Chinese Baseball Announcers

“jiao mei dao”
角没到

This is what the Chinese announcers are saying and it translates to “point of view, not arrived.” But, in a baseball context, it means “from our angle, Crawford didn’t get to first base in time.” And I have to agree with them. It’s the top of the 7th and I’m watching Jamie Moyer take us farther into game three than most thought he would. The other thing the announcers are saying is “nu li” which means “great job.” They’re talking about Moyer’s athleticism at the ripe age of 45, diving and tossing the ball to Howard.

We’re winning 4-1, but Navarro follows this play with a double and I’m beginning to wonder if the wheels are coming off, as they have so many times before. But, we get out of the inning and there are two more to hold onto the win.

Here’s a sample of what it’s like to watch the game in China:

By the way, this is Philadelphia Phillies in Chinese: 费城费城人 (feicheng feicheng ren)

Moment of Silence

Sometimes, I go a week or so without posting anything here, mostly because I'm lazy or can't find the time. I had plans to update the blog today, but instead I am taking a voluntary respite to honor Eddie Cavanaugh.

He was a friend of my sister and, most importantly, the father of my nephew. Like all of us, he had difficulties, but he fought them hard over the last two years. In this way, he is commended and remembered as it is the struggle that makes us great.

He will be missed.

Life as an Eagles Fan

Saturday in the Park

Picnic

I went on a picnic last Saturday with my colleagues and students and am getting ready to post some pictures from the day...

Yes, I see the sweat stains on the birds hat and no, my washer is not broken. But this is a special hat. You know those hats that light-up along the borders of the logo? The ones you would never wear around South Philly? Yes, this is one of those hats. My dad threw it in my bag before I left to come back to Shanghai which I originally thought was nice of him. It's got a bunch of circuits on the inside so I can’t wash it. Hence, the line of salt around the Eagles logo.

Second, the picnic was a lot of fun. We grilled chicken wings, corn on the cob and steamed bread. No burgers anywhere in sight. My colleague Laura and I lucked out when we found a small hut selling beers for 75 cents. That's one of the things I love about this place - is there a spot in America where children are around and you can still buy beers there, let alone for less than a dollar a can? Later, it rained for the 15th day in a row and we had to seek shelter in a shack along with some people who were having their wedding pictures taken. But they were pretty cool and we hung out together, waiting for the storm to pass.

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I didn't get to watch the Eagles game last week but, from reading the articles and box score, it looks like the D ran wild. Nice.

Next Monday morning, I should get to watch my first live Eagles game in about a year and it couldn't come at a better time....watching them smoke the Bears in Chicago! It's also the first day of the second biggest holiday here...a week long celebration of the founding of the PRC in 1949.

My second trip into China with a girl named Rachel...

China Trip #4

This Rachel and I met three years ago, while we were in the security line at Midway, heading home for Christmas. She was in Chicago on business, heading home to Providence. Since then, we’ve stayed in touch and I would see her a couple times a year when she visited me and her cousin in Chicago or had business there.

She is coming to visit next week so we're taking a trip. Rachel’s one request was that hiking be involved somehow and my only request was that we not go to the Great Wall. So, we’re taking a trip to the Jiangxi province, which is about as far from Shanghai as Chicago is from Philly.

From Shanghai, we’ll fly to a town called Nanchang, then catch a bus to Lu Shan, were we’ll do some hiking. From Lu Shan it's onto Wuyuan, which is known for its scenery and architecture. The last leg of the trip takes us to Hangzhou and then Shanghai. The best part is we’re going to cover all that ground in about five or six days. Needless to say, I am stoked!