown, cheap and there's plenty of it.

I also found a mattress for my bed...Well...Sort of.
Jeff called the other day and wanted to go to lunch some place...Where did we go? You got it.
We met a couple of his Chinese friends there. Two girls...25ish.
Abby and her cousin. They hung out while we pigged out. They had already eaten lunch.
After lunch we went shopping to see if we could find an extra chip for my camera.
While on the third floor of the department store I noticed some beds.
I wondered if they would sell just the cushion?
I had Abby ask for me...nope you have to buy the whole bed.
I had her ask is she knew where we could find one.
The woman told her and she agreed to take me there.
Five mins. By taxi.
We found the shop and did a little haggling.

150 yuans ($20) later and I have a great nights sleep.

Abby thought it was a lot of money and to tell the truth...I would have paid $100 for it to be able to sleep good at night.

The Chinese sleep on a tight weave on a box. On top of that goes a grass matt....That's all.

Here it is with my new cushion....I can hardly wait for bedtime!!

O.K. I said, lunch, Yahoo and a good nights sleep.

Now for the Yahoo part. Jeff told me about a Yahoo's PC to phone calling feature.

I can call any phone anywhere in the world from my computer for about a penny a minute.

I called my dad the other night, we talked for a half an hour for 30 cents...You gotta love that.

By the way...It was great talking to you dad.

Tomorrow I am going to pick peaches with some friends....I'll be sure to take my camera!

Jim

Journey East

2006-07-31T22:00:00.000+08:00

Journey East

At time I would like to acknowledge the wonderful company that helped make all of this possible.

The company is called Journey East.

Back in December I met a woman who told me she spent two years in China teaching English.

I thought "Wow that must have been so exciting".

Soon afterwards I began doing research on-line to see if it was something I could do.

After a few days I came across the Journey East site and decided to call them and ask a few questions. I talked with keith Curran. He was very helpful answering all my questions and gave me a few tips on my research.

I spent many hours reading blogs about teachers experiences in China...Not all were great. There are some scam artists out there that just want to rip you off or just place you in a school and give no support once you get there.

After a week or so I called Keith back and asked a few more questions...I think he could tell I had done my homework by the questions I was asking.

Two days later we talked again and by then I felt confident that this was a reputable company. So after a lengthy phone interview we began to process the paperwork and start getting visa and passport information together. They made the process seem very easy.

Teaching in China is not for everyone...It takes a certain type of person to be able to come to a country like this and be able to adapt to the cultural and lifestyle differences.

Hence the lengthy interview...They just won't send anybody over here.

Needless to say the Journey East staff here in China has been more than supportive. I couldn't have a better group of people to help me out with any problems that may might occur.

The school they placed me in is wonderful, my apartment is great, the people couldn't be nicer.

Compared to some of the horror stories I read about before coming here...This had turned out the be a dream come true.

I would like to thank Keith Curran and Jenny Xu for making this one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life.

So if you are interested in joining in on the adventure...Give my friends at Journey East a call and tell them Jim sent you.

Please take a moment and click on the link below to see what Journey East has to offer.

Teach, Travel, Study, Live in China

journeyeast.org
offers quality affordable education programs in China, ESL job placement
and Chinese visa services.

Jim Phillips

China Road Trip

2006-07-27T14:34:00.002+08:00

Hello all...

I hope everyone is enjoying my China adventure as much as I am.

This has been an unbelievable experience !!

Jeff called me yesterday and invited me to have lunch with himself and some of his teachers.
He said they had pizza at this place....PIZZA??? I'm there!!

We met up at KFC and went to this restaurant...Very upscale place.
Ella, Angela, Julin and Fan...He works at the school but speaks NO English.

Jeff and I ordered a small cheese pizza and big deluxe.
There wasn't room at the table for everyone so we split up into two groups.

When the pizza arrived we dug right in...Fan was at our table and eating the usual fish heads or something with rice. After a few minutes he turned a little green and I asked one of the girls if he was ok?
She said the pizza was grossing him out...That's how I felt about what he was eating!

During lunch Ella asked me what I was doing tomorrow.
I said I was free until 6pm.
So she invited me to join them on a trip to the country.
Have I said no to anybody yet?....Nope!

So 9am sharp they show up in their school bus and we headed out.
It was on the way to the Mei Shan school that I was teaching earlier this week.
Ella grew up in a town called Fang Yi Cun and her parents still lived there.

Kind of like a version of the little town I grew up in Maxwell, Indiana.

We walked around a bit and saw a Ginkgo tree park.

And man-o-man was it hot out. Every time I leave my apartment there are two things I never leave home without. Ice water and my umbrella. Umbrella because the weather here changes here as fast as back in Indiana. One minute sunny and the next a downpour.

We walked around some paths and some of these building were so old..I felt like I was walking back in time.

I watched mom fix up lunch. Rice,(of course) pork, bamboo (tastes like asparagus) fried chicken(just as good as my mom fixes...Sorry mom) duck, potatoes with plums and of course a few other thing that can't be translated into English.

Ella helped out in the kitchen a bit...I don't know how to cook rice, so I left it to a pro.

While they fixed lunch.
I hung out with Ella's father. He has never met a foreigner before.
He seemed very excited about me sitting down with him for a smoke. Angela did some translating for us and we had a great chat.

Another incredible meal!!

After lunch we lounged for a bit to let the duck settle. Then we took a country drive. As we crossed a small bridge everybody (except Jeff and I) got all excited!

It seems we were going to hunt for crabs...That's a quote.

What they meant was we were going crayfish hunting.

I have some video of this and some of the trip on my video clips post if you would like to check it out.

The current was pretty strong and I was just waiting for someone to fall in.

That's Lui Liang, a friend of Ella's about to take a dive.

I also saw a fellow fishing with a cane pole. (or should I say...Bamboo Pole)

He was catching some very small fish. I asked one of the girls what he was going to do with them...Eat them? She said he was just playing around. Thank God...It would take a ton of them to make a meal!

By the way...We didn't catch a single crawdad.

After that we went to visit Ella's aunt. They were building a new house. These guys...And gals were busting their butts...Did I mention it was hot out?

She fixed us some watermelon while she prepared for tonight's dinner.

After that we were all spent and ready to go home and take a nap.

I talked with Angela on the way home about planning a trip to Xi'an to see the terra cotta soldiers. I think it's about a 2 day trip by train.

Think about it...2 days on a sleeper train going through the Chinese countryside.

Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.

Jim

More from School

2006-07-26T09:54:00.001+08:00

Today was the last day for the summer program that I was teaching in the country school.

Here are some pictures of my Chinese students at the Mei-Shan school.

Their parents came to school and watched as I taught them the last class of the summer...It was mostly just a review of what they learned over the past few weeks.

While the parents talked (in Chinese) with my co-teacher...I played ping-pong with the kids.

They all lined up and took turns to see who could beat the teacher!
And one little guy did!!

Later that evening I had an appointment at the Hope School to be interviewed by a young David Letterman wanna'-be.
His mom brought a video camera and he asked me various questions about America and my thoughts on Changxing, China.

His English was very good!
And his mother seemed very proud.

One of my classes saw me with my camera out, so I told them if the were really smart today that I would take their picture after class...THEY WERE SO SMART TODAY!!

This is Duncan, he's and intern at the Hope School...A very hip Chinese guy!

And this is Seven...Yes that's her name. She is teaching me Chinese.

One quick note...I now have a couple of room mates...

As I'm sitting here working on my blog, I'm thinking...I better get to those dishes in the sink.

So I take a break, go into the kitchen and lift up my frying pan and here is what I found.

I know these little guys eat bugs and such. So I let them go back in the kitchen.

And it looks like something got a hold of one of them...Short tail.

I wonder if they are on the menu at a local restaurant around here?

Jim

A Wild Weekend

2006-07-21T21:14:00.002+08:00

This is Keith Curran, the man who is partially responsible for me being in China....He started Journey East.

What a great guy!!
He called me up this evening and told me he was going to be in Changxing tonight and wanted David and myself to meet him and a few other people for dinner.

I have never met Keith before and only talked with him on the phone and exchanged e-mail with him prior to tonight.
On the phone he seems like your average little poindexter...But in reality he is a very professional well traveled globe trekker.

We met up at a restaurant that I have never been to before. A really nice place!
When we got there I saw my old friends Bill and Jeff from the Rainbow school (Bills School) and a few other familiar faces.

There were a few Chinese guy there that had some very lagre schools in Changxing and they all seemed very anxious to have me teach at their schools. Maybe in the future?

Another great meal...

The meal was out of this world. The usual fish, head and all. And some great oyster type dish that I just can't begin to describe how wonderful it was.

And more things that can't be translated into English.

During dinner Friday night, Keith invited Jeff and myself to come to Houzhou (pronounced; Who-Joe) for the day on Saturday.

Well I've been in China for 1 month now and haven't left Changxing. I was looking forward to gettin out and seeing some of the surrounding cities.

Houzhou has a population of about 3.5 million people...A much bigger city than Changxings 620,000.

And you could feel the difference. Big malls and jam packed sidewalks.

Poor Keith was always on his cell phone taking care of business.

Hot day in Houzhou...

This is a shot taken on one of the back streets..

Lots of little sidewalk vendors and games.

Jeff had a blast...Can you tell?

View from my room...15th floor.
In America this room would cost easily $200 in China...$47.

A huge bridge on the way to Porkys restaurant...it just looks like Porkys.

We met up with some other guys that were teaching in a city a few hours away.
Three Americans and an Aussie...Funny bloke.

We all took a break and them went out to a restaurant that was on a boat on the water.

It reminded me of the place in the movie"Porky s".

This is Matt...He's from New York...He seems to have taken a liking to

chicken feet.
That or he was trying to gross us all out! His friend James isn't quite sure if he could eat one himself.

NOT ME...OK I've eaten a lot of strange things here in China...But I gotta' pass on some things!

This is James from New York also. He's not as brave as Matt.

Maybe he's just smarter?

Matt's not sure about what Jenny is eating?

That's Kyle on the right...He's from Michigan.

We've both skied on the same mountains in Travers City.

Jenny liked the duck...Head and all! Can you see it there?

This is Adam from Australia...Funny guy!

He loved the fish soup.

This is Lilly. She works with Journey East...

She is working with the summer class and these American clowns.

Little shrimp...I think?

Deep fried sticky rice...Looked like fried cheese sticks...Very good...Very sweet! Like deep fried marshmallows.

Bellies full we were about to hit the disco...

At the DISCO...

These kids were having a blast.

This girl worked at the disco...Her job was to play drinking games with the guests and get them to drink more...I think it backfired...Keith was good!!

After the disco we went to a quiet (until we got there) little bar called Jacks Bar.

The Aussie bought a bottle of Jack Daniels and we stayed out till 3 am.

I didn't drink the JD...I learned my lesson years ago!

The next day Keith took Adam and myself for the Chinese massage. Some of the people giving the massages were blind men...

It was BRUTAL...As I sit here typing this my muscles are killing me.

I almost cried during the whole thing...Every now and then Adam would whimper out..."MOMMY".

Keith thought we were wimps...He's been doing this for years so he's used to it.

Afterwards me and Adam met up with Jeff and caught a taxi back to Changxing.

We met up with Jenny and the rest of the gang in Changxing...At the massage place...They were getting their beating too.

Well, after that I showed them the fear factor II market...They hadn't seen anything like that in their lives..I remember my first time...LOL.

Then we exchanged e-mail addys and said our good-byes.

I had a class at 6:00 and needed a nap.

A long nap!!!

Here's to new friends...You guys ROCK!!

Morning Walk

2006-07-18T14:40:00.001+08:00

Well this morning I had no classes so I decided to go to the gym for a quick workout and then a walk.
During my workout I noticed some scales.

It read 82 kilos...I think that's about 165ish lbs.

I am officially down 10 pounds.

Once a gain I stumbled across another market.
This one was a little smaller..But all the usual stuff.
I did see some of the largest eels I've seen here yet.
They were about three feet long.
These aren't like the eels I saw while scuba diving. I think they are fresh water eels.

On the way home I stopped at this little art store where this man was drawing a portrait from a picture...He was incredible.
I couldn't draw a stick figure with a ruler.

I strolled down by a canal and ended up in a little seedier area.
Every city has it's low income areas...Changxing is no exception.
But everybody was just as nice as anywhere else.
There are areas in Indianapolis where I wouldn't go.

Well after that walk I was ready to come home and chill out.
The heat really got to me.

I took a three hour nap.

Duck tongue Kebab

2006-07-16T20:49:00.001+08:00

That's right...Duck tongue...Just when I think I've eaten the strangest thing possible...They throw something new at me.

Well David picked me up this evening and we went to a condo where he will be moving next year, it's the nicest place to live in Changxing.

They were hosting a fashion show and some eats.

As the kids played in the pool.

Great fun... lots of people and Kebabs.

Pork, sheep, fish and you guessed it Duck tongue...Don't forget the piju (beer) and warm at that.
The only cold beer I get is at home.

They brought out the first round of meat and David said it was sheep.

The second round I noticed it looked and tasted a little different.

After a couple.. David told me it was duck tongue...A new one for Jims list!!

It was ok...but not as good as the sheep.

This is Jessie...Let me tell you...This girl can put away some duck tongue!!

As can David....Ummm....Duck tongue!!

My favorite was the sheep kebabs.

These guys were cranking it out. There's a short video clip of them in action in my video section.

It was a bit spicy...Just what my stomach needs!

I have to say it...What's next?

Coffee and Duck with Tofu

2006-07-15T17:55:00.001+08:00

Ok...Saturday morning...I woke up early and decided to go to Julin's mothers coffee shop for some GOOD coffee.

My stomach hasn't been very well lately, Keith from Journey East said maybe after two weeks or so I might be having a little trouble...

Last time I talked to him I told him I was doing well with the food and wasn't having and problems.

Two weeks in and boy was he right.

Too much water buffalo!!

Last night I had a good old peanut butter and jelly sandwich to ease the pain.

It seemed to help.

Today will be three weeks in Changxing.
So far...I love it.
The people have been more than nice and very friendly.
What more could you want when traveling to another country?

Tonight I will be going to a party with David and his family.
I think it will be like a concert in the park...Music and Pi-Juo (beer).
As far as I know I will be the only foreigner there.
I'm really looking forward to it. I hope it's not too darn hot out.

Before I came to the coffee shop I went to Jeffs place...I saw Woo Bing pull up as I arrived...He was driving his brothers Hummer...Nice ride.
He motioned that I might go with him, but he speaks NO English and I wanted to see if Jeff was home first.
He took that as a no and took off. With that my point was made.
I speak too little Chinese and he speaks too little English.

I talked to Julin and Bill. They said that Jeff left this morning for Shanghai. He is meeting with some guys that play in a band..He'll be jammin' this weekend.

It's been very windy the past few days here in Changxing.
This is the monsoon season...Just like hurricane season on the Gulf Coast. I need to buy some candles or at least a flashlight.
I heard the power goes out when a hard one hits.
I can deal with the dark but I don't know about dealing without air conditioning.
Did I mention that it was hot here?

Last year I was in Mississippi six days after hurricane Katrina.
I took my dad some supplies...He lives in Pass Christian, 30 minutes from New Orleans.
He didn't have any damage to his home or vehicles...We call him the luckiest Hoosier in southern Mississippi. But he was without power for a week.
He bought a generator before the hurricane but it wasn't big enough to run his air conditioner.

Well, Woo Bing just pulled up in the Hummer.
He told me(motioned) that we were going to have lunch with Julin and Angela.

What's on today's menu?

Duck legs and Tofu.....Hmmm.

We also had fried eggs in soy sauce.
I know that sounds weird but it's really good!
And pork with...I think they were potatoes but everybody says they were something else they couldn't translate into English.

You would think I would be gaining weight with all of the pictures of me eating?
Two days ago I moved a belt notch...In.
Most of the food is fresh and non processed.
All organic!!

The girls chillin' after lunch.

Is it me or does Angela look sleepy?

Home Cookin'

2006-07-13T12:40:00.003+08:00

Well...It's Thursday morning...

I don't have any classes till this evening.

So I thought I might make my way to the Supermarket.

Not the one with the flies and pig heads.

This one is like a Wal-Mart Super Center.

You can buy just about anything except tires for your car.

I didn't want to give everybody the impression that the Market...Like in Fear Factor Market...Was the only place to buy food...It's probably the cheapest. And when I eat out at a restaurant with friends....Or at somebody's home...That's probably where they get the food.

Well I can't eat out all the time...The only place I can eat out by myself is KFC...And that gets old after a while.

The grocery store is under ground....Great place....Lost of name brands...Just in Chinese.

Most of the things I bought were from the picture on the label.

Tuna...Spam...Peanutbutter....Jelly....Chips- Ahoy s...Fruit Jell-o, Canned corn.
(Mom said get some canned veggies)
Apples, Oranges....

I even found some Milk...I bought a little one to make sure it was the same as back home.
One thing I couldn't find...Butter.

There have been a few thing that I bought with NO idea what they were...Some I really liked and some I really didn't care for...Live and learn.

I took a little video footage in the store if you want to check it out.
It's on my Videos post.

Well I got home and out everything away and proceeded to fix my first home cooked meal.....
Fried Spam and Eggs.

Boy....You know it's a slow day in Changxing when the big story of the day is..........

"I found Spam".

Jeff called yesterday and they are talking about going to a Disco In Huzhou...About an hours drive from Changxing.

Damn...I forgot to pack my silk shirt and bell bottoms!

Why do I feel a bad flashback coming on?

Water Buffalo for Lunch

2006-07-12T21:58:00.001+08:00

Yes... I said Water buffalo...

Like I said before..."What will Jim eat next"?

It started out a quiet day in Changxing.

I took a drive with Davids niece and her aunt to a school that I teach at in the country.

I saw a water buffalo on the way.

It was HUGE...Like an SUV!

Davids niece's name is Seven...Like the number "7".

She's teaching me Chinese on the drive to school.

The school is very nice, very modern architecture.

The drive is beautiful except for the factories belching out pollution.

Afterwards Davids wife invited me to lunch...David met us there.

Well...On the menu today:

Some kind of fish with Tofu.

Frogs...Not just the legs like my grandma used to fix back in Florida...The whole frog!

Craw fish...Just like back at dads place in Mississippi.

I'm not quite sure what this is? And they couldn't translate it into English.

Chicken...Feet and all...

And cow stomach...Pass on both.

I had cow stomach at the Hot Pot...Too rubbery!!

I even had some fried eggs. Just like I cook them.

Davids wife gave me a whole bag of eggs so I can cook them back home.

One of my favorites...Egg and tomato soup.

And my favorite today...Water buffalo with rice...(RICE again?)

This is our cook...I don't remember is name but he cooks a MEAN Water buffalo!!

Take care and thanks for dropping by...leave a comment or drop me an e-mail if you get a chance.

Jim

A Very Social Day

2006-07-09T21:40:00.001+08:00

Hot Pot...Round II

Wow...What a busy 24 hours...

I met up with Jeff, Bill and the gang at Bills place last night.

Bills wife is back from Texas so he took us all out for a wonderful dinner at my favorite place to eat...The Hot Pot.

All the usual great stuff Beef, Lamb, Shrimp, Mushrooms and a new addition...Get this...SPAM!! That's the spam on the right...Like you couldn't tell.
So now I have a new one for my list..."I ate boiled Spam".
I'm not going to say it was bad but I will say that I prefer it fried....Just like mom makes it.

They had a different way of cooking the shrimp....Grab one with your chopsticks and hold him in the boiling water until he stops screaming...Just kidding...You can't actually hear them screaming...But I bet they are.

Or you can take a whole bunch and use your little ladle and have a group killing...LOL.

Some even jump right in by themselves...The lonely ones.
Bills wife Uwen (not sure if that's spelled right?)

Angela and Julin(pronounced Juleen)
and our waitress bringing in the goods.

The next day Jeff wanted to go to a music store and price some guitars.
He showed up at my place with Bills mom and wife and we headed out shopping.

At the music store I saw this little girl... Couldn't be older than five years old and played this instrument like she had been playing for 20 years...AMAZING!!
She was so elegant.

Julin was pretty darn good too.
I forgot to write down the name of this...Whatever it is but I will find out and report back later.

Jeff is quite the music buff and plays several instruments.

Man he looks cool with that thing!

Jeff and I decided to eat at KFC...He didn't feel like pigs head for lunch.
On the way we stopped in at this little bakery...
The Baker saw us and just had to take a picture...So, one good picture deserves another!

After KFC we wandered over to a book store across the street...I wanted to see if I could find any kind of DVD that would work with my lap-top.

I poked around for a while but couldn't make head nor tails of what was what....All Chinese.

But I ran into the nicest young lady that spoke some English and she was kind enough to translate for me.

Julin and Bills wife were shopping for clothes at another shop so we were on our own.

Anyway her name is Shi Dawei, I still have trouble saying it as I spell it.

She helped me find the right section of DVD's and I bought one just for a test run.

This on was twice as expensive as my last DVD's...Two bucks.

But at least this one worked....English with Chinese sub-titles...Good enough!

Later we went to Julin mothers coffee/tea house and enjoyed a cup of coffee.

I was watching her mom behind the counter and she looked like she was getting ready to do some kind of science experiment.

Then I realized she was brewing...Coffee.

I would get you one of these for you Dave but I think you need a degree in science to use it.

This is Julins boyfriend, Woo Bing.
Now that's a Chinese name I can pronounce AND remember.

He's a great guy...Very interesting and very inquisitive!

Bing...As we call him...Invited me to come to his home and have have dinner with his parents...Could I say no?....NO.

Bings mom make...DRUMROLL...Eel.

Just like the ones in the market pictures...I could hardly wait.

She also made pork and shrimp and veggies.

Bings dad was drinking Red Berry wine...Just like the berries I got from my berry outing.
It was strong but sweet and delicious.

We also had tomatoes and Chinese peaches with sugar on them...Never had tomatoes with sugar...It was good...Tomatoes are a fruit you know.

Well this concludes another crazy day in Changxing China.

Be sure to tune in again to see what's on Jim's
plate.

Basketball, Ping Pong and Coffee

2006-07-08T16:38:00.001+08:00

Well I met up with Jeff over at his place and we went down the street to a public school that has a basketball court.

We found some Chinese kids playing Ping Pong and they invited me to play.

They spoke English quite well.

They kicked my white American butt!!

No big surprise.

Then we played some basketball.
One Chinese and one American per team.
Me and Tong kicked butt there...

Mind you it was probably 95 degrees out.

But Jeff wanted to play basketball.

After that we went to a coffee/tea house down the street that belongs to one of his Chinese teachers mom.
This was my first good cup of coffee in two weeks....it was so good.
All I can find is Nescafe instant coffee...it is soooo bad!

Moments after we sat down a few people came in and one was a young lady who spoke English, so we invited her to join us.

Her name was Lucy (a very popular name here). She is from a city about an hour from here...Just visiting for the day.

After some conversation we found out that she was good friends with Julin, the teacher whose parents own the place.
Small world.

That gal on the right was our waitress. Her name was...Well I couldn't pronounce her name.
We asked her if she had an English name and she said no but wanted one so Jeff and I gave her a name...Jessica.

That's one thing I found that is very strange around here.
I get to give a lot of kids...And adults, English names.
There are a lot more Chinese kids named Chad, Robert, Connie, Sydney and Jimmy around here.
These are names of my family members...Sorry Dave...Dave is already being used too much. LOL

Julins mother would not take our money (we forced a tip) for the coffee(and watermelon).
Watermelon is served with everything!
Julins mother said whenever we come here everything was free.
Chinese hospitality...these people are so great.
I think they just like having foreigners in their shop.

After that we went back to his place and listened to a beautiful little girl play a Chinese instrument called a Erhu...Pronounced R-who.
WOW...it sounded so amazing.

It was kind of like a Chinese violin.
But it only had two strings.
How anybody can make such beautiful music with just two strings is beyond me.

She said she would teach me how to play it....I can't wait!!

Tonight I'm meeting up with Bill, his wife, Jeff and a few other people for dinner.

I wonder what's on the menu tonight?

Stay tuned for the exciting adventures of....."What Will Jim Eat Next"?

Jim

Nicoles Birthday Party

2006-07-07T22:43:00.001+08:00

Happy birthday Nicole !!

Well today is Nicoles birthday...And I'm not sure how old she is... and it's not polite to ask such things...But as most Chinese....She looks a lot younger than she is.

The gang from work decided to meet up at a TV bar after work.

So here are a few pictures from our night out.

Yeah...Like I'm gonna sing...

Jessie...Great voice!!

Kenny....SUPERSTAR!!!

They have a microphone...I think the Japanese have a name for this kind of thing?

Anyway, that's just another day in Chanxing China....

Playing Basket ball with Jeff and some Chinese guys tomorrow...This should be good!

Jim

New American in Changxing

2006-07-07T13:25:00.001+08:00

New American in town

This is Jeff, from Orlando Florida.

He's a new teacher at Bills school.

Great guy!!

We met for tea last night with some other folks (Chinese).

But I forgot to take any pictures...Too busy talking...English.

I went to Bills to visit with him and just by luck...It was lunch time!!

Had a wonderful lunch with Bills mom and dad and a few other people.

Man they eat good over there...Like I said "Jim won't go hungry in China"!

As long as I don't wear out my welcome at Bills place!

Today's menu: Pork(no pigs head), shrimp, fish, eggs (not like back home) and watermelon.

Sweetest watermelon I have ever tasted... Jeff agreed.

Ohhh....And don't forget....RICE.

Bills in Shanghai picking up his wife.
She's been in Texas going to school.
Can't wait to meet her.

That's all for now...More later.

Jim

Another Day...Another Market

2006-07-04T12:33:00.001+08:00

Fear Factor II

I still can't believe I'm in China...

Every day is a new experience.

Today I chatted with Mom via Yahoo IM...Glad you got that figured out mom...It was great to see you and Dave.
You gotta get your microphone so we can talk....
You know I can't type very fast!!

Anyway I decided to go for my usual walk about before it got too hot....(too late)...
Did I forget to mention that it was hot here?

Anyway I came across another market....WOW again.

I'm getting more brave about taking pictures...I ask (signal w/ camera) and if they smile I shoot away...If they shake their heads no...I don't.

Usually after I start shooting someone will point to someone else and sign that I take that persons pic. too.

And before you know it everybody is coming over to look at the pictures that I just took.

At this market....frogs were very popular.

Pigs head.
And pigs feet.

everybody was so friendly.

And pig tongue.

And pigs skull.

Eggs.

Fish.

Snails.

Live eel.

And dead eel.

Live Duck.

And Dead Duck

They had a place to boil the chickens and ducks for plucking...It was sooo nasty!!

And Snakes!!!EEeeewwwy
This market was across a river.
Barges would be bringing coal up the river and return with something else.
Very busy.

That's the market behind the barge.

So many happy people...

I've always loved the saying "I learn something new every day".

I can't wait till tomorrow.

Jim

Leather shop

2006-07-02T21:29:00.001+08:00

The Leather Factory

Here are some pictures of Bills family's leather factory.

The make leather clothes for QVC.

Really nice stuff.

Guess who is getting custom made leather jacket, real cheap?

Bill had some models that I couldn't photograph because they are a new style not yet on the market. Sorry about the flash.

These gals were cutting small slits in the leather and another gal would tie leather straps into them.

Bill is going to take me for a Chinese massage sometime this week...That should be interesting.

Jim

Pigs Head

2006-07-02T13:09:00.001+08:00

Pigs Head for Lunch

Yes that's right...I said pigs head for lunch.

And it wasn't half bad.

Well the taxi ride to bills place was an uneventful 10 min. ride.

His parents own a shop where they make leather goods for QVC.

We all know QVC, shopping on TV.

They have about 100 employees.

Bill took me for a tour of the place and explained a lot of the procedures.

I'll post some pictures on a different post tomorrow of the shop.

Afterwards we went to the dining building and I watched them prepare lunch for everyone.

The menu consisted of:

Boiled Chopped up pigs head
...I know...Makes your mouth water just thinking about it. If you look closely you can see the snout in the bowl near the hand.

Roast Duck.

Roast Duck. Now this I liked.

Some kind of huge fish.

Some kind of vegetable that they

couldn't translate into English.

Bills dad on the left.

And don't forget the rice!

I had a great time! Bill told me I was welcome to come for lunch any time.
So Jim won't go hungry in China.

Bills mom on the left.

And for lunch tomorrow we will be enjoying a wonderful Roast Dalmatian .

Just kidding.

Tea with new friends

2006-07-02T08:05:00.001+08:00

New Chinese Friends

OK, so last night I met with Jenny and her friend Bill for tea.
What great people!!

Bill owns a school here in Changxing and Jenny works for Journey East and also teaches English at Bills school.

Later this morning I am going to visit Bills school and have lunch with him and his students.

Bill is the coolest guy I've met in China yet.

He speaks English very well.

He lived in New Zealand for five years as a student.

After tea he came by my place and showed me how to get free movies on the internet.
Last night I watched "16 Blocks" staring Bruce Willis. It was in English but had Chinese sub-titles.

When I came to China I only brought few DVDs. I've already watched them all...Twice.
The only problem is the site is in Chinese so navigating around it is a guessing game.
He showed me some of the links to click but some times I get a little confused.

Anyway I'm going to hit the shower and have breakfast(banana) and give Bill a call.
I have to take a taxi to his school.
This will be my first solo taxi ride around (not tricycle) so the protocol is that I find a cab, get in, call Bill and then he gives the driver the directions.
I hope I don't end up in Shanghai!

I'll take my camera so there should be some good pictures to come.

Work and Friends

2006-07-01T14:58:00.001+08:00

Rainy Day in Changxing

I hope everyone has enjoyed viewing the pictures as much as I have had taking them.

It's Saturday afternoon and I just woke up from a nice long nap by the sound of rain.

I had to grab a shot of my first real China rain.

How exciting....Not.

OK.....I've been in China for 1 week now and I'm feeling pretty good about the whole thing.

Everybody at work seems very nice and helpful.

The kids are great.

Headmaster David is very adamant that I have everything that I need and that I am happy.

The office...

Her are some of the teachers...Jessie, Sucia and Kelly.

That's David and myself at the computer.

This morning David and Kenny came to my apartment to pick me up and run some errands.
We went to the broadcast station to get my cable TV going and then the bank.
I can't read Chinese and the bank machines are only in Chinese.

After that we went to see if we could find me another pad for my bed...It's so damn hard.
No luck, that's a project for another day.

We have a gym in the building next to the school so they took me there and got me signed up.
It's on the sixth floor and pretty nice but not air conditioned.
It's just like the gyms back home. Free weights, machines and a sauna.(Like we need that here)

After that I went over to the school to see about having lunch with the teachers that were working today.(My day off)

I had lunch with one of the teachers last week. Fried eggs and rice.
I liked it a lot so I asked if I could could order it again for today.

They had already ordered theirs so they called and added this to the order.

They got snails, pork meatballs, rice and bamboo root with pork bits in it.
I tried everything except the snails. I like es cargo but this wasn't es cargo!

I also met a boy at a store across the street from the school that speaks some English,

His name is David and his parents own the store. He is on summer vacation so he helps out in the store until school starts back up.
His father can speak a little English but not enough to carry on any kind of conversation.

I got a call from Jenny on my walk back home.
She is one of the people in charge of the management of the school.(I think)
She invited me to have tea tonight at 7:pm and meet some her friends.
I wonder if the are Americans or if they speak English?

That's Kenny on the bike. He has a hat that says Marlboro....Chinese Marlboro Man!!

More later.

From the hip

2006-06-30T13:22:00.001+08:00

Walk About

Well today I took my usual walk about.

everywhere I go people are watching me. If I stop in a shop for a quick look it tends to fill up with people very quickly...Everybody stares.

I sort of know how a celebrity might feel back home.
Tom Cruise syndrome?

Most of the girls carry umbrella just to block the sun.

Did I mention it was hot here?
I've been told there are only about three Americans in this whole city this week.
Next week two of them leave to go back home.

So next week there will be 620000 Chinese in Changxing and me.

I have never felt more safe walking around in a city.

Some times I want to take pictures but I'm not sure if it's appropriate.

So I've developed the old shootin' from the hip system.

Market Day

2006-06-29T12:04:00.001+08:00

Market Day

Yesterday I took walk around to get to know the lay of the land when I came across the market.

There didn't seem to be many people around so I figured I would try it again a little earlier today.
I didn't have my camera so I made sure to bring it today.

It was like walking back in time.

Something you might see in National Geographic.

First was the fish market.
Live fish, dead fish, eels, frogs in little bags. It was amazing!!
Every body gave me the old"Nee How" and smiled.

Some even shouted out"Hello".
I learned a new phrase that came in very handy, "Wo Bo Dong".
I don't understand.
They would laugh and repeat it, "Wo Bo Dong".

Next was the live chicken market.
It also had live ducks and even doves.

At this point I will say one thing.
Ohhh the smell!!

Anyway, they were cutting and preparing (I would use the word cleaning but you can see from the pictures that it was anything but clean)

Then there was the meat section.
Mind you there was no refrigeration to be foud anywhere.
Pork was very popular, especially the pigs feet.
I gotta get me some of that. Or maybe not.

Fresh chicken...Killed this morning!!

Some places had chicken that I think was cooked because of the color.......Ohh that smell.

Then there was the vegetable and fruit market.
Some things looked familiar and some... I just had no idea about.
I ended up buying some fruit.
Bananas, peaches and some apples.
I tried some other thing that looked interesting (strange) but it wasn't on my menu.
I asked (signed) if I could try one and the lady said yes. I think.
So I bit into it and she and the kids around me all laughed at me.
I guess your supposed to peel it first. (Who knew?)
It looked like an eyeball inside. Just the texture of it made me squeamish.
Then I tried a grape, too sour (made that sour look on my face) .

There were stalls where people would be cooking things getting ready for the lunch crowd.
I'm still not quite brave enough to eat at one of these places.

Ohh and there was one thing I saw that reminded me of fear factor.
(Who am I kidding...it all reminded me of fear factor)
They had eggs that had the mostly developed dead chicks in them.
So I ate a few, NOT!

Did I mention it was HOT!
Enjoy the pictures, don't gag.
I think I'm going to go have some fruit for lunch, bye for now.

More to come tomorrow!!

My Home in China

2006-06-29T09:24:00.001+08:00

Here are some pics. of my crib in Changxing.
(crib makes it sound so cool)

Office/Living room

Washing machine but no drier...So I have to hang my Haynes out for all of China to see.

That's my stuff on the right.

Thank GOD a western style toilet.

Plenty of closet space...

Nice bed but sooo hard!

My place...Third floor.

My street.

That three wheeled Taxi is how I get school and back.

Only when it's really hot or raining.

Here's a veiw of the park from the kitchen.

Odds and Ends Pics

2006-06-29T07:10:00.001+08:00

Hello from Changxing, China !

DON"T drink the water !!
Ti Chi for seniors

Isn't she great?

My ride to work

I'm eating lost of fruit.... At least I know what it is.
Pre workout Chat

I'm the middle of the afternoon (when it's damn HOT) you see people sleeping everywhere, mostly in the little shops...When your tired, you gotta' have a nap.

I hope you enjoyed the pics...More to come