Ten days to go
January 23, 2009
Are you excited yet? Heck, yes, but packing for five months has a way of dampening the spirit.
WiFi in Beijing — part 2
December 3, 2008
I like Native Beijing because you can order results by proximity to your current location. A search of wifi near the place I’m going to be living produced the aptly named Beer Mania as the closest location. I’m just saying . . . sounds like a good omen.
Wifi in Beijing
November 16, 2008
Trying to find out how much there is.
An endeavor somewhere between “discover the secrets of the Forbidden City” and “unlock the iPhone.”
Inscrutable, to say the least. Is there . . .
a) Widespread wifi, but only really in restaurants and cafes that cater to laowai ;
b) Citywide wifi within the Third Ring Road that sprung up for the Olympics (and now requires some sort of payment); or
c) Illusory promises of the same that will devolve in practice to one bar of signal everywhere?
Stay tuned.
3 months to go
November 8, 2008
Three months to departure for China, as of tomorrow.
Visa — not yet.
Plane ticket — need to know when the Fulbright orientation is . . .
Computer — check. There’s even an Apple Store in Beijing, the real thing in case my MacBookPro self-immolates.
Smartphone — might have more info by Tuesday.
Language lessons — proceeding apace thanks to the good folk at ChinesePod. I can say “bathroom,” “subway” and “menu” and a bit more.
Other stuff — well, let’s just say I am propping up the U.S. economy by myself . . . with lots of stuff made in China. How ironic.
Learning about Chinese environmental law — a bit.
Making contacts — some, through a variety of folks.
Courses — working on editing materials for Chinese students.
Overall state of readiness — let’s call it a 六 (six) out of 十 (ten).
“Professor Joel”
September 28, 2008
The original title of my blog was “Professor Joel in China.” I’ve been told “Professor Joel” is how students in China address us Fulbright profs (or any other foreign visiting profs, for that matter).
In Mandarin, “professor” is 教授 －－ jiàoshòu.
Playing with code
June 14, 2008
Spending this morning trying to unlock the wonders of CSS. I’m trying to create a better look for this website than the template provided by WordPress. Of course, I have no experience whatsoever with CSS, but what the heck, that won’t stop the experimentation.
I like the overall look and feel of this page, and especially the header, but the all-caps title screams way too loud & I can’t change that. Sorry, I’ll do what I can to turn down the volume.
Update Sun. a.m.: looks like I’ve run into the limits of “WordPress.com” vs. do-it-yourself hosting via “WordPress.org.” More investigation required.
Update Fri. a.m.: well, we tossed the whole thing and started over. Hope everyone likes the new look when it’s done.
“Hardwares” and “softwares”
June 13, 2008
Yesterday, I saw a travel site with the standard warnings about China — don’t let exotic Asian women trap you on the street, watch for fake RMB, and so forth. Hey, you too might wind up naked on YouTube if you mess up!
This statement under China caught my eye:
Though China’s hardwares (buildings, decoration etc.) are chasing very fast but the softwares (thinking, mind-set and attitude) and people’s mind-set have at least 10 to 15 years difference. What an interesting and elegant way of capturing the zeitgeist.
The table on that page is worth the price of admission. Priceless.
“Mini Police Car”
Welcome
June 13, 2008
Welcome to my blog. I’ll be a Fulbright professor in China at the China University of Political Science and Law beginning in February, 2009, and this blog will record my pre-trip planning and the trip itself.
