Knobcottage in China

Well the day started as any other, except that it was my birthday.  No one asked so I told no one.  It was a long day with a lots of things happening at work that I wish were not!  Anyway as the day was coming to a close, I spoke to Sherrie.  I mentioned that it was my birthday and she immediately invited me out to a meal, and a western one at that!  I met her and her husband  Star outside the ICBC bank and off we went!  The meal was a bit of a mix and match!  Sherrie ordered half and half Chinese/Western.  I ordered mainly Western, but the steak came with spaghetti!?  Star ate mainly Chinese.  It was a nice time and good food!  I also got a teddy!  Well a lucky pig! ....better picture at the bottom of the page.   Star, Sherrie, me and the pig (perhaps the last two could be in the reverse order!)       At the end of the meal, Sherrie announced that she had also ordered me a cake!  A real Birthday cake!  We left the restaurant, went for a short walk and then to the cake shop

Ever since I have been in China, I have been dancing with Dama (middle -women), except in Jiangkou the park dancing usually includes men and women and an age range from maybe twenty to 60.  At the end of the evening, all the big groups pack away and a small group starts shuffle dancing.  I'm not sure quite what it is called in Chinese, but it looks really good, is really fast, and not easy to do!  Tonight I was watching and up pops Wan Yi.  He is a friend that Parklady introduced me to one evening when she took me out singing.  He is a small intense guy and unusually for Chinese men or women in this area he is built like an ox!  I guess he must be around my age, but probably fitter than I was when I was 30! Wan Yi and me. I didn't see Wan Yi, but he had spotted me. He has asked me to the park many times, but I have never been able to go as he goes early in the morning and I am at work.  First thing I knew was that this had grabbed my wrist.  It couldn't be anyone else

Not a lot to say here.  I was just coming back from a late night walk around Jiangkou, when I spotted this. I reckon it needs a post of its own!  Just love the child 'safety' seat! Not only pink and with a canopy and topbox, but there is also a wonderful child 'safety' seat too. Tied on with rope no less!

Last week when I was coming home, I bought a couple of bottles of drink and sat down to chat with an old security guard.  Whilst chatting I met a new friend, Susan.  Susan is a teacher in Jiangkou and her husband is a Police Doctor.  She offered to teach me Chinese if I taught her English.  We have had one online chat whilst she was wearing her face mask.  Most Chinese women wear these before going to bed.  Or at least that's what I am led to believe! Anyhow, she promised to take me for a drive, and we went on one this morning.  Not just Around Jiangkou, but around  'greater Jiangkou'.  Up into the hills and to a friend's farm.  It was quite remote, and she had to ask the way once or twice . Journey video. We drove through some spectacular countryside, sorry no photos, and eventually, we got to this little farm.  We got out and went on foot down a small road between buildings with brightly painted walls.  We stopped to take a few photos with some locals, and then

Well normally, I just walk to school nothing special, but the last few days it has been different.  Just on the corner near my school is a fairly busy road.  Just recently the bushes have lovely pink flowers on them.  So, out come the ladies in traditional dress and parasol and photograph each other!  Pretty weird because it's alongside a main road but apart from that it's still pretty weird!  Of course if a foreigner passes, it's all giggles and include him!  Photos below. Form two different days! Day 1 photos Day 2 Photos   

United Kingdom The good old Union Jack.  Who would ever thought it could be seen in quite a different light!  It's nickname in China is 'The rice symbol flag" which in Chinese chracters is米字旗 which in pinyin (without the appropriate accents) is written as Miziqi.  Why 'rice symbol flag'?  Because the |Chinese symbol for rice is 米.  Speaks for itself really! Scotland This time it is not about the flag, but a stereotype.  The word for tipsy in Chinese is 醉醺醺, which in pinyin (without the appropriate accents) is written as zuixunxun.  Strangely it also seems to mean Scottish!  No idea where that comes from! Austria   The Chinese character for Austria is 奥, which in pinyin (without the appropriate accents) is written as Ao.   It also means difficult to understand and is also an abbreviation for the Olympics. Australia   Where we be if we weren't slagging of Australia!  The slang name for Australia in Chinese is 土澳, which in pin

I reckoned it was about time I did something in return for the kindness that parklady has shown me, so this morning I texted her and asked if she had had breakfast.  I got a photo back, and a message "No need" she said, "I'm by the river doing yoga...Would you like to learn it?". Of course!  So off I popped, and sure enough there she was doing yoga. She smiled and continued. However, the woman in the river nearby (in the background of the photo above), washing her chilli's, not a euphemism, didn't look so comfortable with my presence as she had tied her skirt up and was sitting on a plastic bag on a rock in the river, knickers on full display.  For your information Chinese knickers are, so I am told, usually, 'shorts style' knickers, as in the picture, so it wasn't too embarrassing for her! Anyway I watched for a while, the yoga, not the woman in her knickers, and eventually the yoga ended.  She called her friend over.  Her frie

Today I got a call from Angela.  Did I fancy a trip to Tongren.  Of course!  I could do with a change of scenery!  So I got changed and as ready in twenty minutes.  She had ordered a taxi for me and it was waiting outside.  I jumped in and I was off to Tongren! It was a standard taxi and as usual, it was full!  This time there were two biggish guys in the back and me!  Shoulder overlapping shoulder and thigh to thigh and this driver was in a hurry! Not too bad though. We eventually got to Tongren and met Angela.  She took me.to the school canteen and I had lunch.  We chatted for a good whole.and caught up in what had been happening to each of us, a good gossip,  and then I accompanied her to a hair wash!   After the wash and blow dry, we took a taxi back to her place because Angela had misplaced her glasses.  We eventually found them under the baby blanket! Then it was a trip to the military training .  For your information, military training is not quite what it seems.  It is no

I had a bad night last night.  I won't say any more, so I slept late.....until 8.30! It was then I got a text from Sherrie asking be if I had had breakfast.  Nope, hadn't even washed and shaved!  Meet me in the park at 9.15.  we will go and eat mutton powder.  I was intrigued.  What was mutton powder?  I asked for 9.45 and we agreed to meet.  It was mid autumn festival so mist people were off work.  We met in the park and went to the mutton powder shop. It was a new shop.  It sold noodles and lamb.  Powder turned out to be a mistranslation.  Fen is flour, it translates literally as powder, so mi (rice) and fen (flour) is mifen which is rice flour.  It is shortened to just 'fen', so yangrou (lamb/mutton) and fen, is yangroufen which translates literally is lamb/mutton powder!  Mystery solved.  Try reading it again if you are stillpuzzled. We each had a bowl.  Sorry no pictures.  We ate and drank , then finished.  After a short discussion, we went to a bank.  Sherrie h