Month: May 2010

A few weeks ago I was out for lunch with friends at one of Beijing's finer eateries.  As usual, when the waitress asked me what I wanted to drink, I said asked for a Coke.  One of my friends asked for a Ginger Ale, which immediately prompted me to declare to the waitress, "Wait!  Cancel…

I love chatting with Beijing taxi drivers — there's always something new and interesting about China or the Chinese language to learn.  This morning, after the obligatory conversation opener (He: "Your Chinese is very good." Me: "No, it's barely passable."), my driver, whom I suspect maybe was a linguistics professor on the side commented to…

This week I'm staying at a suburban hotel in Hong Kong that seems to be a favorite for peasant tour groups from southern China who've crossed the border to spend their hard-earned yuan at Disneyland. The gleaming towers of this city are a far cry from the villages of rural Guangdong or Guangxi (I'm guessing…

I'm in Hong Kong this week attending a conference.  The last time I was here was in November, when I came down for my knee surgery, and just as happened that time, 2 days before coming I came down with a very nasty cold/cough/sore throat.  Even though I love Hong Kong my body seems to…

Are we Beijingers people or ants? It's an odd question, until you take a look at this film.  It's titled "My Little Beijing," and can be found here, done by mycosign.  Bravo to the film-makers.

A couple of friends and I had lunch there today, and enjoyed our 'Italian Amorous Feelings" pizza (pepperoni and onions) while listening to Korean praise music playing over the sound system. The tip-off was one song's constant repetition of 'ha-le-lu-jah', which is the same in just about any language.  via outside-in.typepad.com Just realized that I…