EVENING AT THE MARKET -- THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29

DUCK CHUNKS, DEEP FRIED ON A TOOTH PICK. YUM YUM.


It is 7:00 pm and we just returned from the open market. Jay is showing this really quite good deep fried duck meat. This is the first place we went when we arrived in Jinan. We arrived on Friday night and when we got up on Saturday morning we went with Shirley Davis to the open market. It was quite an experience for me and went home and I said: "Never again". Today when we went, it didn't seem very far away, in fact it was quite close, and the food didn't seem all that bad. I bought my favorite thing, dried Kiwi. Jay even bought some pork meat. I usually refuse to do it. I consider that bartering to be one of Jays projects, but today I said, "We're in China, why not?" We also bought fresh green beans, a huge cauliflower, chinese celery and some other vegetables, it came to $3. american. Now for all of you that quilt. The stuffing in the quilts is sheep wool


You select the material from the place that makes the quilts. They place the material you selected on the top and on the bottom of the center, sheep wool batting.......

Then they start to quilt. There is no quilting frame just a large table the size of the quilt they are working on.
In the end you pay 55 t0 80 yuan for your finish project, which is between $7 - 12. $70 yuan is $10. american.

18 ORANGE SNACK

JAY FOUND SOME UNIQUE MANDARINS FOR SALE AT THE STREET MARKET. HE BOUGHT A BAG FULL AND PEELED 18. THIS IS THE ONES HE ENJOYED FOR HIS LIGHT LUNCH. HE ATE 18 ORANGES AND THEY WERE SO GOOD. THEY HAVE NO SEEDS, ARE DELICIOUSLY SWEET AND AS YOU CAN SEE, JUST MINI MANDARINS. THERE ARE 18 IN ABOUT 1 1/2 CUPS.

YOU POP ONE IN YOUR MOUTH AND EAT A WHOLE ORANGE WITH EVERY BITE.

DANA MADE THE BREAD AND JAY BAKED IT, IN OUR NEW OVEN, WHILE SHE WAS TEACHING HER CLASS. IT TURNED OUT PERFECT. IT IS SO GOOD.

CHINESE HAMBURGERS. THESE ARE MADE ON THE STREET AND CONSIST OF A SLAB OF SOME KIND OF SPAM LIKE MEAT, A HARD FRIED EGG ( NOT SALT OR PEPPER) AND WARMED VEGETABLES INSIDE SOME CHINESE BREAD . NOT TOO BAD IF YOU LIKE AN EGG AND HAM SANDWICH WITH UNKNOWN WARM VEGETABLES, AND IF YOU CAN BRING YOURSELF TO CALL IT A HAMBURGER.

DANA BOUGHT A NEW HAT AT THE STREET MARKET TONIGHT AS IT IS GETTING COLD ENOUGH TO WEAR ONE. SHE LOVES IT....YOU CAN JUST TELL.

THESE ARE MORE OF THE STREET OFFERINGS FOR SNACKS. WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT MOST OF THEM ARE, AND DARE NOT PARTAKE YET. SOME ARE FISH BALLS, AND OTHERS ARE KINDS OF STUFF LIKE THAT.

WE BOUGHT THIS AND IT WAS SO VERY SWEET AND GOOD. THERE WAS CANTALOPE ON A STICK AND THIS WATERMELON DISPLAY, WHICH WE COULD NOT PASS UP. GREAT FOR THE DIET CONSCIOUS.

A NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM

WE WENT TO THE LOCAL MUSEUM IN JINAN WITH ABOUT 30 STUDENTS FROM SHANDONG UNIVERSITY ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT AS A MOVING ENGLISH CORNER...

ON SATURDAY AT 2:00 PM, OUR ENGLISH STUDENTS WANTED TO TAKE US TO THE LOCAL CITY MUSEUM. WE WALKED THERE FROM SOUTH CAMPUS. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE AND A FUN TIME FOR ALL. WE WERE THERE LESS THAN 2 HOURS. ART, WATER COLORS, PAINTINGS, DINOSAUR BONES AND OLD RELICS FROM THE PAST WERE PRESENTED IN CHINESE STYLE. DANA AND I ENJOYED ALL OF THE ENGLISH CONVERSATIONS ALONG THE WAY AND JAY PLAYED "OH SUZANNA" ON HIS HARMONICA INSIDE AN EMPTY ROOM, A LARGE ECHO CHAMBER TYPE ROOM IN THE TOP FLOOR OF THE MUSEUM. THE STUDENTS LOVED IT.

THIS WATERCOLOR WHICH I SNAPPED A SHOT OF, IS NOW ONE OF MY FAVORITE SCREEN SAVERS.

A LARGE PHOTO OF THE GREAT WALL WAS A CHANCE TO PHOTOGRAPH THE GREAT WALL WITHOUT EVEN GOING THERE...

WHERE DINOSAURS WERE FOUND AND WHICH KINDS...

LOST -- 21 POUNDS

LOST 21 POUNDS.

HAS ANYONE SEEN 21 POUNDS,
LOST IN JINAN, CHINA
SOMETIME BETWEEN SEPTEMBER 18
AND OCTOBER 25?
IF SEEN DO NOT RETURN.
THEY SHOULD STAY LOST!

BEEN DOING A LOT OF WALKING IN CHINA. EVERYBODY TO THE "CHINA WALK"!

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IN CHINA THE NUMBER 8 IS LUCKY...BUT 21 IS BETTER.

LET'S HAVE A BIG, LUCKY SMILE.

CHINESE BIG GAME HUNT

TROPHY BUCK, MOUNTED ON THE WAITING ROOM WALL OF THE BARBERSHOP. THIS ONE WAS A BIG ONE. LOOK AT THE HORNS, LOOK AT ALL THOSE POINTS. MUST HAVE TAKEN A PRETTY BIG GUN TO BAG THIS BABY.

THIS POST IS FOR ALL THE GRANDKIDS, AND BECAUSE ZAK ALWAYS WANTS TO SEE THE BLOG FIRST THING EACH DAY.....

ZACKY, THIS ONE'S FOR YOU!

THIS GRAND TROPHY COULD BE THE ELUSIVE, PRIZED, PINK NOSED, CHINESE ANTELOPE.

POP POP NEEDS A HAIRCUT AND SAW THIS TROPHY CHINESE BUCK PROMINENTLY MOUNTED ON THE WALL.

LOOK AT THAT.

IT'S A TROPHY.

MAYBE IT COULD BE A CHINESE TROPHY GOAT AS I AM REALLY NOT SURE...

WHAT DO YOU THINK IT IS? PLEASE COMMENT.

FIRST HAIR CUT IN CHINA

LOOK MY GRAY HAIR IS GROWING.
IT IS CLEARLY TOO LONG.

DANA AND I WENT ON A LONG WALK TO GET A HAIRCUT.

ON OUR WAY TO GET OUR FIRST HAIR CUTS IN CHINA, WE SAW MANY INTERESTING THINGS BECAUSE WE WALKED ABOUT HALF A MILE TO FIND A BARBER SHOP WHICH DANA HAD SEEN AS WE PASSED BY. IT WAS A GOOD, BUT EXPENSIVE PLACE AS IT COST 25. YUAN, WICH IS JUST A LITTLE OVER $3.00. DANA GOT HER HAIR CUT ALSO.

ON SHANDONG CAMPUS WE CAN APPARENTLY GET A HAIRCUT AT THE STUDENT PRICE OF 5. YUAN WHICH IS APPROXIMATELY $.70 CENTS. SO WE WILL GO THERE NEXT TIME. THIS WAS A BEAUTY PARLOR!

ON OUR WALK TO THE BARBER SHOP, WE STOPPED BY AND SAW DANA'S ENGLISH CLASSROOM. IT IS QUITE NICE.

WE PASSED AN OLD COMPRESSOR RUNNING LIKE A TROJAN HORSE, STEAMING AND SMOKING AS IT WAS BEING USED BY A ROAD CREW TO BREAK CONCRETE AND DIG A HOLE IN THE STREET. IT WAS QUITE A CONTRAPTION.

WE SAW SOME UNIQUE LOOKING, BUT FRESH MUSHROOMS AT THE OUTDOOR MARKET. WE HAVE EATEN SOME OF THESE AND THEY ARE VERY BLAND.

ON THE OTHER HAND IS FRESH GINGER. WE HAVE EATEN THIS AS A VEGETABLE ON TOP OF RICE, AND IT IS VERY SPICY HOT. THEY PLEASE, SLICE, COOK AND EAT THIS AS A VEGETABLE!

THE GAS STATION IS ALWAYS INTERESTING TO SEE CARS COMPETING FOR SPACE TO FILL THEIR TANKS. A LINE IS NOT THE NORM. THE PRICE OF GAS LISTED HER IS FOR ONE LITER. 6.10 YUAN IS JUST UNDER ONE DOLLAR PER LITER. APPROXIMATELY 4 LITERS PER GALLON, SO LESS THAN $4.00 DOLLARS PER GALLON.

WE SAW BLOCKS OF TOFU OR AS THEY CALL IT HERE, TOFO. WERE FOR SALE.

CHICKENS FOR SALE AT THE OPEN MARKET. THEY ARE KIND OF SKINNY, AND WHEN YOU BUY THEM, IT INCLUDES THE ENTIRE CHICKEN...

WE SAW THIS WOMAN MENDING CLOTHES FOR PEOPLE AT THE OPEN MARKET PLACE. SHE HAS A MEANINFUL BUSINESS WITH THIS FASHIONABLE SEWING MACHINE.

ON OUR WALK WE BUMPED INTO THIS MAN WITH A "Y" ON HIS HAT, SO WE STOPPED AND COMPARED MY SHIRT (BYU) TO HIS HAT AND HE WAS REALLY EXCITED. APPARENTLY HE WAS GIVEN THE HAT SEVERAL YEARS AGO BY ONE OF US. HE AND HIS WIFE WERE ALSO ON A WALK.

DANA FOUND THE HANDICAPPED RAMP. IT SEEMED LIKE IS WAS A LITTLE STEEP!

GOT MY FIRST HAIR CUT. HE WAS REALLY GOOD AT HIS JOB AND I LOOK GOOD.

I REALLY NEEDED ONE RIGHT?