JISHOU, HUNAN — You know the old saw, “If you don’t like the weather, just wait an hour?” Well, it’s true here, too.

At 3 pm, there was a light cloud cover and 86 degrees F. At dinner, one of my friends got a call from her boyfriend in Changsha, who told her the temperature had plummeted to the 60’s, it was raining, and a northerly wind was blowing hard. (The gusty wind also locked him out of his home: the wind slammed the door against the wall, pushing in the lock button, then slammed it shut … while he was outside and his keys inside.)

Sure enough, by the time we finished dinner at Will Long Cake (they do serve more than cake there; it’s like a Dairy Queen Brazier, but not as greasy), it was cold, gusty and starting to rain. Right now (10:30) it is pouring outside, and I just turned on the heater.

Of course, I shouldn’t complain. The Philippines just got clobbered again by another typhoon, the third in the last five weeks.

October 31st, 2009 | Tags: changeable, China, jishou, weather | Category: China, General stuff | Leave a comment

JISHOU, HUNAN — I should go to bed, but I have to share this joke a Chinese friend told me. I swear I did not make this up.

“You know the problem with Western food? You eat it, and an hour later you’re hungry again.”

Good night, folks. You’ve been a great audience.

October 26th, 2009 | Tags: China, food, joke | Category: China, General stuff | Comments (2)

JISHOU, HUNAN — My cherished Palm Treo had a stroke on Sunday. It started acting flaky on Friday, recovered somewhat on Saturday, but ended up partly paralyzed by noon Sunday.

It could send, but it couldn’t receive, reliably, anything. No texts. No phone calls. Except when it wanted to. It was like dealing with a patient from a House M.D. episode.

One friend thought I was mad at her, because I wasn’t responding to her calls or messages. Another thought I was seriously ill. The first called a mutual friend, who assured her I was not angry at anyone. The other eventually caught up with me on QQ.

The flakiness started Friday. People were complaining they were texting me, but not getting my usual prompt response. After pulling out the SIM card, buffing the contacts and blowing some air into the Treo, I got it to receive for about 10 minutes, reliably, and longer, sporadically. Some people could reach me, while others couldn’t. Frustrating.

I’ve had the thing for about three years, and it’s about five years old, ancient by cell phone standards. It was beginning to exhibit some other annoying behaviors, like refusing to charge unless I connected it just so, and arranged it on the desk just right. If I bumped it too hard, it would shut off the radio. Occasionally, the touch screen would not respond, but after I pressed on the entire surface, it would work again.

October 22nd, 2009 | Tags: cell phone, China, Nokia e63, Palm Treo 600, smartphone | Category: China, General stuff | Comments (1)

CHONGQING — Forget fembots, Austin. Here is your new foe/challenge — the women’s militia of the People’s Liberation Army.

Photo by the AP.

According to Danwei.org, even the stony-faced Hu Jintao smiled when he saw these women marching in last week’s National Day parade in Beijing. I wonder if he was also reminded of miniskirts and white go-go boots when he saw them.

Or am I just dating myself?

Another photo, courtesy of Danwei.org:

October 7th, 2009 | Tags: Austin Powers, China, danwei.org, danwei.tv, Hu Jintao, national day, women's militia | Category: China, General stuff | Leave a comment

I am now a writer for the Teachers’ Lounge at The Daily Kos. My first Teachers’ Lounge diary went up yesterday, and was even rescued overnight! In DKos-atopia, that’s a singular honor. So, go read it.

September 13th, 2009 | Tags: China, daily kos, education, ESL, teachers lounge, Teaching | Category: China, General stuff, Teaching, Teaching English | Leave a comment

JISHOU, HUNAN — Maybe I can stop foaming at the mouth now. Two polls by Survey USA of Verona, New Jersey, shows people overwhelmingly favor President Barack Obama speaking directly to schoolchildren.

In fact, the people surveyed said it was entirely appropriate for any president to speak to schoolchildren. Most said they would want their children to hear the speech. And most said school districts should make the decision whether students should watch or listen.

Two identical polls were taken of 500 adults each in Fresno, California, and statewide in Missouri. Here are the results of the Fresno poll. The results of the Missouri poll are almost identical; you can check them for yourself.

Question 1: President Obama plans to deliver a national address to school children on the importance of them taking responsibility for their own success in school. Do you think it is appropriate? Or not appropriate? For President Obama to deliver this address?

Question 2: Do you think it would be appropriate? Or not appropriate? For ANY President to deliver this address?

Question 3: If you had a child attending a school that was going to show the address, would you tell your child to pay attention? Would you tell you child to NOT pay attention? Or would you keep your child home?

Question 4: Who should decide whether to show President Obama’s national address to school children? School districts? Or individual teachers?

September 5th, 2009 | Tags: Barack Obama, education, Schools, speech, survey, wingnuts | Category: Commentary, General stuff, Schools | Comments (2)