Archive for September, 2007

Bigger than the superbowl?

Monday, September 24th, 2007

Well, I experienced a major cricket match in India (the match was played in South Africa, so obviously watched on TV). I’m happy to say, there will be no houses of team India cricket players destroyed tonight…they won! It was a close one. India won by 5 runs. I learned some of the rules, which I will likely forget tomorrow.

It was cool to watch from the roof top of a hotel in Bangalore. Looking over the city, seeing fireworks set off as soon as the match was won. I think the partying will go on into the night (although, alcohol sales stop at 11:30pm). Late start tomorrow for most people? I think so.

Posted in India | No Comments »

Cricket fever

Monday, September 24th, 2007

It turns out that I’m in Bangalore at a crazy time. Today, in about 30 minutes, the two biggest rivals face off in the 20/20 Cricket World Cup Championship…India vs. Pakistan.

The afternoon has consisted of me listening to everyone in the office talk about it. People are hyper, no other way to describe it. I’m not in to cricket…don’t think I have a desire to get in to it either.

The guys on my team have told me that it’s probably best to stay in my hotel room tonight and not venture out. Because, regardless of who wins, it could be crazy out there.

Now, if India loses, they told me the players houses will be “gone.” I didn’t really understand what they meant at first…then they explained. People here will literally go to the players’ houses and destroy them. The players’ families have surely already left for their safe havens by now. This will only happen with a loss to Pakistan. What a crazy sport!

Posted in India | 1 Comment »

Lights out

Sunday, September 23rd, 2007

Back in Bangalore again and the lights went out much sooner into the trip than last time. It’s typical for a quick outage every hour. Today was a bit different. As the plane was going in for the landing, they throttled up very quickly and heading back into the air. The runway lights went out. Infrastructure here seems worse & worse every trip.

Posted in India | 3 Comments »

The Ice Bowl

Tuesday, September 18th, 2007

I am a hockey fan (Buffalo Sabres, of course)…I have also played hockey all my life (still haven’t yet in Beijing though!). Playing on the frozen puddle in front of my house growing up was always the coolest part of the winter. The ice wasn’t good, wasn’t big, but it was fun.

The rink I used to play in growing up (Caz), was roof-less back in the 70s. Couldn’t imagine playing all home games, outside in Buffalo. Just a bit cold.

A few years ago, the NHL had it’s first outdoor “pond hockey” game. Edmonton (where game was played) vs. Montreal.

Now…it’s Buffalo’s turn. The place everyone associates with winter and snow. The lake effect queen city. The pond? Rich Stadium. Home of the Bills…the team who holds the record for the most losses in a row in the Super Bill (4).

Posted in Buffalo, Hockey | 4 Comments »

English teachers wanted in North Korea

Monday, September 17th, 2007

I was browsing through the Xianzai Beijing (a weekly newsletter tailored to Beijing for foreigners) and came across a job posting from the UK Embassy in Beijing. They are looking for UK citizens to live in North Korea for 10 months to teach English!

This would take some balls to do. I really want to visit North Korea, say for a weekend…but to live there for 10 months? Not sure. You would basically be giving up your freedom for 10 months. Period.

What does this mean for North Korea as a country? What are they getting prepared for? North Korea will certainly become a low cost option for foreign companies in the very near future. In what fields? I guess it depends on the training investment the company and foreign countries decide to make. It also will depend on how much flexibility the North Korean government will give these foreign countries (especially, financially).
English Language Teacher Trainers Wanted for Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea
The British Council which operates as Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in China is looking for suitably qualified ELT professionals to work on a joint British Council/FCO-funded English Language Training Project in North Korea for approximately ten months from 1 November 2007. The successful candidates will deliver high-quality programmes in teacher/trainer training and develop the curriculum and related materials as well as assessment systems at leading institutions in Pyongyang. Please note: Local restrictions mean that UK passport holders only can be considered for these posts. These are unaccompanied posts, although in exceptional cases the authorities might agree to a married couple. For more details of this job opportunity, please go to:
http://www.britishcouncil.org/home-about-us-working-with-us-DPRK.htm

Posted in North Korea | 2 Comments »

Hooters Beijing – Now open for business!

Thursday, September 13th, 2007

Last night marked the grand opening of a new fine establishment in Beijing…Hooters. We’ve seen the signs up over near the Worker’s Stadium for months, now it’s a reality.

I went to check it out for an early dinner last night with some friends. When I walked in, I didn’t feel like I was in China. Obviously, it looked exactly like any other Hooters would in the US. On top of that, there was a real live Hooter’s girl from the US at the door greeting everyone as they walked in.

Once in, it just felt weird. Not sure why. Maybe the start of it was when our waitress came over and said the following…

“Hello, welcome to Hooters. My name is Willa and I will be your Hooter’s girl today.”

Yes, that’s what she said…word for word (I will leave the English quality up to your imagination). And yes, Willa is her name. You could tell all of the girls working there were nervous, very nervous. There were a few Hooter’s girls from the US helping out (have likely been there training for quite some time). They also had some girls from other Hooter’s locations in China helping out (one in Shanghai/Pudong and one in Hangzhou).

We tried some wings. They were decent. Sauce was good…wing size not so good. We didn’t try anything else (well, beer, of course).

There were mostly foreigners there…I noticed only a handful of Chinese. It will be interesting to see if the crowd changes, but it will likely remain overly populated with foreigners for some time.

What they need to work on … English. Seems to be a theme around here. They have to assume that a Hooter’s in China is going to attract tourists, who can’t speak any Chinese. The English quality there was below average. It took some work to get what you want.

By the way, do Chinese have any idea why the place is called Hooters? Or, what it’s known for? I’m thinking not. Chinese for Hooters is … who-or-ters (that’s how you say it). And when we asked the waitresses what Hooters refers to … no idea.

Posted in Beijing, China | 2 Comments »

The MANGROOMER

Friday, September 7th, 2007

I don’t only like this product for its name, but also for its function. I know I’m not the only one out there with some back hair and I’m not afraid to admit it.

My younger brother sent me the link to this last night … wonder why? Maybe because I got a waxing before we went to Thailand in July? Funny, thanks Tim. Perfect Christmas present for you to buy for me.

The MANGROOMER

There was a hilarious Gillette viral spot about man grooming a year or two ago, can’t seem to find it though.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

Steamed crap anyone?

Monday, September 3rd, 2007

As part of Beijing’s effort to clean up the “Chinglish” around here, they are attacking the menus of Beijing’s fine dining establishments.

Beijing to fix menu names for Olympics

This is one clean up that I’m looking forward to. Many restaurants to provide pictures on the menu, which is quite helpful in distinguishing between “steamed crap” and “steamed crab.” That’s really just a typo though. Some of the truly “Chinglish” names are hilarious. Virgin chicken is probably close to the top of the list.

Posted in Beijing, China, Olympics | No Comments »