8/11/06 ~ Typhoon Saomai & General Update

On the Rio: Joan Baez~ Colours

I had a request from a faithful reader to include a link to the song I'm referencing so you can listen to it while reading my blog. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as posting a photo, so I need to research this further.

The Typhoon Saomai hit as a category 5, the worst to hit mainland China in 50 years. The death toll is rising. They predicated a flood watch for Shanghai, but so far only blue skies. I've been told that the blue skies are an anomaly for Shanghai, but the numerous typhoons have been pushing the pollution out of the area, so we get to see the blue sky.

Children here call the game we know as "Leap Frog" as "Bending Like a Camel".

The government encourages later marriages (after 25 years old) by having companies provide 10 days leave from work when married after 25 (one only gets 3 days if marrying younger than 25). I have to explain that either way this is a benefit we don't get in the U.S. and we must use vacation days when getting married. Also, the company will provide a monetary bonus when married.

Here is a picture of some Chinese money (which all have a picture of Mao, except the 1 yuan note) and then a picture of some Hong Kong money (which has pictures of animals). In both cases, a 100 bill is equal to approximately $12.50 US dollars.

Apparently I did not scare off my American travel partner from last weekend. She stopped by my office today to see if I wanted to go out for Chinese dumplings and to a tea garden on Sunday.