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Editor’s
Note: This article
appeared in the online edition of the Newport News, VA dailypress.com
From Dalian to you.
October 5, 2008
Think of a product you use everyday. An electric razor. A laptop computer.
A television. A telephone. Your bed. Chances are, those products were not made
in the United States.
The electric razor? Made in China. Laptops? China. Televisions? China.
Editor's Note: This article was contributed by Dannie Ly, a regular on this website. Dannie recounts her experiences as a volunteer in the earthquake area this past summer. This heartfelt story originally appeared as a Forum Post but we thought it should stand as an article so it can be easily retrieved in the future.
A banner of thanks to Liaoning province, a supporting province of Anxian
The terrible earthquake in Sichuan
affected all
of China. After this tragedy of 5-12, my
roomate and I came up with the idea that we should go to the area to be a
volnuteer even though we did not know exactly how to do that. Then we learned through our university
(Dalian Maritime University) that there would be a selection of about 100 teams
which would get finacial aid and some other support to do certain project
research during our summer holiday. The university conducted an application
process where teams were invited to submit a project, write plans on how to run
it, and give a speech before a panel of judges who then selected the teams to
carry out their projects. Six of us put our heads together and developed a
project to submit to the university panel.
The Whisky of "Lost in Translation", Suntory Whisky
Editor's Note: Some months ago, our own Meyer Hurn submitted this article about Suntory Whisky, a bottle of which will be the prize at this week's Sunday Coffee.
Seeing as how the Sunday Coffee Lucky Draw is for a
bottle of Suntory whisky, I thought it appropriate to tell the story of this “Scotch".
I had the pleasure of attending a
launch/promotion of Suntory whisky which was hosted in the Kempinski Hotel here
in Dalian. The launch was well organized by the
Shanghai representative office of H-Line Ogilvy Communications
Company.
Suntory was the whisky
used in the movie, Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray, who
goes to Tokyo to promote this Japanese whisky. As most of us
expats have probably experienced before, it is so easy to get something
"lost in translation" when living in Asia. The
company's whisky operation takes over 60 percent of Japan's market share,
and Suntory is as well known in Japan as Jack Daniels is in the
United States. Whisky, whether domestic or imported, is a very popular
drink among Japanese consumers, perhaps even more popular than Sake.
Congratulations to Phil Cagle, the winner of the Lucky Draw for the famous, much discussed Japanese Whisky (which tastes like Scotch). Come and meet your friends and make some new ones at the Starbucks at Olympic Square.
A Dalian Saturday Morning: Labor Park & Antique Market
If you have a free Saturday or Sunday morning, I have a recommendation for you.Head to Labor Park (Laodong Park--劳动公园 ) around 8:00 a.m. and just walk around and enjoy the many different groups of people who gather there.
You will find various groups of fan dancers who are often dancing to the same beat of music but wearing different color costumes. You will see sword dancers showing their balance, dexterity, and flexibility.You will see other groups kicking feather (my term) at a very, very high level.One of my favorite groups to watch is the one where each person has a small tennis racquet-type deal (taiji rou li qiu) that has a flexible rubber covering instead of strings.These people are amazing in that they can move their racquets around in unbelievable ways and keep a plastic ball on the racquet through centrifugal force, toss the ball into the air, catch it, flip it over their shoulders, etc. all in unison and in time with music.
Around the lake filed with beautiful lotus flowers is permanent seating where people play cards, chess, and mahjong.
Lotus flowers cover center pond
The woods of Labor Park often have individuals who use the trees as stretching devices.Turn the corner and you might see a fellow reading a book while his right foot is hooked in a tree branch at eye level.
Okay, I just had the most amazing weekend and it's not even half over yet! Yesterday, right after school, I packed up my bags and took the qing gui (aka skytrain) from Jinshitan to Dalianwith Anita and Anjali. We went to an Indian restaurant on the fifth floor of the Zhongshan Hotel and met up with some other teachers from the ForeignNationalsSchooldowntown.
Editors Note: This article was contributed by frequent poster, Heiney.
A mooncake...or maybe a Hockey puck ?
If hockey had been invented in China, no doubt they would have used a moon cake as the first hockey puck!
Certainly people with a distaste for this delicacy from the Middle Kingdom would say such a thing.
Sure enough, every year around this time people are divided into two camps.Friend or Foe. Supporter or Detractor. Lover or Hater.
A round little object the same shape and almost the same size as a hockey puck can turn brother against brother. Husband against wife. Neighbor against neighbor. If it's not the love or hate of moon cakes, it's an argument about which kind is best that can create a simple gathering amongst friends and families into something Jimmy Carter or Kofi Annan would need to mediate. How can something so small and seemingly innocent become so polarizing?
Alexis.Chu
If you have a free Saturday or Sunday morning, I have a recommendation for you.
