Okay so this has gotten totally out of hand. I realize that and so I'm gonna stand up, like a man, and pass the blame to someone else. Or someones else as the case may be. The powers that be, you see, like to control the flow of information so that those unflattering things might be swept under the carpet (as much as possible.) Well it seems several unflattering things have been happening lately so you-know-who has really tightened the screws and battened down the hatches. And in this age of world wide interwebs any Tom, Dick or Harry can be an investigative and/or whistle blowing reporter so just about every outlet available to the people at large has been closed off.
So here are some pictures of myself and a friend at Guiyuan Temple. Its a Buddhist temple here in Hanyang. If I remember correctly my words are in brackets and Jessica's are in parentheses. Or maybe its the other was around, I can't remember. Enjoy. (and hold a good thought for unblocking some internets.)
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Showtime
Man it's easy to blow this thing off when I can't do it myself; such a pain in the extreme lower back.
Wuhan is in central China. Cental China gets hot. Really hot. Wuhan gets really hot. "Because of its hot summer weather, Wuhan is known as one of China's Three Furnaces, along with Nanjing and Chongqing. Wuhan is by far the hottest of the Three Furnaces; the average temperature in July is 37.2°C (99°F), and the maximum often exceeds 40°C (104°F)." I hadn't given this much thought before I came. I mean, Dallas is in Texas. Texas gets hot. Really hot. "...the north central Texas region where Dallas is located is one of the hottest in the United States during the summer months, usually trailing only the Mojave Desert basin." (I couldn't find any stats on humidity, but here 75% is low.) So anyway I wasn't in the least worried about the weather and proudly put down any and all Chicken Little's with "I'm from Texas, I'll be fine." Well I now know that there was one variable I had not accounted for: Texas is air conditioned. Everyone and everywhere in Texas has air conditioning, I don't know how many times I've heard "you have to have air conditioning in Texas, you couldn't live here otherwise." Well actually, that's not exactly true. Texas without air conditioning is Wuhan and a whole bunch of people live here. One difference in climes is that Wuhan gets cold in the winter. I got here for the tail end of winter and quickly learned, from its absence, the value of central heat. Well that goes double for A/C in the summer. Its rough. And so of course mine went on the fritz the other day. Actually it had been working at about 50% for the past few weeks but then she leaked water all over the livingroom floor and we had to shut down operations completely until we could get a repairman in for a visit. Well, she's back at full health now, thank goodness, so as long as I don't leave the apartment... (thanks to wikipedia for the weather info.)
So a few weeks back we put on an English show. The English Department, or just the foreign teachers rather, put together a variety/talent-type show to be performed all in English. And I got to host the whole thing. Oh how I cursed this show. This was right around the time when I was having to write finals (one final exam plus an alternate exam for each class, that's 6 exams in total) and grade story analyses, and cram 2 extra weeks worth of material into the rapidly dwindling school year (that one was my own fault). I was stressed out, and the last thing I needed was another task to spearhead. Like a good little time bomb I supressed my rage and did it anyway and after it was all said and done I had a blast. I'm so glad I went through with it rather than unleash a blue streak across central China to rival the Great Wall. We put out the call for students to perform and we got some real talented kids. There was singing, dancing, skits, a one-act play, and the comedy stylings of yours truly. Here are some pictures.
Wuhan is in central China. Cental China gets hot. Really hot. Wuhan gets really hot. "Because of its hot summer weather, Wuhan is known as one of China's Three Furnaces, along with Nanjing and Chongqing. Wuhan is by far the hottest of the Three Furnaces; the average temperature in July is 37.2°C (99°F), and the maximum often exceeds 40°C (104°F)." I hadn't given this much thought before I came. I mean, Dallas is in Texas. Texas gets hot. Really hot. "...the north central Texas region where Dallas is located is one of the hottest in the United States during the summer months, usually trailing only the Mojave Desert basin." (I couldn't find any stats on humidity, but here 75% is low.) So anyway I wasn't in the least worried about the weather and proudly put down any and all Chicken Little's with "I'm from Texas, I'll be fine." Well I now know that there was one variable I had not accounted for: Texas is air conditioned. Everyone and everywhere in Texas has air conditioning, I don't know how many times I've heard "you have to have air conditioning in Texas, you couldn't live here otherwise." Well actually, that's not exactly true. Texas without air conditioning is Wuhan and a whole bunch of people live here. One difference in climes is that Wuhan gets cold in the winter. I got here for the tail end of winter and quickly learned, from its absence, the value of central heat. Well that goes double for A/C in the summer. Its rough. And so of course mine went on the fritz the other day. Actually it had been working at about 50% for the past few weeks but then she leaked water all over the livingroom floor and we had to shut down operations completely until we could get a repairman in for a visit. Well, she's back at full health now, thank goodness, so as long as I don't leave the apartment... (thanks to wikipedia for the weather info.)
So a few weeks back we put on an English show. The English Department, or just the foreign teachers rather, put together a variety/talent-type show to be performed all in English. And I got to host the whole thing. Oh how I cursed this show. This was right around the time when I was having to write finals (one final exam plus an alternate exam for each class, that's 6 exams in total) and grade story analyses, and cram 2 extra weeks worth of material into the rapidly dwindling school year (that one was my own fault). I was stressed out, and the last thing I needed was another task to spearhead. Like a good little time bomb I supressed my rage and did it anyway and after it was all said and done I had a blast. I'm so glad I went through with it rather than unleash a blue streak across central China to rival the Great Wall. We put out the call for students to perform and we got some real talented kids. There was singing, dancing, skits, a one-act play, and the comedy stylings of yours truly. Here are some pictures.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
When the Music's Over
Hola amigos. I know it’s been a long time since I rapped at ya, but things got crazy if you know what I mean. Let’s just see, when were we last together? I believe I was writing finals. I can’t find out for sure because….well that’s a whole ‘nother thing. So, I was writing finals, an arduous task in the least, unnecessarily made a tremendous pain in the donkey by the folks upstairs. I remember my professors complaining about administration. Saying their job was to convince others (and themselves) that they were necessary. I’ll let you know when I find evidence to the contrary. And in addition to writing finals I was trying to cram four weeks of material into two weeks of classes. It seems, you see, I can’t read a calendar. As I was mapping out the agenda for my classes I counted two of the finals weeks as class weeks so needless to say, though I will, we were terribly behind. In addition to that we were trying to put together an English show, some variety of performance put on by the English department featuring teachers and students alike. (And performed all in English of course.) Also around this time our internet went out, and when it came back I was (and am still) unable to access my blog. And I was sick. (Shameless fishing for sympathy.) So, I apologize for the delay, but I am now back. And will try my darndest to stay back. Connected via intermediaries. As some of you may notice there is no musical accompaniment for this post. I thought it best to remain silent for now in observance of my disconnectedness. Regularly scheduled programming will resume next time. A teaser for upcoming episodes: our English show, Guiyuan Temple, exploring Wuhan, and more. So stay tuned. Oh, one more thing, there is a (hilarious) allusion embedded within this post. If you can identify it you could win a prize! Please send all submissions (with proof of purchase) to jmattscott@gmail.com. Tob e eligible, entries must be completed and received on or by the closing date of the draw. Restrictions may apply. Void where prohibited.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Please Excuse Me
Hello all. Unfortunately the purpose of this posting is to ask your forgiveness and patience as I know I am overdue for a post, but I am also beyond swamped and will not have the time to write something proper for a little while. Hopefully a very little while. You see, when I was planning my classes I had counted the finals weeks as class weeks and so I just found out I have 2 less weeks of class than I have planned for so we must kick it into overdrive to fit everything into the shortened schedule. This also means I have 2 less weeks to write my finals. And again I just found out I have even less time than that because I must submit them to the bosses upstairs for approval. And I must provide them with two different finals for each class. So I have to write 6 finals over the weekend, and figure out how to fit 4 weeks of class content into 2. So that's what I'll be up to... have a fun weekend of rest and relaxation! Please accept this song which is actually a poem by the previously mentioned great, and I reiterate, genius, avant garde pianist Cecil Taylor.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Spring of Two Blue J's
Some pictures from around the city... To the sounds of the genius Cecil Taylor...
Hanyang (my part of town), behind the Rainbow Bridge, from the cross-river ferry.
Hankou, from said ferry, with lots of river in the foreground.
Myself, rising up with the farmers and labourers at Walking Street. UNITE!
A lion and a dog, raised together since cub/puppy-hood, at the Hanyang zoo.
A giant panda, napping.
A reindeer, or reindeer-like creature.
A "hippie cow," as my guide explained...
The great beast.
I don't know. Some variety of monkey.
Sweet baby orangutang.
Traditional Chinese garden.
In a traditional Chinese garden.
Back at Walking Street.
On a murderous rampage.
Seasons Greetings! On April 24th. This is a huge neon sign on the side of a building. 6 or 8 stories tall. This was one of the things I first noticed when I got to China, you see Christmas decorations all over the place. I don't know why.
Hanyang (my part of town), behind the Rainbow Bridge, from the cross-river ferry.Hankou, from said ferry, with lots of river in the foreground.Myself, rising up with the farmers and labourers at Walking Street. UNITE!A lion and a dog, raised together since cub/puppy-hood, at the Hanyang zoo.A giant panda, napping.A reindeer, or reindeer-like creature. A "hippie cow," as my guide explained...The great beast.I don't know. Some variety of monkey.Sweet baby orangutang.Traditional Chinese garden.In a traditional Chinese garden.Back at Walking Street.On a murderous rampage.Seasons Greetings! On April 24th. This is a huge neon sign on the side of a building. 6 or 8 stories tall. This was one of the things I first noticed when I got to China, you see Christmas decorations all over the place. I don't know why.Friday, April 17, 2009
I Saw the Light
One of these days I'm gonna begin a post without talking about how overdue it is. Not because it won't be, I just won't mention it. It is midterm time, so I've been, and still am, really busy. Perhaps that will buy me 30 seconds of understanding amongst the blog hounds out there.
The Great Equalizer
That is a fishbone. A fishbone that, uninvitedly, took up residence in my throat. Fish are rarely, if ever, deboned in China. Or at least everywhere that I have yet eaten. I have been warned over and over to be careful, and ordinarily air on the careless side of caution (that is, carelessly cautious). Well this particular section of endoskeleton had stowed away in an otherwise osseous tissue-free portion of unnamed aquatic vertebrate; part of a fish & preserved egg soup (about as tasty as it sounds). I didn't notice her until she was past the point of no return, so I had to try and force her down. I tried rice, bread, peanut butter, Foaming Pipe Snake (TM), Roto-Rooter, esophogeal bypass, nothing worked. I eventually had to go to the hospital to get it out, a couple students took me. The doctor was thilled at the opportunity to practice his english. I didn't think I was nervous, but the way I was sweating immediately before the procedure would indicate otherwise. Anyway he said he performs about 10 throat de-bonings a day. Common procedure. And a 100 RMB lesson: when eating fish in China, one should probably air on the slightly less careless side of caution.
As I have grown up, at somepoint when I wasn't looking, I started to like dressing up. Dressing up nice I mean. Well, what I think is nice. All my clothes will undoubtedly be tossed once a female enters the picture (they never let us have any fun...or so I'm told). So anyway I take any opportunity to don my snazzy duds and strut about like a chupacabra. Well, it seems this is very jarring, even intimidating, to my students. A necktie, you see, is very formal. And wearing one typically means you are very serious about business. No horseplay, no tomfoolery, no shenanigans, just taking care of business (at an appropriate rate of speed). I've received more compliments from students after seeing me in a t-shirt than all the Easter Sunday get-ups of my childhood combined. In this same vein I am known, among the students, as "The Detective."
Mr. Detective
Of course its too hot now for all those layers, but it seems I have been branded.
I've been working (and not working, its midterm season so I have been really busy,) on this post for over a week now. Thats no good. And what with the constant demands from my adoring public to hurry the crap up and write something else, I have decided to try a slightly different format. Well, not necessarily a new format, but I just figure that I will be able to write less substantial posts more often. So I guess until I start recieving complaints about watered-down content I'm gonna try this new way. But give me a break at first, it is after all, midterm season.
The Great Equalizer That is a fishbone. A fishbone that, uninvitedly, took up residence in my throat. Fish are rarely, if ever, deboned in China. Or at least everywhere that I have yet eaten. I have been warned over and over to be careful, and ordinarily air on the careless side of caution (that is, carelessly cautious). Well this particular section of endoskeleton had stowed away in an otherwise osseous tissue-free portion of unnamed aquatic vertebrate; part of a fish & preserved egg soup (about as tasty as it sounds). I didn't notice her until she was past the point of no return, so I had to try and force her down. I tried rice, bread, peanut butter, Foaming Pipe Snake (TM), Roto-Rooter, esophogeal bypass, nothing worked. I eventually had to go to the hospital to get it out, a couple students took me. The doctor was thilled at the opportunity to practice his english. I didn't think I was nervous, but the way I was sweating immediately before the procedure would indicate otherwise. Anyway he said he performs about 10 throat de-bonings a day. Common procedure. And a 100 RMB lesson: when eating fish in China, one should probably air on the slightly less careless side of caution.
As I have grown up, at somepoint when I wasn't looking, I started to like dressing up. Dressing up nice I mean. Well, what I think is nice. All my clothes will undoubtedly be tossed once a female enters the picture (they never let us have any fun...or so I'm told). So anyway I take any opportunity to don my snazzy duds and strut about like a chupacabra. Well, it seems this is very jarring, even intimidating, to my students. A necktie, you see, is very formal. And wearing one typically means you are very serious about business. No horseplay, no tomfoolery, no shenanigans, just taking care of business (at an appropriate rate of speed). I've received more compliments from students after seeing me in a t-shirt than all the Easter Sunday get-ups of my childhood combined. In this same vein I am known, among the students, as "The Detective."
Mr. Detective Of course its too hot now for all those layers, but it seems I have been branded.
I've been working (and not working, its midterm season so I have been really busy,) on this post for over a week now. Thats no good. And what with the constant demands from my adoring public to hurry the crap up and write something else, I have decided to try a slightly different format. Well, not necessarily a new format, but I just figure that I will be able to write less substantial posts more often. So I guess until I start recieving complaints about watered-down content I'm gonna try this new way. But give me a break at first, it is after all, midterm season.
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