h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Under 8 hours quick?
All these people on the Net during Work hours!

Well, it's my job!! (best one on the planet!)

What's everyone else's excuse??

Thanks for your info, even tho' it's 10 years old.
The best job in the world is one that pays you to do the things you enjoy, or gives you the space to make changes to yourself, ( in my case, Thank you DHSS!)

Greetings from Nanning, China.
Still can't believe I'm actually here, but everybody else is speaking Chinese and I can't read street signs, and when I can it doesn't help, I can't tell the difference between shampoo and baby powder, and it's hot, so i must be.
I'ts all I expected, and not what I expected at all.

I have seen people with bamboo panniers, lots of bicycles, toddlers with no backs to their trousers; but I have also seen a very modern, sophisticated city with lots of cars. the pavements are an assault course as everybody builds ramps to the road on top of them, there's usually a bike or motor scooter coming up quietly from behind you and there's a variety of small but lethal ramps for them to change levels. Crossing the road is an experience, even after you allow for the fact that they drive on the other side, ( but the bicycles drive any way they want).Red lights are not always obeyed and you can still filter if you're turning. However, everybody goes at the same speed, and with the footwork and swerving of Best and Pele, you'll make it to the other side, as long as you don't make any sudden changes of direction.

I'm missing my kids, wishing I had done more with the "Teach yourself Chinese in 3 months" course I took out of the library 2 weeks before I left Wolverhampton, but the school is friendly, and the kids are keen.

Due to having to madly empty things out of my suitcase to get belw 20 kilograms, I've spent a lot of time shopping, but still have to find a source for bamboo steamers, ( I'm trying to avoid obvious meat dishes), but basically, I'm best off not asking what I'm eating until I'm finally cooking it myself.

Hello! How lovely to hear from you! You must make a journal of all this on site...people would love to read it.

And the kids still have the split bum trousers! Wow, I'd forgotten those. I do remember the fun of trying to cross the streets though...

Are you riding a bicycle yourself yet? that's an experience and a half.

Glad the kids are friendly. I think you'll do better picking up the language from the people out there anyway, I did part of a linguaphone course and just got laughed at for my archaic vocabulary and accent!

Any cockroaches yet? (wince)

A bicycle!
that's on my list, but at the moment I'm concentrating on mastering crossing the road and watching what you can get away with on a bicycle.
It seems that is practically anything. I've already picked the bike i want, It's yellow, is a step thru' has " lazy boy" handle bars, plastic wheels, a basket and a pannier but no gears. It looks very Chinese, like it was made out of bamboo. it would be just for getting around Nanning, especially shopping. I'd love to have a mountain/racing bike too, for longer trips, but one thing at a time, I've still to find how you get hold of 2nd hand bikes.
No roaches so far, the apartment is very modern, on the 8th floor, very clean but the cleaners don't seem to be mopping the tiled floors, has wok, Chinese cleaver, rice cooker, microwave, a strange sort of "always just boiled" thermostatic kettle and a 2 ring bottled gas cooker plus a washing up steriliser. Not much spare space to chop vegetables tho', and I can't get over to the traders that I only eat brown rice when they offer me 15 varieties of white rice.
I've probably eaten meat lots of times since I've been here, and the markets would have beeen distressing, if I hadn't lived in Africa, ( one Muslim butchers stall in Kumasi and you'll never feel queasy around fresh meat again). I'm not asking what I'm eating, I can't read the Chinese, and usually they don't speak a word of English. This won't be a problem as I expect to cook for myself, even tho' it'll probably be more expensive than eating out, ( cheapest street food so far I yuan - 9p).Problem is tho' I'm about to go on abus ride to find the only dumpling place that sells vegetable dumplings my flatmates know in Nanning, I can't find a bamboo steamer.
Must go now , time for dumplings. Ta tien.

Working hard hey?

Yeah, sorry - and went away for a funeral so only just picked this up. Will come back to you tomorrow if I can. This is great! Bringing back so many memories - and great to hear new stuff.

Glad about the roaches...saw a bloody big one in Spain and the woman I was staying with just trod on it. One helluva crunch (wince).

That sounds so cool!

I wish I could go...

What? to a funeral or to a cockroach-crunching event? And you so anti cruelty too

Ah...you mean China...

Ni Hao!

Your flat sounds pretty neat - and as for the 'bamboo bicycle' - when did they get so suave??

Yes, I remember the markets. I once rescued a hedgehog which was being carried home for dinner and set it free outside the town. And the chickens being carried home alive by their feet...let alone the crates of live animals and the buckets of fish.

Very wise not to know what you're eating. You probably won't get dog, snake or camel but, whatever you do, think twice before eating sea slug! It really has the most revolting consistency.

It's fascinating that cooking for yourself is more expensive than eating out on the streets. I do remember the wonderful stuff you could get at the street-side cafes. I used to eat stuff shared with other people on trains too - but I stopped that when I got Beijing-belly one time too many.

Look forward to more news. I'm quite tempted to put some of my China pictures up on the site...

That would be very cool Maggy

'g2 went down 2 days ago, just as I was about to post to you, been intermitent since.
Still loving it here, but starting looking at the Chinese ladies, so the Bromide is wearing off.
Fed up of listening to the other teachers moaning, but Chinese classes start on Monday!
All my pix so far are "This is me here" shots of the views from our apartment, and APS, which doesn't seem to have happened over here, so I'll have to mail them back to Blighty and get my kids to send me films.
My 35mm SLRs are beasts, will save them for photo expeditions.
Want to go to Vietnam, but nearest consulate no longer in Nanning, and visas are very expensive.
But I shall go sometime, after I've been to Guilin.

Guilin is stunning. Absolutely amazing. I'd love to go to Vietnam too.

I had a relationship with a Chinese security guard in the early eighties (which was a very illegal kind of thing to do!). He was very big for a Chinese and very male and very gentle at the same time.

They have very little body hair (I knew that from having been taken to see a Chinese art class) so we are seriously strange to them!

I once went up to the very far north east and the young women there were still wearing white face-makeup and thought that my white skin was amazing. A group of girls asked permission to touch it because they couldn't believe it was real.

Are you in a relationship in the UK or is it okay to be looking at the Chinese ladies???!!

desperate smilie....you're both making me so jealous!

Apparently the girls like to stroke the hairs... on your arms!
Illegal sex heh?
Was it sweeter as a result?
I'm way out of a relationship in the U.K. ( I'm the aggrieved party), separated, but not yet going for a divorce, so I hope you'd agree I can Paaaarty,( in a responsible way of course!)
Actually, as an Aging Hippy, I was never very active in the Free Love thingie, ( too expensive), I have no chat up lines, and need to know, like and trust anyone before I cautiously jump into bed with them, tho after 3 years of living like a monk, ( without the shaved head),here in the land of opprtunity, I might just possibly, with a girl who's intelligent, sparky, nonacquisative, trustworthy and not just looking for a ticket to the West...

Well it was seriously dangerous...and we only got to be totally alone a very few times...it was very strange falling in love with someone when you don't speak the same language.

It happened over three summers...I used to go out for up to six weeks at a time...and the third year, something had just changed in a very subtle way. It was wonderful while it lasted - and it stopped because I met my husband-to-be. Meng and I didn't even write (couldn't - language and politics)so there was no way of communicating between summers.

I'm just divorced too...and I like the idea of the phrase the 'aggrieved party'. I was the seriously furious, hurt and resentful party... In retrospect I can see where the gaps were appearing but that's all too easy in hindsight.

It takes time to trust again. I'm with someone wonderful (whom I've known as a friend for 10 years now) but even so I worry...

However, I shall look forward to hearing about the first girl to stroke your arms!

I once met a guy on the Bund in Shanghai who offered to show me his etchings. however, he really did mean his etchings; he didn't fancy me at all!

Knowing someone as a friend beforehand seems to work well: my mum and dad were friends at school...

...but that still doesnt mean im going to have a relationship with any of my friends [my mum keeps making suggestive remarks ]

I'm glad youre ok now

I've never seen anyone's etchings, but I've just got this potential Chinese hippy chicks number....

Things may be looking up, but becoming complicated....