Saturday, May 25, 2013 at 3:21 pm (China Time) or 3:21 am (EST)

Today is Saturday, May 25 although I can get confused because my laptop is on New York time!  As usual, I woke up early at 4 am, walked from 4:30 am to 5:25 am.  That was enough to give me 8 activity points.  Yah!  Then my Chinese teacher came at 5:30 am and we had Chinese lessons until 6:30 am with occasional discussions of schools, what Chinese people do and what westerners do.  Then off to the 'wet market" we went to buy ground pork, vegetables, ground beef for a friend, and soya bean milk for breakfast.  The sun was up and bright by the time we walked home.  My Chinese teacher told me to keep quiet whenever she asked about the prices of any meat or vegetable because the Chinese figure out I am a foreigner once I open my mouth!  Today I am hosting a dumpling dinner for a Canadian couple who live on the fourth floor.  I live on the second floor.  There is no elevator in a building that has only six floors!  The gym is on the sixth floor, and sometimes I do use the treadmill there when it is raining outside.

Here is a link to Changchun, China, the city where I live,   http://2007.changchun.gov.cn/yingwenban/yingwen_index.jsp?ID=120000000000000000.  It is an industrial city with about 7 million people, and is considered a Tier II city.  Beijing, Shanghai and Guangchou are Tier I cities.  The Chinese really like ranking things and places.  Changchun apparently is a sister city of Flint, Michigan but I have not seen or heard of anything going on between the two recently.  Changchun is famous for its automotive and rail industries.  The rail industry is really famous for providing railcars to subways in cities around the world.  Johnson Controls also has a joint venture here with FAW, the biggest automotive Chinese company.

Well, it is close to 4 pm and I need to go out and walk again.  See you later.  BTW, you can subscribe to this blog so that you will receive an email whenever I post something.

Finally catching up with my work and settling in

It is Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 9:15 pm (China time).  China only has one time zone inspite of being such a big country.  If one lives in the western side of the country, the sun rises much later and sets accordingly.  I understand that people start work two hours later than those of us here in Changchun.  The high temperature today reached 81 degrees but there was a nice breeze blowing.  My teaching assistant has been buying plastic containers for me.  She is hosting a garage sale.  Garage sales are not common in China.  I am getting too sleepy now.  I will have to wait until Sunday to update this blog.  :(

Today is Thursday, May 16, 2013 in Changchun, China.  The weather promises to be mild, with temperatures up to 77 degrees F, and no rain.  It has been rather dusty in Changchun because of the highway constructions around the city.  The local authorities started flyover constructions last June to relieve the traffic jams in the city, thereby allow traffic to bypass the city instead of driving through it.  Of course, this means that the traffic diversions are worse, and walking is the best mode of transportation.  I hate to use a bicycle here since I am not sure that I would know how to navigate the roads yet.  I am getting over my jet lag.  It has been more than 10 days and I should be getting over it.  Gr.r.r.r.r.

New blog about my travels in China and Malaysia

This blog is about my travels in China and Malaysia in 2013.  I had to start a new one.