This is a difficult time for me to be in China.  All across America the insanity known as March Madness is in full swing.  The first round of the NCAA basketball tournament just concluded and I didn't watch one game.  Not one.  It's the first time I can remember that I didn't watch a first round game.  I have vivid memories of watching the tournament with my father and grandfather on an old black and white Magnavox and I couldn't have been much more than 7 or 8 at the time.  Safe to say I've watched the tournament for more than 40 years in a row.  The streak is broken. 

I know most of you can't begin to understand the obsession that is The University of Kentucky basketball.  As a kid growing up in Kentucky, UK hoops was a near religious experience for me and countless others like me. The University of Kentucky basketball program is as well know to me as the multiplication table.  I will go to my grave remembering names like Adolph Rupp, Joe B. Hall and Rick Pitino.  Players like Louie Dampier, Dan Issell, Pat Rilely, Kevin Grevey, "Goose" Givens, Kyle Macy, Sam Bowie, Kenny Walker, Rex Chapman, Jamal Mashburn, and Tony Delk all have a permanent place in my addled brain.  Two nights ago I stayed up until the wee hours of a damp, foggy south China morning watching the ESPN scores update every 60 seconds as Marquette beat my beloved Wildcats in the opening round.  My internet connection is too slow to actually watch any video feeds and none of the tournament games are televised here.  The Cats 18 win season was disappointing to say the least, but losing in the first round of the tourney?  It hadn't happened in the previous 18 first round games that a Kentucky team had played in.  In reality, the Cats were lucky just to make the field of 64 this year.  This guy Gillespie, I just don't know about him yet.  We ran a good coach and a better man out of Lexington but for the UK faithful Tubby Smith just couldn't get it done.  We all made him feel less than adored and now he is getting some gopher love in Minnesota.  Gillespie's honeymoon was over after his second game, the infamous Rupp Arena loss to Gardner-Webb.  It will get better.  It must get better.  

I Bleed Blue 

So here I am, 50 years old, out of shape and slower than Christmas.  Even after three ACL reconstructions I try to play two or three times a week here in China.  I can still knock down the three and throw the no-look pass but don't ask me to play any defense.  If you find yourself watching one of  the tournament games over the next couple of weeks, hoist a cold one and think of your old buddy Michael in China. 

We're only given a little spark of madness.  We mustn't lose it!

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FOR SALE 

I posted the above tongue in cheek photo and commentary on my flickr site a few weeks ago.  Now I feel kind of bad as my pup, Chewbaca, somehow injured her right eye over the last few days.  After a visit to the vet this morning I am not sure if she is going to be OK or not.  The vet, an impressive lad of about 12, spent a lot of time thoroughly examining the dog from a distance of about 3 feet.  After climbing down off his skateboard he proceeded to tell me he had seen the problem many times in this type of dog and that it didn't always go well.  If it doesn't clear up on it's own over the next few days she'll have to have a surgical procedure and that, I gather, is the part that doesn't always go well.  I was told I'll have to schedule the surgery far in advance, presumably so that the young vet Sparky can get permission to miss junior high school that day.  I also don't think it's a good sign that the vet's office is next door to a restaurant that specializes in dog meat.  Seriously, that is not a joke.  Positive vibes for the pup please.

Every day I hear the music.  Jingle Bells and Happy Birthday .  I hear the music at all hours of the day and night.  I hear it when I am at home.  I hear it when I am at work.  I hear it when I am out shopping or taking photographs.  I hear the music EVERY DAY.  I never want to sing Happy Birthday again.  I despise Jingle Bells.  How is this possible?.  Street Sweepers.  Big 'ole tanker truck street sweepers.  They roll through the city cleaning the street, spraying copious amounts of water at everything in their path.  More than once I have had my shoes drenched while riding my scooter (Ken is laughing now).  Usually accompanied by a team of actual "sweepers", these trucks hose down the roads with military efficiency.  The music you ask?  Each truck has a loudspeaker blasting synthesized versions of the aforementioned classics.  It's loud.  I can hear the trucks approaching from more than a kilometer away. I can only presume the music is a way to alert pedestrians and traffic of the impending flood, but come on, can't we at least mix it up a little!  Alas, perhaps my wish has come true.  An hour ago I heard an unmistakable melody.  Familiar, but not immediately recognizable to me, I realized after a few minutes that I was being treated to a muzak version of the theme song from "Dallas".  Some guy named Jerrold Immel wrote the song for the TV show back in the late 70's and I bet he never envisioned it being used on a water tanker in Liuzhou, China some 30 years later.  I'm also going to go out on a limb and say he's not getting paid for it either.  J.R and Bobby Ewing would feel right at home.  The irony is that even though I "hear" the trucks every day, I rarely actually see them so I don't have a photo yet.  Instead I'll share this shot of a fisherman on the Liujiang River.  I like the juxtaposition of the modern city in the background and the small boat that probably hasn't change much in hundreds of years.

I love you Jerrold Immel. Now.  Once I hear your synthesized version of "Dallas" five or six hundred times, I'll be looking for something cool from Mike Post.  I always liked the theme from "The Rockford Files".   

In most any big city in the world you can find people asking for money and China's cities are no different. The problem of course is the same everywhere, in that it is very difficult to know who to believe. Here in Liuzhou some young people go to great lengths to ask for money. They write elaborate signs and then hide their faces in shame, perhaps it's similar across China.  I'm not sure how accurate my translation is here but I think it's pretty close. This kid's sign goes something like this. "Hello everyone. Happy New Year. I can't find my mother. I've spent all my money and now I want to have a good meal but I can't. Please give me 60 yuan so I can buy a ticket to go back to my hometown. Thanks." Pretty good I thought. I actually hesitated and almost gave the kid some money but my Chinese friend stopped me, explaining that he thought the guy was a con. At the time I didn't know what to believe. I took this shot almost a month ago. When I was lining it up someone alerted the kid and he looked at me. I got a good look at him through the viewfinder before he buried his face in his arms again.

I'm Lovin' It

 

I saw the kid today, wearing these same shoes, standing in line at McDonalds, with his girlfriend and another couple. I had been waiting to post this as part of another set but when I saw him today I decided to to go ahead and write this while the emotion was fresh. They were having a great time, "lovin' it" even. I wanted to ask him if he ever found his momma but didn't trust my Chinese! Yet another example of not how we are all so different really but rather how we are all alike. I had the Big Mac extra value meal.

It's been cooler here the last couple of days, somewhere around 50F with some rain.  For a few days recently the temperature was back up into the low 70's.  It felt like  heaven.  Maybe, just maybe, some of you aren't aware of the severe winter conditions we've experienced in China this year.  By all accounts it's the worst in 50 years. 

Snowstorms that began January 10 killed at least 107 people, wrecked crops and houses and ripped down power lines.  According to "official" government reports, the storms killed 69 million farm animals, damaged 3.2 million acres of vegetable, orange and other crops, and caused 354,000 houses to collapse.  Trucking and rail transport were disrupted, causing shortages of fresh meat and vegetables in some areas and pushing up prices.  Perhaps the most difficult part of it all, at least from the Chinese perspective, was that the cold temperatures and heavy snowfall disrupted travel plans for millions  as they prepared for their annual treks home to celebrate "Spring Festival"  At one point over 500,000 souls found themselves stranded at the Guangzhou train station in neighboring Guangdong Province.

The economic impact was unusually severe because snowstorms blanketed a wide area of China's temperate south, which usually gets little snow and has few preparations for severe weather.  Here in Liuzhou City, we didn't have any real snowfall, but for more than three weeks the temperature hovered just above freezing.  I remember one stretch where there was no sun at all for 17 days.  It's been cold and damp and dark.  I know in and of itself that doesn't sound so bad but as Bill Shakespeare said, "ay, there's the rub".  You see here in southern China none of the buildings have any heat.  Read it again and let that sink in for a moment.  None of the buildings are heated.  There is no insulation to speak of and often the inside temperature is not much warmer than the outside temperature.  In my classroom I had to wear gloves, a heavy coat and a hat as I taught.  My students often looked like they were on the way to the slopes for their next run, breath visible in the air as they practiced their oral English.  My house was much the same.  After a week or so I made my way to the nearest department store to buy a space heater.  It worked well enough to heat the bedroom and except for the essential forays outside I stayed there, in the bedroom, for about three weeks.  I went back two days later to buy a second heater but I couldn't find anything anywhere.  I was told the entire city was sold out.  I decided to just grin and bear it. I was already worried about the prospect of an astronomical electric bill.

The Space Heater 

Of course I am complaining.  Please understand that much of this commentary is my "tongue in cheek" attempt at humor.  The poor and homeless of China were affected much more severely than a "laowai" teacher from the US.  According to the fine folks at the Civil Affairs Ministry, total damage is estimated at 111.1 billion yuan, or $15.5 billion,   A recent AP report cited a recent announcement that China's central government will spend more than $1.25 billion to rebuild wrecked houses, restore farms and help the poor pay for food and heat.  Urban families that qualify for government aid will get about $2 per month for the next three months, while those in the countryside receive the equivalent of $1.40. Yep, about 15 yuan for family. 

My electric bill?  I received it yesterday.  Over 800 yuan.  Sadly I don't qualify for the government relief program.

 

 

Hello again from South China.  This is the first official entry into my new China blog.  I apologize to my friends and family, I'm sorry my last blog didn't work out.  As it turned out the blog host was blocked by the Great Firewall and besides, I never seemed to find the time or have the energy to write anyway!  I know that sounds like an apathetic excuse but between teaching, studying Chinese, finishing my Masters, photographic and writing assignments as well as a new puppy, it has been all I can do to keep my head above water.  Anyway, I have been testing this site for a month now and have been able to access it everyday so I am optimistic.  I'll try and post something on a regular basis.  Many of you have been following along via my Flickr site and I will still post regularly there since it has taken on a life of its own.  You can visit the Flickr photostream by clicking on the photos to the left or by following this link, http://www.flickr.com/photos/expatriategames.  It's easy to sign up for a free Flickr account and you can see my photos and leave comments there as well.

So, hard to believe but I have been here six months already.  Every day brings something new.  I have at times been equally enthralled and frustrated, amazed and  repulsed, amused and angered but very seldom bored.  As I remember particular events from the past 6 months I will try and get you caught up and I am certain I'll continue to have plenty to relay in the future.  When I was preparing to come to China I read as much as I could about others experiences here but nothing could have really prepared me.  Regardless, I have no regrets.  I am looking at this as an opportunity few of us get in life.  To immerse yourself into a different culture, learn a new language, live and work in a community where you are viewed as an outsider and completely be out of your comfort zone.  That's my life in nutshell, spending midlife in the Middle Kingdom, out of my comfort zone.

Pedestrian Mall in the City Center

 I'll introduce you to Liuzhou and its people.  The good, the bad, the beautiful and sometimes the ugly.  I'll do my best to make it interesting.  It shouldn't  be difficult, it's a lot different here from life in the States.  I am not the only foreigner, or "Laowai", to chronicle life in Liuzhou.  Click on the Liuzhou Laowai link on the left of the page and you'll get a unique and often entertaining perspective of one man's experience in this small Chinese town of nearly 1.5 million.  So, that's enough for now.  It's been raining all day here and now it is well into the early morning hours.  Chewbacca, my pup, is curled up next to my neck and I am fading fast.  Please keep in touch.  I would love to hear from each of you so leave your comments here and on the Flickr site and I will write again soon!