Yearly Archives: 2005

Cannons to the left… Cannons to the right…

Right, so it sounds like there’s some heavy shelling going on outside my apartment. Evidently someone got their days mixed up and mistakenly thinks today is the start of Spring Festival – which is, in fact, a week from today. Along with an ever-growing symphony of car horns, there have been constant explosions since I …

February 2, 2005
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Climatized

Well, I think I’m finally settling into my groove. It’s difficult to get to know a city when it’s generally too cold out to do much exploring – but now with three weeks in country, I have a pretty basic, but solid, understanding of where things are, how to get to and from (a) AND …

January 31, 2005
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Feeding The Dog At The Table

Right. So I did it. Despite moral objections to the way in which the animal is killed, I can officially say – for the first time in my life – that I have cold, dead dog in my fridge. After class today my neighbour Matthew and I went out for some Korean food. By and …

January 27, 2005
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What’s in a name…

“I view living the day-to-day grind sort of like smoking. It’s not cool, it’s bad for you and in the end, it just leaves you feeling dirty and used.” Names. A funny thing at the best of times, in China it’s a bit of an on-going practical joke that Westerners use to communicate to those …

January 22, 2005
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A Note From Nong

Right, so I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned to any of you my friend Nong in Thailand. I met her in Chiang Mai when she introduced herself to me as my new Thai girlfriend. She’s quite funny. Anyway, despite being funny, and a bit in need of a boyfriend, she is also one of …

January 21, 2005
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The White Safety

I’ve been trying to write an update for about two days now, and I just keep getting side-tracked, so though it’s getting close to midnight, and I’ve got to be up at 6:30… I’m going to do this damnit. So what’s new, what’s new… Oh, right! I officially started my classes. I went to school …

January 19, 2005
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Hello Teacher

Right, so I figured that today I’d just go in to the school, chill out, maybe sit in on one of Tom’s classes and get a feel for the whole thing… but a sickly Matthew last evening put a kink in that. As there is only five foreign teachers at the Jinzhou school, and I’m …

January 16, 2005
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ATMs 15, Ryan 1

Whose got money? Oh, I’VE GOT MONEY! That’s right ladies and gentleman, after searching high and low, I went where I should have gone to begin with – my Lonely Planet guide book. Many people swear they suck, some swear they ruin the travelling experience, but those people have never been stuck in Jinzhou with …

January 14, 2005
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Orient-ation

It’s 7:30 a.m. and I’m just waiting for the water to warm up for my morning shower – sadly, though constantly reminding myself last night I forgot to turn on the water heater before bed. I’m heading into my second day of orientation and yet another day of trying to track down access to my …

January 13, 2005
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Dag Yo, I’m In Jinzhou!

As mentioned, I’ve successfully made it to China – and have been “stationed” in a small city just outside of Dalian called Jinzhou (pronounced jin-joe, sorta). My last few days getting accustom to everything here has been a bit daunting, but taken in good form none the less. I left FAR too late from Chris …

January 11, 2005
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Soundsapound

Alright, I’ve not much time on here, but I just wanted to quickly say that I did indeed make it to the airport in SF (a feet that questions the validity of our space-time continuem) and have survived the flight to China. I’m in my new home, Jinzhou (or is it Jinzhuo…), a “small” city …

January 10, 2005
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