Hanging out in Hangzhou

Day 18: Post 2-Recent Discoveries

1) Mastercard is not universally accepted. Worldwide - my butt. I can't
even buy a cell phone at China Mobile with the credit card. Cash is king
here.

2) Cingular. I love thee. But - you are really putting a crimp in my day
to day activities. You PROMISED me to send the unlock code a week ago. You
CHARGED me about $100 for tech support since I am calling from China. I am
starting to become angry.

3) China beer is poor quality. The whopping 2.3% alcohol content is low
enough that Diet Coke has more. I admit, though, their liquors are HARD.
Most of them come in 1.5 gallon jugs of 50% liquor for 20 Y (3 bucks).
OUCH. They don't taste the best, but they don't mess around. BTW - those
of you that know me well, know that I love the taste of beer. I miss you
Colorado brewers!

4) Internet service is good, but the big red firewall blocks many sites.
I'll go more into this much later when I have more details. But, suffice it
to say - I can not read this blog easily. In fact, if I mention things
repeatedly or make a mistake - please email me. I can not check on this
every day without dealing with getting around the firewall.

5) I do a lot of reading when I don't have the pressure of homework on me.
I've finished "Benjamin Franklin: An American Life" by Walter Isaacson and
am part way through "The Singularity" by Kurtzweil. I will finish that one
and probably another by the end of the summer

6) My Chinese is getting better. I'm working hard on it, but it is getting
much better. I just need to get out more and work with someone one on one.

posted by Mike @ 7:14 PM