Karen_Koerner

Gee, you guys. We have no Chyi Chin to talk about.

I hope all is going well for him in Los Angeles. He can be with his mother and let her know everything is all right. He can also go out more anonymously and play golf without photographers following him around. Do you think a nurse took the baby on the flight? That sweet little one will have a lot of international miles "under her belt" before she is 2 years old!!

I hope he takes the time to see the sights. I know he has the privilege of traveling all over China to sing. I have often wondered if he has enough time to stop and see the sights and the ancient treasures. He always seems to be going so fast. It seems like he flies in, unpacks, rehearses, sings, eats, packs, then flies away. Maybe he'll slow down a little. There is so much to see and experience.

I am very worried about his suntanning. I hope he is very, very careful with the sun. That newly healed skin must be more tender than a babies skin, very fragile.  

                           How is everyone? What are you all up to?
                                                   KK

Karen_Koerner

PS: Gong

How is the English going?

锣声若响

PS: GongHow is the English going?Karen_Koerner 发表于 2011-10-5 14:17

Thank you, it is fine.No one talk to me, so i didn't send new post about this.

Karen_Koerner

I will talk to you, if you think it would help. I speak and write in a grammatically correct form but I can't explain it. I make a special point of using proper spelling and punctuation so that the examples are correct. I am so old fashioned I still speak and write in full sentences with full punctuation. I very seldom use "computer speak" because it usually makes no sense to me.

If I think of something to tell you about, I will ramble on and you can practice on it! Are there any subjects you have a special interest in? If I go on too long, you can just tell me to shut up. OK?

KK

锣声若响

Thanks again. I like to talk anything with you if you don't mind. How about my life in Xi'an? There was a long history and it was so cool here. But not now. I think you might know.
I replied the post with my phone and did not used any translation softwave. So I wanna say many to you but the words were poor.
I will introduce many food here to you with a computer keyboard. Are you interstied?

Karen_Koerner

Absolutely!! I would be thrilled.
KK

Karen_Koerner

Gong,

I know a little about Xian. It is a very ancient city-two or three thousand years old. It was the capitol city of several Dynasties. At one time it was called Chang'An. It must have been the stomping grounds of the First Emperor, Qin Shi Huangdi, because he is buried near there with the Terracotta Warriors. If I remember right, the First Emperor's tomb has not yet been opened and probably won't be until technology can be developed to protect the contents from turning to dust upon exposure to the air.

It was also the eastern terminus of the Silk Road. That seems like a very romantic period when a whole assortment of cultures were meeting, exchanging cultures, and settling in new lands. That's how I imagine it.

Are some of these sites of the past preserved well? I know it is probably a very modern city now, with ancient sites still scattered in and around the city. I am one of those silly people who want to touch ancient art works and architecture to see if I can connect with the past. I have to be sneaky in the museums!!!                                             

I know your city has a population of about 8 million. I would love to hear about your city, which I consider a glorious city. What do you do, how do you get around. My favorite way to learn about China is for people to share what their life is like.

KK

锣声若响

Well,the history did is very brilliant here. But now,lots of old thing was lost,like other cities in China that was because of the so-called economic development. How stupid!

Hold on,I just leave for a moment…… I will be back soon.

锣声若响

Oh,I am sorry. I guess the moment was very a long time. I am back now.
About my work, I am a sales staff in a small company that is operating by my two friends. We are a fresh air provincial agent. There are only five people here. We do it for one year and several monthes.
I do my work from monday to friday and the other two days for rest. In the morning, I take a bus for like half hour to the office, but, if I have to do something, I needn't go to the office. I am very disengaged.
In Xi'an, The resident population and the floating population that is over 15,000,000 people now. It's not a kidding. So it is terrible everywhere, too many people, too many cars, too many stores, too many hotels, and too many high buildding… but not too many bus stations、public toilets、personal housing… and the road is not wide enough to hold this cars, so you can guess the result.

Karen_Koerner

It sounds like you have some freedom to do what interests you. That is very important. I worked very hard my whole life and thought I'd have time to do things "later". I got a big surprise when I became ill and wasn't able to do things later. Live in the moment and do the things you want to do NOW.

I can't imagine a city with a population as large as yours. Our entire metropolitan area comprising 5 small cities is about 100,000 people. The whole state of Minnesota has about 6 million people. It only takes 30 minutes to drive from the eastern boundary to the western boundary of the Metro area. Are public places just filled with people? Everyone must maintain a certain kind of manners or it would be chaos. That is a guess-am I right?

Do you think the rest of your city will be able to catch up with the development? It must be the same everywhere. The one thing no one wants to build is affordable housing for the citizens. I suppose because there is not enough profit in it. We are a small enough city that the city council members are known by everyone. The do seem to favor developers, but, if they get out of hand people form groups and shut them down. Many stupid developments have been stopped.

We also have strong infrastructure for public roads, bus stations, etc. Funding is a combination of Federal, State, and Local government investment. There are strict rules for building and inspections that ensure safety. Most of it is very transparent so you don't get that level of corruption that results in unsafe roads and buildings.

With the current recession and austerity measures (cutting all the wrong things) things will slow down or stop. But I believe it's just the pendulum swinging-and eventually it will swing back. We're going through a cycle that will come back around!

I should mention that I love the "Judge Dee" (Tang Dynasty official Di Renjie) mysteries by Robert Van Gulik. That is where I get my idea of a walled ancient Chinese city. The books also give one a slight idea of how justice and attitudes developed. However, I did not like Andy Lau's Judge Dee movie, it was way over the top. I wish they had stuck to the books more. (I'd like to see his 3 wives.)

Boy, once I start I can not stop!
I'd like to hear about where you live. Is the city divided in neighborhoods or districts?
KK