Dec 25, 2008 It's Christmas Again? Firstly I received close to 100 telephone text messages. As fast as I kept emptying the messages, the phone would fill up again. I really don't know how many there were. I just know that the final time that I emptied the phone, I had 35 messages sitting there. I replied to all messages with a polite: Thank you! Same to You! Happy Channukah!
Nov 15, 2008 Latin Dancing in China Do you know how to Samba? You do? Well you know how you have to bend the knees and at the same time push your bum down so that you do a pelvic thrust – yeah? Well I gave my teacher two options. I could bend my knees or do a pelvic thrust, but not both at the same time.
Nov 3, 2008 Tribulations of Finding a Job in China When 'J' finally masters English Grammar, he is going to make a wonderful 'Romance' writer in the 19th Century style. Quote: "But dignity is something that could only be graced by yourself and thus be enriched by others. If you ceased to protect it or to feel the existence of it, what you've lost will be far more that you'll get".
Oct 5, 2008 2008 China National Holiday Trip I am not a serious person, I am a serious teacher. I take my job seriously and do my best to improve their abilities. Unfortunately that is not always possible. Take for instance my duties over the last 23 days. Let me just show you what happened.
Oct 3, 2008 A City Wedding in China If you think that 800 guests is a lot to accommodate, then let me just point out that this establishment was holding 3 wedding receptions that night. If you look carefully at the following photograph, you can see the three archways under which each couple stood; greeting guests upon their arrival.
Sep 20, 2008 Mt. Tai - Taishan in Shandong Mt. Tai rises from about 150 m above sea level (north of Tai'an City), to the Middle Gate to Heaven at 847 m, to the Southern Gate to Heaven at 1,460 m, and finally to the Jade Emperor Peak at 1,545 m.
Sep 18, 2008 No Place Like Home - Queensland. There are only 11 photographs in this article, and all were taken at either Rainbow Beach or Tin Can Bay; the former lies on the surf side whilst the latter lies in the inlet. Both areas are Eco-managed for the protection of various species of wildlife.
Sep 7, 2008 Snakes Alive! They definitely are not my cup of tea! And nor are sharks - with which I am well acquainted!
Sep 6, 2008 Nightmare Trip to China I felt like screaming - '#%$^' You! Maybe Qantas should organise their booking schedules better!'
Jun 13, 2008 Turning Chinese The other week I was telling students about an outing I had and they asked me if I had gone there with my girlfriend. "No!" I replied: "With my boyfriend!" I nearly died when I realised what I had said.
May 15, 2008 The Adventures of Captain Sandy Stewart. In 2005, Captain Sandy Stewart was diagnosed with 'altzheimers disease' and since then he has been doing his best to see as much of the world as possible. His Wife Elaine encouraged Captain Sandy to write down his experiences so that he can relive them after the actual memories have faded.
May 10, 2008 Zhongshan Mountain National Park Nanjing There is not a lot you can write about a visit to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Mausoleum. It is after all, just a place where a dead guy lives, and where living people die trying to climb all those steps. But it is a phenomenal place and the views are to die for! (Sorry! I can't help myself!
May 4, 2008 Chiang Kaishek's Presidential Palace Nanjing Leaving the building housing Chiang Kaishek's offices, we walked along this walkway. There were a couple of workman working on the roof of it, and one was a very young man who figured that this foreigner would not understand his Chinese.
April 26th 2008 Confucius Temple Nanjing The Confucius Temple is located right on the walking street opposite the river, and it is not all that imposing when you first look at it.
Apr 22, 2008 Taiping Heavenly King - Hong Xiuquan One such building or series of buildings was occupied by a 'self proclaimed' Emperor of China, Hong Xiuquan who instigated the Taiping Rebellion - 1851 to 1864 in China.
Apr 19, 2008 Visiting the Ming Tombs Nanjing 2008 One must remember that the Ming Dynasty came to an end 3-4 centuries ago, and so the tomb area is not the pristine tourist spot that a tourist might expect to see in Beijing. For instance there is the Xiaoling Hall which in the past was destroyed and later rebuilt, but on a less grand scale.
Apr 17, 2008 Cathedral of the Assumption Ningbo City China In June of 1995 talks about rebuilding were under way, and the work began in 1997. In June of 2000 the church was in use once more, and the new building, including rectory and an underground parking lot, totaled 9800 square meters.
Feb 7, 2008 Persecution of Christians in China? I find it amazing that people get all worked up about China's persecution of Christians, whilst Christianity is being suppressed at every turn by secular political activists in the West. .....Would to God that the political activists in the west were so effective in persecuting Christians there.
Feb 3, 2008 China's Heaviest Snow in 50 years "Get real!" I replied: "How many times have you phoned me this week and woken me up from my slumber? I ain't goin' nowhere!" I did of course go out to take some photos of the school. Were it not that this frail 'sunny weather' body simply refuses to obey my mind, I would go and take some photos of Han Shan Temple which was looking wonderful as I went past it on the bus to the supermarket the other day.
Jan 17, 2008 'Walkabout' in SuZhou We followed the bus drivers suggestion and found ourselves walking through a very beautiful but desolate area which took us forthwith to Jin Ji lake, but we arrived at a point reasonably removed from public use.
R.P.BenDedek is from Brisbane Australia and is the author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran' at http://www.kingscalendar.com His academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
He writes photographic 'Stories from China' and social editorial commentaries, both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing newspaper columnist. He currently teaches Conversational English in China and in addition to his English Lessons at KingsCalendar, he has created specific sites for Students of English.
