Betwixt and Between

I spent today trying to find a winter coat because it's gotten cold. I also searched for slacks because the ones I have are now huge. One of my students came with me to help. It was hard to fit me. I am nowhere nearly as small as an average Chinese woman, but the items in a shop for large Chinese ladies were oversize and not shaped like me. I finally got myself a men's bubble coat and the smallest slacks the people in the large ladies' store could locate.

Above: The open carts on the streets of Weihai's business district contrast with a downtown department store and the ubiquitous inflatable arch of China mobile.

Banqueting

I've become quite proficient in the art of attending a Chinese banquet, where huge amounts of food are placed on a rotating turntable, and you grab it with your chopsticks. All manner of food is piled on your plate. You must sample everything but are not required to finish anything. There is way too much.The aim is to do what's required. You don't really enjoy a meal when people throw that much food at you.The goal is keeping track of what's happening and doing what is expected. Hosts and guests make multiple toasts to each other's health and to the success of the business and academic projects on which they are working

Pictured above: I am a guest at a banquet, along with James Zhang, who many of you remember.

Below: The elaborately decorated and well-stocked table.

From Behind the Great Firewall of China

I can't see anyone's blog these days, nor post. Without Dennis' help, my blog would be out of business. When I try to access my blog, I get this:

http://auto.search.msn.com/response.aspx?MT=
www.rozchina.blogspot.com&srch
=3&prov=&utf8

On the overseas news, they say "information control" is on the rise throughout the world. Some people I talk to have mixed feelings about the efforts of companies like Google and agencies like Amnesty International to change the practice. They do not especially like censorship. But they resent attempts at control by the West and defend their country's way of doing things according to Chinese practice.

Italian Decoration

The Chinese are often clueless when it comes to religion. The Communists discourage it, and only a minority of Chinese attend Church, Temple or Mosque. But most Chinese, having been brought in an a-religious culture, have no idea what religion is about. Consequently, it's difficult for them to understand much of Western literature and many world tensions and events.

The crucifix pictured above hangs on the wall of a Beijing coffee shop, next to a featured bottle of Italian wine. Its presence has little connection with Christ; it is there for mood value and association with Italian culture.