Taken from a radio interveiw with Calgary Flames player Chris Simon:

  "Well, were not as nervous as maybe some of those other guys in the other locker room, we're just gonna go out and Giv'r"

   Spoken like a try Calgarian.  Go out and Giv'r.

Just another blog here, I am writting while listening to the game on internet radio.  It is eight in the morning, there is one other dude here that looks like he has been here all night.  He is practically chain smoking, and playing this "Dungons and Dragons" type game (If your in China you probably know it.)  Instant noodle packages litter the floor along with crushed water bottles and ashes.  The lingering smell of sweat and garbage in the air. Go flames go.

Not much else to say here.  I recently met a really cool Chinese family who housed me when I came to Urumqi without my passport (stupid, because you can't stay anywhere withou it).  It has gotten to the point where when they say "I will sleep out here on the floor, you can have my bed",  you don't even argue because you know they will never have it any other way.  "But really, I am 25 years younger, I fell fine, I can sleep on the floor, it's no problem, Mei Guan xi."  No way!   Well, thank you to them.

I was casually taking to their eldest daughter when I asked her what kind of music she liked.  Usually this is pretty much a retorical question.  You might get a bunch Chinese names "SHE, Jay, Jo jie lun" fallowed by a "...but I really like The Backstreet Boys".  So I was getting ready to answer "No I don't think Justin Timberlake is very cool"  when she mentioned likeing Nick Drake.  She also knew a lot about him.  Cool Chick, cause up until now, I had never met anyone with any good taste in western music.  (Although, some chinese bands they like are pretty good.)  She also digs, The Doors, Led Zepplin and The Beatles.  They also have a crazy 10 year old daughter.

Well, almost got my ticket, looking forward to seeing all of you.  Right now, 2-2 starting the third.

Brown

大家你好，
Spring 春天 Blog,

  大家你好，
 Hello all,

  Well, finally the school have gotten off their lazy asses and opened up again, ready to teach the ever ageing population of China.  And here we are, Pat and I, standing at the door, eager to share our native tongue with the kids. 
   I have set to work re-mapping my whole teaching plan (including dividing classes into "A" and "B", writting and assigning homework, and starting, "class speeches" for the good kids.)  This is no easy task.  To the other teachers who frequent my blog, may they be Wai Lao Shis or Canadian/American teachers, you will understand.  The kids do not study!  They make no effort whatsoever to do anything but get me to leave them alone.  When you teach 12 classes of 45 students each, and more than half of them can't even remember what I taught last week, you get frustrated.  Of course not all the students I teach are like this; there are a lot of good ones too.  

Hello all,

    Well, first to start I want to mention that, for those who don't yet know this, my close friend and fellow musicain, Pat Juurlink is getting married.  I am also good friends with the bride to be, Maggie (of course that is her English name, but it is what we all call her.)   She is a sweet and beautiful girl and I wish them the best.  (Holy crap!)

    Well I have just returned from Beijing on my two day, cross country trek home.  The day I returned was Feb. 5: The lantern festival.  This is the day that everyone in China drops 50 kuai on explosives, gets half drunk on Baijiu, and goes downtown to set them off.  So we had to too.  We got three "Gandolf sticks" (like magic wands that shoot off little mini fireworks), some smaller mini Rambo style, across the chest, magnum bullets, and my favorite:  TNT dynanmite sticks.  (The TNT sticks don't really shoot colorful fireworks per say...they just make big explosins!) The kind you can feel!  We had one idea to rap one of the "TNT sticks" with mini "chain" explosives to try and get the best overall (and loudest) series of explosins. (You know, to scare off evil spirits) I think they were. 

Ryan will remember the lantern festival in Yantai.  This time we set off more of our own.

   Before this I mentioned Thailand and Laos and that is was nice to be back.  Well, it really puts the country into presepective.  A recomendation for a movie choice, that we watched recently on the subject, is called "The last Emporor" which got me thinking about it.  For those of you the frequent "Madmaninchin.com" I haven't yet read Pat's book from the wise old man (he lent it to Rob and Stu).  Oh well.

   Of course I am rambling, I really don't have much else to say.  Hey somebody in Canada!  Have some free time!  Send me an email!  I know I haven't send you many lately but you could send some group emails even if you aren't travelling (just to catch up).  I mean, let's face it, in the world today we are all so far away rapped up in our own lives we don't get to share our stories with each other.  Now with the modern technological invention: Email (Not to mention a blog!) we can. That means you James, Teege, Ryan, Jenny, Garon (get an email address), Graham, all the people of the CCEC, everyone.  See you all in the summer (ummm..I think it will be in, about, say ummm..Almost..August)


See you soon,
Brown

Thailand.  A country for everyone.  A country of service, convieniece and and nice prices.  Tourists.  More than any country I've ever been to.  Lazy on the beach, pina colada and warm sunshine.  Probably the perfect place to go if looking to just sit on the beach and drink cheap beer.  Not so bad, but world away from China (which now feels more like home than anywhere else)

At first I landed in Bangkok and had my way around the city, casually looking at things.  (The palace is nice and so are the many "Wats")  The main street for backpackers is called "Ko San road" and is possibly the one place in the world than can put Vagas to shame.  Sin city.  There you can buy anything from a backpack, tacky t-shirt or pirated CD to a girl for one night or a "she-male" lap dance.  And all of it cheap.

-Just a breif little interuption to mention its 30 degrees on the plus side here-That is the custom of the travelling man I guess.  Sorry, how cold is it in Calgary?

So I decided to head out to an Island for a little "spot of fun".  The island called "Ko Samet" to be specific.   I met a group of English on the bus ride over with similar plans, so we decided to share accomadations.  The shaped up like this:  7 Brits, 1 Canadian drinking whiskey around a small ocean side table on a beach called "White Sand Isle".  Like I said it was tough! 

Everyone,

Well, I had a big long email which I assure you was both informative and witty.  But alas, it was deleted and you must deal with the sad fact that this isall you get to read!  Sorry....

Well I am in Thailand..I am currently talking to a Thai lady learing to sepak chinese at the internet bar, she is teaching me Thai (not much like Chinese though) ....it is good fun.

Laos,

  Well, it is my 7th day in Laos.  Pretty cool place, although not exactly what I expected (never is) and a whole lot unlike China.  Laos, is, small towns and villages, grass huts and farm animals.  It is roosters that sound thier "cockadoodledoo" not just in the morning, but any time they think it is expected (all night).  Actually last night I could hear them, (at least I thought) yelling back at one another, talking to each other, but that's another story.  And Laos is jungle, everywhere, jungle and unlike China, very few people.  It is not polluted to the extent that China is either.

Xi Shuang Banna Hao

First of all I'd like to send my regards to the owner of "Schuckaluck's".  It is a tragady that happend close to home and I hope they catch the boy who did it.  Things like this should not happen in Calgary so close to home or anywhere at all.

So Pat and I spent some time in Kun Ming (Nice city, very many travellers, nice weather) then set off, as you know, to Xi Shaung Ban Na.  In Jing Hong, the capital, we met up with a fellow traveller named, Uri.  A cool dude, who had done a lot of hiking in Laos and Thailand, from Isreal.  The three of us soon set out to see exactly what all the fuss was about.  At first we wanted a guide but as a good one cost 500 kuai for two nights (I can hardly convert that into Canadian dollars anymore-about $90) We thought, fcuk it, we'll go ourselves, between Pat and I we can speak enough Chinese to get by.

So we set out walking down a dirt path from a town call "Da Meng Long" wandering through many minority villages (mostly Dai) and throught the jungle and rice growning district.  One particularily beautiful temple was one we encoutered early in the trip, but witch I cannot discripe to do it any justice. (You'll see the pics)  It was Buddist and active with young buddist monks congragated outside.

As night began to fall we thought we'ed make up some extra time by hitching a ride with a Chinese worker van.  Turned out to be a good idea as soon the dude was welcoming us into his house.  He lived in a small village like the ones seen in old Veitnam war movies and made his home in a suspeded house at the top of the hill.  There his wife cooked for us and gave us a warm bed to sleep on.  How can I describe this and make it sound as good as it was?!  Such a great expreince watching, breathing and feeling a world so far away from your custom.  What a warming feeling to be welcomed and taken care of by someone; to be given so much by someone with so little is humbling. 

We finally made it back, (after so much trecking-the guide book says it should take a very fit person 9 hours, we did it in 71/2-yeah that's right) rested a little and each went out seprate directions.  I am now in Laos, eagerly awating a kayaking trip tommorow.  More from me later.  There begins a whole nother story to tell-(hey this blog is for me, I only let you read it) so if you like, tune in.

Any NEWS from anyone, please tell me.

PS: so far Laos is pretty cool, me, this Japanese dude, and two scotich girls are here.  Strangest thing was being aproached by some mystrious old ladys, smacked out on Opium and selling braclets, (and probably other things too)

Brown

Hello all from Kunming! Pat and I have just arrived and spent the day in the capital of Yun Nan (South of the clouds). What a great place! At first we were goiung to take a train, but the goddam scalper problem in the Urumqi train station is out of control! It was almost cheaper to fly so we flew. Just to give an idea of the feeling of arriving here, we went from a minus -15-20 degree small town to +15-20 degree crazy city. We actually have already been all around the town including the famous Buddist temple which was probably the most beautiful (in my eyes) in China. After this Pat and I take to the Jungle to check out some of the smaller minority villages in Xi Shaung Ba Na. But before that we must take a 22 hour sleeper bus ride throught the mountians. For any one not now in China a sleeper bus is shaped like a regular bus but with small stacks of bed pack in together. Fun!

A few messages, (and a small thank you to Morgan Pendray for giving me the only hit I recieved!) Linda, good job on meeting Stevie Wonder! You should have told him to make a stop in Xin Jiang! Sounds like a blast!
Graham (Stud!) cool pictures dude, looks like your having fun! If you see my little brother first smack him! Second tell him to email more than twice in 4 months and ask him if he's scored! Hey all Down Under!
Teege! Where the hell are you!?
All back in Calgary, that Recipe Party sounds like it must have been sweet (it's already achieved international recognition!) I want to hear more since my new years was spent watching some cheesy firework display, drinking a few glasses of wine and going to bed before 2:00! Lame yes, oh well, next year.

Send me some hits!

Brown