Like an animal past its prime
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
One good reason to consider a Xinjiang university
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
Would Shihezi University have a language department for exchange students? Tongue in cheek, but you should really consider Xinjiang universities when you consider a study exchange in China. Why? Because its universities employ the best professors that China has to … Continue reading
Roast coffee in Ürümqi
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
Hualing is Ürümqi’s largest international trade plaza. It’s a beehive of activity, everything is on sale. There are always Russians, Kazakhs, Pakistani, people from every corner of the Caucasus and Central Asia, all of them small entrepreneurs, buying and selling … Continue reading
One-child pension plans
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
I’ll provide you with an example, to support my recent reflections. So I publish an article I recently wrote to accompany a job application. It’s an adaptation of an earlier blog posting from my hand. Notice how some of the … Continue reading
What I learned from reading my own writing
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
Migrating my blog proved useful in more ways than one. It gave me an excuse to re-read all the articles I have ever posted to it. I realise now that I should have done that a long time. The style, … Continue reading
On secular funeral services
Image taken from the Wikimedia Commons
When I visited a secular funeral service not so long ago, I realised just how poorly secular societies, humanists, have been able to provide a context for life and death, for the big questions in life. The function, the venue, … Continue reading
Hard to be a farmer in Yengisar
© 2009 马猴尔. All rights reserved.
“Hard to be a farmer in Yengisar” are words from Just a plain farmer, by Hakim Siyit. It’s a fascinating story, that of Hakim Siyit, Uyghur farmer from Yengisar, a place near Kashgar. I visited it in 2007. Wronged by … Continue reading
The two faces of Santa Muerte
Statue of Santa Muerte; picture taken from the Wikimedia Commons
Santa Muerte – the Grim Reaper, the Holy Death – I’d heard of him, off course. Those of my own faith call him the Devil. But not until a week ago did I know him as an object of devotion. … Continue reading