2006 Archive

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I've stopped updating this website, though it's pages will remain for a while. See "current update" for details.

Visit instead: wp.krigline.com and EFLsuccess.com

Sister-pages:   Home Up 2013 Archive 2012 Archive 2011 Archive 2010 Archive 2009 Archive 2008 Archive 2007 Archive 2006 Archive 2005 Archive 2004 Archive 2003 Archive 2002 Archive 2001 Archive 2000 Archive

(▲ Links to the pages at the same level as this page. If you can't see the label, put your mouse over a button and look at the bottom of your browser.)

Jan 2006

Feb 2006

Mar 2006

Apr 2006

May 2006 Jun 2006

Jul/Aug 2006

Sep 2006

Nov 2006

Dec 2006

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        (back to top) 

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April     (back to top) 

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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         (back to top)  

 

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July           (back to top)  

 

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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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