come back short

Oh I hope it's not overgrown here since I haven't weeded it for two months! Now I figure out why there are so many abandoned blogs - once you stop posting for a little while, you're not motivate enough.

During my absence here, I spent 10 days in Beijing, again. But this time is not for sight-seeing, so I didn't take any fascinating photos to share here. Other than that, I didn't do anything beyond routine. And learning German is definitely major in my routine. As I learn more, it's getting more and more difficult. It's so difficult that the teacher doesn't even make effort to explain.=] And oh I almost forgot we had Christmas. Well, normally I don't celebrate Christmas but when you saw the whole world was having a good time, you could hardly sit back but ask them to share some fun.

It's pretty much about this post. I'm invited to another wedding dinner on New Year's Day. Will show some photos of it by then.

Fly Sheets Utilization 101

Living in Shenzhen(or the entire China), you may have to live with fly sheets of all kinds as long as you happen to be a passerby. Some fly sheets are quite plain while some are swanky. You can surely refuse to accept them but chances are you have to pick them up from your own mailbox and glance over them and throw them away. Ugh, it's so not environment-friendly, is it? So instead of whining about this kind of waste, I mean to share something with you - fly sheets Utilization 101(with my chubby fingers^^).

Needed Materials: FLY SHEETS (oblong)

1. Fold it in half.

2. Fold it in half again and unfold it.

3. Fold both edges(the closed side) to centre. Then unfold them.

4. Open one side and fold it to the crease lines which you made in step 3.

5. Do the other side and do the same as shown in step 4.

6. Okay. I don't know how to explain this step in English but I guess the picture makes it quite clear.

7. Do the other side and do the same as shown in step 6.

8. Fold both edges to centre on both side.

9. Fold the bottom part up on both side.

10. Expand it and make the bottom flat. And done!

There you go. You just made a throwaway rubbish box with a fly sheet that you were going to trash.^^ You may use it to collect random litter, say fish bones, fruit peels, melon-seed shells.

street snapshot

Even I'm a native in China, I do find things incomprehensible in my normal daily life. They're not the "mainstream" but I suppose they reflect something at some point. Well, instead of a judgemental person, I regard myself as a conscientious one about life.

Location: Beijing


This is the sign for a roast duck restaurant. As you may find, a part of it is missing. And now it's just a "roast bird" reataurant. Or it's a kind of publicity?

Location: my hometown


The local government is trying to popularize English to the salesmen. They chose the most effective way to do it - mark English with Chinese Characters as phonetic symbols. You may ask "Can it work?" No worry, because there's barely any foreigners there in this small town.

[ more about my hometown ]

Location: Shanghai


It was just some light rain, but this metro(from 353 to People Plaza) seemed flooded. I blamed the drainage system in Shanghai.

Location: Nanjing


I saw this catchphrase around Fuzimiao and got very confused. Let me translate it literally "Supporting the army is building a Great Wall. Loving the army is loving the national defence." - What the heck is that?

Location: Meilin, Shenzhen


This is a Police Bike! It's convenient to carry and to chase offenders at back street. At the critical moment, it can even be used as a weapon! (I'm laughing.)

Location: Bao'an, Shenzhen


This is a security guard booth, without any security but a giant police cap. It can surely be frightening to those criminals. Yes, right.

Location: Dongmen, Shenzhen


Remember my "Kappo" classmate? She's not alone. Check this out! "Backcab" and that hideous brand - just another Shanzhai product.

[ more on Shanzhai Kappa ]

I Don't Have a Dream.

I love my kids but I could have fed tainted milk to them. I don't have a dream.

Children died because they studied in the jerry-built classrooms. I don't have a dream.

Officials are all accepting bribes, and they never feel ashamed of it. I don't have a dream.

Most lawyers no longer stand up for the victims.If they do,they'll be detained or jailed. I don't have a dream.

You've been living and working in this city for years, but all you can get is a 'temporary' residential permit. I don't have a dream.

Those actors and actresses who starred in the patriotic Chinese movie are not officially Chinese. I don't have a dream.

80 percent of water from China's rivers is polluted, and you may be poisoned if you drink it. I don't have a dream.

Not only at the Olympics,but every coal mine mishap in China also broke a record in death toll. I don't have a dream.

The Berlin wall collapsed 20 years ago, however the GFW is strengthening. I don't have a dream.

China is so vast but Twitter can't survive here. Seriously, I don't have a dream.

Share a joke with you ----------------


Osama Bin Laden recently said China is the only country where terrorists don’t dare to go. Al Qaeda once dispatched five terrorists to attack China. They were told to bomb five different places.

The first, who was to bomb an overpass, got lost on the labyrinthine bridges.

The second, who was to bomb a bus, couldn’t even get aboard because the bus was too crowded;

The third, who was to bomb a supermarket, got his remote control stolen;

The fourth, who was to bomb a building, was stopped and badly beaten by the security guards, who took him for a migrant worker asking for overdue wages, and yelled at him “don’t come for your salary, and don’t you dare to appeal!”;

The fifth, who was to bomb a coal mine, eventually made it, leaving more than 100 miners dead. But half a year later, he was executed by al Qaeda for “cheating,” since the incident was never reported in China.

SZU,Shame on You.

To start off,I have to admit that "SZU,Shame on You" is definitely more sensational than the real.But it does make a catchy title.^^

F.Y.I,SZU is short for Shenzhen University.I've been studying in SZU for more than two years.I fairly enjoy my life there because,well,"small as it is, the sparrow has all the vital organs".But meanwhile,I did find something funny yet a bit of disgraceful.I was meaning to blog about it but didn't take enough photos as a proof.But now,I'm doing it.The following may not be made by SZU but happen there in SZU.



1. Somehow I suppose it was written by some foreign student because the capital letters don't apply to the writing habit of us Chinese people (I guess).

 

2. These students are about to graduate.It's understandable to take a photo of them and the landmark for a souvenir,but I don't think it's not necessary to actually stand on it.If everyone of us was gonna do the same thing,that sundial would be a ruin.

 

3. There are more than 20 canteens in SZU.I bet things like the following pics have happened in all the canteen.It happens too many times,so that we barely take it as a big deal.Everytime when someone started to complain about it,others would say something like "think about the starving children in Africa".

 

4."Wow,check on those legs" - that's not my point,dude.We were having a PE class but some were there in slipper.You may not be professional,but at least you gotta have a professional spirit.

 

5.People in Shenzhen are not strangers to Shanzhai.At some point,I suppose the name "Shanzhai" is adapted from Shenzhen.But this gal from my class really made me speechless.As a 21st century uni student,she just ignored the"KappO" and lived with it.

 

6.Yes,this is the  map of SZU which is located right on the main gate.If you're careful enough,you may find it literally unbearable because there are two misspellings on it.What are the odds?

 

7.This kind of herbal tea is declared to be preventive against H1N1 virus - YEA RIGHT! 

 

8.What are you doing guys?It's in the middle of a class,Japanese class though.Well,I'm taking this photo.Who am I blaming！

 

9.I don't know whether non-Chinese would get this,but it made me laugh so hard."Fathers are already old.Wait no more to show filial obedience" - an advertisement for Phiton necklace,ahead of the Father's Day.

 

To Be Continued......

a happy event

Me and mom were invited to a wedding dinner last Sunday.I was looking forward to it because I hadn't been at a wedding for years.We presented 600 RMB because to Cantonese folks,the number 3,6 and 9 are regarded as lucky ones for happy events.To tell the truth,I didn't know the birde or the groom in person but I knew theirs parents.I was told that the bride was a nurse and the groom,teacher.What a perfect couple!And I stealthly thought the groom was cute,the bride was a beauty though.^^At the end of this year,one of my cousins is going to marry,too.Fortunately,I was asked to be a helper by then.Can't wait!

We were welcomed in by the couple and their relatives.After that,we headed for the reception desk to hand out our present which was the money I mentioned.Mom put the money in a red packet as everyone else did and they had to sign their names on the back of the packet.It was so sabby yet inevitable conventional,and I was a little disturbed by this formality.

(All the single young people were ready to catch the bouquet.But hey,I was single and I was supposed to be there too.Why was I taking this photo instead?)

(Little gift from the bride and the groom - candies,two packs of cigarettes and a red packet with 10 RMB in it.)

(Some typical wedding dinner dishes.)

It's a convention that once the fish dish is being served,it's the time for the couple to toast to the guests,table by table.And the bride has to change her wedding dress to Chinese-style dress - cheong-sam,while the groom doesn't have to.Normally,it's a torturing time for the couple,as they haven't had much food for a whole day but still have to drink much,even though they have some 'best men' to help a bit.

The following photo was captured from the VCR displaying at the dinner.See,they really make a cute couple.And I'm looking forward to the next happy event of them.^^Hope that they will be 永结同心，白头偕老.

lately

I've been learning German since this new semester.It's never easy to pick up another language.It makes it even more confusing when you have learnt some language that is similar to the one you're learning - German and English.

I don't think German is as difficult as I thought,but its similarity to English is really giving a headache.I don't mean my English is interfering in the German learning process,instead,it's playing as a double-edged sword at this point.On one hand,the German "chicken intestine" and the Indo-European grammar don't stick out like a sore thumb to me.On the other hand,the semblable alphabet compared to the English one,plus those same spelling as English but pronounced different German words are literally beating me up.

I once felt that my mind was hungry for a puzzle to solve,and now I really get a real feast's worth of conundrums!huh.Bring it on German.Allure me,entice me,surprise me,astound me.I've been more on the fence with anything.My ambition has been taking a long nap,but it's about to wake up and get riled up.

The teacher suggests that we should avoid using English or use it as less as possible while we learn.What a joker!It's never gonna happen so long as I still live with the Internet.Besides,I won't commit my English to learning German.

As for my English,I believe it's totally fossilized.It's so not going any better( or worse?).I don't get my hopes up to make it to an more advanced level,unless I could live in some English-speaking country for several years.

I keep having this fancy dream - is there anyone kind and generous enough to support me to go to Germany or some English-speaking country,say the UK?^^

writing up on Nanjing

After saying farewell to Shanghai,I made my way to Nanjing.I lived at the hostel which was located at Fuzimiao Temple and Qinhuai River.The Nanjing dialect is also beyond me,but I didn't encounter too much.When it comes to hotels or inns,Nanjing is definitely a traveller friendly city as they don't charge very much.Other than that,the transportation is very convenient there.Much less Nanjing is fairly a small city.Looking it back,I feel it's a shame that I didn't visit a single university in Nanjing.I'm so gonna do it next time.

(The hostel I stayed at.)

(Qinhuai River - better visit it at night,because the river is actually not clean and clear.^^)

Nanjing used to be the capital of the ancient China and of China in the Republican Period.As what Nazi did to Jewish,the Japanese made a outrageous massacre in Nanjing back in 1937.In order to push down all these resentment,the city emblem of Nanjing once was an mythical animal Pi Xiu(貔貅).

As what I wrote above,Nanjing played an important role back in the Republican Period.It can somehow explain why there's a Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing.Well,it may seem to you that there are ‘Sun Yat-sen Mausoleums’or 'Zhongshan Roads' in every city of China mainland,or even Taiwai,but this one in Nanjing is literally the most authentic.

It figures that this mausoleum is totally a commercialized tourist attraction,but I still have something to say - the admission ticket is way too expensive,not to mention that you basically just do some hiking there.(Good thing that I got in without paying any money because I found that 'back door'."Yay me"!)

Another memorial for the ROC - Yuhuatai Martyrs Park.

 

 

Before I went to Nanjing,the place I wanted to visit most was The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall.One day ahead of taking my departure,I got the chance to realize my dream.So there I standed,right in front of the solemn construction and vivid statues.Formal feeling came to you instantly.I didn't take any photos inside though.

 

 

 

Forgive but not forget.I'll always pray for world peace.