Tag Archives: Hunan

Here Comes Winter!

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sweeping snowThe China National Meteorological Center (NMC) urged the country to prepare for a harsh winter and to be prepared for freezing rain and snow disasters.

 BEIJING, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) –   Over the past month, heavy snow or blizzard have hit many north China provinces and regions, while Hunan, Guizhou and some other south China provinces suffered freezing rain or snow related complication.

Last year, between Jan. 10 to Feb. 2 of 2008, Hunan province was hit by freezing rain and snow four times in a row, shutting down transportation and cutting off basic necessities (water, food, electricity) for weeks.

We were not in China last winter, but everyone I talk to who was here last year said it was terrible.

I think we might prepare some ‘supplies’ just in case…

Starbucks in Hunan – Sorry, No Listing

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Oh Starbucks, when will you come to Hunan?  I would love it if you would come to Yueyang, but I realize that’s not realistic, so Changsha will do.

After all, you have about 2 billion Starbucks in the rest of the coffee drinking world, so why not come to Hunan?  There are 65 million people here who don’t even know yet that they love coffee.  You need to do your humanitarian service and open a coffee shop or two.

Oh, don’t misunderstand me, there IS coffee in Hunan already.  But by-and-large, it’s gross and overpriced.  The beans are usually burnt and stale, then when they brew it, they murder the taste.  After all that, they want $4+ for a thimble sized cup.  It’s sad, very sad when the best cup of coffee in town, at the best value (outside of my personal kitchen,) is obtained at McDonalds…

In the spirit of full disclosure, I also have to tell you, a couple of weeks ago,shortly after I returned to China from several months in Texas, I was making my way through one of the three grocery stores here in Yueyang that sometimes have ‘imported’ goods and I saw the logo that my oldest daughter, Elizabeth, can spot even in the most crowded of strip malls in Texas or shopping centers in Hong Kong.  It was the round and green STARBUCKS logo on a bottled Starbucks Frappuccino.

The price was high, very, very high.  It didn’t matter, I was in shock – I bought two.  (One for me, one for my wife Erica who actually likes Frappuccinos more than me.)  Could this be true, Starbucks in Yueyang?  Who cares if it comes in a bottle and was made three months ago… it’s Starbucks in Hunan!

Starbucks on the Great WallHowever, since that fateful day, there has not been a Frappuccino in sight, nowhere.  (I wonder who in the world bought all of those other bottles in just two short weeks?  Did I mention earlier that they were EXPENSIVE?)

There are places I can go within the vast borders of China to obtain a Grande Peppermint Latte or sometimes a Hazelnut Latte.  In the picture on the left, you can see me enjoying a beautiful cup of coffee on the Great Wall of China!

However, there is nothing nearby.  Not even close.  So I call out to Starbucks…

Please open a Starbucks in Changsha!

What I Did Today

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I spent the better part of my day today getting this;

This is my “Certificate of Health Examination for International Traveller”

It all started with a phone call on Monday saying that I had to have my “Health Exam” done before the University could move forward with preparing the documents I need to process our family’s work visas for China.

This is important, and time is of the essence, so I moved on it immediately.  As I was sorting out the details, it turned out Erica needed to get this “Health Exam” too.  She was not thrilled.

One of the reasons this was ‘inconvenient’ for us is that we couldn’t get this exam done in the city we lived.  We had to go to Changsha, the provincial capital that is about 2 hours away.  Thankfully, we have some friends in town who could watch the kids for us (bringing them on this trip would have been quite the ordeal!)

We left at 7:30am and returned home around 5:45pm – with our certificates in hand.  Whew!

Invincible Ugly Woman

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Ugly Betty - Invinceble Ugly WomanIt appears that Hunan Television is going to be producing a Chinese version of “Ugly Betty.”

“Ugly Betty” is learning to speak Chinese.

A Chinese TV station says it plans to make a Chinese version of the Colombian series about a plain woman trying to fit in at a fashion company, which also spawned a hit version on U.S. television.

Ugly Betty was inspired by the Colombian telenovela, a Latin American soap drama, Yo Soy Betty, La Fea, which translates as I Am Betty, the Ugly One.  the story

Reports say that the show has a budget of 150 million yuan ($21 million USD), and shooting is slated to begin in April. It will run for five seasons, or a total of 400 episodes.

It will be interesting to see if it is as successful in China as it has been in the US and Columbia.

Survivor China Just Next Door!

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Survivor China LogoThe production for Survivor China will be based in Jiangxi Province on Lake Poyang, due east from where we live in Hunan Province on the Dongting Lake (China’s second largest lake.)

Survivor MapLake Poyang, the largest freshwater lake in China, is 105 miles long from north to south. The widest point is 46 miles, the average width of the lake is 10 miles from west to east. The lakeshore is 750 miles long, and has a surface area of 2040 miles.

Survivor China premieres next Thursday, September 20!

World’s Best Whiskers Vie for Honors

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This made me think of my cousin Lance, formerly of Hunan Province, China;

Whiskers CompetitionLONDON — One contestant had a mustache twisted into the shape of London’s Tower Bridge; others sported bushy beards that would make Grizzly Adams envious. In the end, Beard Team USA nabbed four of the top honors — by a whisker — at the World Beard and Mustache Championships.

About 250 shaggy men from around the world competed Saturday in 17 different classes of facial hair at the competition in Brighton, England.

The event had long been dominated by German beard clubs, but the Americans made a strong showing at this year’s competition, taking victories in four categories.

Jack Passion, a 23-year-old from San Francisco, won the highly competitive “Full Natural Beard” competition with his flowing orange fuzz.

“I feel fantastic,” he told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. “I’m 23 and I have the best beard in the world.”

He attributed part of his success to his outfit, a blue tuxedo and bowler hat, which helped bring out the red in his beard.

“I looked like a groom,” he said. “Too bad you never get married when you have a huge beard.”

The mustache categories include the “Dali” — slender with long tips, straight or arching up — and the big and bushy “Hungarian,” while the beard categories ranged from the shorter “Verdi” to the rounder, more expansive “Garibaldi.”

Those with particularly fanciful fuzz — like the man with the Tower Bridge growing from his face — competed in freestyle categories.

Competitors were barred from using extensions or hair pins, although wax and hairspray were allowed in some cases.

The first World Beard and Mustache Championship was held by beard enthusiasts in Germany in 1990. The next championships in 2009 will be held in Anchorage, Alaska.

“Anchorage knows how to put on a show,” said David Traver, 42, who is organizing the 2009 event. “And they have a fantastic appreciation for whiskers.”

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On the Net:

World Beard and Mustache Competition: http://www.handlebarclub.co.uk/wbmc.shtml