Hah~ Feels good ~ only one more final exam and this semester is OVER! I’ve just finished reading a chapter about the Tibetan Antelope, pronounced Zangling Yang in Chinese, in Chinese. I learned about the history of their numbers, why cashmere is bad, and about how the black market in their pelts works. Please don’t buy cashmere. Thanks. Before that, I read about how Ozone was being depleted by Freon and how in a modern world we try not to…
One thing I find particularly helpful is regular stretching. I’ve taken up yoga through an audio book subscription that I have, and find it very helpful for opening up the points of tension in my body that grow in this modern phenomenon of staying at home boat-loads. (to the tune of Let it Snow)Society in general outside is frightfulAnd yet the world is still delightful.Because no matter how much we knowIt don’t show, it don’t show, it don’t show… Microsoft…
A lot is written below that I’ve provided links to for formal context, because I don’t want to be just saying stuff without citations, but (other than the first one about a 7-year old girl who studies under her parents’ food stall) feel free to skip them if you know the back story. Also, there is a poem at the end for you. I’m in a place that uses stories like this one to stay strong: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/8jBlRVXXMXtWnyeMVXD9fwI’m chilled by it….
~This post was originally written in November of 2019. It was unpublished for lack of review, but now, as March of 2020 rolls on, and the Novel Corona Virus has shifted how all things are, I thought it would be nice to share for a snapshot of what life was like before. It’s good to remember. Be well~ First of all, I’m on a life-high from a simply wonderful yesterday and today, so I’ll cut and paste the blog I…
I’m writing a fresh update because a lot has changed in the days and weeks. Things are changing fast. I’m in Guangzhou, China and we are back in business. Certain things, like schools and movie theaters are still on the out, but we are seeing major gatherings again. This is due to our nearly zero infections in about two weeks now. Rules that got us here: Isolation in the form of physical contact outdoors and personal space. Masks are an…
(…is so boring!) It’s not that I don’t appreciate the need for it, or that I have nothing to do, it’s just that being forced to sit in one room for an extended period of time is soundly annoying. It makes sense that this is what we do to criminals. Break a law, deal with being annoyed for the term of your sentence. That way, we can deter people from breaking the law, because getting caught is really annoying. I…
Beginning the fourth week of studies at this university setting is a moment I’m viewing. My entire brain is inside-out. Grammar-wise that is. I’m putting the verbs later, stopping the use of the word ‘do’ and putting time up front. My mental reflexes aren’t all that are being reshaped. . . My physical experience of trying to learn to write is a new and different thing. The homework that’s being handed to me includes regular lists of 25-40 words that…
Xianzai, I wanna think in Chinese. . . The Chinese known as Hanyu, Putong Hua, or Mandarin, depending on your perspective. It’s all the same language, and it’s why I’m not in a paid position this year, to study this language with many names. At the same time, I’m picking up Guangdong Hua, AKA Cantonese, in little bits, so that I can hopefully blend in with the local folks a bit more, communicate with my girlfriend’s family (they aren’t all…
~ Three Burns, three 10 Principles events, three Regionals; in two and a half months… This is truly a first for me. *Many of the photos in this are from others, shared via WeChat in groups. As such, attribution is unknown for some of them, though a few were by me. Doesn’t matter. No money here. Hah! (But if you know whose they are let me know. And if you would like to have a photo removed, also speak up….
~This is an “I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written” note. . . But check this out~ Between one trip to Beijing, three trips to Shanghai, the festival in the mountains at which I was a guest of honor on a yellow tea mountain, and planning for this year’s Dragon Burn, at which I’ll be a newcomer and excited as a bun in an oven to be there, I’ve had less free-time than normal since I got back…