I admit, I was not the best behaved best high school student. I will be remembered for detention slips and making popcorn during chemistry lab more than my grades. So when I unexpectedly got a message from a teacher in the USA, I thought I was being summoned to the principal’s office. But it wasn’t from my alma mater, WHS, in Watervliet, Michigan. It […]
WeChat English. YouChat Emojis.
The Smell of the Blues
It was a good night for a glass of peanut juice over ice with a splash of Jack. My heart was sad as my life wasn’t turning out like a Julia Roberts movie. I had papers to grade, forms for my lawyer and Microsoft did automatic updates on my computer, turning all of my software back into Chinese. Then I […]
Hamburger Lao Shi
While many of you call me Ginger, or Ginge or some even refer to me by my maiden moniker, Sinsabaugh, Byt my Chinese students call me Mai Lao Shi or Hamburger Teacher. And this week, I had a lot of lessons beyond pickles and sesame seed buns. For instance, the fourth graders. Thanks to them, I had to learn that […]
Local Color
Six bucks a night. That’s cheaper than the rent when landing on Baltic Avenue on a monopoly game. That’s Sapa, Vietnam. A quick trip on a night train plus a two dollar bus ride up the mountain and BAM!, you’ll find yourself in the pages of a National Geographic magazine. The hills are full of surprises, possibly a few landmines […]
Signs gone wrong
Never believe everything you read on the internet–nor the signs you read in China. They don’t sell whales here. Or semi-pregnant lips. Goat crackers? It’s not a bad translation. Just a bad idea. I think I’ll stick with Ritz. This doesn’t sound like a big business idea to me. China has the best of the worse signage. But the sign […]
Questions I’d love to ask Verizon if I could get a hold of a Human.
“Sorry, we’re not able to process all of our phone calls at this time. Please try later. Goodbye.” That auto response message from Verizon sure boosts my confidence. I mean, if Verizon can’t handle their own calls, how can they handle mine? I made the mistake of signing a two year contract with Verizon for a free android phone back […]
Kunming Antique Furniture Market
The best thing about the antique/used furniture market in Kunming is that you can find about anything there. The hardest thing is finding it. It’s on the north side, just on the edge of the city where new construction butts up to real life pages of national geographic. You’ll make a right on a small “Am-I-on-the-right-street?” kinda street. ” […]
Chinese Costco
The rumors are true. There is a Costco store in China. The bummer is, the store in online, meaning no free samples of pigs in the blanket in the frozen aisle. I mean, without samples, what’s the point of Costco? But in the quaint village Kunming, (population approaching seven million), there is Metro. It’s a German version of the popular […]
Dang Zhang Lang!
Nothing says you’re in china like a cockroach in your refrigerator. So I sublet an apartment in Kunming from a young Canadian with slightly bad hygiene. (The locals really didn’t notice. All westerners stink to them). But this guy looked like he needed a shower right after he toweled off, the smell of BO reminiscent of a high school locker room. […]
Cheers to a pint.
Tears came to my Dad’s eyes as he answered the phone that Saturday morning. Only one person would be calling at that time. “Hello, Mr. Sinsabaugh,” the perky voice started, “How would you like a new kidney today?” “Very much, “the words got stuck by the lump in his throat. ” That would be better than watching the game.” As I happily […]