Lift Off!

Lift Off
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

Countdown and ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four...no just kidding this thing is not going anywhere. Boil some water maybe, but no lift off.

Mica Anyone?

Mica Anyone
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

Just a spoon full of mica helps the medicine go down. Haha, I couldn't help myself. Please see the description of the traditional Chinese herbal remedy (one with my hand above the clay pot holding plants) for further clarification of this photo.

Eat Up...

Eat Up
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

...or drink up actually (got your attention), but first sit back and be patient, for traditional Chinese herbal remedies take awhile to prepare. Boil a clay pot brimming full of water and then add in mica powder for 5 minutes, for some of the minerals leech into the water and can be good for curing what ails you. Now toss in several handfuls of the plant parts you see in my hand and cover while continuing to boil for 15-20 minutes. Then drop in a few pieces of a woody plant and replace the cover for another 5 minutes. Finally, lower the temp to a simmer for 5 additional minutes. Whew, that's over with. Wait, not yet. Okay so there are a number of steps before its finished. Roll up your sleeves once the concoction has cooled a bit and pour the concentrated liquid into a mug, then meditate with your head over the clay pot breathing in the steam, next fill the pot with water to bathe your hands in, next drain and toss plant parts (a lady who rummages through the trash for recyclable items will likely compost it) and clean the pot if you're not lazy, and finally drink up. All that prep work was worth it though, for my qi, my body's equilibrium is restored and that sore throat, cough, upset stomach, and peeling skin thing is over with. Best part...no side effects!

Clean Boulevard

Clean Boulevard
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

Amidst the stereotypical busy streets that most foreigners imagine when they think of China, some roadways are in fact quite stately. Here a family enjoys a Sunday together on a sliver of green space. Beyond them is a well organized street of lanes divided by medians; cars and trucks barrel down the middle lane, with bicycles and motorcycles on the two 'frontage roads,' and wide sidewalks on either side provide ample room to stroll. Try crossing the road on a weekday...good luck.

Banyan Shade

Banyan Shade
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

What a street, it's lined with umbrella-like banyan trees, which is reminiscent of the grand city streets once full of elms back in the states. Though, today you're lucky to have one elm in your neighborhood...the last survivors of dutch-elm disease. Too bad that nation wide greening campaign put all their eggs in one basket, instead of planting a wide variety of trees.
Side note: taking a picture from a moving bus guarantees a blurry photo and possibly one at an odd angle.

Oh, it must be artistic.

Ghost Town

Ghost Town
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

Alright, this is actually a ghost town, not one as is most commonly known, but a movie set that seems as if it could be one. This scene is what is behind that photo of an immense gate I took in another shot. In the shops and homes are animatronics set up where the movie scenes where shot forever repeating their lines. Talk about being type cast! Hehehe…okay maybe only I thought that was funny.

Ancient Gates to a Palace

Ancient Gates to a Palace
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

This place has seen a great amount of wear and tear after being built in the past few decades. Hahaha! Okay, so it's not in the least bit ancient, but it was constructed for a movie set of a reenactment of a Song Dynasty story that took place in Chengdu.

Wanna Play with Glass!

Wanna Play with Glass
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

Who's up for an exciting game of break the glass, pick it up, dump it out, and repeat? Despite the fast pace growth in China there are still significant areas of poverty. Mostly the coastal cities are booming…with the exception of the one we call home, especially since corruption has a firm hold on the area. Don’t get me wrong there are several inland cities that prosper too. For example, Wuhan, Chongqing (where I studied in ’99), Chengdu, Xian, and Beijing, just to name a few. Even though some family’s income tops out at just over the equivalent of several hundred US dollars a year, they still make ends meet…barely. A resilient character has kept generations alive for millennia here in the land of what is now China.

Traditional Living

Traditional Living
Originally uploaded by nathanisms.

These living quarters are typical, as they have been for thousands of years in rural China, nothing flashy, yet a nice place to call home. The difference now being there are a few modern conveniences inside, such as running water, electricity, a gas stove, a toilet, and maybe a TV and refrigerator.

Rice Paddy Workers

Rice Paddy Workers
Originally uploaded by Nater Is Greater.

Out of the corner of my eye, as I wrote in my journal, there was this stereotypical view of farmers in a rice paddy, so I had to scramble to take it. I popped in the battery, since it had been running low and usually gets turned on by accident we keep them separate, next I pushed back the window and then snapped a shot as we approached a toll booth. You can see the container truck that almost cut out the view I aimed for. Still, it turned out okay.

Roof Chickens

Roof Chickens
Originally uploaded by Nater Is Greater.

Here was the view Kim and I had from our fifth floor beach hotel in Beihai while traveling over a weekend with a junior class of students we both teach. Our temporary neighbor here is mixing up grub for the chickens. Luckily no roosters lived there to rouse us at the break of dawn. Come to think of it I would like to experience waking up to a rooster as apposed to an alarm clock.

Friendly Game of Majong

Friendly Game of Majong
Originally uploaded by Nater Is Greater.

Over a weekend I became addicted to gambling during a fast-paced game called Majong (I'm using the Mandarin spelling and not the Englishized version). Hahaha, hehe, I'm Kidding...I became addicted in '99 during my first time to China. Although, I don't gamble when playing this rummy like card game, for me it's just a simple no-stakes friendly and relaxing game.

Monster Centipede

Monster Centipede
Originally uploaded by Nater Is Greater.

At just over four inches in length this sunbathing bug was one not to mess with, however, upon further analysis I realized it was actually dead and roasting atop the scorching concrete. Later I would discover that, once boiled and then dried on bamboo sticks, these little critters are stewed by some locals in Guangxi Province because of the medicinal properties they possess.

Lightning Fast Lizard

Lightning Fast Lizard
Originally uploaded by Nater Is Greater.

As Kim and I were discussing the set and surrounding scenery outside of Beihai, which was used for a TV series based on a Song Dynasty story (originally took place in Chengdu) of 108 great warriors, a lizard shot up a nearby tree. Guessing it would not stay and pose for me long, I took a quick zoomed in shot that turned out a bit blurry, yet you can still make out the one foot long lizard against the flora of the background with its distinctive orange and brown skin-tones.

Baby Mangos and Oatmeal

Baby Mangos and Oatmeal
Originally uploaded by Nater Is Greater.

These were some of the eensiest, teensiest, tiniest mangos I've ever had, not to mention some of the sweetest. No matter how large the fruit grows, this variety of mango is easy to eat, for the seed is thin and flat. Sometimes I like to add a bit of dark chocolate to my morning oatmeal, wheat germ, and peanut butter. I ran out of raisins that day so I'll add them next time.

Not Just A Kitchen

Not Just A Kitchen
Originally uploaded by natismspics.

This is not an intentionally poke-a-dotted countertop, but another victim of the infamous mold of Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China. Gross!!!
Rest assured that our kitchen has prevailed as a certifiably clean environment once again...for at least a week.

Luggage On A Bad Day

Luggage On A Bad Day
Originally uploaded by natismspics.

What is that, a bad rash, splattered paint, or plain old dirt? Well, since this luggage has had neither the qualities of being human, a work of art (at least not in this case), or having had the opportunity to play in the sand box, you'll have to settle with the fact of it being nasty mold. Green, brown, black, and white oh my! This ultimately let a highly utilized piece of luggage to an unfortunate early retirement. I thought the cranky, stubborn zippers had portrayed the bag at its worst. At least it can look back on its short life of nine years with pride at having been lugged around the states and China. Even if I wanted to attempt to rescue it a full-size washer is not large enough to hold this fairly small world traveler. It didn't make the cut to accompany us on our far-flung adventures to Seoul, Korea, New Delhi, India, or Bangkok, Thailand, but I assure you it had a great life filled with purpose.
Okay, the rest of the story is not as interesting or fun, because of the lack of sunlight these days and a humungous jackfruit tree in the courtyard blocking the precious and necessary mold stunting rays our entire apartment is literally a scientific experiment gone extremely wrong or wonderfully right depending upon how you look at it, though I prefer the former. The advent of frequent rain during the night has caused the mold population to burgeon toward unprecedented levels. At least regarding anything I've ever experienced, that includes having lived in an aging home on a lake with a basement that seemed to combine the perfect ingredients for mold proliferation: dampness, darkness, and a plethora of unsuspecting and unprotected cloth and wood products to call home. Without a dehumidifier or a source of heat controlling the severity of the epidemic is near to impossible. By quick analysis one can easily point out the allergy sensitive eyes of Kim that are now typically a shade of pink, as well as the incessant cough the two of us have, whenever the spores are released to re-colonize everything that was once clean. To combat it the best we can I have championed the use of the ever popular alcohol based hand sterilizer as a chief deterrent that does a pretty good job, so I thought. A week later the mold was back and seemingly immune to my cleansing approach. Water is not used for obvious reasons and so a dry disposable quasi-paper towel, which is more like crape paper, has been employed to retard the spread. We've been for-warned that shoes, clothing, and most everything is next in line. Pray for sun and heat to spell an end to this endless cleaning detail.