Where’s the water, waiter?

Entertainment

Over at the Hao Hao Report, they’re discussing some favorite brands in China. Among other items, they’ve featured a brand of packaged drinking water (the stuff from the tap is unfit). The brand name is Wahahah Water. I imagine hearing someone calling for one of these things in much the same way as a football cheerleader might do, with a similar response from wags around the world. “Gimme a Wah! Gimme a Ha! Gimme a Wah Hah Hah!!”

And of course, now that my brain has awakened to the insanity of possibility (or should it be the reverse?) I presume that somewhere, someone is establishing a New, Improved version of Wahahah Water. Of course, this newly developed second version must be identified – it could only be known as version “B” — giving us the opportunity to enjoy a

BWAHAHAH!!

any time we choose.

Thomas Merton’s Prayer

Faith

MY LORD GOD, I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so.
But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you.
And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing.
I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire.
And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it.
Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death.
I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

– Thomas Merton, “Thoughts in Solitude”

National holiday in China

Flora and Fauna
The sweet olive is in full bloom now, and the fragrance of these little yellow flowers is impossible to miss. It’s everywhere.
I wonder if it will be as noticeable in another part of China, or perhaps it’s just around Shanghai, due to the climate.

Sweet olive

We’re going to travel to Xi’an to visit there with some other tourists. We’re going to see the terracotta warriors and the mountainside for a few days vacation. These days at the first of October are the National Holidays in China, a holiday to celebrate the founding of the republic. Modern China is sixty-two this year.
How about that — I’m older than the country. Excuse me while I reach for a chair, and a cane, and take a nap, and …

Wow. A year. Already.

Expo, Flora and Fauna

A year in China. Seems like only a few months ago I was tromping around the Shanghai Expo, but it’s been over a year ago now. In that time, I’ve learned a lot about myself and about others here and there. Life does have a way of going on, sometimes whether you want it to or not, sometimes whether you notice it or not.

A long time ago, it seems to me, I first heard someone talk about how time passes; they said the days are sometimes very long but the years go by in a flash. I know a little more about that now.

Last year this time, the osmanthus was blooming in Shanghai.  Take a look at the reference for sweet Osmanthus (or Tea Olive) here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osmanthus_fragrans  It’s here again, so I know the time has passed. But it’s been a quick year.

PICT0001

It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool…

TEFL

Seems to be the guiding principle for my first year students in English class. I have found that the kids are quite willing to sit quietly and be entertained while I make an idiot of myself on the platform. Now, that’s not much of a stretch anyway but still, at least one of us in the classroom expects me to impart some knowledge. These days, it’s a challenge.

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