17/08: Guangzhou, more
I must tell you, lest I perish and with me, this part of the puzzle. The Guangzhou English TV station ran a documentary about the Temple of the Sun in Mexico, placing it's time from 200BC to 200AD. The design was very similar to what I saw in Cambodia. The Angkor Wat complex with over 600 temples peaked with Angkor Wat, about 1200AD. then gradually declined.
It tells me that the design information came from the Americas to Asia, and not what is commonly understood, from Asia to the Americas.
Nothing much profound going on, waiting for the teeth of the cosmic gears to align, to see if I get this teaching job, getting the documentation together: vitae, physical, transcript and passport.
The Dean assigned a most pleasant young post-doctoral researcher to assist and intercede for me. We have completed most of the tasks. Her English is good as she studied in England for 3 years. Some of my American idioms leave her a little bewildered, sometimes. She has good instincts for the Chinese way, so I lean on her judgment considerably.
In things Chinese, with even a minor detail, there is great discussion. I can only imagine the content. I am learning to wait, the door seems to always open. It's like a parallel universe.
A small adventure: A laundress got bleach on one of my 6 shirts, making it unusable. Later I found 2 more with small bleach spots. The hotel management said they would replace the shirt. So I went shopping with a staffer for 2 hours, with no luck. All the shirts were too small. Yesterday, after researching for the right store, another staffer and I finally found one that would fit, XXXXXL.
It was almost suppertime when we finished. His Grandparents telephoned him to join them for supper, the invitation included me. The Grandfather, 81, still sharp, was proud that he had killed some Japs that had invaded his city during WWII. The Grandson, a young man maybe 20, was big on cars, guns, rap and whiskey. We had a good time. I offered that after we finished supper, we could go shoot some Japs. I don't know how it did in translation. There was considerable beer.
It was a classy restaurant, waitresses knew to serve liquids from the right. The food, ever spectacular, included: poached flounder, sliced beef tongue, steamed squab beak up, veal short ribs, steamed prawns, stir fried young broccoli, steamed rolls, all with proper sauces. The Doctor, commenting on my blood work, said that I should eat less fat and salt---
Two days ago, I hiked to a second mountain top close by, maybe a 6 mile hike. My legs were rubbery when I got home. The steep and narrow trail went through mostly wilderness, no people. I topped the mountain, the trail continued, hesitant, I decided to keep going, unsure where it went. 2 young men overtook me, they indicated that the trail would bring me back to civilization. The Chinese are so kind. Perceiving me to be old, they abided with me until the trail became clear and easy. A little un-natural for me, I surrendered to their assistance. It was nice to be cherished.
The Chinese National news is very interesting. They are reaching out in every direction to be friendly: joint military exercises with India, big trade talks with all the -stans in the north and west, fuzzy stuff with Japan, photos with Iran's premier. They may set a pace for a new world order. My assistant doesn't like Muslims, either.
Guangzhou, I believe, is China's third largest city. It is built on the flat places among small mountains. The mountains are left undeveloped and serve as wonderful green spaces to retreat from the city. There are numerous green space parks in the city. And in keeping with the new China, every possible space is cultivated with the appropriate plant.
I sense there is still here a significant presence of the old Communist guard, young men with Red armbands safety pinned to their shirt sleeve, standing at strategic places,not interfering.
Also, windows and doors, especially at ground level up several floors have burglar bars, reminiscent of Mexico and South America. My assistant says it's common for burglars to kill occupants and take money. Hey, what do I know? First I've heard of it. But it nibbles at my Moorish Taint theory. And I am from Richmond, which had the Nation's second highest murder rate. Show me what you got.
S
It tells me that the design information came from the Americas to Asia, and not what is commonly understood, from Asia to the Americas.
Nothing much profound going on, waiting for the teeth of the cosmic gears to align, to see if I get this teaching job, getting the documentation together: vitae, physical, transcript and passport.
The Dean assigned a most pleasant young post-doctoral researcher to assist and intercede for me. We have completed most of the tasks. Her English is good as she studied in England for 3 years. Some of my American idioms leave her a little bewildered, sometimes. She has good instincts for the Chinese way, so I lean on her judgment considerably.
In things Chinese, with even a minor detail, there is great discussion. I can only imagine the content. I am learning to wait, the door seems to always open. It's like a parallel universe.
A small adventure: A laundress got bleach on one of my 6 shirts, making it unusable. Later I found 2 more with small bleach spots. The hotel management said they would replace the shirt. So I went shopping with a staffer for 2 hours, with no luck. All the shirts were too small. Yesterday, after researching for the right store, another staffer and I finally found one that would fit, XXXXXL.
It was almost suppertime when we finished. His Grandparents telephoned him to join them for supper, the invitation included me. The Grandfather, 81, still sharp, was proud that he had killed some Japs that had invaded his city during WWII. The Grandson, a young man maybe 20, was big on cars, guns, rap and whiskey. We had a good time. I offered that after we finished supper, we could go shoot some Japs. I don't know how it did in translation. There was considerable beer.
It was a classy restaurant, waitresses knew to serve liquids from the right. The food, ever spectacular, included: poached flounder, sliced beef tongue, steamed squab beak up, veal short ribs, steamed prawns, stir fried young broccoli, steamed rolls, all with proper sauces. The Doctor, commenting on my blood work, said that I should eat less fat and salt---
Two days ago, I hiked to a second mountain top close by, maybe a 6 mile hike. My legs were rubbery when I got home. The steep and narrow trail went through mostly wilderness, no people. I topped the mountain, the trail continued, hesitant, I decided to keep going, unsure where it went. 2 young men overtook me, they indicated that the trail would bring me back to civilization. The Chinese are so kind. Perceiving me to be old, they abided with me until the trail became clear and easy. A little un-natural for me, I surrendered to their assistance. It was nice to be cherished.
The Chinese National news is very interesting. They are reaching out in every direction to be friendly: joint military exercises with India, big trade talks with all the -stans in the north and west, fuzzy stuff with Japan, photos with Iran's premier. They may set a pace for a new world order. My assistant doesn't like Muslims, either.
Guangzhou, I believe, is China's third largest city. It is built on the flat places among small mountains. The mountains are left undeveloped and serve as wonderful green spaces to retreat from the city. There are numerous green space parks in the city. And in keeping with the new China, every possible space is cultivated with the appropriate plant.
I sense there is still here a significant presence of the old Communist guard, young men with Red armbands safety pinned to their shirt sleeve, standing at strategic places,not interfering.
Also, windows and doors, especially at ground level up several floors have burglar bars, reminiscent of Mexico and South America. My assistant says it's common for burglars to kill occupants and take money. Hey, what do I know? First I've heard of it. But it nibbles at my Moorish Taint theory. And I am from Richmond, which had the Nation's second highest murder rate. Show me what you got.
S
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