Observations and Links.

• From the bus, I saw a man selling books on the sidewalk.  He had stationed himself in the covered portion of a pedestrian tunnel that was underneath the train tracks that go through Wuxi.  He was sitting on a lawn chair.  He had books lined up on the pavement as well as sitting in boxes.  I thought to myself, as I saw him, how his way of making money would soon be obsolete, and the sight was forlorn in a way.
• Wuxi China Expatdom now has a Colonscopy specialist!!  Read about it at blogspot or wordpress.
• Dazzle, a male-stripper team featuring Dennis, Andis, and Zach, wins a Wuxi China Expatdom competition.  Read about at WCE blogspot or WCE wordpress.
• Another student tells me she admires Chairman Mao.....
• Photo of a fishing Tony.
• In one of my classes, a student tells me his mother keeps a frog in his house to catch mosquitoes. 
• I came home late on Friday night Tony immediately wanted me to set up bridges for his train set.  Jenny tells me he had been waiting all evening for me.
• Saturday evening, the school had a field trip to Mei Yuan Park for a light show.  I took Tony and Jenny with me, and you can see some photos I took by visiting the links in this entry.  The light show was okay as far as it went.  But there was the usual chintzy and smaltz associated with Chinese parks.  We tried to feed fish with milk bottles but the fish weren't sucking -- they probably had been feeding all day.  We tried to catch little gold fish with fishing rods, or I should say I tried.  Tony had the posture of fishing down (look at the photo link to see this), but he didn't get the concept.  He wanted to make bubbles, not catch his fish with the pole.  He was more interested in the track ride -- 25 rmb it set me back for two rides.  As soon as he saw the train ride -- if you could call it a train -- he ran for it before the attendants could stop him.
• Photo of Tony and Jenny with a properly posing Tony.
• At the square near my home, I see these people practicing Tai Chi or something like it -- I am not sure of the name.  I was impressed with what I saw and heard.  The music was calm.  The movements of the practitioners was very grace and  had the dynamism of Bruce Lee.  I felt I was witnessing one of those rare Chinese things that doesn't seem tainted or rendered suspect by Modern China.   I wanted to join in.
• Photo of Tony at the Mei Yuan Park Light Show.
• A student, who has twin boys, tells me he can sometimes get discounts at baby shops, but only sometimes.
• Photo of Tony and Jenny at the Mei Yuan Park Light Show.
• Last week, one of my students told me he was getting married this week.  Today in my second last class, I had a student tell me that he and his wife were expecting their baby next month.  In my last class, I had a student tell me that he and his wife were expecting a baby next week.