This morning was fairly straightforward: breakfast, check-out, taxi to the Apollo hotel, then shuttle bus to the airport. (Note: Our hotel staff said there was no shuttle service from the Min Jiang hotel, so don’t believe any website that tells you otherwise.) We had to check our suitcases because they were deemed too large for carry-on luggage, but good thing I kept everything important in my backpack anyway.
One rather disgusting-but-typical-of-China experience this morning: Dad went to the bathroom and I was waiting to check in for our flight. Ahead of me was a family with a young boy, perhaps 2-3 years old. He apparently reeeeally needed to go to the bathroom, so his mother took him a few feet away from the check-in line, pulled down his pants, and there he went, right on the tiled floor. I’m used to seeing families do that with toddlers outdoors, but at least they usually go over a drainage area, on grass, etc. This was just there! In a puddle! In a heavily trafficked area!
What bothered me (besides the public health issue of public urination/defecation) was that there was probably a bathroom less than 50 feet away, and there were a bunch of potted plants less than 10 feet away for sure, so it’s not as if there weren’t other options. The unfortunate cleaning lady came by a few minutes later holding a roll of toilet paper and shaking her head – she clearly knew what happened – she had to first dry the puddle, then sweep the wet paper into her handheld dustbin.
Other passengers seemed pretty nonchalant about the thing – one man wearing business casual stepped away from the first-class check in counter, then paused to recheck his boarding pass literally 2 inches away from the puddle. I’m sure others who saw this were thinking something about the crassness/provincial-ness of this mother, but as Dad said when he came back, it’s not my place to say anything, and it seems no one wants to take responsibility for anything in this country unless someone higher up complains first (e.g. trying to prevent people from wearing pajamas outside in Shanghai)
Anyway, Fuzhou has more or less met my (admittedly low) expectations: a business-focused city undergoing massive renovations with a few pockets of historical charm. The highways and roads are wide, well-paved, and tree-lined, but the architecture is dominated by indifferent business hotels and corporate buildings. It might be interesting to come as a jump-off point to Mawei or Wuyi Mountain, but the city itself is not worth staying in for more than two days, and even then only if you’re a serious scholar of Chinese history.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
It's raining, it's pouring...
…but Dad and I are still trying to have fun in Fuzhou =P
This morning after breakfast, we decided to go walking around the “Little West Lake,” a smaller and less famous cousin of the one in Hangzhou. It started drizzling just a few minutes after we arrived, but luckily I came prepared with both an umbrella and my trusty blue poncho from Malaysia. The taxi dropped us off on the eastern side, and we simply walked over the causeway to the small islands in the middle, where there are umpteen pavilions, some gardens, and even a small amusement park (though none of the rides were running).
The gate where we entered the park
Willow-lined walkway (very much like Hangzhou!)
We ambled around, crossed another bridge, and found ourselves at the West Lake Academy, where Dad was pleased to find a bust of Lin Zexu (1785-1850), a Qing dynasty official who fought against the British in the Opium War. There wasn’t much left of the academy, just the central courtyard, a couple musty-smelling exhibit halls, a small garden off to the side, and a plaque marking where a Song dynasty temple had once stood. We walked around some more, occasionally stopping to take shelter in a pavilion when the rain became too heavy to see easily, then eventually found ourselves at the Fujian Museum. I had been expecting something about the province’s history, economy, geography, etc, but what we found was more of an art gallery, with an eclectic mix of pieces.
Lotus pavilion at West Lake Academy
Main courtyard of the academy
Dad in front of the Fujian Museum
Mural around the side entrance
Below: artwork from the Fujian Museum
Unfortunately, the museum was also tucked away in a quiet backstreet, so we had to splash through a couple blocks of deep puddles and pouring rain to find the nearest taxi stand, where we caught a cab back to the hotel to dry off. A quick lunch later, we were in a car on the way to the Mawei shipyards and former naval academy, where we met a Mr. Lin who took us on a tour of the historical museum. The facility is fairly large (the building was formerly used as a boatyard), but most of the archival material (e.g. photographs and drawings) is in a smaller space upstairs. The main hall downstairs has precisely 14 busts of historically important people (one for each column) opposite several sculptures of various tableaux.
Main hall of the shipbuilding museum
Bust of Zhan Tianyou, the "Father of China's Railways" and a Yale alum
One of several sculptures showing the ship-building process
It's still a functional shipyard!
Sculpture at the upstairs entrance
Firecracker bin (those worked, clearly)
After that, it was an extra-long drive back to Fuzhou because the rain was coming down more heavily than ever. Every car and motorcycle created huge plumes of water, soaking all the poor pedestrians on the sidewalk, and the shallow gutters were not nearly enough to handle the downpour, so they simply overflowed as well. Some unfortunate police officers were at the worst intersections trying to direct traffic, but it’s kind of difficult to do so effectively when one hand is holding an umbrella. We finally made it back to Wusi Road and met Mr. Chen for a rather fancy dinner in a private room of his hotel restaurant. Sorry, no photos (that would have seemed weird/impolite), but it was quite good. From there, it was back to our hotel, where we dried off and now we’re going to sleep =P
This morning after breakfast, we decided to go walking around the “Little West Lake,” a smaller and less famous cousin of the one in Hangzhou. It started drizzling just a few minutes after we arrived, but luckily I came prepared with both an umbrella and my trusty blue poncho from Malaysia. The taxi dropped us off on the eastern side, and we simply walked over the causeway to the small islands in the middle, where there are umpteen pavilions, some gardens, and even a small amusement park (though none of the rides were running).
The gate where we entered the parkWillow-lined walkway (very much like Hangzhou!)We ambled around, crossed another bridge, and found ourselves at the West Lake Academy, where Dad was pleased to find a bust of Lin Zexu (1785-1850), a Qing dynasty official who fought against the British in the Opium War. There wasn’t much left of the academy, just the central courtyard, a couple musty-smelling exhibit halls, a small garden off to the side, and a plaque marking where a Song dynasty temple had once stood. We walked around some more, occasionally stopping to take shelter in a pavilion when the rain became too heavy to see easily, then eventually found ourselves at the Fujian Museum. I had been expecting something about the province’s history, economy, geography, etc, but what we found was more of an art gallery, with an eclectic mix of pieces.
Lotus pavilion at West Lake AcademyMain courtyard of the academyDad in front of the Fujian MuseumMural around the side entranceBelow: artwork from the Fujian Museum
Main hall of the shipbuilding museumBust of Zhan Tianyou, the "Father of China's Railways" and a Yale alumOne of several sculptures showing the ship-building processIt's still a functional shipyard!Sculpture at the upstairs entranceAs impressive as this may sound/look, the reality is kind of sad. The museum is little-visited –our touching the busts left marks in the layer of dust and half the lights weren’t on upstairs – and Mr. Lin is probably the only person who is really passionate about preserving the stories of the shipyards. He was able to tell us about every single person who was represented in the line of sculptures, and he’s also written several essays/edited several books (he gave one to Dad as a gift). When he retires next year, it seems doubtful that anyone will be interested enough to take his place…
We next drove up the hill to the freshly-restored A-Ma temple overlooking the shipyards, as befits a goddess of the sea. The main courtyard was huge, even incorporating a stage for theatrical performances, and everything was beautifully detailed. According to the guide, some of the woodwork was actually Canadian maple, all carved by hand. Dad went around with a bunch of joss sticks (try lighting a match in pouring rain!) and burned paper money/firecrackers as well (they have a covered bin that you put the firecrackers in, so it’s slightly more safe).
Main courtyard
Stage on the other side
Central statue of A-Ma
Dad attempting to burn paper money in the pouring rain
We next drove up the hill to the freshly-restored A-Ma temple overlooking the shipyards, as befits a goddess of the sea. The main courtyard was huge, even incorporating a stage for theatrical performances, and everything was beautifully detailed. According to the guide, some of the woodwork was actually Canadian maple, all carved by hand. Dad went around with a bunch of joss sticks (try lighting a match in pouring rain!) and burned paper money/firecrackers as well (they have a covered bin that you put the firecrackers in, so it’s slightly more safe).
Main courtyardStage on the other sideCentral statue of A-MaDad attempting to burn paper money in the pouring rainFirecracker bin (those worked, clearly)After that, it was an extra-long drive back to Fuzhou because the rain was coming down more heavily than ever. Every car and motorcycle created huge plumes of water, soaking all the poor pedestrians on the sidewalk, and the shallow gutters were not nearly enough to handle the downpour, so they simply overflowed as well. Some unfortunate police officers were at the worst intersections trying to direct traffic, but it’s kind of difficult to do so effectively when one hand is holding an umbrella. We finally made it back to Wusi Road and met Mr. Chen for a rather fancy dinner in a private room of his hotel restaurant. Sorry, no photos (that would have seemed weird/impolite), but it was quite good. From there, it was back to our hotel, where we dried off and now we’re going to sleep =P
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Finally in Fuzhou
Today started rather abruptly when we all woke up around 6:40 AM…although we had planned to be out the door by 6:45. Oops. We still made it out in good time – Susan and Walter stopped by the bakery while Dad and I hailed a taxi, and we made it to the border gate by 7:10 AM. Dad joked about using the senior (65+ years) line, but hey, it got us through more quickly than Walter and Susan, who couldn’t pass as “companions.”
More trouble came when we hauled our suitcases over to the Gongbei coach station that I’ve used before to get to Guangzhou airport, only to find that the bus was leaving from ANOTHER station across the street and down the block. Dad and I rushed over there, making it with about 10 minutes to spare, but we were worried about Walter and Susan, who hadn’t shown up by 7:55, but the bus didn’t leave either. Around 8:00, a van pulled up next to us and they hopped out, so it was ok. It turns out that if we had waited at the first station, we too could have gotten the shuttle, but the station staff didn’t say anything about it.
The bus ride was fairly uneventful, minus a few people throwing up in the rows ahead of us, but there must have been something wrong with them because the ride wasn’t that rough. We arrived by 11:00, got slightly lost looking for the check-in counter, but then found the electronic check-in machines and printed out boarding passes. Susan and Walter went to gate 104 for their flight to Beijing, while Dad and I headed to gate 111 and just hung out there for a couple hours.
Around 1:00, however, things started going downhill again. We were wondering why things were so quiet – boarding was supposed to start at 12:50 PM for the 1:30 flight to Fuzhou. There was a plane outside the window, but mysteriously, it wasn’t connected to the boarding extension, it wasn’t being refueled, or anything. Suddenly, the gate sign flashed that the Fuzhou flight had been moved to Gate 103, so we rushed over only to find ourselves waiting for another half hour. Around 2:00, we finally boarded a bus that took us to the plane, got on, listened to the security features video, etc. After that, however, the plane just stayed put…and I dozed off =P
I woke up around 3:00 to find that the attendants were passing out food – noodles with chicken or pork, plus a small piece of cake, some dried fruit, and a choice of water or “liang cha” (cooling tea, with chrysanthemum, lotus, and a few other things). Apparently the delay was not because of problems in Guangzhou, although it was cloudy, but because of heavy rain in Fuzhou, so air traffic control wasn’t letting the plane take off. Everyone ate quickly and the flight attendants even had time to clean up before we finally started moving around 3:30, and we got to Fuzhou around 5:00.
Another 90 minutes later, we thankfully made it to the hotel via bus/taxi, which is where we are now. Dinner was just in the hotel restaurant downstairs for convenience, but the food was ok: tofu cubes stir-fried with young chives, another squash dish, and mushroom soup. They even gave us a bonus of two small zhong zi at the end, in honor of Duan Wu Jie (still kind of sad that I missed the dragon boat races in Macau, but oh well). As I’m writing this, Dad is watching something on TV about how to pick the best turtles for cooking, but he’s dozed off and I think I’m going to sleep early too. Good night!
More trouble came when we hauled our suitcases over to the Gongbei coach station that I’ve used before to get to Guangzhou airport, only to find that the bus was leaving from ANOTHER station across the street and down the block. Dad and I rushed over there, making it with about 10 minutes to spare, but we were worried about Walter and Susan, who hadn’t shown up by 7:55, but the bus didn’t leave either. Around 8:00, a van pulled up next to us and they hopped out, so it was ok. It turns out that if we had waited at the first station, we too could have gotten the shuttle, but the station staff didn’t say anything about it.
The bus ride was fairly uneventful, minus a few people throwing up in the rows ahead of us, but there must have been something wrong with them because the ride wasn’t that rough. We arrived by 11:00, got slightly lost looking for the check-in counter, but then found the electronic check-in machines and printed out boarding passes. Susan and Walter went to gate 104 for their flight to Beijing, while Dad and I headed to gate 111 and just hung out there for a couple hours.
Around 1:00, however, things started going downhill again. We were wondering why things were so quiet – boarding was supposed to start at 12:50 PM for the 1:30 flight to Fuzhou. There was a plane outside the window, but mysteriously, it wasn’t connected to the boarding extension, it wasn’t being refueled, or anything. Suddenly, the gate sign flashed that the Fuzhou flight had been moved to Gate 103, so we rushed over only to find ourselves waiting for another half hour. Around 2:00, we finally boarded a bus that took us to the plane, got on, listened to the security features video, etc. After that, however, the plane just stayed put…and I dozed off =P
I woke up around 3:00 to find that the attendants were passing out food – noodles with chicken or pork, plus a small piece of cake, some dried fruit, and a choice of water or “liang cha” (cooling tea, with chrysanthemum, lotus, and a few other things). Apparently the delay was not because of problems in Guangzhou, although it was cloudy, but because of heavy rain in Fuzhou, so air traffic control wasn’t letting the plane take off. Everyone ate quickly and the flight attendants even had time to clean up before we finally started moving around 3:30, and we got to Fuzhou around 5:00.
Another 90 minutes later, we thankfully made it to the hotel via bus/taxi, which is where we are now. Dinner was just in the hotel restaurant downstairs for convenience, but the food was ok: tofu cubes stir-fried with young chives, another squash dish, and mushroom soup. They even gave us a bonus of two small zhong zi at the end, in honor of Duan Wu Jie (still kind of sad that I missed the dragon boat races in Macau, but oh well). As I’m writing this, Dad is watching something on TV about how to pick the best turtles for cooking, but he’s dozed off and I think I’m going to sleep early too. Good night!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Air Asia FAIL
For once, I'm blogging in real time, not post-dating after I've edited and uploaded photos. However, right now I should also be in the air on my way back to Macau. At the moment, though, it is impossible for me to be both online and in the air, ergo, I am not in the air as I should be.
The day started off well enough - I got a bunch of work done while hanging out with Joyce at her office (in the PEMANDU unit of the Malaysian Prime Minister's office, which is very nice). We went out for a late lunch, hugged goodbye at the airport entrance, and I checked in, went through security, etc. I even had time to stop at the airport McDonalds for a much-needed "Pineapple Passion McFlurry" (which must be a flavor unique to Malaysia or at least to SE Asia, because I haven't seen it even in Macau) and bought a jar of kaya with my leftover ringgit.
The first sign of trouble was when we got on the plane and it seemed, no, it WAS unusually warm. The captain apologized for the stuffiness: apparently the auxiliary power unit that normally powers ground AC was broken, but the AC should kick in again once the main engines were started. I took out my hand fan only to find that one end of the fabric had come unglued from the frame, but it was still usable enough to generate a slight breeze.
After another 10 minutes, however, we all started getting antsy, and the flight attendants at the front entrance looked worried. The captain also came out of the cockpit and looked out the front entrance, and then we knew something else must be up. I have no idea what this means, but if someone could explain this announcement, I would be much obliged: "The plane's nose oil is low...the plane's nose is lower than usual, so we can't close the door." Everyone got off the plane and we waited out on the tarmac for a while before being directed back to the (thankfully air-conditioned) waiting area while the plane was being repaired. That's where I am now...I can only hope the plane will get fixed and we'll be able to get off the ground in the next hour or so, so I can get back home before midnight -_-
EDIT: We got back on the plane a few minutes after I posted this, and finally landed around 10 PM. Photos below:
Uh, what's going on...
Everyone waiting around
The day started off well enough - I got a bunch of work done while hanging out with Joyce at her office (in the PEMANDU unit of the Malaysian Prime Minister's office, which is very nice). We went out for a late lunch, hugged goodbye at the airport entrance, and I checked in, went through security, etc. I even had time to stop at the airport McDonalds for a much-needed "Pineapple Passion McFlurry" (which must be a flavor unique to Malaysia or at least to SE Asia, because I haven't seen it even in Macau) and bought a jar of kaya with my leftover ringgit.
The first sign of trouble was when we got on the plane and it seemed, no, it WAS unusually warm. The captain apologized for the stuffiness: apparently the auxiliary power unit that normally powers ground AC was broken, but the AC should kick in again once the main engines were started. I took out my hand fan only to find that one end of the fabric had come unglued from the frame, but it was still usable enough to generate a slight breeze.
After another 10 minutes, however, we all started getting antsy, and the flight attendants at the front entrance looked worried. The captain also came out of the cockpit and looked out the front entrance, and then we knew something else must be up. I have no idea what this means, but if someone could explain this announcement, I would be much obliged: "The plane's nose oil is low...the plane's nose is lower than usual, so we can't close the door." Everyone got off the plane and we waited out on the tarmac for a while before being directed back to the (thankfully air-conditioned) waiting area while the plane was being repaired. That's where I am now...I can only hope the plane will get fixed and we'll be able to get off the ground in the next hour or so, so I can get back home before midnight -_-
EDIT: We got back on the plane a few minutes after I posted this, and finally landed around 10 PM. Photos below:
Uh, what's going on...Everyone waiting aroundSunday, June 6, 2010
On the road again...
As usual, I have lots that I want to write about, but very little time to sit down and type out my thoughts, never mind editing and putting in photos (even if I had my other laptop with Photoshop). After City Lights (the UM prom), I had to administer and grade the second exam for my students, grade their second speaking project, start checkout procedures, etc. On top of that, my mom and sister came to visit for over a week - they were perfectly cooperative when I said I had to get work done, but of course I wanted to spend lots of time with my family and show them Macau, right? A relatively new Facebook album documenting many of my wanderings is online, but there are lots of recent photos I haven't yet to sort through and upload (darn you, 200-photo/album limit!).
The main point of this post, however, is to note that I will be mostly traveling for the next 3 weeks, so if I'm in transit I'll try to catch up a bit on writing, then post intermittently when I get Internet access. Unfortunately, mainland China blocks Blogger, so I won't be able to get any of that online until I get back to the US in July. That said, here's the (rather hectic) schedule:
June 7-10 Ho Chi Minh City/Mekong Delta
June 11-14 Kuala Lumpur
June 15 Macau for a day; pick up Dad
June 16-20 Fuzhou
June 21-25 Beijing
June 26-28 Xi'an
June 29 Get back to Macau
June 30 Last day in Macau
July 1 Fly home via Taipei
Now, time to finish packing for HCMC/KL...see you all later!
P.S. I leave you with this soon-to-be-nostalgic photo of my sister and I with my EELC102 students at the end of the last class:
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Narrative essay tidbits
For their narrative writing project, I gave my students the following assignment: Write about a day in the life of someone who is living in a different subculture from you. The subculture can be real or fictional, and the person can either be a celebrity or someone ordinary.
The following excerpts are from some of those essays, showcasing my students’ creativity, but also some of their (rather amusing) spelling/grammar errors, often the kind that Word won’t mark.
But I know that if I don’t run, I will be the fried chicken.
I regret being a wicker man.
Miao were hospital; I met a girl Zhuoma who is a native people.
After having pig between two sheets for my breakfast…
When I find my venery, I will hoist the Jolly Roger…The ship didn’t have enough water to wash my hear. So the hear will very dirty. […] And we like to drink rum very much.
Martin in a cult of the street culture…he very loves the Michael Jackson, the 50 cent, and the LBJ.
I took my weapon and woke up a pig who slept next to me.
“Hey, my silly partner, I think at this moment there isn’t a good sleep time.”
“Oh, what’s happening? You interrupted my sweet dream.”
I knew that guy; he is Pamela’s boyfriend – Ken, the person who may like the handsome prince of Pamela’s dream. Though I thought he looked more like the servants of Pamela’s dream.
There are old woman live in there. She is sawing the clothes.
I opened my eyes and saw a large golden Buddha in front of me. Also, a special smell of incense surrounded in the hall. “My god, I don’t have religious beliefs, and why have you chosen me to be a monk?” I felt helpless.
“We will support you, Pasu. You go first, and I need to install the programs about the usage of wooden stick,” Neo said dispassionately.
“You installed the usage of stick last time; there have any difference between stick and wooden stick?” I ask.
“Wooden stick will break easily, so that the usage is different,” he said.
After the classes, it was a happy hour time. I watched the Chinese opera with my beautiful concubine…After I finished dinner, I take a bath and change clothes, then I go to sleep with my lovely concubine.
She thought mike would make me stronger and bread was good tasting with mike. […] In fact, before I practice my radeo, I should feed my horse first, a little black horse. I called it omg, because it always surprised me.
Originally, I should have a lunch with my friends. But my mom said that I had to eat the food which made from the palace kitchen. First of all, my lunch is under the menu which the dietician formulated for my physical condition. Second, it is about my safety. Because I am a princess, maybe some one will use me to threaten my parents. For these reasons, I had to eat something that was not dedicious enough but healthy enough.
The following excerpts are from some of those essays, showcasing my students’ creativity, but also some of their (rather amusing) spelling/grammar errors, often the kind that Word won’t mark.
But I know that if I don’t run, I will be the fried chicken.
I regret being a wicker man.
Miao were hospital; I met a girl Zhuoma who is a native people.
After having pig between two sheets for my breakfast…
When I find my venery, I will hoist the Jolly Roger…The ship didn’t have enough water to wash my hear. So the hear will very dirty. […] And we like to drink rum very much.
Martin in a cult of the street culture…he very loves the Michael Jackson, the 50 cent, and the LBJ.
I took my weapon and woke up a pig who slept next to me.
“Hey, my silly partner, I think at this moment there isn’t a good sleep time.”
“Oh, what’s happening? You interrupted my sweet dream.”
I knew that guy; he is Pamela’s boyfriend – Ken, the person who may like the handsome prince of Pamela’s dream. Though I thought he looked more like the servants of Pamela’s dream.
There are old woman live in there. She is sawing the clothes.
I opened my eyes and saw a large golden Buddha in front of me. Also, a special smell of incense surrounded in the hall. “My god, I don’t have religious beliefs, and why have you chosen me to be a monk?” I felt helpless.
“We will support you, Pasu. You go first, and I need to install the programs about the usage of wooden stick,” Neo said dispassionately.
“You installed the usage of stick last time; there have any difference between stick and wooden stick?” I ask.
“Wooden stick will break easily, so that the usage is different,” he said.
After the classes, it was a happy hour time. I watched the Chinese opera with my beautiful concubine…After I finished dinner, I take a bath and change clothes, then I go to sleep with my lovely concubine.
She thought mike would make me stronger and bread was good tasting with mike. […] In fact, before I practice my radeo, I should feed my horse first, a little black horse. I called it omg, because it always surprised me.
Originally, I should have a lunch with my friends. But my mom said that I had to eat the food which made from the palace kitchen. First of all, my lunch is under the menu which the dietician formulated for my physical condition. Second, it is about my safety. Because I am a princess, maybe some one will use me to threaten my parents. For these reasons, I had to eat something that was not dedicious enough but healthy enough.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Fulbright film stars?
Last week when we first got down to thinking about how to plan a prom in 2 weeks, we worried about generating enough publicity to encourage students to come, especially since it was the end of the semester when many of them have exams (especially our own EELC102 students, who had an exam the next day). We batted around the idea of a video that could be shown on the TV screens around campus, but didn’t start writing or anything, first deciding to concentrate on a poster and asking the other ELC teachers to tell their classes.
Last Monday/Tuesday, however, we got serious. In a late-night flurry of inspiration, Sam/Susan/I hammered out an outline involving a couple getting ready for prom…but how could we make it funny? Throw in a fairy godmother…err, god-uncle, some McDonalds, a rockin’ soundtrack, and ta-da! For your watching pleasure, I present the promotional video for City Lights:
Seriously, making this thing will probably be one of my most hysterical memories from this year as an ETA. From Tom threatening to stuff a French fry up Austin’s nose to Sam’s fluttery eyelashes, it took us twice as long to film only because we were laughing so hard half the time. This video will also probably live on in infamy at the ELC…Janice (one of the teachers) wants to use it as a “perfect example of gestural communication” for her 200-level classes in years to come!
Last Monday/Tuesday, however, we got serious. In a late-night flurry of inspiration, Sam/Susan/I hammered out an outline involving a couple getting ready for prom…but how could we make it funny? Throw in a fairy godmother…err, god-uncle, some McDonalds, a rockin’ soundtrack, and ta-da! For your watching pleasure, I present the promotional video for City Lights:
Seriously, making this thing will probably be one of my most hysterical memories from this year as an ETA. From Tom threatening to stuff a French fry up Austin’s nose to Sam’s fluttery eyelashes, it took us twice as long to film only because we were laughing so hard half the time. This video will also probably live on in infamy at the ELC…Janice (one of the teachers) wants to use it as a “perfect example of gestural communication” for her 200-level classes in years to come!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Tech Troubles
I haven’t been posting recently because of
a) broken camera
b) broken laptop
c) general busy-ness
d) all of the above
The correct answer would be D…sort of.
In the case of A, I was wandering around a couple weekends ago when I noticed that every photo I took that afternoon was extremely overexposed. I rechecked my morning photos, which looked fine, the ISO settings, which were normal, and every other setting I could think of, but I hadn’t changed anything that could explain the problem. After a little web research, I diagnosed the problem as a broken shutter, but now the question was how to fix it, if possible.
I asked around some of the ELC teachers, and fortunately Manuel had a recommendation for a good camera shop that would do the repair in Macau (instead of sending it to HK) and would charge me a fair price. It’s a bit out of the way, behind a school next to the Cinema Alegria, but the owner was very professional, calling me the next day with a repair price and an estimated date of completion. I thought about just giving up and buying a new camera, but I figure it’s worth paying the 530 MOP (about $67 USD) because it’ll extend the life of my camera another 2-3 years (this is the only problem I’ve had in its 4.5-year lifetime), and I’ll have a working camera faster than if I bought one online and had my family bring it over.
In the case of B, it’s not my laptop that’s the problem, it’s the charger. It’s been having connection issues for a while, but it was still working well enough when plugged in just the right way. However, just a couple nights ago, I was grading papers, when I suddenly noticed something flashing and sputtering under my desk. Yup, the charger was sparking. I quickly unplugged the surge protector it was in, then unplugged the charger after the sparks stopped, put it away, and haven’t touched it since. I borrowed Susan’s charger to backup my files one last time on to an external hard drive, but now my Dell is officially retired from service and I’m relying solely on my netbook. It’s a little annoying because the screen is smaller, and I no longer have programs like Photoshop readily available, but I can deal with it until I get home, since I need to get a new computer for med school anyway.
As for C, English Festival was last week (got photos off the ELC’s camera), and now we have prom on May 14, so it’s not letting up anytime soon. The EELC102 exam is just the day after, May 15, so we also have to hurriedly finish preparing our students for that…the reading material has been interesting (subcultures, cults, and potential issues in the future), but the advanced vocabulary and sentence structure has most of them struggling with comprehension. Don’t even get me started on the listening – when I asked my students if they wanted more practice listening exercises, it was actually a unanimous YES! Who ever heard of students asking for more work?!
a) broken camera
b) broken laptop
c) general busy-ness
d) all of the above
The correct answer would be D…sort of.
In the case of A, I was wandering around a couple weekends ago when I noticed that every photo I took that afternoon was extremely overexposed. I rechecked my morning photos, which looked fine, the ISO settings, which were normal, and every other setting I could think of, but I hadn’t changed anything that could explain the problem. After a little web research, I diagnosed the problem as a broken shutter, but now the question was how to fix it, if possible.
I asked around some of the ELC teachers, and fortunately Manuel had a recommendation for a good camera shop that would do the repair in Macau (instead of sending it to HK) and would charge me a fair price. It’s a bit out of the way, behind a school next to the Cinema Alegria, but the owner was very professional, calling me the next day with a repair price and an estimated date of completion. I thought about just giving up and buying a new camera, but I figure it’s worth paying the 530 MOP (about $67 USD) because it’ll extend the life of my camera another 2-3 years (this is the only problem I’ve had in its 4.5-year lifetime), and I’ll have a working camera faster than if I bought one online and had my family bring it over.
In the case of B, it’s not my laptop that’s the problem, it’s the charger. It’s been having connection issues for a while, but it was still working well enough when plugged in just the right way. However, just a couple nights ago, I was grading papers, when I suddenly noticed something flashing and sputtering under my desk. Yup, the charger was sparking. I quickly unplugged the surge protector it was in, then unplugged the charger after the sparks stopped, put it away, and haven’t touched it since. I borrowed Susan’s charger to backup my files one last time on to an external hard drive, but now my Dell is officially retired from service and I’m relying solely on my netbook. It’s a little annoying because the screen is smaller, and I no longer have programs like Photoshop readily available, but I can deal with it until I get home, since I need to get a new computer for med school anyway.
As for C, English Festival was last week (got photos off the ELC’s camera), and now we have prom on May 14, so it’s not letting up anytime soon. The EELC102 exam is just the day after, May 15, so we also have to hurriedly finish preparing our students for that…the reading material has been interesting (subcultures, cults, and potential issues in the future), but the advanced vocabulary and sentence structure has most of them struggling with comprehension. Don’t even get me started on the listening – when I asked my students if they wanted more practice listening exercises, it was actually a unanimous YES! Who ever heard of students asking for more work?!
Friday, April 23, 2010
English Festival redux!
This past week, all of us ETAs were running around for 72 hours straight (more or less) for the ELC’s Spring 2010 English Festival. For an idea of the jam-packed schedule, click the link above.
As in the fall, the festival’s purpose is to promote English learning as meaningful for students’ futures, and possibly even fun at times. The meaningful part was provided by a series of presentations ranging from “Traveling in English” and “Using English in the Workplace” (bringing in speakers from international corporations such as Disney and Boeing), while we ETAs provided most of the fun through activities such as Jeopardy!, a UM Amazing Race, Games Corner, and UM Idol Talent Show.
Opening ceremony ribbon-cutting
Traveling in English panel (thanks to GAs Tom/Karen and Tom's roommate Willem!)
Mock debate on "Women need men like fish need bicycles."
Joseph presenting on his experience as an exchange student at SIU Carbondale
Austin and Rex (one of the other ELC teachers) with students at Games Corner
Teams fighting to ring the bell first in Jeopardy!
UM Amazing Race was one of the new things we tried, partially inspired by our own Amazing Race during orientation week. We were mostly nice: the students didn’t have to go around Taipa and Macau, just around campus, but they had to complete various tasks at each stop, and some of these were harder than others. For example, unscrambling some words isn’t so difficult, but carrying a team member piggy-back…uphill…
Task: Identify flags of 7 countries at the World Expo and take a photo with Haibao =P
Task: Carry a team member up the hill from the sports center
Aiyaaa...falling down!
Secret task at the end: Say the English alphabet backwards!
UM Idol was also expanded slightly to encourage more participation – students could do things other than singing English karaoke songs (although many of them chose that anyway). However, some groups got more creative, e.g. a dramatic reading of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and an English dub of a Chinese drama (with soundtrack!)
The Boy Who Cried Wolf (with super-cute folders!)
Annie and Adam dubbing "The Flirtatious Scholar"
PSP (Peer Support Program) - these guys can always be counted on to give a good show
Overall, it was fun but exhausting, so I’m glad it’s done. One event left…UM Prom in two weeks!
As in the fall, the festival’s purpose is to promote English learning as meaningful for students’ futures, and possibly even fun at times. The meaningful part was provided by a series of presentations ranging from “Traveling in English” and “Using English in the Workplace” (bringing in speakers from international corporations such as Disney and Boeing), while we ETAs provided most of the fun through activities such as Jeopardy!, a UM Amazing Race, Games Corner, and UM Idol Talent Show.
Opening ceremony ribbon-cuttingTraveling in English panel (thanks to GAs Tom/Karen and Tom's roommate Willem!)Mock debate on "Women need men like fish need bicycles."Joseph presenting on his experience as an exchange student at SIU CarbondaleAustin and Rex (one of the other ELC teachers) with students at Games CornerTeams fighting to ring the bell first in Jeopardy!UM Amazing Race was one of the new things we tried, partially inspired by our own Amazing Race during orientation week. We were mostly nice: the students didn’t have to go around Taipa and Macau, just around campus, but they had to complete various tasks at each stop, and some of these were harder than others. For example, unscrambling some words isn’t so difficult, but carrying a team member piggy-back…uphill…
Task: Identify flags of 7 countries at the World Expo and take a photo with Haibao =PTask: Carry a team member up the hill from the sports centerAiyaaa...falling down!Secret task at the end: Say the English alphabet backwards!UM Idol was also expanded slightly to encourage more participation – students could do things other than singing English karaoke songs (although many of them chose that anyway). However, some groups got more creative, e.g. a dramatic reading of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” and an English dub of a Chinese drama (with soundtrack!)
The Boy Who Cried Wolf (with super-cute folders!)Annie and Adam dubbing "The Flirtatious Scholar"PSP (Peer Support Program) - these guys can always be counted on to give a good showOverall, it was fun but exhausting, so I’m glad it’s done. One event left…UM Prom in two weeks!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Viva Macau update
We were hoping to get our refunds by now, but instead, yesterday I received this letter from the Macau Consumer Council. The important excerpts are below, with semi-snarky comments interspersed:
“Dear Sir/Madam,
The Consumer Council has received a few hundred complaints against Viva Macau Airlines for the refund of flight ticket and claims for damages as a result of various flight cancellation by Viva…(Only a few hundred, really? That wouldn’t even be one plane, and at least 20 flights were cancelled so I’m sure they have many, many more unhappy people.)
However, Viva’s announcement of its office closure and subsequent cessation of business on 7th April 2010…rendered the liaison between Viva and our office and the follow-up actions for subsequent complaints unavailable. (Uh oh…)
Meanwhile, the arrangement of the refund of flight ticket and the related follow-up actions still remain uncertain, it casts doubt as to whether Viva would honour its promise to reimburse to the complainants within 1-2 weeks after flight cancellation (which was the verbal commitment made by Viva’s staff at the time of handling complainants’ refund procedures. As Viva has made no reply to the complainants’ complaints so far and its business being ceased, most complainants suspect fraud as a result of the non-compliance of the refund pledged by Viva. (Oh drat. I should have known that special fare was too good to be true!)
In view of this, pursuant to the regime of [insert law and section yadda-yadda], our office will refer the related complaint cases to the Judiciary Institutions for investigation. Should the Public Prosecution Office regard that there is sufficient evidence amounting to prosecution against Viva, you may pursue your claims for the refund and compensation under the civil litigation procedures.” (Wtf?! I have two months left in Macau – no way they’re going to move this fast enough for me to get a refund that way.)
In other words, it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever get my money back from Viva, not to mention the related costs of cancelling the hostel reservation/overnight bus tickets. My only other option (which I am currently pursuing) is filing a claim with the trip cancellation insurance that (thankfully) came automatically with my Mastercard, but that’s also going to take a while because they have to mail a claims form to my US address and then my family will probably have to fill it out for me and mail it back. The slightly tricky issue is proving the flights were canceled because of the carrier’s “financial inviability,” aka the carrier must have gone bankrupt, but considering Viva has pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth, that should count, right?
In the meantime, I was able to see sakura semi-vicariously through the photos of my two friends in Japan: Garrett and Kunmi. *sigh* Oh well, maybe next year I'll just take a short jaunt to Washington DC instead...
“Dear Sir/Madam,
The Consumer Council has received a few hundred complaints against Viva Macau Airlines for the refund of flight ticket and claims for damages as a result of various flight cancellation by Viva…(Only a few hundred, really? That wouldn’t even be one plane, and at least 20 flights were cancelled so I’m sure they have many, many more unhappy people.)
However, Viva’s announcement of its office closure and subsequent cessation of business on 7th April 2010…rendered the liaison between Viva and our office and the follow-up actions for subsequent complaints unavailable. (Uh oh…)
Meanwhile, the arrangement of the refund of flight ticket and the related follow-up actions still remain uncertain, it casts doubt as to whether Viva would honour its promise to reimburse to the complainants within 1-2 weeks after flight cancellation (which was the verbal commitment made by Viva’s staff at the time of handling complainants’ refund procedures. As Viva has made no reply to the complainants’ complaints so far and its business being ceased, most complainants suspect fraud as a result of the non-compliance of the refund pledged by Viva. (Oh drat. I should have known that special fare was too good to be true!)
In view of this, pursuant to the regime of [insert law and section yadda-yadda], our office will refer the related complaint cases to the Judiciary Institutions for investigation. Should the Public Prosecution Office regard that there is sufficient evidence amounting to prosecution against Viva, you may pursue your claims for the refund and compensation under the civil litigation procedures.” (Wtf?! I have two months left in Macau – no way they’re going to move this fast enough for me to get a refund that way.)
In other words, it’s highly unlikely I’ll ever get my money back from Viva, not to mention the related costs of cancelling the hostel reservation/overnight bus tickets. My only other option (which I am currently pursuing) is filing a claim with the trip cancellation insurance that (thankfully) came automatically with my Mastercard, but that’s also going to take a while because they have to mail a claims form to my US address and then my family will probably have to fill it out for me and mail it back. The slightly tricky issue is proving the flights were canceled because of the carrier’s “financial inviability,” aka the carrier must have gone bankrupt, but considering Viva has pretty much disappeared off the face of the earth, that should count, right?
In the meantime, I was able to see sakura semi-vicariously through the photos of my two friends in Japan: Garrett and Kunmi. *sigh* Oh well, maybe next year I'll just take a short jaunt to Washington DC instead...
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sequins and ruffles and lace, oh my!
Seriously, every dress store seems to be sporting even more layers of tulle and chiffon than usual, not to mention sequins, embroidery, and ruffles galore. It’s something out of a prom dress-shopping nightmare…and people actually rent these for engagement/wedding photo sessions! (The first three photos are actually all from the same store.)
This could have been a nice top-and-skirt set...maybe.
Empire waist + tiered skirt = bad
Don't even get me started on this one...
The purple one isn't so bad, but it's half the skirt volume of the other two
The mannequin below is in the window of a relatively new shop named “Aegean,” right by Tap Seac Square. It has the most costume changes of any of the mannequins I know – something new almost every time I pass it. This particular one isn’t too bad (at least compared to the others above) but this shop seems to be hit-or-miss. Last week was an awful one-shoulder salmon pink number.
I guess what bothers me most about the formal-dress fashion culture here is that there is so much potential for it to be good, perhaps even haute couture (which can look equally ridiculous, but at least has some sense of artistry or a theme to each collection). Also, considering the plethora of high-end designer stores in every casino, you would think that Macanese designers would at least try to achieve some sense of elegance rather than sheer flamboyance. Here, the fabrics are gorgeous and the tailoring is precise, but the design concepts are simply…
…well, you fill in the blank. I’m frankly at a loss for words =P
This could have been a nice top-and-skirt set...maybe.Empire waist + tiered skirt = badDon't even get me started on this one...The purple one isn't so bad, but it's half the skirt volume of the other twoThe mannequin below is in the window of a relatively new shop named “Aegean,” right by Tap Seac Square. It has the most costume changes of any of the mannequins I know – something new almost every time I pass it. This particular one isn’t too bad (at least compared to the others above) but this shop seems to be hit-or-miss. Last week was an awful one-shoulder salmon pink number.
I guess what bothers me most about the formal-dress fashion culture here is that there is so much potential for it to be good, perhaps even haute couture (which can look equally ridiculous, but at least has some sense of artistry or a theme to each collection). Also, considering the plethora of high-end designer stores in every casino, you would think that Macanese designers would at least try to achieve some sense of elegance rather than sheer flamboyance. Here, the fabrics are gorgeous and the tailoring is precise, but the design concepts are simply…
…well, you fill in the blank. I’m frankly at a loss for words =P
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Macao Science Center field trip
This morning, we took a group of UM students to the Macao Science Center, a sleek semi-cone designed by I.M. Pei, jutting out into the Macau-Taipa strait near Fisherman’s Wharf.
The planetarium dome
The main building (still under semi-construction)
Susan and I got there a little early, so while we were waiting, we saw several busloads of younger students coming for their own field trips. We couldn’t help but smile at the youngest ones: girls had plaid jumpers (with pockets) and the boys had little bow ties!
So cute!
We first went to see a 3-D planetarium show entitled “Dawn of the Space Age,” which was quite technically impressive: the theater is dome-shaped so the 3-D images really popped out, plus the seats vibrated during every rocket launch, so I guess it’s what some places might consider a “4-D” experience. The narration was mainly broadcast in Cantonese, but we tried to get the students to use the headsets that provide the (original) English narration…not sure how successful we were, because it was too dark inside to see if they were using them!
After a group photo in the atrium, we all split up to go wandering around the main exhibition space. The main building is kind of like the Guggenheim Museum in New York: a huge spiral with halls around the outside, so it was easy to just walk up the ramp and poke our heads into whatever looked interesting. I should note here that the exhibits are primarily aimed toward the 10-and-under set, but we still found many things of interest/amusement.
Central display in the atrium
This young man got very good at tossing the balls into the whirlpool
Chibi-Newton!
Susan and Austin playing a jumping game (they tied)
A robot that would scurry away from antennae touches (but move forward if the back one touched the wall)
One of the halls I found most interesting was tucked away on the ground floor behind the rocket in the middle of the atrium: an exhibit on ancient Chinese technology. It included classics like a dragon/frog seismograph and printing blocks, but also some things I hadn’t seen before like an odometer, bamboo paper-making, and a multi-jar clepsydra (aka water clock).
Dragon rocket (inspiration for Mulan?)
A rather clunky odometer (used only for keeping track of how far the emperor traveled on his tours around the country)
The multi-level water clock (design circa 1316)
We finished the trip with lunch at the “Café I Kuong Chiu Fok II,” a little noodle shop on the corner of the NAPE area. Clearest sign of a good restaurant: you see lots of locals eating there. The fare here was simple: rice or regular noodles with a variety of toppings such as beef tendon, meatballs, curry chicken, or even intestine. Medium-bowls are 16 MOP, large ones are 21 MOP, and you can add pepper/chili flakes to suit your own level of spiciness.
Simple, but filling =)
The planetarium domeThe main building (still under semi-construction)Susan and I got there a little early, so while we were waiting, we saw several busloads of younger students coming for their own field trips. We couldn’t help but smile at the youngest ones: girls had plaid jumpers (with pockets) and the boys had little bow ties!
So cute!We first went to see a 3-D planetarium show entitled “Dawn of the Space Age,” which was quite technically impressive: the theater is dome-shaped so the 3-D images really popped out, plus the seats vibrated during every rocket launch, so I guess it’s what some places might consider a “4-D” experience. The narration was mainly broadcast in Cantonese, but we tried to get the students to use the headsets that provide the (original) English narration…not sure how successful we were, because it was too dark inside to see if they were using them!
After a group photo in the atrium, we all split up to go wandering around the main exhibition space. The main building is kind of like the Guggenheim Museum in New York: a huge spiral with halls around the outside, so it was easy to just walk up the ramp and poke our heads into whatever looked interesting. I should note here that the exhibits are primarily aimed toward the 10-and-under set, but we still found many things of interest/amusement.
Central display in the atriumThis young man got very good at tossing the balls into the whirlpoolChibi-Newton!Susan and Austin playing a jumping game (they tied)A robot that would scurry away from antennae touches (but move forward if the back one touched the wall)One of the halls I found most interesting was tucked away on the ground floor behind the rocket in the middle of the atrium: an exhibit on ancient Chinese technology. It included classics like a dragon/frog seismograph and printing blocks, but also some things I hadn’t seen before like an odometer, bamboo paper-making, and a multi-jar clepsydra (aka water clock).
Dragon rocket (inspiration for Mulan?)A rather clunky odometer (used only for keeping track of how far the emperor traveled on his tours around the country)The multi-level water clock (design circa 1316)We finished the trip with lunch at the “Café I Kuong Chiu Fok II,” a little noodle shop on the corner of the NAPE area. Clearest sign of a good restaurant: you see lots of locals eating there. The fare here was simple: rice or regular noodles with a variety of toppings such as beef tendon, meatballs, curry chicken, or even intestine. Medium-bowls are 16 MOP, large ones are 21 MOP, and you can add pepper/chili flakes to suit your own level of spiciness.
Simple, but filling =)
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