@Peter: "3-4 years ago you had whole society suddenly wake up to massive pollution, beijing skies black, urbanization had demolished all hometowns and cities full of zombies. On top of that one corruption scandal after another. One fake scandal after another. Food safety, vaccine safety and whatnot safety issues."
Hard to imagine this would be blamed on foreigners, and I don't remember that it was.
Well, I'm sorry you had to go so far before you could take a calm can of juice. As for your success/failure rate as a prophet, it has yet to affect anybody I know around here personally, and as for badshit down the road, there's a limit to just how much I'm going to get excited about it today. You get your nerve up, drop by sometime & I'll take you on a walk around my neighborhood. I don't know where on the planet you happen to be, but I hope it's safe. Best wishes.
Somehow the hypothetical Hump/Obama/punch nexus doesn't give me any new reason to worry about the balloon going up, and I feel free to enjoy my usual calm little 6PM glass of wine. Suggest you might do well to have one too, Peter.
The owner/managers of Salvador's are in touch with a school in Kunming that provides education for local kids whose hukou is outside of Kunming and so find it hard to get registered in ordinary schools. Their parents are largely migrants to the city from the countryside and get by with very menial jobs. I suggest you ask at Salvador's.
There is also a sort of charity kitchen affair that the manager/entrepreneur, who I think is American, who runs Lighthouse (essentially an English-language school), has raised money for - anyway, his contact is through the Lighthouse website (www.lighthouse-edu.com). Guy's name is Murphy.
I think that "volunteering", in the sense that you seem to mean it, is largely an American concept that has arisen over the past few decades and has spread somewhat to a few other countries. Organized programs of such are fine, with certificates and so forth, but if you are serious there are actually quite a lot of things that need to be done, with nobody to provide much of a salary, here and elsewhere; and there are a lot of things for which you can be paid quite well that shouldn't be done at all. In that sense, 'taking a year', or a decade or so, 'off' from Maggie's Farm after university graduation can be worth consideration too.
Done. Could have used more participants and contributions, but I think it should be chalked up as a success. Not another fundraiser for this organization scheduled for Kunming in November, I think - believe it will be oriented towards (mostly foreign) live music fans and drinkers.
Similar formations in Sichuan at either Huanglang or Huanglong (2 different places, and I can't remember which is which), with the difference that those are not so white, but have some color to them.
Third try right: ok, actually Yi's book is mostly about the people in the hills rather than the Dai, but the whole situation in Banna involves a lot of practices that were ecologically sensible until modern times, and the issue of the rubber plantations is dealt with.
Not quite what you'd call a jumping place, but not bad at all for rather standard US-type meals, not overly expensive, and with a really good salad bar that's cheap, or free with most dinner dishes after 5:30PM. You can get a bottle of beer or even wine if you really want to, but I've never seen anybody do it - maybe that's just to take out. Chinese Christian run, and they hire people with physical disadvantages, who are pleasant and helpful. Frequented by foreign (mostly North American) Christians and Chinese Christians - was started by a Canadian couple associated with Bless China (previously, Project Grace), who are no longer here, but no religious pressure or any of that. Steaks are nothing special, and I avoid the Korean dishes, which I've had a few times but which did not impress me.
As a shop and bakery, it's very good bread at reasonable prices, of various kinds (Y18 for a good multigrain loaf that certainly weighs well over a pound. Other stuff too, like granola and oatmeal that is local, as well as imported things, including American cornflakes and so forth, which some people seem to require.
Large portions, seriously so with the pizza, which is Brooklyn/American style, I guess. Convivial, conversational, good place to drink with good folks on both sides of the bar, especially after about 9PM.
Hiking from Dali to Lijiang Walk for Hearts fundraiser
发布者Correction: above should read "NOTE: Another fundraiser...Kunming, November...", not "Not another fundraiser...", I'm an impatient typist.
Hiking from Dali to Lijiang Walk for Hearts fundraiser
发布者Done. Could have used more participants and contributions, but I think it should be chalked up as a success. Not another fundraiser for this organization scheduled for Kunming in November, I think - believe it will be oriented towards (mostly foreign) live music fans and drinkers.
Divine Prototypes: The natural terraces of Baishuitai
发布者Similar formations in Sichuan at either Huanglang or Huanglong (2 different places, and I can't remember which is which), with the difference that those are not so white, but have some color to them.
Hiking from Dali to Lijiang Walk for Hearts fundraiser
发布者Anybody coming with us should contact Robert Detrano through the links in the article above. We are few and we should be more. Send money anyway.
Sacred forests of the Dai people: Last refuges of biodiversity
发布者Third try right: ok, actually Yi's book is mostly about the people in the hills rather than the Dai, but the whole situation in Banna involves a lot of practices that were ecologically sensible until modern times, and the issue of the rubber plantations is dealt with.