...for those interested in documentaries...i have some recommendations!

Hey Everyone,
Hope all is going well. :) I am going to try to spend the next couple of days trying to catch up...going to try to take advantage of my new found freedom to blog again.

So last Thursday night at the Bookworm, there was a showing of a documentary entitled: The Game of Our Lives. It is about the 1966 N. Korean team that made it to the quarter finals of the FIFA World Cup. For anyone interested in soccer...but more so about N. Korea, I highly recommend it. Call me naive and ignorant...but this past week has made me think alot about perspective. I really don't know much about N. Korea and I should have totally made more of an effort to pay attention to U.S. history to actually learn the stuff rather than repeat it on exams...but anyways...yeah, I dont know much about the Korean War either. However, what I have been exposed to are CNN documentaries on N. Korea and how bad the situation is there. First of all, this documentary is a series of three. Two are out...the one I mentioned above and then there's State of Mind which we watched today. The two I have seen are both rather observatorial documentaries...with settings that take place mostly in the capital. **I'm going to do some self-censorship and try to not write as many controversial names and such...I really don't want to lose my ability to blog** I have to say that at first, I was quite astonished. For someone who's never really learned much about N. Korea's current status...N. Korea, at least the capital, sure didn't look like the documentaries that I saw in the States. Granted, those were "footages snuck out of N. Korea" by people who shouldn't have been filming in the first place. Before I get too political...cause honestly, I really don't know much...the films were enlightening. The second one, State of Mind, is about N. Korea's Mass Games. Besides what these games might imply, they are highly, highly impressive. They say the Mass Games are put on to promote communism ideals...people are to work together as a whole or group rather than individuals. The documentary focuses on 2 girls and their year long training to perform for their leader. The third documentary will be shown to a public audience at the Sun Dance Film Festival in Utah. Hopefully, the Bookworm will have that on for us next year. Two of the people who actually worked on these documentaries came and did a Q & A session. One of the things I found interesting was that N. Korea opened up a market back in 2003...I think. Either 2003 or 2004. It just didn't seem like something you would find there...but it was to be N. Korea's first market. The guy who spoke said that it has actually been quite successful. People go there often. Oh, before I forget to mention, the people who came to talk to us also work for a group called Koryo Tours. They take interested people into N. Korea on sort of organized tour. Sounds interesting, no? A couple of us started talking and it would seem like quite a trip. Unfortunately, Americans aren't allowed to go...at least, not yet. We'll see...they mentioned that there might be a possibility in August. N. Korea is going to host another Mass Games, it's been said, in August of next year. If anyone is interested, the website of the touring company is: www.koryogroup.com

Besides that event, we had our every-other-week-mandatory meeing today with Andrea. Topic of discussion was our plans for Christmas. First, to start off with holidays, Thanksgiving here went well. All of us did some cooking and did sort of a pot luck dinner. We had to buy a turkey from the local Western style resturant, Pete's. Chinese apartments just dont have ovens. Oh, my roommate and I did actually buy a toaster oven. However, it's not big enough for a turkey thats for sure. Actually, most people here dont really know what an oven is. I went to the store to buy a baking pan...which they didnt have. I found this sort of metal dish looking thing that looked as though it could be used to bake in...but I wasnt sure. So, I found an employee and asked her...and all she kept on telling me after I asked her whether or not I could use this pan to bake was: You can't use that in a microwave. So, after talking to my roommate...people here often get microwaves and ovens confused because houses and apartments aren't equipped with baking ovens! So...back to the dinner, it was sort of special for me because I've never really had an American style dinner before. Most of our Thanksgivings is a largely Chinese...we have a turkey...which is usually deep fried *my dad went and bought a frier one year...and thats what we've been doing with our turkeys ever sincce* and then a mix of Chinese dishes. My mom makes this sort of Chinese style potato salad which I really like cause its not very sour like American potato salad is. And there's the special dish we always have....which was my contribution to this year's Thanksgiving dinner: Pig tongue, tofu bean curd, seaweed, and eggs. Usually my mom makes pig ears too...but I really didn't see ears in the store. Plus, I heard they arent cleaned as well as the ones in the States. We also had mashed potatos...the lumpy kind...yum! apple pie, pumpkin pie, that green bean cassarole (sp?), stuffing, etc. So...all in all...it was a great dinner. We watched 2 movies...one was Weatherman...eh...okay movie. The other was a documentary: An Inconvenient Truth. I also recommend this to anyone who is interested in the global warming issue and likes Al Gore.
So...back to Christmas. Andrea has a friend who's in the plum wine making business. So, after talking to him, Andrea has arranged for us to go up into the mountains to take a tour of his plum wine factory. In addition to that, we'll be staying in cabins for 2 nights and visit the hot springs. :) SNOW for Christmas! Well...the 2 days before Christmas. But still! SNOW! I was so jealous to hear that Seattle got snow...and not just a measly amont. Decent snow...oh yeah...and then ice...but still SNOW!!! We are thinking about hosting a inbetween Christmas and New Years cocktail party where we have the SU students join us...but thats still in the planning stages.

I went out and bought March of the Penguins. :) After watching, you just have to love those little creatures! And it was in French too...quite enjoyable. Oh, I have also been watching Korean movies lately...oh and one Japanese animation movie called Grave of the Fireflies. Be forewarned, that movie was really, really sad. It's about these 2 kids a bit during but more after the war between Japan and the U.S.

Let's see...anymore developments...not really. Things have been rather quiet. Same old schedule of classes and such. Oh, I'm happy to say that we are almost done printing our Yangjuan Calendars. For anyone still interested in buying some, we are still selling. I was informed earlier this week that one of my photos made it into this year's calendar. :) Exciting! But, I'm just glad that I could help out.

Chengdu has gotten really cold this past week...sometimes it's hard being here because of some of the conveniences America has...like driers. I wash my clothes and such and then have to dry them out on the porch line. However, because of the cold and wet weather, it takes forever for things to dry. Also...because Chengdu is sort of damp...my clothes always feels a bit cold and damp.

Alright...I think I'll end here tonight. It's already midnight and I still have to shower. Hope everyone is staying warm! Take care.