China

“TacoLax”

“Has anyone been to China? If I can manage to scrape up the funds, I'll be heading there early this summer. However, that's a big if seeing as the plane ticket alone is a grand....and the trip I want to do before a conference is another grand....and I'm a poor student... :(”

“Ped is the man to talk to. I think he lived there for awhile. I've always dreamed of going there.



Sorry you're a poor student. Study harder and you can turn it around. LOL!”

“LOL! I didn't mean it like that!

Yeah, there is this amazing conference happening there this summer and it happens to be dealing exactly with something I've researching. It would be a dream to make it over there for this event. I need to see what I can work out...and if I can work any more hours this semester. I wasn't planning on working so I have about 20 credits this semester. Damn!”

“"I wasn't planning on working so I have about 20 credits this semester."

20? Dayum is right!”

“Twink: I was in China in January 2004 to travel and to pick up my son who had been studying in Xian (and celebrate his 16th Birthday). That was the first time I'd been there for a long time and it had changed incredibly.

There are a couple others who have been. Watch for specials and Charters for cheaper fare. If you are in NYC, you might check out China Town and travel agencies there for info on cheap trips. My father goes a few times a year and travel agents plugged into the Chinese American community often seem to know the best deals.

What part of China do you want to go to? Are you looking to solo or join a tour?”

“Crazy right? I told my friends, family, and bf that we'll have to make appointments to see each other and that I'll most likely not see anyone until April! I've got to do it though...need to get things done already.”

“Do you know what part of China you might want to go to? Tarpy went there last summer...he was there for 2 months for work. The town he stayed in wasn't a big city, but one that had just recently been farmland and was converting to office buildings. He sounded pretty miserable while he was there (since he hates the heat and people, and there were lots of both there, LOL!!). But now he says he can't wait to go back. Since it's a really big country, I'm sure your experience would depend greatly on what part you went to...

All the people he was working with were very friendly...they would all go out together after work, and on the weekends. He said he didn't get to do as much exploring as he would have liked, though, because he had gone there by himself, he doesn't speak Chinese, and only one of the people he was working with spoke fluent English. I think everything was so extremely new to him, and there was so much to absorb, that he was in culture shock for most of the time.

Oh and you should hear him talk about the food! He was served chicken feet, lots of raw meat (as in red meat, not sushi)...I forget what else, but basically anything on an animal that you can eat, they do eat. He would eat candy bars and go to Pizza Hut to get some calories...LOL!

Like I said, he definitely wants to go back...there's really nothing you could ever imagine that would prepare you for how incredibly different it is from here!”

“You should repost that summery of China you had on that other thread Ped. LOL!”

“What about teaching English in China? You get paid while enjoying some of the scenery.”

“Nigal: I think the summary you are mentioning was the post that started this thread.

Tarpy might enjoy it.
last edited: 1/25/06 12:51:30 PM”

“pedxing - I wish you would quit bringing up this thread. I've been trying to forget my old girfriend, "China." (pronounced Chee' na in Spanish.)”

“I spent about 5 months in China trekking and mountaineering in Xinjiang and the country formerly known as Tibet. Western China is way different than the populated eastern side. If you go west, it'll be better for you to know a few words of Uighur rather than Mandarin or Cantonese. If your headed that way let me know Iand I can give you some more beta.”

“LOL @ Slim -”

“Camelfluffer, I'd be interested in any info you'd feel like posting.

I'll be cycling into the TAR from Kyrgyzstan in the fall.”

“BANGKOK, Thailand - China's skies have darkened over the past 50 years, possibly due to haze resulting from a nine-fold increase in fossil fuel emissions, according to researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/china_haze”

“The end is near!”

“Air pollution and pollution in general is incredible in China. There are areas where everything is covered in soot. Clear skies are rare in many cities. In Xian the sky was orange brown every day I was there.”

“The End of Fossil Fuel at least.”

“NGO's are making incredible strides in China.

And Happy New Year!”

“I thought soot was natural. Of course, I live right next to an international airport.
last edited: 1/29/06 2:47:45 PM”

““NGO's are making incredible strides in China.

And Happy New Year!”
bearmagnet
1:44:17 PM
1/29/06

Incredible strides??
Like a Yeti??

Happy New Year, Bow-WOW!!!”

“Only gotten worse in the nearly dozen years since my return from the Middle Kingdom. And it was horrible when I was there. I just hope that the Olympic athletes don't choke on the air.”

“wish me luck....that's all I'm saying for now”

“Good luck Oh Twinkling one!”

“So Twinks, you still haven't said which part of China you'd be headed to. It really makes a difference, especially for weather and food quality.

I was in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, in SW next to Tibet, for a year. Summer was hot and humid, winter cool and damp. Food was glorious. Air was thick. People were generally very friendly. The social politics ebb and flow with world events, so sometimes you feel more welcome than others. We hit a high tide of friendliness, yet I know some folks who visited while the U.S and China were having some dustup over something and it was edgy for a while. With the Olympics coming, it will be likely that China will be on pretty good behavior toward foreigners for the foreseeable future.

The more you can get away from the tarted up urban trade centers, the more of the real China you will see. Try to visit the country side and villages. Always keep a supply of bottled water handy, learn to say Ni hao (nee haow - how do you do), xie xie (shay shay - thank you), wo yao (I want), bu yao (don't want), wo jiao (my name is), and mei guo ren (may-gwo-run - American) and you can get along pretty good. If too many people crowd you, say "Zo kai" (go away). They usually will.

Hope you get to go. It's very intense and very memorable.”

“This is part of a conference I want to attend.

I would be visiting, over the course of 11 days, the following: Sanjiang of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Weng’an of Guizhou Province, Yangjiaping of Hunan Province, and finishing at the Yangtze Gorges area of Hubei Province. Then the actual conference would take place in Bejiing.”

“The world today seems absolutely crackers,
With nuclear bombs to blow us all sky high.
There's fools and idiots sitting on the trigger.
It's depressing and it's senseless, and that's why...
I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
They only come up to your knees,
Yet they're always friendly, and they're ready to please.

I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
There's nine hundred million of them in the world today.
You'd better learn to like them; that's what I say.

I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
They come from a long way overseas,
But they're cute and they're cuddly, and they're ready to please.

I like Chinese food.
The waiters never are rude.
Think of the many things they've done to impress.
There's Maoism, Taoism, I Ching, and Chess.

So I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
I like their tiny little trees,
Their Zen, their ping-pong, their yin, and yang-ese.

I like Chinese thought,
The wisdom that Confucious taught.
If Darwin is anything to shout about,
The Chinese will survive us all without any doubt.

So, I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
They only come up to your knees,
Yet they're wise and they're witty, and they're ready to please.

All together.

[verse in Chinese]
Wo ai zhongguo ren. (I like Chinese.)
Wo ai zhongguo ren. (I like Chinese.)
Wo ai zhongguo ren. (I like Chinese.)
Ni hao ma; ni hao ma; ni hao ma; zaijien! (How are you; how are you; how are you; goodbye!)

I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
Their food is guaranteed to please,
A fourteen, a seven, a nine, and lychees.

I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
I like their tiny little trees,
Their Zen, their ping-pong, their yin, and yang-ese.

I like Chinese.
I like Chinese.
They only come up to your knees...


NS & pink gonna attacke me now? LMAO!”

“Earlier today after aetting primed at an obi tori seminar for three hours, I might have been so inclined. But I just returned from a class on Brotherly Love To Mankind, so rest easy. LOL.

Youi trip sounds wonderful, Twinkle Toes.
last edited: 2/11/06 8:18:36 PM”

“lol, bearmagnet.

Sounds like an interesting itinerary, Twinks. Hope you can pull it off.”

“Bearmagnet

CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATION

Eric Idle

Monty Python

I always liked the Norwegian Song.”

“I got the thing!!!!! I'm definately going to China!!!

I can't believe they picked me!”

“Congrats!”

“Way to go Twinks! Have fun in the Middle Kingdom.”

“She's a regular international woman of mystery.”

“My mother-in-law and sister-in-law are going to China in March. They have a side trip scheduled to see the Terra Cotta Warriors.”

“The Terra Cotta Warriors are worth seeing. A guide can help. I took public transportation and bargained a pretty good rate for one when I went. He was thrilled when I gave him the magazine I'd finished reading (I wonder if that would be a good thing to use for barter with a guide - since the english speaking ones are often interested in English reading material).”

“Remember if they can't understand you ...yell louder”

“Ped, My mother-in-law is going to Bejiing and flying to where the Terra Cotta Warriors are for the day, so she'll have a guide with her.

XL, you jest, but I had someone call me about my motorcycle that I have up for sale and he had a very heavy Indian accent. I found myself talking louder, even though I understood him. When you have lived in NY, you tend to understand heavy accents. After I hung up, I wondered if he realized I was talking loud, lol:)”

“I thought you were going to say...
after living in NY you tend to talk loud because you've gone deaf from that particular level of screeching only subways can produce, especially while you wait for the 4,5,6 at 14th street...”

“Twinkle, lol:) I was watching the detective show called "Monk" and he had to go to New York. He's obsessive compulsive w/other mental problems and he could not take the constant noise of sirens. I can say I don't miss that about NY.

Then I once lived in the dorms of the Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn. Talk about sirens!!!

I think I've worked all over the city. I get jobs easy, but don't keep them. I get bored and move on and then I did temp work which I liked.”

“I hear that about the jobs issue. That's why I went back to school...which is why I'm going to China. Funny how things work out sometimes :)

I have to say that Washington Heights/Inwood takes the noise prize. Freakin Broadway and Bodega-checker jams...all the time.

I wonder what it sounds like in China? Is Beijing like NYC?”

“Learn chinese in 5 minutes:

1) That's not right ......................... Sum Ting Wong
2) Are you harboring a fugitive?............. Hu Yu Hai Ding
3) See me ASAP................................ Kum Hia Nao
4) Stupid Man .............................. Dum Fuk
5) Small Horse ............................ Tai Ni Po Ni
6) Did you go to the beach? ................ Wai Yu So Tan
7) I bumped into a coffee table ............ Ai Bang Mai Fa Kin Ni
8) I think you need a face lift .............Chin Tu Fat
9) It's very dark in here .................. Wao So Dim
10) I thought you were on a diet ............. Wai Yu Mun Ching?
11) This is a tow away zone .................. No Pah King
12) Our meeting is scheduled for next week ... Wai Yu Kum Nao?
13) Staying out of sight ................... Lei Ying Lo
14) He's cleaning his automobile ............ Wa Shing Ka
15) Your body odor is offensive ............. Yu Stin Ki Pu
16) Great .................................. Fa Kin Su Pah”

“LOL! Those are great V.”

“These are worth looking at:

http://www-users.york.ac.uk/~fj102/photo/beautiful%20china.htm




last edited: 8/15/06 11:36:59 AM”

“Very nice”

“clear skies in china? must be photoshopped! man, china was such a cool trip...”

“Nice pics! That first one does look photo shopped.

Twinks, my son told me that in Xian the skies would have blue in them for days after a good rain. When I was there, the sky was orange/brown all day.”

“Some of these make fine desktop wallpapers. The site won't let you copy them directly. Right click and look at properties on one of the photos above and just change the image number to view them all.”