macca's Xanga

Thursday, April 14, 2005

Thu, 14 Apr 2005 11:02:34 GMT

I practiced Yoga for the very first time today. Me and fifteen some local ladies crowded in a dark room. Then the teacher- a middle aged, bulky sized man wearing sport clothes came in. Honestly, his looking was far from what i expected. Those Yoga masters in my mind were very thin, with tranditional Indian gowns on. But he just looked to ordinary. Then the class began. All of us laid on mats, one, two, three, four, leg raising, arm raising, foot circling... We even did sit-ups! I felt kinda weird since i had never seen any yoga practice like this before. But everybody else was just totally absorbed into doing what the teacher instructed. One, two, three, four, leg raising, arm raising, foot circling... the last ten minutes, the teacher finally asked us to do something which i saw from TV before-- to cross legs and stay still, then he said something in Bangali or some other language i couldn't understand at all, in which most of the words ended with "-achi" or something like that. I didn't know if he was trying to make a zen atmosphere or whatnot. When it finished, i felt kinda disappointed. I didn't get anything about yoga, even though i sweated a lot. And an idea just stuck in my mind: " Man, this is not a yoga class, it is a P.E. class."

Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Tue, 12 Apr 2005 18:36:00 GMT

It's been five months since the last time i scrabbled here. It's hard to cut my stories during these months into short. I'd rather put some pictures here which are more worth than thousands of words. Hope it also can give you some ideas about how I've been doing these days.

Sunday, November 07, 2004

Sun, 07 Nov 2004 15:02:36 GMT

Just got back from Africa. Will write something about it when i am adjusted to Beijing time. Here are some pictures on this trip:

While trying to take a picture of Khartoum street, a lady in pink caught my eyes

Time to break the fast!

Dubai Airport-where i had a 10 hour layover

No.22, Lai Chi Kok Road, Mon Kok

Friday, October 22, 2004

Fri, 22 Oct 2004 14:51:09 GMT

Seems this upcoming trip gonna be interesting:

A long-running civil war makes travel in some parts of Sudan a risky - though not impossible - prospect; visiting Khartoum is relatively unproblematic. The south is in the hands of Christian and animist rebels, and should be considered off-limits.

The Eritrean border/Kassala area should be avoided due to an uncertain military situation, as should the Darfur region in Western Sudan. Before travelling to or around Sudan, check for the most current information from your embassy.

Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Tue, 19 Oct 2004 15:05:31 GMT

Life is so full of unpredictable twists and turns. Was just told by manager today that I gotta go to Sudan next week. #$%@&...

Monday, October 11, 2004

Mon, 11 Oct 2004 11:29:33 GMT

Damn, MSN really frustrated me recently. It is sooo difficult to log in, and once i logged in, i couldn't send or receive message at all.

Wednesday, October 06, 2004

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 13:51:56 GMT

With a heavy backpack and some great memories on this trip to Shanxi, I am back now. Although i had heard some negative comments about this province, i liked it very much and i had real fun there.

The first city I visited was Datong (despite the 1.5 hours we spent at Taiyuan). People warned me that i shouldn't stay overnight at datong cos it is a very boring and dirty city. However, I spent two days there and it did give me suprise. I climbed the Hanging Monastery on Heng Shan, saw an over 750 year old wooden tower, awed at the Yun Gang Grottoes and also visited a couple of temples in downtown. The schedule was kinda packed but we still got some time to observe people's lives there.

The rest of days in Ping Yao were kind of relaxing and easy. Most of the time we were just rambilng around the city and exploring. Ping Yao impressed me most when i just arrived there at 4.30 in the morning. On that chilly, dark morning, the silhouttes of Ming or Qing dynasty courtyards when there was no one on streets really made me lost in time.

When i look at these pictures we took on this trip now, it is very interesting to see what we did on the road: we took an airplane driven by a sucky pilot, hired an outrageously expensive cab (175 rmb/person) from Taiyuan to Datong, spent a night on a slow, shaky train from Datong to Pingyao, rode bike on some seriously polluted roads, crowded in a long distance bus full of local people...and most importantly, we experienced.

Now routines will start all over again, after i wash all my dirty clothes.

Some pictures we took:

the hanging monastery

a buddha in Yungang Grottoes

Shuang Lin Temple Silhouette

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Tue, 28 Sep 2004 14:51:01 GMT

For the very first time, i cared about the "Moon Festival". I never get enthusiastic about work, especially when everyone gets to leave early except me. Working overtime makes me grumpy.

Work has been pretty boring these days. Every day when i got home, i felt like i got drained totally. I do need some time to "recharge" myself.

P.S. Wish you all a beautiful moon. Too bad it's cloudy here in beijing now.

Monday, September 27, 2004

Mon, 27 Sep 2004 14:22:19 GMT

Tickets booked, hotel reserved, ready for another adventure.

Wednesday, September 22, 2004

Wed, 22 Sep 2004 06:49:30 GMT

Seems I still haven't ended my professional test taker career. Just got an email informing me to take the new GRE pilot test this Sunday. Thrilled! Doubt I still remember any GRE-level word though. lol.