Expatriate Games

Screen Shots

In these hi-tech days of instant gratification, it’s easy to forget that not all that many years ago there were no cell phones, let alone a smart phone. There were no iPods or iPads, no internet, no email. When I was a kid even voice mail was unheard of. I’m talkin’ a pre personal PC, pre-SONY Walkman, AM radio listening, never heard the word geek kid. Having a bluetooth meant you were in dire need of a dentist. Dick Tracy’s watch phone? Pure fantasy. Not any more. We are a totally addicted international society. Tethered, not necessarily by wires, but tethered nonetheless. China has the most internet users in the world, recently topping the 500 million mark. It seems EVERYone here has a phone and is connected, but in reality the penetration is still in the 40% range.

Here’s a small collection of photos that have been building up for a while… faces illuminated.

Beijing

Nanning

Shanghai

Guangzhou

Shenzhen

Beijing

Yangshuo

One thing I’m just getting used to here in China is the no voicemail thing. Six years and I still can’t wrap my pea-brain around that one. I know in the major cities voicemail has made some inroads but for most of China… nada. The phone rings and people answer. In a meeting, in the classroom, during any major government banquet, people are on the phone. Oh and don’t try not answering, as the caller will continue to call until you do.

Major kind of cold spell here in Liuzhou. Houses here aren’t built for this kind of weather… including ours. Our brand spanking new Gree heating and air conditioning system bit the dust during our first few really cold days a few weeks ago. It took a couple of tries before they could figure out what the problem was. To do that, the repairman had to dangle off the exterior wall 20 floors up for about an hour, clad only in a shirt and red windbreaker. It was about 39F. He used one rope , one end tied around his waist and the other attached to the inside AC unit. It worked fairly well for about a week but he had to come back today. Here is Mr. Zhou hopping out into the abyss.

Taking bets as to when it will be fixed again… because it was NOT today.

Oh, and most years Spring Festival is a misnomer, even here in the south. A few photos coming soon from our reunion dinner here at the house. Lesson learned… do not mix red wine and baiju.

Peace!

This entry was posted on Friday, January 27th, 2012 at 8:11 PM. It is filed under Blog, Documentary, My China Life, Photo Stories, Post Slider, Thumbnail Slider. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.