"We want you to sing with us in the singing contest," one of my Business English students told me.

"Well...., sure I will," I said, preening inwardly. No wonder they asked me, I think to myself. I've done a little impromptu singing in the classroom and they know I've got a good voice.

"We get more points if a teacher is on stage with us."

"Oh. Okay."

The students at my school appear to have lots of extra-curricular activities and interests, but in some cases they are not given a choice.  The language major students were challenged to hold a singing contest and to perform a song in the language they were studying -- English, French or Korean.

Coerced or not, the students took the contest seriously and spent many hours rehearsing their song, "Cry on My Shoulder," an English pop song sung by Dutch singers, which is very popular in Asia...

Post updated with link to "meat floss."


First, OMG brand moist towelettes. 

And "Brack Folest" hair spray. 

And sliced bread that was actually unsliced. "Special flavor, the taste is more natural." "Delicious, healthy and good quality, it is certain your best choice."  

Inside this loaf of bread I found a lump of something I did not recognize but which I later learned is "meat floss." Apparently meat floss is popular in bread here.  Think candy floss, but made of meat. 

Apart from the mortal danger, Zibo is a great place for bicyclists.  The city is level, the boulevards are wide and tree-shaded, and there are lots of pleasant routes in the city, for example along the river. 

With the help of a student from the school, I recently visited a second-hand market to buy a bicycle. The student negotiated with the bicycle vendor and translated for me. "She says you should not buy that bicycle because you are fat," he explained helpfully. We got a sturdier bicycle that has held up so far. 

For my first forays into the mayhem that is Zibo traffic, I chose Zhongrun Avenue near my apartment complex because traffic is light on this wide boulevard and the streets are well lit.  In the cool of the evening, there are lots of couples out walking. I pass a barbeque restaurant -- these are easy to recognize because of the smoky aroma and the fact that the patrons sit outside on little stools around low tables.  I sure look forward to going to these places with Ross when he finally arrives in China. Except for the little stools around low tables part. We'll work something out.

I've been having some internet issues and access to my website has been a little sporadic. So just a quick post tonight to show you a poster that I saw recently. I was visiting Yiwu Market with my "handler;' that is the soft-spoken man from the school who is in charge of doing my paperwork and helping me sort out any problems settling in. We were buying a mattress pad for my Chinese mattress. The Chinese like a very firm mattress and I just couldn't get used to mine so we got a thin foam mattress to put on top. 

Walking through the furniture section, I spotted this poster.  

Yes, this is revolutionary iconography as seen in many communist posters. 

And yes, instead of smashing revisionist running dog lackeys, the proletariat vanguard is now..... smashing high prices?

This is not your father's Communist China.