Late May Bloggings

Interesting Choice

I almost wish I had this student's choice.  His company wants him to spend two years in Cambodia.  They will give him double pay, and four trips home per year.  The only hitch is that his girlfriend doesn't want to wait for him.  He must decide between love and money/travel. 

 If I was in his shoes, I would go to Cambodia.

Muggy Weather

It is getting sweaty here in Wuxi.

 

Wearing Glasses

For about a month or so, I have been using reading glasses.  I hate wearing them except when reading.  Off my sweaty nose, they keep slipping, I've noticed when I have worn them teaching -- absolute torture.

And the other thing I have noticed:  When you wear glasses to read, you also need glasses to eat.

But on the bright side, I have told I look professorial.

 

Light-Headed

That is the way I feel after talking to large groups of people.

 

Fit to be tied, again.

I thought I had gotten through fine, but I made a slip and earned eternal infamy in the eyes of the group.  Arrgghh!  A memory to forever haunt me!  A memory to pop into my head uninvited.  And yet, it was just a conglomeration of circumstances, and I couldn't have acted other than I did.

Does my conscience ever leave me alone?

The 2010 Kaulins Family Canada Odyssey Itinerary

From June 10 to June 16, we will be in British Columbia

From June 16 to June 27, we will be in Manitoba.

Is it okay to make fun of North Korea?

Normally, it would be.  But I am in China.  Am I making fun of their ally?

 

Thought

Love your enemy, they say.  I say sure, but the enemy is often ourselves.

 

Thought

Too tired to act other than how I really feel.

 

Hilary and Obama

I did a SPC about fame.  According to the students, the most famous people in the world, male and female, are Obama and Hilary Clinton. 

 

Is that the best this world can do?  I mean we have more people alive now than ever.  Why are these stunning mediocrities, who are more the benefactors of circumstances than the creators of them, the world's most well-known?

The best of all time?  The students mentioned Mary, the virgin, and Napoleon.

 

Chinese and Russians

Chinese don't trust Russians doing business.  The Russians like to renege on deals and not compensate for lost production.

Tony's imperfections 

Anthony watches too much television.  He picks his nose and leaves the pickings everywhere.  He drinks and spits the fluid back into the container.

 

Uncharitable Thought

He is the best looking guy in the bar -- for his age and weight class.

 

Google Reader

Don't get me wrong.  After discovering the Google Reader, I can't help but love it.  It allows me to access all my favorite blogs and sites on one page.  But one morning I had 500 unread pieces!!!

 

Must Read

With so much to read on the Internet, I have to say David Warren is the number one read for me.

 

Old Latvians

This trip to Canada won't be glamorous.  We will be going on a very tight budget.  And we will be meeting a lot of old Lativans -- not that there is anything wrong with that, but they don't reek of glamour.  One of them, an aunt I used to live with, is very sick, I have been told.  I pray I will be able to see them when I arrive next month.

 

Children of Migrant Workers

That is, the offspring of the workers who come here to do construction, don't get admitted into Wuxi schools, I have been told.  And it makes for social problems.

 

I wish I could have taken a photo.

Walking down a narrow roadway, I saw a cyclist riding directly in front of a dump truck going fairly fast.  The cyclist got out of the truck's way; but for a few seconds, it looked like she was going to be run over.

 

James Dean T-Shirt

A student was wearing a James Dean t-shirt.  Asking her about it, I learned she didn't know who James Dean was.  She thought he was handsome, though.

 

It is interesting to see the Chinese wearing Iconic Western Culture images without knowing their significance.  I have seen many Chinese wearing Beatle shirts without having a clue about who the Fab Four were.

 

 Another I wish I could have taken a picture

In fact, I wish I could have taken a video.  This time, I was walking in downtown Wuxi when I saw a huge piece of metal, possibly fifty meters in length and three meters in width, dangling on a crane hook.  The crane was moving cross a pedestrian path.  Workers were trying to prevent cyclists and pedestrians from crossing the crane's path, but they were ignored.  The metal was needed for subway construction.

 

I slap myself

I am in China, I said to myself.  Who would have thought it, ten years ago?