July 20-26, 2009

July 20, 2009 – today I had to get caught up and ready for the end of the month bill paying. I have to do everything online so it takes a bit of time to get prepared and everything set for bill pay through our bank. In today’s newspaper I saw a very unique article, it goes as follows: She says sorry to stranger who called her wife – A woman has sought media help to apologize to a stranger she cursed for calling her his wife on a street in Wachang, Hubei province on Tuesday.
The woman was talking on her cell phone in the city’s Zhongnan Road area when a strange man shouted out to her: “Hey wife, who’re you talking to? You’ll get a thrashing when we get home.”
She got into a fierce argument with the stranger, who quietly walked away from the spot.
Later, the woman was told a thief was trying to steal something from her bag while she was talking on the phone and the man said what he did only to scare away the thief. Chutian Metropolis Daily
Now wouldn’t that make you feel a little small???
July 21, 2009 – Today was the first day of training for Floyd on the software deployment. It is really challenging due to the language difference as well as all of the trainees are first time users. They have never used software like this before. They know just enough to be dangerous as Floyd would say. He said they would not wait for instructions, but start clicking etc. They spent a lot of extra time getting everyone back on track after they would get it fouled up. He said he felt like a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.
July 22, 2009 – today was the solar eclipse in Asia. Beijing had about a 60% eclipse, but we weren’t able to see it due to clouds and haze. This was very disappointing to be in an area where one can be seen but not be able to enjoy it! Later in the afternoon, it got dark due to a severe summer monsoon. It rained really hard for about an hour. The streets were running water like rivers. Floyd got soaked just catching a taxi. He said on the way home that every overpass they went under was crowded full of pedestrians, bicyclists and people riding scooters trying to get out of the rain. Soon it passed and started clearing off and we had a nice evening. Floyd finished up the first round of training. He said it was very challenging. When we get back in September, he will help conduct a second round of training. This training will go on for quite a while.
I would like to share some of the superstitions that were written about in the newspapers about the solar eclipse. In India, people were told by their elders that this is the best time to improve our after-life so they went to their temples to pray. Pregnant women are advised to stay indoors to prevent their babies developing birth defects, while prayers, fasting and ritual bathing, particularly in holy rivers, is encouraged. One lady was quoted as saying “I was advised not to leave the house as the eclipse brings bad luck to you and your family.
In China some feel “The sun got bitten” or that “The heavenly dog ate the sun”. Some say “Traditionally, both praying and having vegetarian food can help us avoid misfortune and bring about peace to families after the eclipse”. Also talked about in the China Daily News is the witnessing of a tidal bore. It apparently was 2nd only to the Solar Eclipse in its intrigue. Apparently these tidal bores occur around the world, but the only known place in China is the Qiantang River, where the peculiar bottleneck shape of Hangzhou Bay creates the world’s tallest tidal bore – up to 9 m in height (29.5 feet). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_bore)
July 23, 2009 – Floyd went to Langfang today to visit a large dairy farm. They are hoping to get a good relationship established and to be able to secure them as a client. On the way home in the afternoon, Floyd said it got really dark, just like at night and the monsoons hit again with rain I think you could drown in. He said it was raining so hard that cars were pulled over on the freeway as they could not see to drive. We had very severe storms here in Beijing as well. It looked like midnight about 4 in the afternoon. The street lights turned on, all the outside building lights turned on and all the cars had to turn their headlights on. I have never seen such a thing before. I tried to take pictures but the camera did not do it justice. Floyd had a dinner meeting tonight with the people from the farm. He had a post-it type note with some Chinese writing on it and that is all he had to get to the restaurant. He said it was an adventure, but he made it.
July 24, 2009 – Floyd was in the office today following up on the meetings with the dairy farm and the training. Tonight we met some friends from church for dinner. They actually live not far from us back in Meridian, Idaho. There is a little Tex-Mex place close to our apartment that we both like so we met them there for dinner and an enjoyable evening of sitting and talking for over 2 hours in the restaurant.
July 25, 2009 – today was shopping day. We did literally shop until we dropped. We started out this morning with two Skype video calls to friends in the U.S. Then we went shopping to get some items for friends at home. Our group that goes on a motorcycle ride on our Harley-Davidsons each summer collect Harley shirts from wherever we can. These shirts have a graphic on them that tells where the shirt came from. We thought it would be fun to have one from Beijing so we wanted to go to the Harley dealer and get some shirts. The taxi driver thought he knew where it was but could never find it. Finally, after some backtracking and searching, we got out of the taxi to do some foot exploration in the area but we too did not find it. The maps available like Map Quest do not have as much detail in China as in America or are in Chinese. We gave up and went shopping at Pearl Market again to get the other items we wanted to purchase. On the way back to the apartment, Floyd noticed something on one of the maps for the Harley place that he hadn’t seen before. He thought he may know where it was. We went back to the apartment and Floyd looked on Google Maps and did indeed find a better explanation of where it was. It is between 2 and 3 miles from the apartment. Since we hadn’t walked much this week, we decided to walk there. Sure enough, after a little more than an hour Floyd took us right to the dealer. We were able to get the shirts we were looking for, as the dealership is much smaller than what we are used to in the states. The internet had more to offer, but we were limited for time for delivery since we leave on the ride on the 10th of August. Floyd asked them how many motorcycles they sell in Beijing each year. The lady waiting on us told us about 100. It appears that the Harleys are $5,000 to $8,000 more than the same motorcycle in the states. We then walked back to the apartment. The temperature was in the 90’s and it was plenty warm! We were both soaking from sweat when we got back to our nice cool apartment. We were also very tired!!!
July 26, 2009 – it is Sunday again. It seems like this week went really fast. Today in church we had more talks about the pioneers since July 24 is called Pioneer Day in the church. It was this day in 1848 that the pioneers first reached the Salt Lake Valley. It was interesting that parallels were drawn to us in China. Many of us are like pioneers in what we are doing over here. It is also challenging to give up the comforts of a life we know so well to go to a country where life is much different – the language, the food, the culture and living conditions. With all of that said we are thoroughly enjoying this experience. It is not always easy and is sometimes very challenging. But, it is also very rewarding.

July 13-19, 2009

July 13, 2009 – Another hot, muggy day today. I lucked out though, I checked the weather on accuweather and it said it was supposed be in the high 90’s so I decided to go for an earlier walk than usual. It was still quite hot and was foggy. I could hear thunder in the distance during the last lap of the park so I decided to head back for the apartment even though I always take my umbrella. Within a half an hour it began to rain, I mean REALLY rain. I was sure glad I wasn’t out in it! After a short while the rain stopped and I went out for another walk after lunch. Again I could hear the thunder in the distance so I headed back to the apartment and in a while it began to rain again, this time it did not stop for a few hours…kind of reminded me of Seattle…lol. I also spent considerable time on Rosetta Stone learning Chinese, some of it is actually starting to make sense to me very slowly. It could be years before I understand a conversation or can hold a conversation though.
July 14, 2009 – It is again hot and muggy so I went for my walk early. Today it was not foggy but I took my umbrella for sun protection. I had a wonderful walk and got a little sun on my legs, my tan marks are bazaar though because of capris and flip flops. I also was working on Rosetta Stone again today.
I would like to share some articles again from our China Daily News English News we get here. Gotta love this one! Wine-gulping burglars get 4 months each in jail – Two burglars who were arrested after they got drunk and dozed off in the house they broke into in April were each sentenced to four months in prison last week.
In the wee hours of April 6, Zeng and Lia, both in their 20’s broke into a house in Yongjia, Zhenjiang province, and wer only too happy to find some American dollars and an expensive bottle of red wine. They pocked the foreign currency and then sat down to finish the bottle of wine.
At sunrise, a neighbor saw the house door wide open and called the police, who caught the burglars snoring away under a thick quilt. www.chinanews.com.cn
July 15, 2009 – today is laundry day again. I can’t let my laundry get too far ahead of me because of my small washing machine. We also have a work trip this Friday and Saturday for Floyd which I was invited to attend so we need clean clothes for that also. This trip is a recreation trip with Floyd’s office and is going to the Grasslands about 6 hours bus ride from here.
People would not stand for this in the US, but in China it really happened! Fatigued driver falls asleep at traffic junction – Tired after a long journey, a driver fell asleep in his car at a crossroad in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, for almost two hours, disrupting traffic movement in the wee hours of last Monday.
Police hurried to the scene as many vehicles were forced to take a detour around the intersection, choked with honking traffic.
Police woke the man who explained he had driven for several hours from a neighboring province and ay have fallen asleep waiting at the traffic signal. Inner Mongolia Morning Post
July 16, 2009 –Unfortunately Floyd’s computer decided to take a major dive and quit doing some of the things it is supposed to do for their major deployment of the dairy ration program they are supposed to have happen next week. Because of the time wasted with the computer and trying to get ready for next week we opted to not go on the recreation trip with his office. I am sure we will go on other sight-seeing trips some time.
There were two articles in the newspaper today that interested me, so I will share them both: 2-year-old falls from 21st floor, escapes with bruises - A 2-year-old girl miraculously survived after falling from the 21st floor of an under-construction building in Jiangyang, Sichuan province, last Wednesday.
The toddler suffered only minor injuries, and is said to be in stable condition.
Zhu Tianjun, 31, a migrant worker, said his wife brought their daughter to the 21st floor of the construction site, where he was working, to pay him a short visit.
Minutes later, his wife raised an alarm, saying the girl had fallen off the building.
The girl was rushed to the hospital where doctors were surprised to detect only a broken left femur and some minor injuries on her liver and spleen.
They said the soft soil on the ground may have broken the girl’s fall. Tianfu Morning News
Yikes, that was scary! This next one is definitely for the records… Bibliophile on trial for stealing 1,697 books – A man stood trial in a Chongqing municipality court last Wednesday for stealing more than 1,500 books from various bookstores in the municipality over a period of three years.
A staff of a bookstore in the municipality first caught Liu with books he had not paid for and handed him over to police in March.
Lie then confessed to often taking away books from various stores without paying, maintaining he did not think it should be considered stealing.
Police searched his house and found 1,697 unbilled books, valued at some 36,000 yuan ($5,271).
The court will pronounce its judgment soon. Chongqing Commercial Daily
July 17, 2009 – we had a very rain day today so I did not venture out of the apartment until late afternoon when I had to go to the store to buy some groceries. I was trying to wait for the rain to stop but finally had to give up and just go with an umbrella up. It was still warm so I wore capris and sandals so my feet and legs got kind of wet. It wasn’t too bad though, it was only raining slightly instead of the downpours we had in the morning. It was very muggy though. After dinner the showers had stopped so we ventured over to the park for a walk. The humidity was so high that I only lasted 2 laps before I felt like I was drowning…actually it was really very hard to breathe! Floyd promised me dinner out tonight or Saturday since we did not go on the trip, but with the rain I opted for Saturday night.
Here is a another news article for the records: Wearing a T-shirt? Beware of the black birds – Two black birds in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, have attacked more than 50 man sporting T-shirts on the city’s Funiu Road in the past 20 days.
Three of the victims have even bled as a result of the pecking.
Seemingly, the two birds never attack women, children and senior citizens, and incidentally, all their victims are young men walking around in T-shirts.
Zoologists believe the two birds are avenging their baby’s death 20 days ago.
The baby bird was killed after it fell to the ground from their nest. A man, wearing a T-shirt, picked up the dead bird and chucked it into a roadside dustbin. Zhengzhou Evening News
July 18, 2009 - Floyd is still trying to play catch up with his work on the computer so we have spent most of the day in the apartment. There was an interesting article in the newspaper today…I think someone is going to have some explaining to do (I don’t think he can talk his way out of this one!). Wife bumps into husband and pregnant mistress – A woman got into a major fight with her husband and his mistress in a hospital in Wuchang, Hubei province, on Tuesday after she realized he had made the other woman pregnant.
The 35-year-old wife was at the hospital to see a gynecologist when she accidentally bumped into her husband and his mistress.
The suspicious wife snatched away the woman’s medical records only to learn she was there to get her pregnancy aborted and that her husband was the father.
The fierce fight ended only an hour later after hospital staff intervened. Changjiang Commercial News
July 19, 2009 – we had a slight adventure today, we left our apartment a little late but got a taxi right away. This driver seemed to know where he was going, he went a slightly different way but passed many of the regular landmarks we are used to but then went in a direction we had never been before...we thought for sure we were lost but then he took us right to the building, and the fare was the same as usual. You never know here, we were a little late for the meetings though, we walked in during the opening song. After wonderful talks on Pioneers today, we came home and just relaxed. Unfortunately, Floyd is still preparing for his meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday so he spent most of the afternoon on the computer.

July 6-12, 2006

July 6 and 7, 2009 – Floyd and I left for Beijing today on the 6th. We took a later flight, leaving Boise at 8:57 AM instead of 6:00 AM, but found out from the lady at the ticket counter that this flight can sometimes get out late from Boise or late getting into San Francisco because of fog. This flight seemed so much more reasonable since we don’t have to leave the house so early but we made our connection at San Francisco too close to take a chance during the fog season. It was great today though. We had two uneventful flights with the regular meals, movies and naps. We arrived in Beijing on the afternoon of the 7th due to crossing the International Date Line. The Chinese government is very concerned about trying to minimize the H1N1 Flu. We had to fill out a health declaration telling where we had been the last 7 days and whether we had any symptoms. We also had to give them our information of where we were travelling or staying in China. When we arrived at the airport, we had to all stay in our seats while masked, goggled and white coated health officers boarded the plane and took a temperature scan on every passenger with an infra-red thermometer. It looks like a blow drier and they just point it at your forehead and take a reading. As long as it is normal they pass you by. If you have a fever, you become a guest of the Chinese government at a health facility until they determine what you have. The challenges didn’t occur until we got to baggage claim in Beijing and one of our bags was still back in San Francisco. Grrrrr! They sent it on the next day’s flight and it arrived at our apartment that evening. We were glad to see it but not too happy that it got left behind! It had Floyd’s contact lens cleaners, razor, etc. We took a taxi to the apartment from the airport. The taxi driver was not really happy to take all our luggage though, they would rather you take a taxi van when you have luggage but the cost is about double so we opted to go in a regular cab. We could tell by his sighs and looks that he was not extremely happy. It should not be a worry to him though, Floyd loaded most of the bags and he got paid so what is the problem??? We settled in quickly as we have made the trip many times before. The apartments are basically the same so it is just a matter of putting everything in the same place as we put it before, that makes it pretty easy! We are really tired and ready for a good night’s sleep in a bed instead of the airplane seat!

July 8, 2009 – HAPPY 2ND BIRTHDAY TO OUR GRANDDAUGHTER ADDISON! Even though we were not there for her birthday we certainly thought of her! We did celebrate with her before we left when we celebrated Dylan’s 10th birthday on the 2nd of July.

I took it pretty easy, just continued to get settled in. I went to the grocery store for some of the items we will need during our stay. I also spent some time on the computer trying to learn Chinese on Rosetta Stone. I am surprised at how much I remember since I did not even look at it while we were at home. I had decided I needed to spend equal time there learning as I do here but to no avail, other things just seem to take priority over it. Maybe next month??? I haven’t gone to the gym yet this time but did spend some time out walking around the park. The weather has been very hot, in the 90’s, with higher humidity than we are used to. We have had a few rain showers which keeps the humidity up. It makes it very uncomfortable to be outside. We really appreciate the air conditioning in the apartment.
This trip over, Floyd will be focusing on helping to get things finalized for the training of some of the sales team and deployment of some dairy nutrition software the company is releasing to China employees. This week, he will be in the office all week as his interpreter is out of town to some work related meetings. He will just continue to work on some of the tasks he has been doing at home to finish preparing for the deployment.
July 9, 2009 – Another hot, muggy day here in Beijing…quite a challenge as it makes one not want to go out for a walk in the moist heat, but I forced myself to do so. The park is beautiful and I get to see so many people and enjoy the lovely colorful flowers in bloom there.
July 10, 2009 – Today was still very hot and muggy. We are still adjusting to the time and being away from home. We have noticed that when we are walking around the neighborhood that there are a lot of loud insect noises coming from the trees. We are told it is katydids, a type of grasshopper that makes these noises. To give you an idea of what it sounds like, turn on your speakers and click on this hyperlink.
(http://www.audiosparx.com/sa/archive/Insects/Crickets/Katydid-and-Cricket-Serenade/242160)
Here are a two local news articles from the China Daily News English Newspaper you may get a kick out of: Woman with grasshoppers booted out of bus – A woman carrying two cages full of grasshoppers was kicked out of a bus in Wuhan, Hubei province’s capital, after passengers refused to ride further in the same bus on Monday.
Seemingly troubled by the incessant noise the katydids created, passengers screamed at the driver Wang Gang for allowing the villager to board the bus with hundreds of long-horned grasshoppers.
Even as the driver explained there was no rule prohibiting katydids from being brought on to a bus, passengers forced the woman to de-board at the Jianghan Road bus stop. –Chutian Metropolis Daily
If you did not take the time to go to the link above with the sound of a Katydid now is the time to do so so you can really appreciate what these people were putting up with on the bus! ~Merilee
Reptiles and lizards keep man cool in summer – A man in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, has found a way to keep cool and comfortable without the use of any electricity.
Zhoa Jing, 26, shares his bed with boas, lizards and other cold-blooded animals.
Zhoa has transformed his home into a mini zoo for reptiles and insects.
The former chef spends more than two-thirds of his monthly income on food for the pets. – Wuhan Evening News
July 11, 2009 – We had a very easy restful day. Floyd got up early as he had some work he had to do for his clients back in the US. While he worked on the computer, I had the luxury of sleeping a couple of more hours. After we had breakfast, we went for a walk around the neighborhood and the park before it got too hot. We had a nice leisurely lunch at the apartment and then did some more grocery shopping. I had to do laundry today. It is very interesting and sometimes challenging. The washer is also a dryer. However, sometimes the dry part does not work so well. The unit we have this month is one of those. Fortunately, we have some special hangers and a portable clothes line to hang clothes up all over the bathroom. It is crude, but gets things done. Around midnight, we had a thunderstorm go through the area. The lightning and thunder are a little different than what we normally see and hear in Idaho. The lightning reminds us more of the summer heat lightening we used to see in California, just flashes with no real bolts. The thunder is more like a jet rumble rather than a clap.
July 12, 2009 – Today we went to Church. The branch has gotten much smaller as many of the people that were over here teaching English have gone home. July is also the month that many families return to the States or where ever they may be from to visit family. There was a lot of visitors there today though as some people are here for summer interns or other short-term work or study related trips. The new group of English teachers will start coming back in August, so the numbers will go back up. We had another thunderstorm go through tonight. This is apparently very common during the month of July.