Today In China January 31, 2011

China restricts news, discussion of Egypt unrest: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110131/tc_afp/chinaegyptunrestpoliticsinternetmediacensor

Can't say that this is entirely true as I am posting this from inside China, and as you can see, I have access to this yahoo news story. In fact, I have had free access to all the news yahoo has published about the Egyptian people's protest.

I have also been able to read similar stories in the China Daily, China's official English newspaper. The above story would also have you believe that searches are censored, but I have been able to run a search on Yahoo and Baidu both.

Of course, I am only able to speak for my area of China which is Zhangjiagang, in the Jiangsu Province.

What I do find ironic is that I have to use a proxy to access this blog to write about the supposed censorship of the Egyptian protests. Go figure. And, as well as this blogsite, I cannot access my photos on Picasa at all times. Sometimes they are available, and sometimes not. Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube are never accessible without a proxy.

Funny place this China!

Today In China January 30 2011

Not much happening today. Many of the Chinese have traveled to their home cities for the upcoming Chinese New Year/Spring Festival. The supermarkets are always crowded and all of the decorations are available for sale such as the couplets and what I call the red lanterns. The couplets are Chinese sayings written on red banners that hang on each side of the door to express wishes for the coming new year. Here is a link that explains the holiday:http://www.travelchinaguide.com/essential/holidays/spring-festival.html. Sorry, I am inside the great firewall and have to use a proxy to post this blog, so you may have to copy and past the link.

Ten Things I Think

1. Starbucks is not all that!
2. It’s always good to be home, wherever that may be!
3. All Americans should pray for their president and legislators, regardless of party affiliation
4. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, even if you don’t believe it to be so.
5. Friends are priceless.
6. More people should seek contentment in their needs being met instead of trying to satisfy their wants.
7. People around the world (common everyday people) are more alike than they are different once you get past the cultural differences
8. I should listen more and speak less.
9. Rulers of all nations should listen to their citizens more.
10. Although, I fail often, I want to love the way 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 describes: Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Christmas Turkey

This is what a Christmas turkey dinner in China looks like for a foreigner in a small city who is lucky enough to find a restaurant that will offer turkey!

Wow, not sure where to begin. This is my first attempt at blogging. Hopefully, I will get the of it and become comfortable and proficient.Well, to begin, this is my second year back in China as teacher. I work for Teachoverseas.org, a Christian organization that seeks to share our faith through establishing relationships by providing excellent teaching. I must say that I thoroughly enjoy what I do. I teach business courses, in English, to 3rd year college students. The students are between the ages of 20-22 years old, and have all been studying English for quite some time now, most of them since high school. The problem is that up until now, they have never had a chance to practice what they have been learning. They will all tell you that their English is poor, but for never having had a chance to practice spoken English, I think they do a great job.The main reason listed for taking this course is to improve their spoken English. They also love the fact they get to have a foreign teacher and, by doing so, get to learn about American culture. In turn, I get to learn a great deal about Chinese culture. The funny thing is, that except for their looks and language, they are very much like American kids, at least interest wise. They love to listen to pop music, go to movies, surf the net, and just hang out with friends. I often tell them, that except for the language and some of the cultural habits, that people in America and China probably are more alike than they are different. I see the Chinese people doing the same things American people do everyday. Things like going to work, going shopping, going to the park to play with their kids, picking their kids up from school, and host of activities that you would find Americans, for that matter, people in most any other country doing. I think that sometimes, if we could all just sit down and talk with one another the world would be a much better place. I know that sounds pretty naive, but I still believe it to be true. Well, I did not really sit down prepared to write, and anything more I write would just sort of keep rambling on without much more direction or order. So, I will end here for now, and come back with a more directed posting the next time I come back.