Oft trifft West

I just stumbled across a project called Oft trifft West by Yang Liu, a Chinese artist living in Germany, which attempts to explain several differences between Chinese and German culture. I'm not German, but close enough:


This is a obviously a somewhat simplistic view of things, but sometimes it really does feel like this. Especially when you know you need to leave China two weeks before your contract ends to attend one of your best friends' weddings and would like to get proper permission to do so. I've been asking questions since I got here, but probably won't arrive at the answer until a week or two before I leave the country. I'm confident that I will eventually get the permission I need, but there are several hoops I must jump through and people I must appeal to before that can happen. In any case, I've booked a plane ticket and I'll cut and run if I have to.

CCTV strikes again

This morning I was reading an article about the promise of concentrated solar power, and now CCTV International is teaching me about the Yang Sui, a mirror mentioned in the article that was used during the Zhou dynasty to start fires with concentrated sunlight. This is a rare moment of convergence between CCTV and any other media I may consume.

CCTV International can be pretty amusing though. Since I turned the TV on a little bit ago while sorting my laundry, I have seen:

• several westerners in China saying what a shame it is that the Olympics have become so politicized
• a Chinese language-learning program focusing on words associated with ping pong
• a comparison of three of the most popular skin-whitening products
• interviews with several foreign students in Beijing who will volunteer at the Olympics
  
• a stock car race taking place in Shanghai
• an instrumental cover of One Night in Beijing (perhaps our favorite Chinese song!) played on the erhu, the pipa, and the dizi
  

I'm feeling inspired to bring my computer into the living room more often.

still alive!

In the weeks since this semester started, I have received several emails including questions like "Are you still alive?" and "Will you ever blog again?" The answer to both questions, especially the former, is a resounding YES! I am alive and quite well, though I'm afraid that perfectionist tendencies have kept me from blogging when I still haven't posted pictures from October (now a full six months ago).

To remedy this situation, I have finally posted pictures so that I can resume blogging. I have all of October (including National Day week), November, and December ready for your perusal, with more of the stories behind the pictures coming up soon.

Also coming up soon: photos and stories from my nearly-two-month vacation, and updates on life since!