The Year of the Dragon!

No culture in the world does fireworks like the Chinese!

When we moved to Changsha, the first thing my wife and I noticed was the sounds of fireworks going off at all hours of the day and night. I asked one of my students, "why do people shoot off so many fireworks?" He answered, "This is Hunan Province." Until our first Chinese New Year's celebration, I really didn't know what he meant.

Unlike the United States, where the most you can buy is a maybe some bottle rockets or roman candles, in Changsha, on every street corner, it's possible to purchase a professional aerial display for less than 10 dollars. Indeed, a friend of mine and I bought a single 75 pound display. The gunpowder packed in this one box could blow off an arm or a leg...


The following 30 second video was taken from our apartment balcony:

This exploding celebration went on for more than an hour.
Over 1,000,000 exploding fireworks! Truly Unbelievable!

Possible definition of the word COLD [kohld]?

Wintry weather view from Peter's living room window in Mayville, North Dakota (January 2010).

Snow Rainbow in North Dakota

Short video of a snow rainbow with blowing winter winds 
on I-29 between Grand Forks and Fargo, North Dakota (January 2010).

The Music of Nature?

"And this, our life, exempt from public haunt, finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones and good in everything." 
~ William Shakespeare


Photo & Video by Peter Rimar.
Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You (Paperback)

Furthermore...
"We thought cars would fly before women dunked."
~ Candice Wiggins
Minnesota Lynx
ESPN Magazine

Celebrating "It Only Happens Every 100 Years" Palindrome Day!

11-11-11

Venezia Shop Window, Venice, Italy (Spring 2002).

What will future historians write about this day?
Will the flooding in Bangkok and the recent earthquakes in Turkey be remembered? Will Google and Facebook still be around? Indeed, what will the world look like in another 100 years?

...Americana...

Video recorded by Peter Rimar of Demolition Derby, Hatton, North Dakota (July 4th, 2010).

Homeless in China?

It happened.

For six hours, my wife and I were homeless in China .

In September 2008, I accepted a teaching positive at a university in the city of Changsha. So, after giving our landlord the keys to our apartment in Shenzhen, we boarded a train and headed northwest to the capital of Hunan Province.

The moment we arrived, I knew we were in deep, deep, deep trouble...




First, our sponsor told us their may be a slight problem getting our work visa paperwork processed (i.e. green card). However, I could teach until they figured out what to do (i.e. against Chinese Law).

I said,
"O.K"
"No problem."
"Tomorrow's a new day."
"Let's go see the campus and the apartment."

To make a long story short, when our sponsor showed us the apartment, my wife nearly died. It was bad. Let's put it this way, compared to this University apartment, my tents in Mogadishu and Baghdad were the Hilton.

Basically, this alcoholic BRIT had lived in this apartment for over a year and had never cleaned it. Heck, according to my sponsor, he barely made it to class. Anyhow, after dragging my wife around China, there wasn't a prayers chance in hell we'd live in that apartment.

So, we said our goodbyes and walked away from the school...

At that moment, as we were trying to wave down a taxi, we were indeed homeless.

Plan B

Before leaving Shenzhen, I had received an offer from another school in another city. After more than a dozen phone calls, we decided to board another train and head north.

Anybody that knows anything about traveling in China, it's nearly impossible to get train tickets on the same day you want to travel.

Fast Forward
So, after standing in line for 3 hours with five thousand other people wanting to leave Changsha, I finally made it to the ticket window:

"Mayo." (the Chinese word for NO)
 Blah. Blah. Blah.
 "Mayo."
 OMFG!
 "Mayo!"

At that moment, ALL the train tickets out of Changsha were sold out for the next ten days. Getting back on the phone with a different head hunter in Shanghai, she says to me, "there's a high school in Changsha that has an opening."

"You're telling me there's a school in this city? The city I'm standing in right now? Making twice the money for half the hours?" "In Changsha?"
"This city?"

"Yes."
 "Have the school pick us up right now!"
I know it sounds crazy, but by allowing ourselves to become homeless, I ended up teaching at one of the top ten high schools in China.

By allowing ourselves to become homeless,
we received our Green Cards and a nice apartment.
And yes, making twice the money working half the hours.

True Story.

...perspective...

Short video of Electric Powered Double-Decker Buses, Hong Kong, S.A.R. (July 2009).
Photo of student produced motivational blackboard in Peter's classroom (February 2009).

3.5% Unemployment in North Dakota?

Over the last year, one of the few bright spots in the U.S. economy has been the ongoing Oil Rush in North Dakota. Before you load up the family van and head north, please be aware, the winters in this state are extremely ka-ka-ka-COLD. Also, there's a housing shortage in the western half of the state. It's a good idea to pack baby wipes, a sleeping bag and a tent for the trip:
Read More...
Read More...


Short video from the Aneta Turkey Barbeque Parade, North Dakota. 
Recorded by Peter Rimar (June 2010).
Silent Towns on the Prairie : North Dakota's Disappearing Towns and Farms (Paperback)

Speaking of new jobs in North Dakota...
Strippers earning up to $2,000 a night
in North Dakota town thriving amid 
oil boom
by Larry McShane (NY Daily News)

"A pair of strip clubs in Williston, N.D., are drawing exotic dancers who can earn up to $2,000 a night thanks to the influx of well-paid oil workers in the remote region, CNN Money reported."
Read More...

Possible Definitions of Globalization?

A Collage of Posters for Sale on a Fence

July 2009

Jakarta, Indonesia

Street Music

July 2009

Jakarta, Indonesia

Photo & Video by Peter Rimar
A History of Modern Indonesia (Paperback) 
(See all 20th Century World History Books)

Today is a New Day?

Short video of morning sunrise, Las Cruces, New Mexico (September 2009).