Snow

It snowed today. Lots of flurries, not quite cold enough for it to stick though. I also saw my breath. Winter is coming. Snow is in the forecast for 3 of the next 6 days.

Air pollution

The air has actually been pretty good here in Ha'erbin. Until last week. Last Thursday was a bit cloudy/foggy, but both me and my roommate woke up a bit weird. I went running that afternoon and felt a uncomfortable burning sensation in my chest. That night a i had the symptoms of a mild sinus infection and began self medicating.

Friday was worse, in regard to the sinuses. I was mostly cured by Monday. I didnt know that the air was bad Thursday-Saturday until Monday when I had a look at the Chinese EPA Air quality website. I found this little graph.

The first value(81) is Sunday(10/19) Friday is the 273. The values correspond to the Chinese air quality index, which is similar to the US EPA's AQI. The Chinese index as the same scale and same categories. I was a bit suspicious of this, so I investigate how both were calculated. Turns out they are not so similar. The indexes are based on 5 pollutants (SO2 , NO2 , Particles, CO, and O3). Only Particles and O3 are the same for both indexes. SO2 and CO both have much higher thresholds in the Chinese index. NO2 for 100+ and above all surpass US standards.
Sorry the table is ugly, blogspot is messing with the row height.

Chinese API	SO2		CO
	US AQI		US AQI
50	28		46
100	60		86
200	198		500+
300	299		500+
400	500+		500+
500	500+		500+

Interesting enough since Sunday, the Chinese EPA air quality website has been "down".

From the EPA website:

Air Quality Index	Numerical		Meaning
Levels of Health Concern	Value	Colors
Good	0-50	Green	Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.
Moderate	51-100	Yellow	Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	101-150	Orange	Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected.
Unhealthy	151-200	Red	Everyone may begin to experience health effects; members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.
Very Unhealthy	201-300	Purple	Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects.
Hazardous	> 300	Maroon	Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

Voltage

I went to buy a voltage adapter today. Something I should have done 4 months ago. I sauntered over to the massive 'electric things' mall and descended into the basement. The floors above ground are fairly orderly, filled with litte stalls selling every sort of flash drive, mp3 player, dvd player and mouse you could ever imagine. Some name brands, some chinese brands, and lots of fakes. The basement is another world. Packed with the same little stalls, but each full of computer related hardware and pirated dvds. Stacks of scraped towers and printers fill the corners and aisles are packed with people searching for their favorite movie or lugging in some beast of 90's 'electric thing' needing repair.

I found my voltage converter without much fuss. Got home plugged it in, heard a strange buzzing noise immediately followed by a pop and no more buzzing noise. I quickly unplugged the very hot slightly smoking converter only to discover I had bought a 110-220 converter...not the required 220-110. Consequently china's 220 fried it. About that time my roommate came in and i told him the story. He recommended I immediately return to the store and explain that they have given me the 110-220 by mistake, and I had wanted the 220-110. The idea of trading in a fried adapter doesnt settle well with me, but hey, do as the locals do. I asked another guy on my way out and he said exactly the same thing.

At the store I repeated the magic little phrase..you gave me the wrong one, can you switch it? They took it to the back and then opened the little box it came in and began to smell it and pass it around to the other 4 superfluous employees for them to smell. This went on for a bit too long and I thought I was going to be caught in my life. Honestly the little thing smelled strongly of burnt electronics. While one guy was still smelling the thing, one employ came out and handed me the correct 220-110 and I was off.

One week and counting

I am almost done. Oct 24 marks the end of my 4 month language program and the true beginning of a year of Chinese forestry management research.

The language program has been great for my Chinese, but I am ready for it to end and jump into forestry management. The past 4 months I have been studying a bit of the background stuff about Chinese forestry. It pretty different than the US.

Expect a summary of the Chinese Grain to Green program next week. Maybe even discussion of the most recent land reform discussion.

Veggies

First of all lamb feast pictures.

So there is a practice here of buying up loads of cabbage and leeks in the fall, air drying them for a week, and then storing them inside for the remainder of the winter. That way come winter you dont have to buy veggies. Or back in the day, you could eat veggies because there werent any to buy in the winter. Things are bit different today. There are plenty of veggies available in the winter either grown in hothouses or shipped up from the south. Nevertheless the older generation still goes out and buys massive quantities of cabbage and leeks. This last week all the sidewalks and smaller streets were covered with their bounty laid out to dry before being squirreled away in corners of their houses.

PS there are lots of new photos scattered through out different albums. Just check the album date to see the most recent ones.

Tigers and Lamb(s)

Some guy was eaten by a tiger. A zoo tiger. Right here in Ha'erbin at the tiger park. I havent been yet, but I will go. It sounds like a bunch of starved tigers in pens. You can buy things and to feed to them ranging from a live chicken to a live cow. Apparently, China's record for members of the public being mauled or eaten by zoo animals isnt so good.

Speaking of eating animals. I ate a lamb. We went to a restaurant called "one lamb" and ordered one lamb. After selected the cutest little cuddly wuddly white as snow one eye green one eye brown lamb, we sat and enjoyed some warm beer as it roasted in an electric rotisserie in the back. Some time later the little guy arrived on a platter. The presentation was somewhat lacking and the waiter immediately commenced tearing the flesh into chopstick size pieces with his hands. It was tasty. Have to go back for another. Pictures.

In other news, a student was bea1en by the po1ice this last weekend. Details are still unclear as to what exactly went down. But it seems there was an argument over one of the parties speeding in the parking lot, an ensuing argument, and then its not clear whether the student or the popo started it. Several other students were injured by the popo. Some of the popo may have been drinking, and the students were probably as well, as it occurred in a bar parking lot. There are pretty mixed opinions of the event. Some think the student deserved it, others think the cops were abusing power/ negligent. Every news source is a bit different. There are pictures and a video of only the argument if you search. I dont think Ha'erbin is dangerous, not any more than LA. This is only one incident and things like this are rare here. I am probably more likely to be eaten by a tiger.

You probably have heard something about this thing called the chinese zodiac. I happen to be a rat. Forthright, disciplined, systematic, meticulous, charismatic, hardworking, industrious, charming, eloquent, sociable, shrewd, and scheming. That about sums me up. 2008 is the year of the rat. I am supposed to have extra good luck. I am also supposed to wear red socks, underwear, belt, and as much red clothing as possible all year long for extra good luck. If only i had known. If you happen to be a cow/ox next year is yours, so ask santa for some extra lucky red clothes to welcome in the new year.

Gender equality hasnt quite spread here. There are many examples of inequality, but today I go for just one. What do you say when someone gives birth to a baby girl what do you say? so so. or at least you have less pressure now (referring to societal pressure to raise a stellar boy). Back in the days before government enforced single child rearing, if you had two or three girls and no boys, it was down right embarrassing to your family name. now(back then (before 1950's) girls didnt go to school, or at least not that often or for very long), girls are not held to the same standards. if your baby girl doesnt study well, so be it, but if your boy doesnt study well you better start worrying and get to doing something about it. when someone has a boy you say congratulations. When I explained the custom of pink and baby blue for babies, the first question was "americans think baby blue is better than pink, right?"

Slow like a mushroom

Slowpoke just doesnt cut it. If you are slow, slow eating, slow thinking, slow moving, or slow writing you are slow like mushroom. Mushrooms are slow if you didnt notice. They dont really go anyway. But the do grow fast, or at least the characteristic mushroom shaped fruit grows fast. Some seem to appear in a day and wither the next.

There is a pretty significant hothouse mushroom and wild mushroom industry here. I look forward to the chance to do some hunting or gathering. If only there are monsters like ZA.

Terms or endearment. I plan to investigate this one further, but right now I might have a winner.
Four-Eyed Penguin. Given by one my teachers to her hubby to reflect his strong prescription glasses and waddling walk.

Two weeks of classes left. Then a move to an apartment, Casey's arrival, the beginning of regular cooking, thorough exploration of chinese cuisine, and the beginning of forest management research/study. Right now my supervisor has me lined to up to sit in on a full load of chinese forestry management classes. We will see how that goes. I am for trying for a week or so, or maybe even the semester if they are good, but I have other plans for the rest of the year...

Tonight various boiled vegetables and meats are on the menu. Hotpot it is. Literally a large hot pot placed on a burner in the center of the table in which i will place the most delicious greens, and most mysterious "meat balls" that bounce like super balls.

Fire! Detector

I have a fire detector. Several weeks after the foretold plastic fire, they have deemed fire detectors as necessary in every room. Mine even beeps when i press the little red button. I should give it a real test with some paper scraps and a lighter just to see if there really is americium in there making things work.

If you want to describe someone as picky, dont just say picky, instead say the could find bones even in eggs! I have to say i have found bones in eggs, along with the rest of the chick fetus.

Also asians evolved from monkeys and westerners(white people, including europeans and cowboys) evolved from chimpanzees. Not sure about the rest of the races. But the separate ancestries sure does help to explain all kinds of differences. Body hair, facial features, physical strength, corruption...and the list goes on. Strangely enough the two species can still interbreed.

New weight loss plan, or at least ass shrinking plan. Just sit. Thats right, eat then sit. Apparently sitting actually works your butt, or at least "strokes" it and that just burns away the ass calories.

More various bits of conversations and opinions to come.

Chinese Wedding

I just got back from a chinese wedding. I got up at 6am this morning to get breakfast and get ready. One of my teachers invited me and a classmate to attend. At 7am we went to do the couples new apt to watch the bride get ready and meet the maternal half of the family. Their new apartment is localed in a newly developed complex. There might be 20+ new apt buildings, still not fully leased/sold. It is all located on the outskirts of town making commuting a must. It was a very pretty place, much nicer than the periodic 'future apartment' pics i post.

At 9 we caravaned to a big military hotel to watch the ceremony and have lunch. It was a big hotel, with decorations to give a US wedding planner several heart attacks. Interesting enough I dont think the word tacky has entered into the chinese vocabulary. The ceremony began at 10, lasted maybe 5minutes, and was uneventful and uninteresting. There werent actually that many people paying attention. It was held in the lobby of the hotel. Lots of people talking and smoking as the MC conducted the ceremony. There was a brief intervention by some governmental official to make the whole thing official, then it was over.

We proceeded to lunch, where i was coerced by a gentleman at our table to drink bai jiu. Bai jiu is a clear 40-60% liquor commonly consumed in china by men. This particular brand was 50% or 100 proof and tasted like wretched fire water. I had three glasses with him, each larger than two shots. Then we moved on beer. There was lots of toasting for no reason and many toasts to the bride and groom. Being white in china, my classmate and I were invited to take pictures with the bride and groom.

The whole thing was over before 11am.