Note: various links or
other references may be mentioned below that no longer apply.
Sorry for the
inconvenience.
Link to: Current
Update
January 10, 2006
(and perhaps a long time after that)
Well, if you have been waiting for an update, I have good news and bad
news. The bad news is that it isn't here--but may be by mid-February. The
good news is that you can find out a lot about our current situation by
looking at all the pages I've updated and changed. I suggest that you
start with Kunming (1), and then keep coming back here to click on the
next button.
To put everything into a sentence: Michael is using the January/February
holiday to work on his writing textbook (and to try to get other things up
to date--like this website), Vivian is being a student, an administrative
assistant, and a wife/mother! Andrew just went to see some volcanoes, and
is looking forward to the "spring" break for our annual JHF conference
(and this year, a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland).
If this page doesn't change much after February, please be patient. By
reading all the pages underlined below, we think you'll understand why
it's so hard to find time to keep everything up to date!
If you are in China and can't get the krigline.com.cn pages to load, I'm
sorry. A friend has been trying for months to deal with official
registration issues, but with only limited success. We'll keep trying.
Thanks for your patience.
Michael, Vivian and Andrew Krigline
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What is new? Take a look at these new or changed pages:
HOME, Kunming (1), Kunming (2), Kunming Christmas, Kunming Apartment,
Current Students, Andrew, Da-Qin Tower, Life in China (1), Life in China
(2), Moving (Ant Damage), Half-the-world Trip, photo index, resources (for
students/teachers), former students (Shanghai), former students (Xi'an),
Beth's wedding, YNUBS (Michael's university), Campus housing, Teng Chong
volcano
If you are new to our website, there's a list of features on the home
page. Also look at our articles index, and FAQ section (Frequently Asked
Questions). There is also a log of old "current updates" on our US-based
website (try the link below).
PS: Uploading our website from China (to both our US and China-based
hosts) continues to be a problem at times, and our e-mail sometimes
doesn't go out or come in. (If you write and don't hear a response, try
sending it again after a few days! If you live in China, the phone is more
reliable than e-mail.) Thanks for your patience & understanding.
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February 1, 2006 (and perhaps a long time after
that)
HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! This is the year 4704 in China.
Since it's been so long since I've really had time to properly update our
"current update" page, I thought I’d better at least start the new year by
posting a short summary of what we are doing these days.
We are enjoying Kunming’s mild weather and clean (or at least cleaner than
Xi’an) air. I had a cough for about two weeks in December, but that was
nothing compared to the months of coughing in Xi’an, followed by two weeks
in the hospital a year ago. We run space heaters in our apartment
continuously, but the daytime temperature outside rarely gets below 10
degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). We also see blue skies on most
days (in Xi'an, we didn't see blue skies most months!).
During the six weeks we get off for the Chinese New Year break, I’ve been
working hard on my forthcoming advanced writing textbook. I’m up to over
470 pages and 23 chapters out of 30. That is good progress, but I could
easily keep working on the book for another year and still find things to
spruce up. I have lots of notes regarding things that should be clearer,
and a colleague will give me similar notes at our upcoming conference in
Hong Kong. Another big remaining task is to secure the permission to use
various quotes that I’ve scattered throughout the text. I learned a few
days ago that I can’t randomly include quotes without the quoted person’s
permission. If I can’t get permission, I’ll have to do a lot of rewriting.
So, I guess I could say there is a faint light at the end of this tunnel,
but it still looks like the end is a long way off.
My family will be in Hong Kong from Feb 1 to Feb 12, mainly to attend a
conference for expatriates working in China, but we will also enjoy a
short holiday. Andrew is looking forward to visiting Disneyland. His best
friend from Xi’an is also coming to the conference, so he’s excited about
the reunion.
Vivian has been busy being a wife and mother, preparing for the holiday
and trip, and taking care of family things. She is also a part-time office
volunteer, helping JHF (the NGO which helped us return to China in 2000,
and which helps pay for Andrew’s expensive school) to set up an office in
Kunming.
I’ll be teaching at Yunnan Normal University Business School again next
term. Photos of my students are among the updated pages listed below. I
also post resources for my students under the resources page.
During the summer we are flying to the US for a rare family reunion. My
sister’s family is also flying in from Turkey. I'm looking forward to
seeing a lot of my cousins and their families as well. It will be the
first time our family has all been together in over a decade. One of the
main reasons for our gathering is to hold a celebration remember the
100-year-lifespan of my grandmother, who passed away in 2005. We’ll be
back in Kunming by the end of August.
Well, that should bring you up to date. Vivian, Andrew and I wish you and
yours a happy Chun Jie (Chinese New Year). We’d love to hear from you when
you can spare a moment—but forgive us if we don’t write back quickly!
Michael for Vivian and Andrew
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March
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April
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May
May 1, 2006 (and perhaps a long time after
that)
HAPPY LABOR DAY (in China)!
Chinese people get two week-long holidays: National Day on October 1 and
Labor Day on May 1. Many of our students have taken the long train trip
home, while others have stayed on campus to study or hang out with
friends.
This morning, Vivian and Andrew tried to go shopping, but ran into the
biggest crowd they had ever seen (they didn't know about the May Day
parade!). Andrew said that after half an hour of being pushed inch-by-inch
through the crowd, a nice, middle-aged Chinese man noticed their
suffering, grabbed his arm, and helped plow a way into a clearer area! It
reminded them of the adventure we shared with a Chinese friend back on
National Day in Shanghai, many years ago.
I missed the fun because I was at home working on this website. After all,
I had posted our previous not-so-current-anymore update in February, so I
felt a little work was in order. I've added photos of our Kunming
Apartment, and done a bit on some of the US state pages, but that is about
all I have time for.
If you have been a part of our lives for the past year, you know that I
blame my lack of time on a writing project. I'm now only a few chapters
from finishing the draft (already close to 600 pages), so I will keep
plowing ahead during my holiday. Once I get the draft finished, then I can
devote the rest of my spare time this term to adding corrections and
writing to people for permission to quote them. I want the whole thing to
be done when we head to the US for a family reunion this summer (you can
read more about it in our archived February update). We'll only be away
for a few weeks, so our time abroad will be busy. But maybe I can also
catch up on all the rest I've put off because of this project!
Other than being pushed around this morning, Vivian and Andrew are fine.
They don't really have anything to report--they stay busy with Chinese
studies and seventh grade work respectively. Below I'll add two photos
from Andrew's birthday party, just to give you more things to look at.
Well, that is all I have time for. We’d love to hear from you when you can
spare a moment—but forgive us if we don’t write back quickly!
Michael for Vivian and Andrew
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June
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July
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September
4, 2006 (and perhaps a long
time after that)
HAPPY LABOR DAY (in America)!
It's pretty sad that I've not done a thing to update this website
between Labor Day in China and Labor Day in America. We were in the US
during the summer, and even now I continue to use whatever spare time I
have to work on my textbook. This month, I will also return to the
classroom, only this time as a student. I want to spend the next year
improving my Chinese language, before returning to the other side of the
teacher's desk next year. Vivian and Andrew are still doing the same
things they've always done. We all stay plenty busy.
That's all I have time for now. When the book is done I'll try to make
this website up to date again. Sorry it has taken so long. If anyone
ever suggests that you write a textbook, laugh and RUN away as fast as
you can.
Michael
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Mid-November 2006
November 23 is Thanksgiving in America. This is America's longest
holiday (four days), and thus it is the one time each year that families
make a special effort to be together, even if it means traveling a long
way. You can read more about this important festival by clicking here:
Thanksgiving.
One holiday tradition is to go from person to person around the table
(after a lunchtime feast), with each person saying what he or she has
been most thankful for this year. You can be sure that my response will
be that I'm thankful about the completion of my textbook, a project that
has kept me preoccupied for about three years. In early November I sent
the files to a publisher who has been waiting for the material for quite
some time. I have not heard back in detail, so I don't know when the
book will be printed nor what revisions might be needed in the meantime,
but I am confident that we have produced a helpful Advanced Writing
resource for Chinese English-learners. I say "we" because I could not
have completed the project without a lot of help from family members,
colleagues and friends.
Now, I can slowly try to get life back to normal, whatever that means. I
neglected this website for many months, so it will take many months to
get everything up to date. As I type, my Microsoft FrontPage software is
not working quite right, and I don't know how the problems will effect
what you see. Therefore, please continue to be patient! I have a lot of
great photos and interesting things to post or change, but it will take
time.
As I said in September, I decided to study Chinese this year instead of
teaching English. I get very frustrated because of how little Chinese I
can read and because I can't understand broadcasts, even though I have
already given two years of my life to studying this difficult language
full time (this will be the third year). Perhaps another year of study
will take me to a higher level. At the very least, it will remind me of
how difficult it is to learn a foreign language--which is something all
teachers should understand.
Vivian stays busy as a wife and mom, and also as a part-time office
volunteer helping the Jian Hua Foundation (Hong Kong) to set up an
office in Kunming. It is a long process with lots of paperwork and lots
of disappointments, but we are confident that a Yunnan office will help
JHF to serve more of China's people more effectively.
Andrew continues to grow in every way. He is now taller than his mother
or sister, and is quickly catching up to me! Eighth grade (at the
Kunming International Academy) has been challenging, but we think this
transition year will help prepare him for serious studies in high
school. Of course, he doesn't work as hard as most Chinese kids! Andrew
finds plenty of time to surf the web and play computer games, which is a
luxury most local kids his age can only dream about. He is also active
in a weekly fellowship meeting for foreign kids, which is helping him
mature in faith. We are proud of him, and look forward to watching him
continue to grow as a teenager.
Beth and Rodney are also doing well--another thing we will mention at
our Thanksgiving feast, even though we can't celebrate together. Beth is
teaching small children once again and her health has improved. Good
things are also happening with her husband's sales job, so they have a
lot to be thankful for too!
Well, I think I've gotten you caught up on the most important things.
Thanks for your patience as I find time to work on this website over the
next few months. Look here ("What is new?" at the bottom of the current
update) for information on what changes.
Giving thanks in China,
Michael for the family
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December
2006
New life, whether a puppy or baby, changes everything around it. The
same is true about the new life at the center of the Christmas season.
I've written a rather long essay on this subject--you can see it at
www.krigline.com.cn/xmas_dog.htm.
In a nutshell, all is well at our house. The new puppy is keeping us
occupied, and she makes it feel like Christmas came early to our home.
The other “early Christmas” was on November 1, when my book (actually,
it turned out to be two books) went to the publisher. However, last week
they wrote back with many suggested changes, so now I have to decide
what to change, or figure out how to convince the publisher to leave
things alone. It has been hard to find time to deal with that because of
all the other things I'm trying to work on. Meanwhile, I don't think I'm
doing a very good job of being a Chinese student (too many
distractions). Vivian and Andrew are busy as ever. Andrew is involved in
a school Christmas presentation this year. We are all looking forward to
our first visit to Thailand, where we will attend a conference in
February.
Our dog is so cute that I'll probably try to put up new photos every
other week. Check it out when you have the time.
We hope you have a great Christmas and a happy new year!
With holiday wishes,
Michael for the family
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