Archive | July, 2008

school is out and i’m off like a prom dress

Summer camp finishes today. After working more than two straight weeks it’s time to kick back and relax (after partaking in a few post-camp libations).

I had planned a wonderful Asian adventure for this summer. Vietnam and Cambodia were my nations of choice (see the cool map - you can zoom in and move around). My new camera, a neato CF card reader, an ultra-portable notebook computer, and moi, would have hit the road.

I should have learned by now to never to get my hopes up.


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My passport has four blank pages left. Traveling to Hong Kong, then onwards to southeast Asia requires visas and immigration stamps, something my document has little room to hold. The idea of a grand summer adventure capped off by being refused entry to China due to no-stampable pages does not appeal to me.

I’ve had to change my plans. Several times.

I’ll stay in China. Hong Kong will see me visiting historic military sites and cemeteries. I’ll hit the former Portuguese colony of Macau and stay far away from the new Vegas-style casinos. Xi’an, home of countless tombs and the terracotta warriors (see another cool map, below) will be another excursion. Then there’s Mrs. Stevo’s village of Guiyang, and a possible trip to Shaoshan, the hometown of Chairman Mao. Instead of trains and buses, I will fly.


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Like everything in China, this plan is subject to change. It’s time to play it by ear. If my posts are intermittent know I am somewhere in China, a camera in hand.
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Posted in China, TravelComments (10)

shadows and reflections

Chinese self portrait

I haven’t posted a self-portrait in a week or two. My vanity must be on the wane. No, that’s not true. You’re not vain when you know you’re the coolest man in China. A snarky blogger recently called The Stevo “tasty vittles.” I’ll take that as the ultimate compliment.

If you view this image large you may notice my ensemble. A purple plaid shirt and camouflage shorts is Stevo’s China Wear at its finest. My rationale is simple: I’m going to be stared at any way, I might as well be entertaining to look at. If you saw some of the clothes in Mrs. Stevo’s closet my above look would seem tame.

Clothes shopping, actually all shopping in China, is cheap. Instead of buying used clothing (as I did in Canada) I can now afford the ugliest of un-preowned shirts. I’ll take you shopping in China, if you visit, I know some place with reasonably attractive garments, and a great tailor.

Captured: July 23, 2008.

Posted in China, Self-PortraitComments (16)

ancients against the sky

For more than 400 years Ayutthaya was the capital of Thailand. The Burmese army sacked and destroyed the city in the late 1700s. The remnants of the palace and countless wats (Thai temples) sat decaying for two centuries. The locals, who had established a new town a few kilometers away, were afraid of the ruins and the ghosts they held.

Ayutthaya is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the ruins form Ayutthaya Historical Park. The ruins make a great day trip from Bangkok and are easily accessible by organized tour or train.

Captured: February 8, 2008.

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cameraCanon EOS 400D DIGITAL
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Posted in Images, Thailand, TravelComments (10)

a candle for the goddess

A candle for Tianhou, the Mother of Heaven, and Goddess of the Sea. While the following information is related to Buddhism, and Tianhou is part of the Taoist pantheon, the symbolism is probably the same:

Candles are a traditional part of Buddhist ritual observances. Along with incense and flowers, candles (or some other type of light source, such as butter lamps) are placed before Buddhist shrines or images of the Buddha as a show of respect. They may also be accompanied by offerings of food and drink. The light of the candles is described as representing the light of the Buddha’s teachings, echoing the metaphor of light used in various Buddhist scriptures.

from: Wikipedia

Captured: July 12, 2008.
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Posted in China, ImagesComments (10)

double happiness redux

What do I like about China? (other than low taxes, cheap beer, and the availability of fried chicken.)

The stories.

In a country with 5000 years of recorded history there’s a tale or two to be told. While the Europeans were living in caves, a movie character once memorably said, the Chinese were building cities and sailing the oceans.

I mentioned double happiness in a previous post and promised the whole story. Let us look back to the days of the Tang Dynasty (618 – 907 CE). The Tang Dynasty is considered a renaissance of sorts, the golden age of Chinese painting, poetry and architecture. So, without further adieu:

Once upon a time…

…there was a young man, a student, on his way to the capital to complete his final examinations. The best and brightest, the students with the most outstanding exam results, would become ministers in the emperor’s court. The young man fell ill while making his journey and was taken in by a family in a mountain village. Lucky for the lad, the head of the household was a doctor. The physician and his pretty daughter treated the ill scholar and he soon recovered.

The doctor’s daughter fell in love with the ill young man as she tended to him. He, likewise, fell for his pretty, young nurse. After regaining his strength, it was hard to say goodbye. The girl wrote the right hand portion of a Chinese couplet for the student to match.

Green trees against the sky in the spring rain while the sky set off the spring trees in the obscuration.

The boy was stymied and told the girl it would take time for him to write the second part of the couplet. He promised to do so after his examination.

The formerly-ill student set out again for the capital, wrote the examination, and won top spot. While being interviewed by the emperor the lad was tested again. Finish this couplet, the king told the scholar:

Red flowers dot the land in the breeze’s chase while the land colored up in red after the kiss.

The student realized the matching part of the emperor’s couplet, the right side, had been given to him by his love. He wrote it down and gave it to the ruler.

The emperor was pleased and appointed the young man as a minister in his court. He was given leave to visit his hometown before taking up his post. Love-struck as he was, the lad returned to the girl’s village and told her of the emperor, the couplet, and his new job.

The pair was married. Using red paper, they doubled the Chinese character, xi, and hung it on their wall to celebrate two events, double happiness for their wedding and the young man’s new job.

They probably lived happily ever after.

The Chinese character 喜 (xi, pronounced she) translates to: happy. The Double Happiness, symbol often used in calligraphy, is a pairing of the character xi (see images). It is commonly used at weddings, and in the homes of newlyweds as a decoration. (There are three still hanging in my apartment. The one on the door is useful in giving directions. ‘Look for the door with the big red thing on it,’ I say to would-be visitors).

The hong bao, the red envelopes containing money, given at weddings, often feature the double happiness symbol. The symbol is most often red, but sometimes black. It is never white, as that is the color of death, and used at funerals.

The inspiration for this came from Carrie at My Several Worlds and her great post on the Chinese Cinderella.

Posted in China, Culture, History, LanguageComments (8)

going for broke

One of the best things about traveling, about teaching ESL, is the things I see and the students I meet. Summer camp is a misnomer compared with North American summer camp. There are no tents, campfires, marshmallows, or canoes. There are English lessons, games, and contests.

After a day in the classroom the ESL teachers and students go for broke in an Olympic-style relay. What was lost in grace and finesse was made up for with intensity.

Teaching ESL is not an easy job. But the rewards, like seeing (and capturing) the above, are immense.

Captured: July 22, 2008.
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Posted in China, Featured, Images, TravelComments (23)