yeti speak…

  • back to school

    Language classes start next week (maybe?)  (In my nostaligia, I wish we were in a typical  western class with lots of textbooks like these, but the reality is that we usually have only one or two books and we spend most of our time talking.)  We typically don’t get our schedule until the day before…

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  • adolf’s pizzeria

    Talk about bad ideas for your restaurant theme…  Next time this guy should actually read up on the historical figure he is naming his restaurant after.

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  • Happy Anniversary China!

    OK, so it’s not China’s anniversary, it’s OUR anniversary (the Johnson family’s) –our FIRST year living in China.  On August 22nd of last year we arrived here in China (Xining). (I am pretty sure that’s when our plane touched down at least, but my records are a little fuzzy around that time.)  The 22nd is…

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  • The end of an era in Seattle

    It was bound to happen, but still it’s hard to believe… The Seattle Mariners traded Jamie Moyer today. I think he was the second to last remaining player (Ichiro being the last) from the spectacular 2001 Mariner team that won 116 games.  I have to say I’m a little sad to see him go even…

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  • watch out, we spit!

    You know that old saying, "When in Rome…"  You don’t even need to finish the proverb (i.e. …do as the Romans do [paraphrased]) to know what it means.  "When in Rome" means adapting to the cultural norms in the environment that you are in.  Living cross-culturally here in Xining, our family has attempted to do…

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  • read this book (with caution)

    I don’t make book recommendations very often…(OK, I make them all the time) but this one is a definite must-read.  I just finished Shane Claiborne’s Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical and it really left a profound impression upon my soul. I don’t want to build it up too much, but this book made…

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  • another good use for a yeti

    Today’s Dilbert made me laugh.  If you’ve worked in a cubicle before you can probably relate… This yeti has.

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  • Today was a good day.  We (the Johnson family accompanied by our guests, Christa’s parents) went to the largest lake in China–the Qinghai Lake.  It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from Xining.  According to wikipedia.com the lake is the largest (drainless) lake in China at 2,278 miles² and is located 10,515 feet above sea level…

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  • something really weird…

    While riding in a taxi-cab in Xining today I thought of a very odd thing.  You won’t believe this strange revelation.  OK, here goes:  Nothing in Xining has seemed overly WEIRD lately. That’s right.  No chicken-feet eating commuters.  No Chrysler LeBaron driving Xining natives.  No Joe-Pesci-like Tibetans inviting me to eat breakfast with them. It’s…

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  • the marginalized we don’t know

    Do you ever get the sense that God is trying to tell you something?  Perhaps there is a common theme in the stories you are hearing or the books you are reading.  Perhaps you can see your life moving in a certain direction and you suddenly take notice.  Perhaps in quiet moments your thoughts revolve…

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