Day 396 In the news

The internet is my main source of news, as all
the newspapers here are in Mandarin. Occasionally
I will see a China Post Daily in English, and I will
savor it beginning to end. I miss turning paper pages :)

President Xi's visit to the US is all over the news, near and far.

I had to go across town Tuesday for a mammogram
(thanks to the very thorough Dr. Bei Dong), and was
so excited to find an English newspaper in the waiting
room :)  This story caught my eye- twelve years in
a Chinese prison for smuggling food in from Vietnam.
Hmmm....that was a little worrisome.  How many
times have I loaded my suitcase with Cuban coffee,
mac n' cheese, black beans and rice, taco and chili
seasoning packets and bottles of Mio water flavors?
I wonder what was coming in from Vietnam that
was a big no-no?  Monkey meat, perhaps?? 

This was an interesting story. Tianjin University is offering
a two credit course on dating. Sixteen class sessions on the
ins and outs of dating how-to's. The Chinese can make
things way too complicated sometimes. Apparently social
media was weighing in on the subject.

This was also interesting, in light of the fact that
this coming week is Golden Week. It follows the
Mid-Autumn festival which is a time that families
come together to feast. This is a culture that demands
that family is the top priority, and there is push back
from the younger generation for all of the sense of
obligation and responsibility to their elders. It seems
adult children have turned to sending gifts in the mail
rather than visiting family in person, and it is not going
over well. Breaking with Chinese tradition never
goes over very well...

I like that the central government has ORDERED
schools to put more resources and class time in
to teaching the arts...unlike in US public education
where the arts are the first programs to get cut :(

In other news, it has been cool and raining the last three days
in a row, ever since I got back from my beautiful weekend on the Wall.
Our school hallways are flooded with umbrellas.
Three days of rain is highly unusual in the 'jing; it is typically bone dry.

BREAKING NEWS JUST IN...

I leave my apartment for PEK in just four hours, and I will be up in the air bound for Florida in T - 7 hours. The countdown is officially ON!  Pray for traveling mercies as always, please. It is always a daunting trip flying half way around the world.

G'bye, y'all!