Are You Shpongled?

Kill them all and let a Norse God sort 'em out!

2010-04-06T12:21:00.008+08:00

I can't believe what I found on collateralmurder.org today via digg.com. The killing of several unarmed civilians and Reuter's journalists in Iraq.

This is so disturbing. It makes me ashamed to be from a Western imperialist country. This is us, if we like it or not. This is what the future history books will show.

This reminds me of a song

PROPAGANDHI

"The Only Good Fascist Is A Very Dead Fascist"

Swastikas and Klan-robes. Sexist, racist, homophobes.

Aryan-Nations and Hammerskins: you can wear my nuts on your nazi chins!

God, I love a man in uniform!

(But, uh, before we get too intimate here, big fella):

what exactly are the great historical accomplishments of "your" race that make you proud to be white?

Capitalism? Slavery? Genocide? Sitcoms? Guns? War? Pollution? Addiction? NAFTA? Thigh-Master?

This is your fucking white-history, my "friend".

So why don't we start making a history worth being proud of and start fighting the real fucking enemy:

the white male capitalist supremacist.

Swastikas and Klan-robes. Sexist, racist, homophobes.

This one's for the "Master Race": my brown-power ass in your white-power face!

Kill them all and let a Norse God sort 'em out!

2010-04-03T05:46:00.003+08:00

I finally took some time out of busy schedule to take a look at all my older posts. Makes me miss the East even more. Almost two years ago since my last big journey. Since my last post almost a year ago I have received my diploma - Advanced B.A. in Anthropology. Now I'm back at Electra Sign doing more sign work for the 5th year i guess it would be.

I recently applied for a Scholarship to study Mandarin in China for a year. Fingers crossed. it will take some time before I find out if I get it, but no matter what I am feeling the urge to go back there and will leave before July. Till then I'm paying off debts and doing some saving. At least I will be here for May Long - the best weekend of the year. The Ontario wilderness is calling my name!

Dinner Time!

2009-10-15T07:18:00.006+08:00

I was just recalling strange things I have ate in the past few years. I thought I might want to write it down before I forget, and share it with you all. Note these are only strange things to most of us Westerners. Strange food is highly subjective. I thought I would start with insects and work my way to bigger animals and their body parts.

Maggot or Silkworm
Mealworm
Grasshopper
Scorpion
Honey Bee
Bee Larva
Goldfish
Minnow
Crayfish
Turtle
Frog
Eel
Dog
Camel (hump)
Ostrich
Donkey
Rabbit
Squirrel
Pigeon
Sparrow
Chicken (all parts)
Duck (all parts)
Pig feet, ears, tail, intestines, phallus, blood soup, skin, (i think everything)
Yak milk, cheese
..and many other organs and animals

I'm sure I forgot some and I'm sure I have ate food that I don't want to know what it is from. This list also does not count flies, ants, spiders and other insects that have crawled into my food over the years.

On another note, here is the FDA's Food Defect Action Level list for the United States. I'm guessing it is similar here. Look at all the insects, animals, and animal waste is allowed in our food. We all eat it!

CHOCOLATE AND CHOCOLATE LIQUOR

Insect filth: Average is 60 or more insect fragments per 100 grams when 6 100-gram subsamples are examined OR any 1 subsample contains 90 or more insect fragments

Rodent filth: Average is 1 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams in 6 100-gram subsamples examined OR any 1 subsample contains 3 or more rodent hairs

CITRUS FRUIT JUICES, CANNED

Insects and insect eggs: 5 or more Drosophila and other fly eggs per 250 ml or 1 or more maggots per 250 ml

RED FISH AND OCEAN PERCH

Parasites: 3% of the fillets examined contain 1 or more parasites accompanied by pus pockets

MACARONI AND NOODLE PRODUCTS

Insect filth: Average of 225 insect fragments or more per 225 grams in 6 or more subsamples

Rodent filth: Average of 4.5 rodent hairs or more per 225 grams in 6 or more subsamples

PEANUT BUTTER

Insect filth: Average of 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams

Rodent filth: Average of 1 or more rodent hairs per 100 grams

POPCORN

Rodent filth: 1 or more rodent excreta pellets are found in 1 or more subsamples, and 1 or more rodent hairs are found in 2 or more other subsamples OR 2 or more rodent hairs per pound and rodent hair is found in 50% or more of the subsamples OR 20 or more gnawed grains per pound and rodent hair is found in 50% or more of the subsamples

WHEAT FLOUR

Insect filth: Average of 75 or more insect fragments per 50 grams

Rodent filth: Average of 1 or more rodent hairs per 50 grams

http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/05/06/29/how_many_insect_parts_and_rodent_hairs_are_allowed_in_your_food.htm

Brandon Field School - Week 2

2009-05-29T10:26:00.005+08:00

Well I finally started doing something productive this Spring/Summer (not counting the 4 days I was hired to harass people in B.C. about the elections and helping my parents with a bit of yard work). I finally made it to Brandon last week Monday from a great long weekend in the Northern wilderness of Ontario. I have found a very cheap place to stay with a Dyck. Audrey Dyck - a cousin of mine. I have found a back porch to sleep in, nestled between the freezer and a stack of used paint cans. It was actually more than I expected, and quite comfortable.

The first week of the field school was going over things I have learned from 4 years of university and at least 25 years of living in the country. Like which way is North, what is the equator, what is soil, and how to wash your hands properly. The funny thing is, is that I was the only one not copying this information in my notes.

This last Monday we finally got to go to the site, which was about 10kms straight East of Brandon in the middle of a cow pasture. The site is apparently a bison processing site dated to as late as 2000 BC. It would have been a place where they butchered their bison they killed. Also means they could have camped there on numerous occasions too. Anyways, yes, digging in shit - I have been on the ground in cow shit for the whole week. At least it is last years shit. I'm not looking forward to when the cows are put into the pasture probably sometime next week. The first day digging I didn't actually dig. I volunteered myself to tarp duties, since I have had my fair share of tarppings (not a real word, but I like it and will use it) in typhoon and blizzard related weathers in the Ontario wilderness. That pretty much took all day, plus I helped move an outhouse, which I was told I must use! (They are watching me closely, to make sure I don't walk out of the site with a shovel draped over my shoulder) Phil and I also started mapping out some new grids by the cliff side where him and I found numerous bison bones, plus a flake which was found by our assistant, Andrew.

Tuesday till now we have been digging in our 1m x 1m square. I hate metric! I have already been given a lecture about using the imperial system at our site (It is hard to switch over). The second day last week I did a whole activity in inches, and apparently she didn't like my imperial skills. It took me 2 days to dig almost 10cms. I can't even estimate what 10cms is, I got to get a tape measure out every time - just tell me 4 inches! Yes, metric is good,and I do understand why they want everything standardized in the field, so I will stop my Metric rant. Anyways I have only found bits of crap in my unit so far - some charcoal pieces (probably from a forest fire), some bone fragments (probably from a rodent), some rocks, and a lot of dirt. I have to catalog every piece I find 3 times, so now I am starting to try not to find anything in my site. Most of the pieces of bone I have found I would have thrown away if I found it through one of my field walks. I just want to grab a shovel and start tearing up the ground, maybe rent a backhoe or something to get it done faster. Such tedious work. If I would have spent the time field walking instead of digging I would have found 10X the amount of artifacts I'm finding in my 10cm deep hole.

But, I do still enjoy it. It is still fun being outside, plus when I do get my hole a bit deeper and find more things I can provenience them. Placing the things I find in time - something I could never do while field walking. Phil, the guy right beside me has already found a piece of pottery, a flake and more bone than I, so am not worried about not finding anything of interest - it will happen. Doesn't really matter anyways, I got better artifacts at home than I could find in these holes anyways. Unless I found a Clovis point - that would be sweet. Now I'm just being an Anthro-nerd.

Hopefully more stories to come.

Little bit of 80's for a dull day

2009-03-28T03:52:00.002+08:00

A little bit of upbeat 80's, and some coffee gets me ready for the weekend!

12 Months in MB to go

2009-01-30T15:01:00.003+08:00

Well apparently the photo you see as my header has won 3rd place in the Global Colours Photo Contest put on by the International Centre for students and the World WISE Resource Centre. The photos are still in the GOSA Gallery at the University Centre till the end of the week. Many of the photos on display are quite amazing and deserve a lot of credit. Thanks again Chels for helping me understand the magic of Lightroom.

I think I will try to keep this updated a bit more. It has been almost a year since my last meaningful post from the East. Life is just not as exciting anymore. I mean life is still great and I am as happy as I ever have been, but i need some adventure, something just a bit on the edge, where I can get possibly be in danger without even realizing it. The time will come soon enough when I return to The Middle Kingdom, Zhong guo, 中国，or The Peoples Republic of China. I'm hoping India will be on the list as well in the near future. Of course school is on my first list of things to accomplish - less than 12 months to go!

I have no camera

2009-01-15T07:09:00.005+08:00

My camera is broken. Don't trust Ziploc bags and a big guy in your canoe. I have no urge to write anything when I have no pictures to accompany them. Could you imagine reading a National Geographic Magazine without photos? My stories are not even close to how good they are, so I need even more photos to keep the reader interested.

Donations are accepted. Link is on the right side of the page.

So see everyone again when I get a camera. By the way it is looking, it might be July.... maybe 2010.

2008-10-09T03:05:00.000+08:00

Cultured Meat

2008-03-20T16:59:00.006+08:00

Why is everyone so offended by eating dog meat? I mean it is not like eating your pet. I think when most people think about eating dog it brings up images of someones pet, but do you think anybody wants to eat their own pet? I do not think anyone no matter what your background is wants to eat their own pet if it happens to be a dog, horse or even rabbit unless of course one is in a predicament where no other food is available.

The dogs here in China have been brought up in farms just like chickens, or cows in N. America. They butcher the animal either at the farm or bring it live to the market just like any chicken, rabbit, etc and butcher it there. It's not like they butcher poodles, or German Shepards either, they do have certain breads they use for meat just like cattle.

Heck, some people think I'm strange for eating deer or even pig. My roommate from Kazakhstan also finds it strange to eat dog, but he tells me it is normal to eat horse where he is from. What gets me sick is all animal rights activists that want to make a stop to eating dog, dolphin, etc, or even killing seals. I can understand if an animal is endanger but their are so many dolphins, seals etc in this world. We do not have the right to tell people to stop doing what they have been doing for generations just because it is different from what we are used to. A lot of people make a livelihood through these animals, and this work has been passed down from one generation to the next. It it not like Canada here where one can get a new job and learn a skill in a few weeks.

Anyways, I'm gonna hook myself up with some dog soup next week and Caitilyn (the American from my class) is excited to as well. It won't be my first time and probably not my last. If you like roast beef and chicken noodle soup. Imagine mixing them together. That's exactly what it tastes like.

Exploring To Be Done!

2008-03-18T19:12:00.011+08:00

Well I'm realizing that I have to rinse my dishes that I leave on the counter by the window every night. I've been looking closely the last few days and every day there is a new thin layer of black sutt left on my crap, and it's not just dust. On one of my walks the other day I noticed a few blocks from my apartment lies a huge power plant similar to one from The Simpsons. I'm guessing it's a coal power plant and that it's the reason my coffee has been extra murky last week.

A few of my classmates have missed parts of the first two weeks of class due to stomach problems. I believe I'm immune to the food still since my last visit to China. My guess is there is still some worm living in my stomach that is helping me digest all the unsanitary food I have shoveled into my mouth. I have already chewed a few rocks which to me indicate it's been on the ground at least once. My roommate is a bit worried about getting sick and is avoiding any street BBQ and fruit and vegetable stands - where is the fun in that?

I have been getting quite comfortable at one of my BBQ spots around the corner. The lady running the 4 wheeled BBQ cart has given me her chair along with a table she whips together out of her Styrofoam cooler when I come to visit. Then the lady on a 4 wheeled drink and snack cart whips out a beer for me. All together I get filled for less than $2. The beer here is even cheaper than in Kunming as well - it's only $0.30 per 600ml bottle instead of $0.45. The other day I also got a deep fried and then BBQ'd sandwich with tofu, eggplant and potato inside with a pretty hefty dose of spices. It was delicious. It seams like I talk about food more than anything on these blogs.

Well I took a walk downtown he other night and found a night market a few blocks long. You can find everything here from clothes, food, DVD's, knives, Billy clubs, and many other cheap Chinese crap. It was quite packed and I had a tough time getting down the street, with all the people, taxis and cars trying to get through. I also accidentally bought an apple beer/cider drink. Really delicious. I better bring one back for Alli - I think she would enjoy it. I also found some ginger beer which is quite tasty.

very top is an intersection close to the university at about midnight
top-top right is downtown Lanzhou
above is some food some dude is cooking for me at the night market
to the right are some retired Chinese elders singing and playing some lovely music
below left is one of the temples on the way up the mountain

I finally met some of neighbors yesterday hanging out on the balcony. I found out that the 4th floor (my floor) is all Uzbekistan students except for me, my roommate which is Kazakhstan, and an Australian at the far end of the hall. My goal is to convert them to some of my music. I'm getting sick of hearing the same music they crank over and over again. It seems like it's all 50 cent, Aerosmith, and a crapload of European club/dance techno, which includes a few Celine Dion remixes which is driving me crazy! At least listen to some decent techno!

I still have not met a Canadian or someone who has. I have realized now that Lanzhou only has foreigners that are teaching, working, or studying. Haven't seen any hostels, or found any on line either at hostelworld. Tourism isn't one of the major industries here I guess. I took a walk by the river the other day close to downtown where all the retired folk go to play games, play music, sing songs, and fly kites. I have never had so many stares, even when traveling throughout Yunnan province. The Chinese here would pretty much stop when they were walking and just stare me up and down. Then I would just say hello to them in Chinese. Some would say hello and walk away really fast. Others would be so shocked I knew some Chinese and just stand there without saying a single word. In any case they didn't seem to over joyed I was there. There is still a lot of the old generation here that do not understand why foreigners are here and many you tell do not even want us here. There is a lot of racial discrimination in this country, but a lot of the younger generation here is pretty friendly and quite less discriminatory (just a bit).

I really thought cellphone edicate was bad at UofM, but it's worse at this school. One student beside me the other day had her cell phone ring 4 separate times in class! You would think after she disturbed everyone the first time she would have realized to turn off the ringer. She made no effort to turn it off plus someone the other day was talking on her phone in class. I STILL HATE CELLPHONES! WORST INVENTION EVER!

above is some people praying at one of the temples
to the right is some dude chillin' beside his house on the side of the mountain which is to the right
below is the trail up the mountain

Well I finally climbed the mountain as well the other day. I must have spent about 3 hours getting to the top. It was nice to get high enough to somewhat get out of the smog, but once on top I noticed how smoggy Lanzhou actually is. It was really tough to find the outline of the mountains on the other side of the valley. Once I reached the top I found out there is a road leading up to the mountain top, and that there were villages and even an amusement park at the peak. I'm still glad I hiked up but next time I'll try to find a mountain that is less built-up. It was refreshing though to get a ride down instead of walking - my feet were starting to ache a bit.

I don't want to talk too much about the protests since they do have a careful eye on us here, and I'm here to study and not do anything foolish, but you can definitely feel the pressure at the university with a higher police and guard presence. There was a protest south of the city in Xiahe and one at the Minorities University here on the weekend. Apparently their was also a protest yesterday in Kanlho which is somewhere in this province (Gansu). I'm sure you are listening to the news back home. They are warning us that we should be back at an early hour in the evening and that we shouldn't leave the city. If you want more info, just facebook me.

up to the right is the road down the mountain - looks like a bit of a landslide
above is a outside pool hall
to the right is a view of the city on top of the mountain
below is a door to a shop littered with numbers to get a hold of fake documents, and other illegal goods (at least that is what I have been told

-peace

I'm Living Under The Sea!

2008-03-12T21:34:00.006+08:00

My bro recently gave me a URL that keeps my IP anonymous. This means that I am leaping over the great firewall that China has put up, which makes it possible for me to view blogs, edit my own and explore the wonderful world of Wikipedia. Brendan sent me a pic of where my Ip told me I was located that day - somewhere off the coast of Africa.

I also recently met a teacher from Australia who has given me a password to his router that is located in my building. This means I have a really slow connection but is possible for me to chat, and surf the web. The guys name is Cameron and has a really interesting background. He grew up in Germany and his parents grew up in Iran. He has Baha'i faith which he has explained to me in some detail (and he is not preaching, which is a nice change compared to all the missionaries that I have already bumped into on my trip). Apparently to the CIA's website the world is 0.12% Baha'i, so it's really interesting in hearing what he has to say about it.

Anyways I'll load some new pics soon from my adventure downtown.

Later all!

Kunming to Chengdu to Lanzhou

2008-03-10T19:23:00.019+08:00

Well the train to Chengdu was about 17 hours long and much nicer than the previous one from Beijing to Kunming - I splurged the extra $15 for a soft sleeper which included a door. It was also a nice change to have some well groomed bunk mates. A nice women with her brother and daughter who offered me endless amounts of food throughout the whole trip. I also noticed some other foreigners in a room on my train car. They were packing laptops with satellite antennas and searching for a good signal. They got off with thier equipment in Panzhihua on the edge of Sichuan province. I was in this city in 2003 for a rafting race that the city put on. They paid for our hotels and food for the whole weekend so they could have pictures for their future media showing how big this international race was. I recall them shutting down all the industries along the Yangtze river in the city a week ahead of time so the river would at least look somewhat clean. Still looked really dirty

Chengdu was a nice city. I arrived there at 6:30 am and stepped out on to the streets. People were sleeping with their luggage everywhere waiting for their train to arrive. It was like a small city at the railway station. Must have been around 10,000 - 15,000 people just in the block. It took me awhile to find out where to buy tickets for my train to Lanzhou but I succeeded. You can only buy tickets for the trains leaving the city you are currently at. You can not buy tickets for a train at another city if you are not there, so I was fortunate to find a ticket for a train leaving the same day. There were too many people wanted tickets and they were only letting a few people through at a time. The policemen were at the gate telling people they couldn't buy any tickets, but they let me through without any questions. As I was purchasing a ticket the police grabbed one guy in line and throw him out. 4 trains a day travel to Lanzhou from Chengdu but still there is not enough room for everyone. They only let a select few travel.

up to the left is China's solution to over population
to the right is the beautiful province of Yunnan
below is the city of Chengdu

I found a map and decided to hike to a hostel that I searched for a day earlier on the net. I arrived and used their free Internet connection and enjoyed some coffee and bacon which I was craving since I left Canada. The hostel was nice enough to let me leave my bags their for the day while I roamed through the streets of downtown Chengdu. The people here were so friendly and the buses jam packed. After exploring Chengdu for a few hours it was time to head to the train station for the last leg of my journey to Lanzhou.

This time I got stuck with another university student from Lanzhou. He was in Panzhihua visiting his family for the Chinese New Years and was heading back to school. My Chinese was about as good as his English so we had some good practice on the trip.

I arrived in Lanzhou and embarked down the street to find a map. There was no maps to be found! If I jump in a taxi I could be had! Well I had to get to school and register that day so I jumped in a taxi right away. He told me he would take me to the University for 7 yuan ($1 can.) I said that was fair and he drove me 2 blocks to the entrance of the school. I could have walked there! I guess I can't complain. Anyways I found the guest house and my room. Met my new roommate from Kazakhstan. Nice guy with a Muslim background. He's telling me amazing things about Kazakhstan, and friends I could stay with - so far it sounds amazing!

above is the view of my guest house. I'm on the 4th floor
below is a side street behind my university. Check out the makeshift house on the right
below right is my room with Jean, my Kazakhstan roommate.

I went and got my physical done at the local hospital the following day - they want to know if I have Aids, and if I'm not gonna contaminate this already polluted city. After an EKG, some X-rays, and an ultra sound I found out I was without a child. Good news I thought. I guess I'm fit to study here. Just a crazy money grabber from the PRC, they just checked things off on their list without even actually inspecting me thoroughly. Plus I had a cold which they didn't even notice.

The classes are pretty good. I have 8 hours a week with Chinese grammar, 6 a week with speaking, and 2 with writing. I also found out I have free Kung Fu lesson every Monday for 2 hours. My class has a little over 20 people with 2 from Kazakhstan, 1 from Uzbekistan, 1 from Indonesia, 1 from the US, 1 from Guinea , one from Mongolia and the rest are all Koreans. I have already done some walking and talking with the dude from Mongolia and am learning so much information about his country. In the past he has worked with tourism in Mongolia and has worked with the Reindeer people on the country. He definitely wants me to visit his country and stay with him sometime in the future. He knows the mountain fishing spots and knows where all the nomadic hunters live. He has also worked on container ships out of Hong Kong and has traveled throughout Asia, the Middle East and Africa. He's got so many stories about stowaways from Africa and interesting encounters at different ports throughout his travels.

I already have found some great restaurants around my university. Freshly made bread in the market down the street. Nice restaurants for rice, dumplings and noodle dishes during the day and in the evening they have a great barbecues down the street from me. This BBQ is a bit different then I have had before. Here they deep fry the food first and then BBQ it after. Very delicious, plus I already have a bond with this one Muslim BBQ dude who hooks me up with some good beef and goat on a stick every other evening.

I already bought some speakers for my room which included a subwoofer for $22 which I bought at the electronics market down the street. I think everyone knows I can't function properly without some good background tunes. I am really getting into the new Bonobo album right now called "Days to Come". The song "Recurring" is simply one of the best songs I have heard in a long time. It's got a mix of Fila Brazillia with some good Thievery Corporation. It's right up there with Thievery and Quantic as some of the best Trip-hop to date in my mind. I have also got some Vampire Weekend which is amazing; it's also getting me back into some good Bedouin Soundclash. If you haven't got Vampire Weekend and the new Bedouin, deffinitly hit it up. I'm also still deep into Ratatat and the album I downloaded before I came to China. It's called 9 beats - get it if you enjoy Ratatat. It's not as complex as some of their newer stuff but just as good. Also some of Mark Farina's house music and what I stole from Neil in Kunming -Some mixes by Olly Brunton. These are some really good beats to chill with. I kind of went on a crazy music critiquing spree there - I'll stop now.

I am disappointed that I didn't bring any Aqua Teen Hunger Force. I could use some good Adult Swim cartoons right about now. I already watched all The Flight Of The Conchords with my bud Neil in Kunming and have finished watching all Of It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Still haven't found a DVD store around the place and I have no connection in my room to download movies. That will be my mission next week I think, plus their is a gnarly mtn I see to the west from my dorm room. It's got snow on the top and looks like their could be some temple or something on the top. I wanted to climb it this weekend but I'm resting my feet from about 3 weeks of wondering through back alleys, subway and train stations.

to the bottom right is the nightly garbage piled on the street
the photo to the right and the one above are shots down the street behind my university

Today when I woke up and went outside I noticed a smog that covered the whole city. I couldn't see past 2 blocks and the air smelt of a mix between burning plastic and exhaust. This city is very dirty. Every night outside on the street there is a stack of garbage over 200 feet long and one lane thick. People have come from all over the place to shift through the garbage to find plastic bottles, paper, bags, or anything that could be exchanged at the recycling centers for cash.

I must say I feel somewhat good here knowing that almost everything I throw away will be searched many times over to see what junk can be recycled or reused. Makes me wonder why barely any of the plastic back home is recycled. Too much money and energy I guess. Maybe we should tax plastics even more, either make companies stop using it or have the money go to recycling centers?

Well I'm sitting here at my local Internet cafe, I guess after I send this I'll play some Call of Duty 4, Need For Speed or some Crysis. Why not, it's only $.30 an hour. Thanks again Bren for getting me that link that encrypts my IP. Now I can search Wikipedia, view blogs and read the real news.

I miss you all!

The Great Firewall Of China Can't Block Me!

2008-02-23T21:59:00.021+08:00

Recently I have found out that the Great Firewall of China has blocked my blog along with Wikipedia. If this does get posted I have found out away to post but will never be able to see what I post, so their could be many mistakes.

Well I think the last time I posted anything it was back when I was in Tokyo over a week ago. I really loved Tokyo and the culture it had to offer, but I was tired of the prices compared to what it would be like when I reached China. Still it would be a place that I will definitely be returning to when I have the time and the money.

After a 4 hour flight I landed in Beijing and found my way to the bus terminal which brought me to where my hostel was around. One driver refused to take me and said he had no clue where I wanted to go and the next had no problem understanding where I needed to be. The hostel wasn't bad, and I found out that I had the room to myself until early in the morning between 3 and 5 when a guy kept coming in and out of my room. That was a nasty sleep but the next day I still had enough energy to walk through the Forbidden Palace and Tiananmen Square.

I was a bit disappointed at both. So many people and not much to see. Once you see one old temple in China you pretty much have seen them all, but I must say it was fairly exciting standing at the square that had been the centre of so much bloodshed back in 1989. I think the most interesting part of the day was walking through the back alleys around Beijing.

Well the train from Beijing to Kunming was quite the experience. It wasn't my first time on Chinese train but it was one of the most memorable. First of all I did take the cheap beds. It was almost $30can. less for the hard beds which means there is 6 beds per room with no door compared to 4 beds per room with a door for the soft sleeper.

The trip started out fine, I was alone to my whole room with just the smoke from the hallway invading my asthma diseased lungs. (It sounds worse than it is) Late during the night at around 4am a group of people came on from one of the stops - I believe Changshi? Anyways they were loud and drank beside me and chatted till around 6:30am and then went to bed. Then throughout the day the were spitting and horking beside me on the floor. One guy above me was spitting somewhere and I had no idea where it was going, luckily I didn't see anything dripping down the walls around me. 47 hours after I left Beijing and going through tunnel after tunnel and snow filled beautiful mountain passes I finally arrived in Kunming.

It was nice to see my friends Tim, Neil, Neil's wife and Kim back in Kunming along with Neil's son which was now 20 months old. It was great to enjoy Kunming for a week with all the eating and exploring I did. I must have walked the equivalent of somewhere between 50 and 70 km all week while exploring the city and the mountains that surrounded Kunming. I ate hotpot 2 times which is the spicy soup broth that you cook your meat and veggies in. I ate BBQ everyday while walking the streets along with pineapple, watermelon and tofu that could be found on almost every corner.

I found out that some bus routes were not the same as before and led me far into the middle of areas that were non existent 3 years ago. I tried going to some of my favorite places I once mingled in and found out they had been torn down. Old Town Kunming was nearing the end, and I'm sure next time I come down it will cease to exist. A new above ground freeway is now being built a block from my old apartment, and while I was leaving Kunming for the train station my favorite hotpot restaurant which I ate at a week earlier was being demolished along with the whole building that surrounded it. I also rode double decker buses throughout the city where only one existed 3 years ago, and more cars then ever lined the streets. It was hard to recognize the place I lived just 3 years ago with new buildings that stand erected above the skyline. The mountains haven't changed surrounding the city except for some of the now empty graves, and the weather was beautiful all week.

I think one of the highlights was the day Chinese New Years ended. It wasn't quite as crazy as I remember Chinese New Year's Day but it was still amazing with all the fireworks and firecrackers to be seen. We bought bricks of firecrackers from random street merchants and enjoyed lighting them off with all the children on the street. Fireworks for dimes and 1000 firecracker bricks for just over a buck.

I head to the city of Chengdu in the province of Sichuan tomorrow and hopefully I can grab a ticket to Lanzhou when I arrive. There is no direct train to Lanzhou as I found out, and it was not possible for me to purchase tickets from Chengdu to Lanzhou at the Kunming train station. As I just found out in an email I am suppose to be at the school by Friday at the latest so if the trains are booked that day I might be late by a day. I'm sure it will not be that big of a deal but still it would be nice to arrive somewhat on time.

Tim, Neil and I enjoying some delicious hotpot

Dustin Takes on Tokyo: Part I

2008-02-15T08:18:00.017+08:00

Brendan and Chelsea both dropped me off at the airport just after 5:30. It was a great depart. Apparently Alex forgot to flag me and I got through with no problems and as usual they ion scanned my carry-ons. Do I have that look like I need to have an ion scan? Anyways a 3 hour delay in Minneapolis than a 12 hour flight to Tokyo. I have seen all the movies except for the one with "The Rock" in it, and I wasn't about to sink that low.

I attempted to watch "Into The Wild" which I had downloaded a day previous but forgot I had one dead battery so I missed the last 20 mins. I think I slept for a total of 1 1/2 to 2 hours on the whole flight! I need to change my MP3 playlist already.

I landed and boarded a train that would take me to Asakusa where my hostel was reserved. 90 mins which included a transfer. This city is huge! It was a bit colder than I expected - it was about 7-10 degrees. Found my room, and went for a walk. Found some awesome temples and took some night shots. Then back to the hotel and grabbed a beer from the vending machine. Is this the vending machine capital of the world?

Today I got up and had some coffee and attempted to go for a gnarly hike through the city. My destination was the Imperial Palace about 8 km to the SW as I found out later (no scale on map I had). As most of you know I love maps and have a very easy time using them, but the maps on the street here don't always have North facing up! I found it very difficult trying to orientate myself with these maps that have no scale and North pointing to the ground, to the left or to the right.

random back-ally temple

Found out I couldn't get to the palace and a giant wall with security stopped my advancements towards it, but I did enjoy a walk through it's garden.

After I had my way with the tame ducks I decided to head to the Shibuya district. Now that I found out my scale to the map I had I realized I didn't want to walk another 8-10 km to this district so I jumped aboard a subway. Took awhile to figure out what ticket I needed but in the end I succeeded. I got off and surfaced into the hectic streets of the Shibuya district. So many people and so many ways to get lost. At this point I realized how plain I am with all this crazy fashion everywhere. The women here look amazing except for the flannel short shorts. What is with that? Had my fun there and headed back on the subway and then walked 2 kms to my hostel.

I like this guys resourcefulness

Now my legs are tired and I was hungry. I found a restaurant that had some good pics of food, so I shoved my money into a machine, pushed the button that had a good pic of food and the machine started beeping like a crazed demon. The guy and lady that worked at the restaurant attempted to explain to me what was happening to me but with no avail. This is when it dawned on me that maybe a should have learned at least a few words of Japanese before landing in Tokyo. I guess I wrecked the machine since I guy had to come and open it and get my money and ticket for me. Everyone had a good laugh and I was full. End of day two of the journey to Lanzhou. I'll be jumping on the plane late tomorrow and flying to Beijing.

-Duskin out. (I think I'm going to start writing my name with an exclamation point)

Get the FUNK out of My Country!

2008-02-06T07:33:00.000+08:00

The party was great and so many people showed up. Highlights were the Chinese wine that Gabriel brought, the Scorpion at the bottom of the Mescal, the dance party downstairs, the 4 guitar jam session in the living room, and the guinzee party early, early in the morning. Of course there were other great moments of the night which I won't even attempt to list, but it was times like these when I realize how many good friends I have. Thanks everyone for showing up. Thanks Jenn for letting me steal some of your pics.

Kati doing some crazy dance

Isn't that cute.

Alex likes his rum

Those glasses made their rounds

The Hula-hoop of goodness

All the Boehrs made it

The dreaded scorpion

Still not enough glowsticks

Thanks for the Gnarly Poster

2008-02-01T13:03:00.000+08:00

So the end of the week draws near, and another poker game has been played. I was out first, and as I type Zak, Tim and Jeff are probably battling it out for the big pot of $30.

As most of you know the big Get The FUNK Out Of My Country party is happening this Saturday at Jere, Jake, Hal, and Josie's house. Apparently Jake will have his band play for a part of the evening in the basement.

Poster by Brendan - such a gnarly poster by the way.
Communal drinks means it would be great if people want to bring a mickey of a drink of some sort to mix and share with everyone else. It worked great at the Christmas party and I can't see why it wouldn't work out great again.

I would love to see you all there since I won't be seeing you all for sometime. Check the facebook page to add yourself to the guest list and to find out where the address is.

-Peace

The Tablet and the Movers

2008-01-31T12:38:00.000+08:00

I think Brendan is having too much fun with his new tablet laptop. He did actually make it the perfect size to look like a post but blogspot screwed up the upload. It looks real rad.

Thanks again to Brendan and Jere for helping out with the move and to everyone else that offered to help. I'm now located in the LR at Mark and Brendan's place. Call Brendan or email me to get a hold of me. I'm still here for another 13 days.

Don't pay the Weatherman

2008-01-30T13:28:00.000+08:00

So I left for Winkler Monday evening around 8 ignoring all the weather reports knowing that a storm has never stopped me before from getting to a destination. The weather man is just nutts. 3cm of snow...no big deal...a little wind...no problem. Just outside of St. Norbert I noticed the visibility was pretty poor but still drivable. By the time I was approaching Morris I was driving 80km thinking that it might not have been the best idea to be driving tonight. But I was half way to Winkler at this point...it would be stupid to turn around. So I filled up with gas thinking that if something were to happen I could then at least be warm in the car. So I trekked out of Morris West on the Hwy. I didn't think it could get worse but I was driving an average of 50km/hr....it was worse. For those that know me.. this is not common for me to be driving at this speed.

A few times I lost sight of the lines on the Hwy, but they appeared within a second...no big deal. I finally reached Lowe Farm maxing out at 40km/hr. I still believed it couldn't get any worse and trekked on. a few 100 feet West of Morris I couldn't see the Hwy. I attempted to pull off the Hwy onto the shoulder going very slowly. I opened the door and looked on the ground to see if I was off the Hwy, but couldn't see a damn thing. This was one of the strangest feelings I have ever had....It was a dark white abyss...couldn't see more than 5 feet in front of me. I felt alone in another world....just wind and white cold snow in the face. I did a U-turn and attempted to keep one tire on the gravel and one on the pavement going around 15-20km/hr until I finally saw a house light from town no more than 100 feet ahead. I was in a predicament.

If any of you have been to Lowe Farm you know there is nothing to the village...I mean nothing. Do I go back to Morris and find a hotel?....of course not...I would rather sleep in my car. I had my sister's cellphone along and attempted to get some reception. 5mins later I finally got a hold of my mom and she knew an old friend from town. I found the house and they offered me their place to crash. The absolute nicest people I have met in a long time. We talked late into the evening about everything. In the morning breakfast and I was off.

A few years back I probably would have attempted the drive all the way to Winkler. Is this a sign of Maturity?....Maybe? I found out later that Hwy 75 between Winnipeg and Emerson was shut down in the evening. I must have just got through before it was shut down. I'm still not going to pay attention to the weather man...they still are usually wrong more than right. For some reason it reminds me of the song "Don't pay the ferryman"... That's a good song.

Now back to cleaning the apartment. Gotta be out in 2 days!

cold cold cold

2008-01-24T11:49:00.000+08:00

It's really really cold outside. Finally today I have had enough of sitting in the bus shack waiting for the bus freezing my ass...so I looked at Navi-go. Usually I don't mind waiting for the bus with my cup of coffee in hand pondering about life, but lately I seem to watch the bus drive by as I'm about half a block away from the bus stop. There is nothing more annoying than that - knowing that I will have to wait at least another 10 mins or so. I also gave up my indoor job at Electra Signs applying vinyl to an outdoor installation and service helper for a significant pay increase. I did this a few weeks back when it was still warm for the time of year. So I'm really feeling the cold.

Work went well today. For the first time in my life I have siphoned gasoline without tasting a single drop of it. I know from that moment the day would be great.... and it was - a lot of nothing with a whole lot of coffee...and then the bus ride back home. I hate this cold. On the way back home I did find something amazing in my journey. I found a box - a very big dishwasher box. I hulled it home thinking I found the key to my packing problems. Why do I need a shitload of small boxes when I can have one huge box! After I wiggled it through my door and found a place to put it i realized that it would be hard to find anything to fill it up that wouldn't make it too heavy to lift comfortably. Oh well, now it's my big garbage bin for the last week. It did bring back some old memories of dumpster diving with Brendan and Jere. Did we ever have some great hauls. I haven't found anything amazing in a long time. I did find smaller boxes in my dumpster the other day though, but it wasn't as good as our old couch.

Packing..a whole lot of packing when I came home. I don't know why I keep so much junk...but I did find something amazing. It was a loonie, and a bag of native archaeological artifacts that I have been looking for everywhere. The loonie will be used for bus fare tomorrow while the artifacts will be safely stored and decoded some day because I do believe these ones in particular tell a secret, something the world can not handle yet. It might be a map coded in some strange foreign language or possibly the key that solves the mystery to the precise origins and time of the first migration into America it could be just rocks...I'm not quite sure. It was right beside the loonie under a bag of used airsoft pellets and odd beer labels that I was collecting. See what I mean - a whole lot of junk. But I still didn't throw any of it away.

It's 10:10 and I'm tired. I think I'll watch a Chinese movie and try to understand it. The English subtitles will help.

Posters in Piles

2008-01-21T05:53:00.000+08:00

The time has almost arrived for my big adventure, just over 3 weeks away, and I figure I will copy what Kristyn did when she started her big move to Brandon....that is start a blog. This is my second or third attempt of a blog. I hope this one can outdo the previous ones.

After showing the apartment several times I finally have someone that is taking over my lease at the end of the month. Where I will be staying with Brendan and Mark's till the Feb 8th or so. My posters, maps and tapestries are of the walls and a haze of over a year of dust is lingering in the air. Whose house is this? It doesn't seem like mine. I still have one map on the wall to stare at and imagine the adventures that stay lay ahead of me.

This blog is not just an attempt to share adventures and to see what is happening in the life of Dustin, but for me to practice my writing for possible careers that I still have high hopes for in the future. So bare with me and accept my poor grammar and spelling, by the end of the summer I hope I will have approved 10 fold.

Thanks Ashley and Chris for the invite to the fine meal last night. Chris had some amazing skills with a salt shaker, 2 toothpicks and 2 forks. Just imagine what can be done! I'll will miss all my friends so much and I hope to see most of you at the "Get The Funk Out Of My Country" party on the 2nd of Feb.

I have also just realized that some of you don't even know I am heading away for 5-6 months up to 3 years. I'm off to Lanzhou, China to study Mandarin for a semester. I have actually done a pile of searching today for what it has in store for me. Here are some pics I found on the net.

I like this one especially.

I guess I won't be drinking the water.

.....or eating the dog that is drinking the water.

Mmmm...I love night markets.