redhot is everywhere these days...

Hey all! I'm copying over the post I made a few days ago on the blog I keep as part of my funding requirements! I'll double-post on this blog and the other from now on (and hopefully future posts will incorporate video though that's hard on this connection). Here goes...


So I'm finally making my first post from actually inside China. A number of barriers have stood in the way of this post, including the overwhelming first week of classes, an inability to directly access blogger.com, and a slow on-campus internet connection. Fortunately, I made it through the first week without dying, am currently using the Yale proxy server, and am now in an internet cafe/restaurant where I and a few other DSIC students have been camping for quite a few hours doing things that benefit from a far superior internet connection, including transferring actual photos:


So the first week was crazy, sometimes very unpleasantly so, but I think now that I sort of know what's going on and how much time the academics are going to take, this next week will be much easier to manage. I never claimed to be the greatest Mandarin student around, but I'm definitely going to be a dramatically better one by the time I leave mid-August. I just need to stop thinking about each word individually as I hear it and start hearing the language. The oral component just isn't an area of giftedness for me, but what better place to force myself to get better at it than right here in Beijing?

It's hard to summarize the past week in the limited time I have right here... Beijing is a fascinating city... It's both stunning and repulsive at the same time. Parts look like Times Square, and it's not uncommon to have literally 10 or more full-size construction cranes in sight at once. But you only have to look at something about 10 meters away to realize you're walking in an endless cloud of smog, and sometimes at night the skyline fades out behind the smog long before it can disappear below the horizon.


It's very nice to have air conditioning (a luxury not enjoyed by the local students at the university), but the plumbing has been somewhat undependable and the internet connection is a major blow to someone like me who needs to be well-wired for a number of reasons this summer. DSIC is obviously by far my major time commitment for the summer, but I also need the web for some other Yale-related obligations this summer. I think we'll be visiting this newfound wireless restaurant on a weekly basis.

In other news, I and a few other Yalies went and saw the Whiffenpoofs perform at a very nice hotel last night. It was a fantastic way to spend the evening, topped off by an invitation to join the group as they performed at a private party for some number of ambassadors to China from various countries. It's amazing to see how many Yalies are in Beijing for one reason or another, for study, work, play, whatever.

That only reinforces the sense I sometimes have that I'm not even out of the states. All I have to do is look for billboards in characters to confirm I'm still across the Pacific, but many parts of the scenery are right out of my neighborhood in Dallas. I even shop at Wumart, which is a great convenience with it's every day low prices:


Speaking of prices, I don't mind getting a full meal for about $1 USD.


The food hasn't caused me trouble yet, and I'm hoping to keep it that way, fingers crossed.

I was going to post some video on youtube and link it to the blog, but I guess that will have to wait for a later post. We may yet find a way to improve the internet situation on campus, but until then video and photo transfers are pretty impractical.

Juggling,
jon

I'm going to....

ISTANBUL!

That's right, I've found a new use for this crazy grant after my Beirut newspaper job fell through. After weeks of emailing friends of friends of so-and-so who knows so-and-so who has a friend who works in journalism in the Middle East, I emailed one Editor-in-Chief directly and got a dream job: an internship at the Turkish Daily News! Seems random, I know. But also AMAZING. Look at this city...

http://www.bitrot.de/city_istanbul.html

I heard only a few days ago, but I'm leaving THIS SUNDAY for TURKEY. What??!?! TURKEY? This is so surreal, especially after a semester of Lebanon planning. But I'm incredibly excited, and I don't regret cancelling my trip to Beirut. There were more bombings after I made my decision, the threat hasn't totally subsided, and fighting continues in the north - and now south - of the country as well. If I were a hardcore freelancer in my 20s seeking a life in mortal peril, maybe I'd still go. But as you know, I'm not quite that type...

Well, I can't exactly practice Arabic or French in Istanbul, but I'm having my first Turkish lesson tomorrow so that I can at least pronounce the names of my coworkers. (There are a few crazy accent marks to figure out...) In many other ways, Istanbul is a logical replacement for Beirut -- they are both cosmopolitan cities that have been cultural crossroads, East-meets-West sorts of places throughout history. The Turkish Daily News is the major English-language daily in the country, known for its aggressive reported on controversial issues like the Armenian genocide. The whole staff is Turkish...except the Editor-In-Chief, who is from San Francisco! Random...

I'm particularly excited to be in Turkey for the parliamentary elections on July 22. They're a big deal this year and were rushed up from the original date in fall, in hopes of averting increased political tension. In a nutshell, Turkey has had a secular government since independence, which has set it apart from much of the Middle East. But recently there has been more of an Islamist influence on Turkish politics, and many Turks feel the country's historical secularism is under attack. These elections should be somewhat of an assessment of that growing Islamist movement. So as long as there isn't a military coup as some fear, it should be a fascinating time to be there. (I mean, I guess a coup would be interesting in its own way as well...)

Meanwhile, Hayley is staying at my house while she starts a class at UC Berkeley! It's great -- it's like Spring Tour 2.0 on a more manageable scale. (Of course, I loved having all of you here too, as did my mom. She talks about you all the time. In a good way.) It's been a lot of fun hearing about Hayley's Malian adventures and catching up in general, although I fear our staying up late has probably made her early morning physics class somewhat less tolerable. Drew, Hayley and I shared some real Mexican food (yay California) a few nights ago, and hopefully we'll manage a RHB reunion with Matt Gabb and Chris Mathias soon -- both are at Stanford right now!

Alright, typical, typical...I wrote a novel. I'll stop here and post next from Istanbul (!). Justin, I want you to know that Istanbul is known for its cuisine - exquisite kebabs, apple tea, fresh fish, wonderful salads...

Missing you,

Katharine

Weird Stuff

http://redhotblue.blogspot.com/
http://meyerhoff.goucher.edu/rhb/

There apparently is a group at Goucher, which is co-ed and called Red Hot Blue. They abbreviated to RHB. Weird.

Title of weblog

First of all, the name of the group is "Redhot & Blue," not "Redhot and Blue."

But more importantly, I really think this blog should be called "Redhot & Blog."

You're all so influential....

Ok ok....so I changed my name. I got scared that maybe we were supposed to represent ourselves more accurately and then I started thinking about all the studies I've been doing over the last couple of weeks about people who project different identities though the Internet and I realized that I needed to come clean. Not much else going on with me since yesterday. I clipped my fingernails last night (I stopped biting them at the beginning of the summer and now they're soooo pretty!). And took care of 4 screaming children ages 6 and under. Good stuff.

robbie, learn to spell

Also, Robbie, "Rush Mangers"? Really now. (see below)

:)

It's June and I'm doing homework...

but it's actually not as bad as I expected. I'm in New Haven, taking courses all summer, and it's quite different to be doing astronomy problem sets in beautiful (ok muggy and kind of overpoweringly hot) weather without any other responsibilities than it is to be doing problem sets in October while thinking about a million other things.

I'm also moved in (pretty much) to my new apartment! The only thing is the ceiling's caved in, so our living room is a bit of a mess right now. Plaster/paint on the floor, gaping holes, etc. But once that's fixed we'll be all set... :) Truly, though, it's so nice to have space to myself that's not in a dorm -- feels so different. It's lovely.

In other news I am in serious singing withdrawal, and by singing withdrawal I mean redhot withdrawal. I keep finding myself singing shoe parts but somehow it's just not as satisfying when I'm in a big empty apartment by myself. Or in the shower. Either way. Retreat could not come soon enough.

Also, I just went home on Sunday to see Wilco play and it was SO GOOD I repeat SO GOOD. I'd seen them last year at home as well but this year's set was even better. Great to be home for a day -- I played with my dog and sat outside reading.

I suppose I'd better return to outlining this paper on obscure modern poetry. Eh. More soon!

-E.

J. Lo Reporting from Singapore

So, I think this just about sums up my love for Singapore. It's just one foodgasm after the next. My new favorite dish is popiah (poh-pee-yah) - it's a Southeast Asian take on the popular fajita. You can find it at most any of the local Hawkers (food centres). Wrapped in a thin wheat pancake, the best popiahs have a sweet chili sauce and some hoisin - usually filled with jicama (the "j" is silent), beansprouts, chopped nuts, and bits of egg. Just a tad sweet and nutty with a little bit of spice and saltiness for added kicks......Mmmm, served warm, it's absolutely the next best thing to a Roomba burrito.

I suppose I should digress from talking about food and give you an update on life: Well, I'm currently working at CSR Asia. It's a firm that combines the work of private sector consulting with the work of a nonprofit thinktank (think: NGO). They use the profits from their consulting work to fund public briefings and research which they make publicly available to companies looking for best practices in the area of corporate social responsibility. I'm concentrating on more of the think-tank-type work. Last week, I wrote an article on the subject of agricultural child labour in the Philippines (and the role of the ILO). This week, I finished an article covering human trafficking and the U.S. Department of State's latest Trafficking in Persons report. (What I learned: Don't go to Malaysia and Sri Lanka unless you want to get sold into sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude). Anyway, this afternoon I'm attending a talk by one of the regional managers for the World Bank - CSR-Asia is sponsoring it.....should be insightful.

This Friday, my cousins and I are throwing a pre-July 4th bash. Apparently, I'm in charge of preparing the food.....yay? So, we'll probably end up having a big ol' BBQ and then go out afterwards for margaritas by the river. And next week, the Yalies and I are all taking a trip to Cambodia to do some service work with an orphanage. Yale's paying for our transportation and accomodations so that's pretty exciting. I just got my visa a few days ago....I'm pretty stoked.

Anyway, that's my update for now. I hope you all are doing well. If you're ever looking for someone to talk to, I'm usually around on AIM (screenname: WeReact) from 9 PM - 12 AM EST. I leave my AIM on (for the most part) during work - and, unless you're distracting me from something that I'd rather be doing, I will probably respond. :) Kidding, of course.

Best regards,
J. Lo

P.S. Don't watch "Surf's Up." It's a stupid movie about penguins that surf. Why didn't anyone warn me ahead of time? I could've prevented myself from wasting one hour of my life.

life without redhot :(

Hi all.

I'm writing from the overwhelming heat of Buffalo, New York - I know, it's hard to believe, but life is tough here without AC.

I've kept busy working at a joint elementary-middle charter school in the city. The area is pretty rough and the students are all fairly disadvantaged, but the school is makes a huge difference in the community, and it's amazing to watch it happen. The teachers have the students reading way above their grade level and passing exams in eighth grade that my high school doesn't give until tenth grade. So far, I've been doing a lot of administrative work - setting up their summer school (which about 60% of the school attends voluntarily), coordinating field trips, arranging class lists, et cetera - but hopefully I'll be able to get into the classroom when summer school starts.

In other news - last week we got a call from an adoption agency in Russia saying that we have finally been approved to adopt a little boy. I'm not sure how I feel about the adoption - it's something my mom has been working on for years, but I never actually thought it would happen. Now that it is, I am adjusting to the fact that I'm going to have a new brother. Anyway, I am going to make the trip to Russia with my mom at the end of July to pick up Kyrill (sp?), who is seven years old and knows no English. So that's exciting, but we'll have our hands full.

Otherwise, I am making plans for a trip to my cottage in Michigan, where I'll get to see lots of cousins, aunts, and uncles. Maybe I'll head up to NYC again sometime to say hi to all the city kids - I saw David, Dee Dee, and Keiji on my last trip up (er... down? east?) and I would love to see more of my Redhotties! Though if you want to bop down to Hamburg, NY, anyone is welcome :)

Hope this finds you well,
xo - Brady

summer summer summer

Hey all! Just wanted to post a quick note to everyone to tell you guys just how much I miss you. It's hard not to be around people who break out into song all the time and who wont judge you if you do the same. I've been doing it at home, and all I get is "Dee Dee, shut up already" from the little bro.
But anyways, summer is pretty decent otherwise - I'm home in NYC, but so are a bunch of my high school friends and a couple of Redhotties! So I get something of an occasional dose of Redhot loving - last night, I went to that amazing all-you-can-eat sushi place with David and Darrick that has become so famous with Redhot (yeah, you're all jealous) and then we tried to sing some songs together which sort of failed (think Haven't We Met without an alto and another tenor and a sop I), but it was an amazing time. The job isn't bad - I'm working at the Newington Cropsey Cultural Studies Center, which is an organization dedicated to the preservation and re-emergence of the "traditional" arts (figurative painting, metered poetry, tonal music, etc.). It's a lot of office work, but at least the material is interesting...
That's about the end of my news - I can't wait to see you all in Maine for Summer Retreat!
love
Dee Dee

Am I the only one who made up a sweet user name?

Hi everyone, it's me, Anna. I'm an alto 2 in redhot, thus my amazingly creative user name. I'm in NYC right now (even though I'm originaly from Hampden, Maine woo woo) doing an internship with a market research firm called "Applied Research and Consulting". I'm doing a project on social networking sites which is actually really cool, because I get to do random phone interviews with Facebook and MySpace members. But first I had to design an interview guideline which I completed yesterday and my boss approved it so I started messaging random people on those sites - I got my first answer this morning!!! It was very exciting. Anyway, that's what I'm doing this summer. I've really been missing Yale lately though, especially Redhot - I'm so excited for this fall's rush! Alright, I think I'm done now :) happy blogging!

Rush Managers

So, for those of you who don't know, Yale a cappella is a huge thing on campus that consumes the lives of about a quarter of the undergraduate community for three weeks each fall semester. The hundreds of a cappella group members listen to the auditions of the hundreds of rushees. Groups and rushees have meals together to get to know one another. The groups have concerts too woo rushees. All this leads up to tap night- when rushees are chosen for groups. I won't go into detail right now, but there are group members specially trained to handle the rigors of rush, from the group side and that of rushees: the Rush Managers.

This year, Redhot has four rush managers. Brady, Dee Dee, Emma, and Keiji will lead us through the process. They are now authors on this blog, so feel free to harass them about whatever suits your fancy.

2007-08 Tours

Hi All, the touring schedule for Redhot is now set! It is as follows:

Fall '07 - Mini-Tours throughout the Northeast
Winter (January '08) - Southern California
Spring (March '08) - The Caribbean
Summer (May-June '08) - Europe

If you'd like to learn more, see our tours page. It'll be an exciting year!

Redhot on YouTube!

Hi Readers, I wanted to let you know that Redhot is now up and running YouTube and Myspace! You can see our pages here:

YouTube
Myspace

Be sure to friend us and subscribe to our videos- we'll be putting more up periodically.

We are also making some major updates to our current webpage. For example, you can now buy our latest album, Amid a Crowd of Stars, from our homepage.

First post!

Golly jeepers, Hinkle sure is swell. I do miss Redhot, though.