Gifts from Babcia (Jane/Jenniey's mom)!
September 29, 2009
I've apparently got the best mom in the world. Thanks so much, Mom! It was so totally like Christmas here. Brought tears to my eyes!!!! Love you.
4 Piano Explorers magazines
Piano books: Train songs, Hungry Mosquitoes, Easy Classics to Moderns, Big Note Piano Pieces
17 or so postcards
2 sticker pad books, 4 sticker packs (2 music types)
3 ceramic pigs: salt, pepper, toothpicks. 2 Southwest-style pot holders
Giant Coloring Book; Berenstain Bears’ Thanksgiving; Cats Don’t Dance; notepad;
Hirsch Grades 1, 2 and 3; Magic Tree House Viking Ships at Sunrise;
Master Skills English Grade 2; Going Places text + workbook; On the Horizon text + workbook; Invitation to Mathematics; The “Modern” Mastery Drills in Arithmetic
6 packs Tic Tacs, 2 Ghirardelli bars, candy-cane-type sticks, bag of bag of M&Ms, bag of York peppermints, bag of Skittles bags, 36-oz. bag of Nestle chocolate chips; 1 bag Hershey’s chocolate chips; Hershey’s chocolate syrup; iodized salt
Mosquito wipes, Off bug stuff, 2 tubes Hydrocortisone cream, kids’ AquaFresh
2 rolls duct tape; “Best is Yet to Come” pin and Marian Anderson pin
birthday card for Dave!
Zekey: "When I get back from China, I’m going to give Babcia a million kisses! Cuz she has magic, and she readed our mind!
Let’s make her a kiss card!
I wanted everything we got! I wanted tic tacs and that stuff (Hershey’s syrup) and chocolate and candy canes and these stuff (Skittles)!"
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wok on...
(posted by Dave)
Okay, I can’t believe I’m starting entry with such a lame pun, but my tribute to the Chinese domestic kitchen continues. Next exhibit: the best two-burner gas stoves on the planet! You may be able to guess this from the picture: the Chinese believe in focusing some serious heat on their food. We’re talking some serious kilocalories here. (Joules? BTUs? Sorry if I’m not feeling very scientific right now.)
A further digression: some of you may know that my first job after college was as a stir-fry cook at LeeAnn Chin’s Carryout Chinese Cuisine in St. Paul, MN. While the food there wasn’t anything special, (okay, the polar opposite of special) I did come away from that job with the illusion that I knew how to stir-fry stuff. Every time I invited people over to my house for Chinese food, though, I always was secretly disappointed. People would like what I cooked, but there was always something missing.
Now I know - that missing something was heat. Lots and lots of it. Enough to get that cube of tofu perfectly brown on the outside and piping hot in the middle. If our microwave worked, it would lose the leftover reheating race to our wok every time. No wonder it stopped working after our second week here. “Ah, but what about the oven?”, you ask. Well, there, um, isn’t any. Zippo, zero. They don’t believe in ‘em, I guess. We do have a small electric “oven” on our tabletop that looks like a toaster oven on steroids, but that’s the subject of another post.
Okay, I can’t believe I’m starting entry with such a lame pun, but my tribute to the Chinese domestic kitchen continues. Next exhibit: the best two-burner gas stoves on the planet! You may be able to guess this from the picture: the Chinese believe in focusing some serious heat on their food. We’re talking some serious kilocalories here. (Joules? BTUs? Sorry if I’m not feeling very scientific right now.)
A further digression: some of you may know that my first job after college was as a stir-fry cook at LeeAnn Chin’s Carryout Chinese Cuisine in St. Paul, MN. While the food there wasn’t anything special, (okay, the polar opposite of special) I did come away from that job with the illusion that I knew how to stir-fry stuff. Every time I invited people over to my house for Chinese food, though, I always was secretly disappointed. People would like what I cooked, but there was always something missing.
Now I know - that missing something was heat. Lots and lots of it. Enough to get that cube of tofu perfectly brown on the outside and piping hot in the middle. If our microwave worked, it would lose the leftover reheating race to our wok every time. No wonder it stopped working after our second week here. “Ah, but what about the oven?”, you ask. Well, there, um, isn’t any. Zippo, zero. They don’t believe in ‘em, I guess. We do have a small electric “oven” on our tabletop that looks like a toaster oven on steroids, but that’s the subject of another post.
Mmmm, mooncakes!
(posted by Dave)
Whew, we’ve been teaching for almost a month now. Time for a week off! Fortunately, the Chinese national calendar has obliged us with just that. First is National Day on October 1st, the anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic. Then it’s Mid-Autumn festival on October somethingth, where people celebrate, um ... Autumn? (Yes, my boundless knowledge of Chinese culture astounds even me sometimes.)
Anyway, besides a full eight days off, the Autumn festival also gives us (cue Homer Simpson drooling over donuts sound effect here) mooncakes! Mooncakes are little round cakes made from wheat flour with any number of rich sweet fillings inside, and they are pleasing in oh so many ways. First off is the general visual appeal - they always have really cool looking intricate designs stamped on top. Second is their heft. They’re about the size of a medium Little Debbie snack treat, but they’re very dense. They weigh as much as a ... baseball? Well, a very tasty baseball, anyway.
Which brings us to their taste. Now maybe my sweet tooth has been starved a bit while here, but one bite (of the good ones anyway) and you know you are sampling the Most Awesome Thing In The World. The best are the ones with bean paste, brown sugar, raisins, and nuts. A little like good baklava, but without the crumble and drip factors. They are a little oily, so maybe I have been deprived of sweets as of late. Maybe I should send some home and see how they stack up against a hot fudge sundae and a handful of Oreos. I think they’d beat the Oreos hands down. Not sure about the sundae, though.
(posted by Dave)
Whew, we’ve been teaching for almost a month now. Time for a week off! Fortunately, the Chinese national calendar has obliged us with just that. First is National Day on October 1st, the anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic. Then it’s Mid-Autumn festival on October somethingth, where people celebrate, um ... Autumn? (Yes, my boundless knowledge of Chinese culture astounds even me sometimes.)
Anyway, besides a full eight days off, the Autumn festival also gives us (cue Homer Simpson drooling over donuts sound effect here) mooncakes! Mooncakes are little round cakes made from wheat flour with any number of rich sweet fillings inside, and they are pleasing in oh so many ways. First off is the general visual appeal - they always have really cool looking intricate designs stamped on top. Second is their heft. They’re about the size of a medium Little Debbie snack treat, but they’re very dense. They weigh as much as a ... baseball? Well, a very tasty baseball, anyway.
Which brings us to their taste. Now maybe my sweet tooth has been starved a bit while here, but one bite (of the good ones anyway) and you know you are sampling the Most Awesome Thing In The World. The best are the ones with bean paste, brown sugar, raisins, and nuts. A little like good baklava, but without the crumble and drip factors. They are a little oily, so maybe I have been deprived of sweets as of late. Maybe I should send some home and see how they stack up against a hot fudge sundae and a handful of Oreos. I think they’d beat the Oreos hands down. Not sure about the sundae, though.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Required Reading...
(posted by Dave)
http://ping.fm/QZREG
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Bob sent me a link to this article in Chicago Magazine, and it’s been going around and around in my brain ever since. Once you see the article, those of you who know me may guess why.
For those I’ve recently connected with, a bit of background information may be in order. Last March, while riding my bike home from work, I experienced an attack that was eerily similar to the one described by John Conroy, the author of the article. (Did I mention required reading? Okay, go now and click on the article and read at least the first page. I’ll wait...)
A few differences between my “incident” and Conroy’s: I actually saw my attacker, and he didn’t knock me out. My attacker also didn’t notice the police car right behind him, so fortunately for me, I had help right away. Unfortunately for me, the policemen (Chicago’s finest!) who witnessed the attack didn’t think to get out of their car and run after the kid, so my attacker got away on foot and was never apprehended.
Even with the differences, many of the feelings Conroy describes in his article also ring very true with me. Like Conroy, I still have lasting effects from my injuries (mine is a lingering numbness and tingling in my upper lip and cheek from nerve damage) that bring me back to the event.
As you might guess, this was a very strange article to read in China. I’ve had several trains of thought to chew on in the last couple of weeks. (A mixed metaphor, I know, but I’m leaving it in because I like the idea of chewing on trains...) Haven’t come to any conclusions that I can formulate clearly enough to write clearly about, so I will leave you this assigned reading with a few (possibly loaded) discussion questions:
1. If an act of violence happens over and over again in the same place with the same characteristics, can we truly say that it is “random”?
2. Where and when do the powers that run a society permit acts violence to occur? Who commits these acts of violence?
3. Speaking of Power, is there difference between violence caused by coercion and violence caused by neglect? If there is a difference, what is it? Is one preferable to the other?
For class next week, please read the above article in its entirety and write your answers to the discussion questions in paragraph form in your journals or on a plain A4 sheet of paper. Be prepared to share your answers in class!
(Or you could just enter your answers in the comments section below. Just copy and email them to me as well if you want me to see it, as we can’t get in to see our comments very often. Ah, power and its many uses...)
(posted by Dave)
http://ping.fm/QZREG
A couple of weeks ago, my friend Bob sent me a link to this article in Chicago Magazine, and it’s been going around and around in my brain ever since. Once you see the article, those of you who know me may guess why.
For those I’ve recently connected with, a bit of background information may be in order. Last March, while riding my bike home from work, I experienced an attack that was eerily similar to the one described by John Conroy, the author of the article. (Did I mention required reading? Okay, go now and click on the article and read at least the first page. I’ll wait...)
A few differences between my “incident” and Conroy’s: I actually saw my attacker, and he didn’t knock me out. My attacker also didn’t notice the police car right behind him, so fortunately for me, I had help right away. Unfortunately for me, the policemen (Chicago’s finest!) who witnessed the attack didn’t think to get out of their car and run after the kid, so my attacker got away on foot and was never apprehended.
Even with the differences, many of the feelings Conroy describes in his article also ring very true with me. Like Conroy, I still have lasting effects from my injuries (mine is a lingering numbness and tingling in my upper lip and cheek from nerve damage) that bring me back to the event.
As you might guess, this was a very strange article to read in China. I’ve had several trains of thought to chew on in the last couple of weeks. (A mixed metaphor, I know, but I’m leaving it in because I like the idea of chewing on trains...) Haven’t come to any conclusions that I can formulate clearly enough to write clearly about, so I will leave you this assigned reading with a few (possibly loaded) discussion questions:
1. If an act of violence happens over and over again in the same place with the same characteristics, can we truly say that it is “random”?
2. Where and when do the powers that run a society permit acts violence to occur? Who commits these acts of violence?
3. Speaking of Power, is there difference between violence caused by coercion and violence caused by neglect? If there is a difference, what is it? Is one preferable to the other?
For class next week, please read the above article in its entirety and write your answers to the discussion questions in paragraph form in your journals or on a plain A4 sheet of paper. Be prepared to share your answers in class!
(Or you could just enter your answers in the comments section below. Just copy and email them to me as well if you want me to see it, as we can’t get in to see our comments very often. Ah, power and its many uses...)
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Pass it on...
Speaking of which, this may be a good time to mention that we are more than happy for you to pass a link to this blog to your friends, family, second cousins, hairdresser's niece's new fiance, etc.
Also a small disclaimer: Because we are using another site to remotely post to our blog, we don't (yet) have a way of going back and editing things, so you may have to put up with a few typos and so on. Photos may likewise show up as grey boxes, or mysterious looking links. Do go ahead and click them to see what we've been up to - we promise they won't bite.
Also, we have no way of posting a title or the blog author, so you may be reading stuff by Jane, or stuff by Dave. (or maybe by one of the kids, if they happen to get possessed by a computer-literate poltergeist) A general clue as to the author of a piece: Long, meaningful, and full of insight = Jane. Short, lazy, and lame jokes = Dave. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming...
Speaking of which, this may be a good time to mention that we are more than happy for you to pass a link to this blog to your friends, family, second cousins, hairdresser's niece's new fiance, etc.
Also a small disclaimer: Because we are using another site to remotely post to our blog, we don't (yet) have a way of going back and editing things, so you may have to put up with a few typos and so on. Photos may likewise show up as grey boxes, or mysterious looking links. Do go ahead and click them to see what we've been up to - we promise they won't bite.
Also, we have no way of posting a title or the blog author, so you may be reading stuff by Jane, or stuff by Dave. (or maybe by one of the kids, if they happen to get possessed by a computer-literate poltergeist) A general clue as to the author of a piece: Long, meaningful, and full of insight = Jane. Short, lazy, and lame jokes = Dave. Okay, back to your regularly scheduled programming...
Did I mention things are blocked?
(posted by Dave)
Ah, yes, the big six zero anniversary of this nation is coming up next week, so the powers that be seem to be impeding several of our usual workarounds - just to make sure things run smoothly, no doubt. (Hmmmm....)
Anyway, I am now officially giving up on trying to connect with Facebook or any blog on Blogspot (including ours) until the whole brouhaha is over. For those of you who have not entered the world of proxy servers, mirror sites, VPNs, and all of the various and sundry ways that expats try to get around the Great Firewall here, consider yourselves lucky. It does provide a constant topic of conversation with any Westerner we happen to run into, though....
(posted by Dave)
Ah, yes, the big six zero anniversary of this nation is coming up next week, so the powers that be seem to be impeding several of our usual workarounds - just to make sure things run smoothly, no doubt. (Hmmmm....)
Anyway, I am now officially giving up on trying to connect with Facebook or any blog on Blogspot (including ours) until the whole brouhaha is over. For those of you who have not entered the world of proxy servers, mirror sites, VPNs, and all of the various and sundry ways that expats try to get around the Great Firewall here, consider yourselves lucky. It does provide a constant topic of conversation with any Westerner we happen to run into, though....
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