Month: May 2009

  • Pain in the Wrist

    My earlier bout with tenosynovitis had cooled off several months, but had announced its return soon after my arrival in Wuhan.  After a month of tolerating it, I decided it was time to seek medical help. Secretly I hoped Chinese physicians might have some alternative approaches of coping with the malady — which I believe, […]

  • Acts of Violence

    Act 1.  Returning from lunch at the student cafeteria yesterday, a guy stopped my on the stairs and asked, very politely, if he could talk with me.  Nothing unusual in that; it’s nearly a daily occurrence, as students of English want to show off their skills. I’ll call this guy Frank — because he was. […]

  • Net Bar

    Having ones own computer is a luxury among Hubei University students.  There are a few scattered around in the library and dormitories for general use; old PCs with slow network connections.  But if you’re out for some serious surfing, the ubiquitous net bars are the place to be. That these establishments run all night, I […]

  • Proletarian Sensitivities

    The premise behind my being in Wuhan is simple and sound.  My earlier sojourn was in Hangzhou — a town which I really come to like.  But it is clearly not your typical Chinese city, nor is Zhejiang University your typical Chinese university.  Both are among the elite in their class.  If am I to […]