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Archive for March, 2011

Coffee for Tea Drinkers

Japanese Coffee ~ Drip On!

Back when I was living in the States as a student, I was definitely hooked on take-away coffee. It was the ultimate wake up juice, even though the sugar was probably what helped out most. But when I think about it a bit harder, it was probably that scent which pulled at me most. Drinking the coffee was nice, but smelling it was even better… Charlie Harper once said (in his infinite wisdom) that his coffee tasted “Christmasy… and anything was possible!” In my case, my coffee smells Sunrisey and anything is possible!

Fast-forward six years. I’m in the tea capital of the world, China. Tea is served for free at meals with little bits ‘n pieces swirling around in every cup. It’s enjoyed by 100s of millions in travel mugs, much like how we carry coffee. But, the benefits of green tea deliver a scientifically-based pounding on coffee. Their culture started to drink it because it was healthy first, and tasted good second.

As in any new environment, we find a way to adapt; Read More…

Vibrating Mode: Earthquakes Around Asia 2011

Recent Quake Location

It seems every couple days there is another earthquake punching holes in the topography of Asia, and across the world too. Zhuhai, where I’m currently living, also has shaken a few times in the past year. I hadn’t felt a tremor before 2010 and nothing like it had happened in this city since I got here in 2006. It was an unusual wobbling which lasted a few minutes… maybe the kind of nauseating shake that Californians are used to… Across the Pearl River Delta, in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, a 2.8 magnitude jolted the area in November of 2010 [*]. What’s strange is that this area is not considered to be on any kind of fault line.

With friends in Taiwan, The Philippines, and Japan, the recent earthquakes have added worry and frustration to many people I know there. (Keep them in your thoughts and prayers, if you are into that kind of thing.) It could be the media reports have come to my attention more recently, or it could be an increase in plate-shifting, or maybe 2012 as my students suggest… Although we can’t be sure, the consistency of recent earthquakes is a little disturbing. Yesterday, March 24, a 6.8 hit Burma and Thailand; March 22, a 6.1 hit the Philippines and Taiwan in the same day; Japan was hit by a 9.0 on March 11; Myanmar got a 5.4 on March 10; Papua New Guinea got a 6.5 on March 9; Japan got a 7.2 on March 9; a few Pacific island countries got 6.0 or higher in March too [*]… and those were just this past month! February counted over twelve 6.0+ magnitude earthquakes around Asia. Read More…

The Italian Noodle Finally Comes Home

Italian Chinese Meal

Any discussion about Italian food in China is bound to curtail into how pasta originated in China over 4,000 years ago[*]. I would say the Chinese have perfected the noodle over years of trial ‘n error, mostly due to their choice of seasonings. (My favorite Chinese noodles to this day are from the north and are pulled thick just prior to being tossed in a savory broth or pan-fried with seafood.)

Getting back to Italia, and the point of my post today, I’d like to show off my new preference for the decades-old family tradition of “Monday Night S’ghetti!” Like with many of the meals I cook I highlight portion control, so you’ll often just need cereal bowls instead of plates. Also, chopsticks are useful in order to take smaller bites and to drain excess oil from your food.
Read More…

The Chinese Way to Get Hit by a Cement Truck

Spun around!

When someone says “I feel like I got hit by a speeding bus,” I now know what they mean from personal experience. Actually, it was a cement truck and it was attempting to slow down when it hit us. Our driver was caught off guard by a parked van in the lane for the off ramp and hit his breaks just in time… that’s when most people look around and brace for the second impact…. which I discovered was a truck… and its screech was deafening.

With a steely crunch, our taxi was sent spinning 180° and left facing oncoming traffic. Our trunk was smashed into the back seat and glass showered over us. I checked my friend for wounds immediately. Neither of us got injured, thank God, but we were trapped in the back seat for a little while because the doors were pinched shut. We were lucky and I was bizarrely calm while my friend was passing out. I agree with people when they say “it could have been a lot worse.” Read More…

Ben’s Five Year Plan: 2011-2015

Creating a New World...

The Chinese 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP) is being decided upon by the National People’s Congress this month; March 2011. It’s a tradition for centralized, authoritative governments to use this kind of policy making “plan”. Of course, The Party has drifted away from its soviet roots into the protector of the current socialist market economy. We’ll probably keep hearing about these plans in global news media for years to come.

Hearing this news got me starting to think about my FYP. My father often thought about our family plans in 5-10 year increments… especially when moving house. So how would I consider my last fiver years compared to my next five years?

I moved to China in 2005, but found the cozy city of Zhuhai in 2006. Technically, I’ve been in Zhuhai for 5 years studying Chinese, exploring some website ventures, teaching English, and travelling around Asia. But the next five years are going to look pretty different.
Here are my tasks and goals: Read More…

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Today I asked students in a “Listening and Speaking” course what their future career holds for them. Most of them said they would become translators and interpretors, which matches their degree title. Others said, “I don’t know…,” which many American students would probably say too. But there was a small percentage of translation majors [...]

Coffee for Tea Drinkers
Japanese Coffee ~ Drip On!
Vibrating Mode: Earthquakes Around Asia 2011
Recent Quake Location
The Italian Noodle Finally Comes Home
Any discussion about Italian food in China is bound to curtail into how pasta originated in China over 4,000 years ago[*]. I would say the Chinese have perfected the noodle over years of trial ‘n error, mostly due to their choice of seasonings. (My favorite Chinese noodles to this day are from the n
The Chinese Way to Get Hit by a Cement Truck
When someone says “I feel like I got hit by a speeding bus,” I now know what they mean from personal experience. Actually, it was a cement truck and it was attempting to slow down when it hit us. Our driver was caught off guard by a parked van in the lane for the off ramp and hit his breaks just in
Ben’s Five Year Plan: 2011-2015
Creating a New World...