Wo Bu Zhidao

The Best Things In Life Come On A Stick

Last year the best things in life came on two wheels.

A Day In The Life

Actually several days in my life. I finally got around to finishing up posting some more pictures from my trip to Liaoning this past January. By clicking the following links you can see several food groups, birthday and New Year's celebrations, my little niece with a little car, an overworked doctor, a mysterious man and finally some beautiful ladies.

Work Break

Gilding A Rose Take 2

Today we took more pre-wedding pictures. This time we did it outside. Nothing like seeing a white guy in traditional Chinese cloths to cause stares. Unless of course you happen to have a beauiful woman around being taught how to fly.

Typepad Blocked In China

Since the 24th this is what I and everyone else in China has seen when trying to reach my site. I am not alone it appears this is a blanket block of all web sites hosted by typepad. It really doesn't bother me that much but it does make me a little sad. Most visitors to my website are from China. I will miss these visitors but it is the second time I have been blocked and it is not like what I have to say will save the world.

I think Andres Gentry has a neat idea (site blocked in China) though. I myself am in favor of censorship but not in favor of stupid blanket blocking. So I will also tell you how I am a human and how I love.

In the fall of 2002 I was assigned a study partner to help me with my Chinese. I was assigned a group of about 5 people actually but that rapidly changed to just one regular study partner. My study partner, Hu Wenshu (Apple Hu), was an English major from Liaoning province, the province just north of North Korea. She and I studied twice a week together and quickly became close friends.

Last March I took Apple to the dentist when she had a toothache. Here you can see her hiding behind the father of modern Chinese medicine, Li Shizhen. It was soon after that picture was taken that I began to realize that my feelings for Apple were greater than those I would have for a regular classmate. I can still remember the pain in my heart as I saw the dentist working on her. They had to give her a filling but apparently pain builds character or something because no Novocain was used. The sight of someone causing her so much pain tore me to pieces. I did not tell Apple though of my feelings because I am a big chicken.

Soon though it was time to leave China and I returned to Seoul for a summer of work. During this time though Apple and I continued to grow closer and closer. We exchanged many e-mails and I was very excited to return to China and see her again. Our reunion was to be delayed though.

During the summer Apple landed a job teaching in Wendeng, Shandong. I was actually geographically closer to her in Seoul than I was after I returned to Shijiazhuang. One thing changed forever our relationship though, text messaging. We could use our cell phones to keep in fairly constant contact with each other. Incidentally, I highly recommend this technique for rapid advancement in your ability to recognize Chinese characters. It was during this time that I finally told Apple of my love for her and asked her to become my girlfriend.

During the fall Apple was able to come visit me once and I also went to Wendeng to visit her. It really was hard to be so far apart physically but so close emotionally and spiritually. Late in November my phone stopped working so I went to see what was wrong. It was just a very large bill. In China when you go to pay your phone bill they do not automatically give you an itemized receipt. If you wish to see what calls and messages you are being charged for you must go to an ATM type machine and it will print out a list for you much like a receipt from the grocery store. Until November of last year I had never thought that it was necessary to use this machine but after recovering from the shock of that phone bill I thought I better check it out. After all, even though I had been using the phone a lot a twenty-fold increase in the bill was a bit more than I was expecting. I went over to the machine and started printing out my bill...4 feet...12 feet...finally the receipt stopped printing when it was about 20 feet long. I had amassed quite a crowd around me by this time and the old guy behind me mentioned with a sly smile, "Look, they are all the same number. I am glad there were no cell phones when I met my wife." He then continued on, "You must really be in love." He was right I was. With a huge phone bill in hand but a larger grin on my face I immediately reached for my ringing phone and sure enough it was Apple and she said, "I knew that you had your phone turned back on so I thought I would call to say I love you."

Soon after this, Apple moved to Shijiazhuang and we started to discuss the possibility of marriage in the future. We knew that our life together might be difficult but decided that it did not matter. During this time her parents invited me to come spend the Chinese New Year holiday with them at their home in Liaoning. I was going to use this time to float the idea of marriage past them and see what they thought. Apple's family is very traditional and parental approval would be very important to our future happiness. I had already begun to put the idea up to my folks and they were quite excited and happy. I was really terrified though about meeting Apple's father. It didn't help that she mentioned I would probably sharing a kang (a stone bed with a fire underneath) with her father and brother-in-law. Suddenly my fear of cold weather didn't seem that bad. I was ready to sleep outside if need be.

Well I ended up sharing a kang with Apple, her mother, and niece. This was nice but her father really scared the piss out of me. He was justifiably concerned that I was trying to trick his daughter in order to take her to America and take advantage of her. That first night though after her father chewed me out her mother and sister let me know that I shouldn't worry. They already liked me and I had nothing to worry about. Well by the end of three weeks her father sat me down and told me he had noticed how much I loved and worshipped Apple and how much she loved me and he agreed that we could marry.

The American Embassy website warns that while marriage in China is possible it can be rather difficult for a foreigner to do. They note that on aver age it can take from several weeks to several months to finish the application process. Apple and I thought that we had best take advantage of the remaining week of spring break to try and start the process, as we would have to do it in her home state in the city of Shenyang.

It took two days for Apple and I to become married. We have not changed our plans for a wedding ceremony and still plan to have the ceremony on May 8th. Currently we are happily living in a single person dormitory back at school in Shijiazhuang. Apple is a wonderful person who like me enjoys looking at the world in new ways. She is a little cynical, luckily not as much as me, and has a wicked sense of humor. When I told her that I wanted to ride on a white pony on our wedding to pick her up in traditional Buddhist fashion she noted that if I really felt that way she would step aside and let me marry the horse. I love her so much and could not imagine being any happier.

That is all for now. Apple wants to sleep so I had better go.

Practice Walking

Today we went to visit our cousin in Beijing. He lives in Dahongmen. This part of Beijing is mostly populated with recent immigrants to Beijing. Rather interesting to see so many people from all over China living in one area of Beijing. You could definitely see the differences in Culture. Apple was rather shacked to see 18 and 19 year old women who were married with children. Our cousin said that they were mostly women from Sichuan where the tradition is to marry a little younger than in the northeast.

Madeline "Coco" Albright

My wife and I have had a hard time finding where to get a Qipao (Chinese wedding dress) made. We asked the tailor that made suits for me, and his only suggestion was that we go to the Friendship Store (in a tie with Liberal, Kansas for most inapropriately named place in the world) in Beijing. So I thought to myself, "Who is a world renowned fashion guru and has been to China?" Of course the answer is obvious, Madeline Albright.

Following in her foot steps we went to Ruifuxiang. Ruifuxiang is a silk store that was established in 1893 near Qianmen in Beijing. Apple tried on many different dresses to help her decide what would be the most suitable cloth and dress style. She spent alot of time in high heels trying on dresses and tramping around the city so her feet became incredibly sore. Luckily though we found a store selling magical shoes for only $1.25.

Soon after buying the shoes she had happy feet. Apple says that she thinks they are old lady shoes. Perhaps many people agree with her but I think all that is old will again be new. Rather than following in the footsteps of the great fashion mavens Apple can make the tracks for other fashionable women to follow in.

Non-renewable Carries Renewable

Serenity Now!!!!!

Interestingly enough on this day last year I also took a picture of someone reading.

Eat The Rainbow