We’ve been focusing so much on the earthquake lately that we thought we’d take a moment in between blogs to have some fun. We had a friend and his family over last night and had a very nice dinner followed by much conversation. My conversation with the husband was centered on the topic of movies and it was quite an adventure in translation. While talking about some of our favorite movies he told me about one he called “Sky Prisoner”, a movie he was convinced was popular …

Friday the 13th
666
The 13th floor of any building (if they even label it the 13th floor)
Lucky number 7
Anything sound familiar? Regardless of your personal feelings towards these numbers, most everybody in America is well aware of their significance. Even if we don’t really believe that the number 13 is unlucky, it just doesn’t feel right working on the 13th floor, does it? If your phone number begins with 666, you’d probably get more than a few comments about it, wouldn’t you? Until recently, I had this …

The siren blared outside today. Horns honked. All cars stopped, business suspended. The normal sounds of peddlers, trash collectors, and street sweepers were gone. The time was 2:28pm and the noise marked one week since the devastating earthquake that rocked the very core of China. We were both in bed reading, enjoying our lunch break, when we experienced China mourning. Any person located anywhere in China heard that same awful wail, a country crying together for 3 minutes, and it’s not something that can …

If you have been watching the new recently you know that on Monday, May 12th during midday here in China a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated areas near Chengdu (which we have previously visited), a city in the south-central part of China. We’ve received quite a few e-mails from friends and family concerned for our safety so we wanted to make sure everybody knew that we are ok.
It is reported at this time that this is the worst earthquake to hit China in the past 3 decades. Over 10,000 …

Hey everybody! We have no big news this week, but still just wanted to let you all know we’re alive. Barely. Ha! Something we ate during our trip to Ghost City didn’t set well with either of us and our bodies have been punishing it for us ever since. Tiff’s body has given her the most beatings – we actually took her to the hospital for a checkup. Here’s the entire conversation we had at this hospital, literally the best in our city (through …

What do you get when you combine two Americans, six Filipinos, a bunch of cameras, camels, dinosaurs, and a big red bus? Answer: quite a party!
Destination: The Ghost City
Location: 100km north of Karamay (about 1 1/2 hours by bus)
This “city”, which is more of a geological park, got its name from the sounds that are made when the frequent winds whistle and howl through various rock formations. This location has been made famous by various movies which have shot scenes here, only one of which you might know …