My Mailing Address in China

412007

湖南省株洲市

株洲市第二中学

师信箱 Cait Kooistra

Cait Kooistra Teacher Mailbox

Zhuzhou Number Two Middle School

Zhuzhou, Hunan 412007

People’s Republic of China

BBC Documentary: Chinese Schools

Please pray for the thousands of Somalis suffering the worst famine the country has seen in almost 50 years. There is a photo essay by Foreign Policy that offers a humbling look into the famine.

Society 6

If you're into colourful, vibrant graphic arts then you should check out Society 6.
Featured on the site is amazing art like the picture below.

Coldplay's New Song...

And check out their website to download a free album! :)

Happy hour is always enjoyable with Mueller... she is one of my favourite people in the world, and I love her to death. I'm here living with Kristin, Emily, and Joel until I graduate and move to China. Which is on August 2nd... coming up quickly! Today, after my current international affairs class, I'm heading up to Richmond with my mum for Cheryl's wedding. :)

Long Island Iced Tea

The worst day ever was made ok...thanks to taking shots with Kristin.
"Oh to hell with it..." LOL. If I survive tomorrow I will be pleasantly surprised.

Zhōngwén, 我学中文

Food Crisis

The problem? "The more the price of food commodities increases, the more money pours into the sector, and the higher prices rise. Indeed, from 2003 to 2008, the volume of index fund speculation increased by 1,900 percent. ... 

The average [North] American, who spends roughly 8 to 12 percent of her weekly paycheck on food, did not immediately feel the crunch of rising costs. But for the roughly 2-billion people across the world who spend more than 50 percent of their income on food, the effects have been staggering: 250 million people joined the ranks of the hungry in 2008, bringing the total of the world's 'food insecure' to a peak of 1 billion -- a number never seen before." 

A potential solution? A ban on long-only trading in food commodities for investment banks. Meanwhile... "the index funds continue to prosper, the bankers pocket the profits, and the world's poor teeter on the brink of starvation."    ~Read the Foreign Policy article here.

中文 Class

This is an example of how overwhelmed we all are ("we" being me and the other 7 students in Chinese for 6 hours per day).

  Steven (Chinese TA): Let's go over the sentence patterns.
  Lauren (Classmate): Glory to God in the highest.

Haha..... I guess you had to have been there. *sigh*

One more week of Policy... let's hope I can make it! Ahhh.....

Policy is making me delirious...and this is my random thought of the day

My inherent socialist nature became very obvious when I unconsciously ate a red and green M&M to even up the colour distribution in my hand. Is that reading too deep into a somewhat mindless activity? Perhaps. But I still have two papers to write and a presentation to prepare for... and it's 3:20AM. A bit of creativity is definitely in order.

Policy

Currently I'm taking a hard-core business class called "Business Policy". It's basically feared among all business students...and it's usually the last business course one takes before graduating. All I can say is that I'm exhausted; it's a lot of work! However, it'll go more smoothly (smoother??) now that I have a new laptop -- a Macbook Pro, specifically, yay! -- so I won't have to spend every waking moment in the Walker Memorial building.

In other news, please pray for my Grandpa Kooistra, as we just received news that he has an aggressive cancer spreading throughout his body.

Post-Exam Ponderings

It's been a few days since the chaos of Spring 2011 ended... and I find myself caught between wanting to veg and being excited to delve into a few books. My first summer class, Business Policy, is starting this coming Tuesday, so I won't have long before the madness begins again. But hey -- there is light at the end of this academic tunnel. Wooho!! And congrats to all my friends graduating from Lee tomorrow morning. I'm so proud to have gotten to know you!!

Osama Who?

Chart taken from BBC News Homepage:

The Script ❤

This is Why I Love Being Canadian

Canada Votes

Useful resources during election campaigns:

Youth Nation 2011 - Toronto Star
Canada Votes 2011 - CBC News
Parties & Platforms - The Globe and Mail

Rainy Day(s)

This week has been so dreary -- rain, rain, and more rain. Yuck. Oh well... I just hope we have lots of sunny (and warm) weather after this week. This week has been crazy, as far as schoolwork goes. I had a huge exam last night on stock and bond valuation. It was lots of math, but I think I did really well. I love that stuff. Maybe one day I'll be a CFP or a trader or both. Along with being a bartender, of course. Ha.

Last night I got to speak with my brothers on Skype, which was awesome. I am so thankful for that program. How cool is it to be able to have a face-to-face conversation with someone in another country? And be able to show them around the room, even though they're thousands of kilometres away? VERY COOL. ♥ I love my family.

Georgia Marathon

I'm heading to Atlanta to watch my uncle compete in the Georgia Marathon this weekend!! The weather is so gorgeous - I'm loving the shorts, sandals, and t-shirt!! Finally, I can study and nap outside. :)

Wall Street Journal

Chinese Property: The Most Important Sector in the World → click HERE for Wall Street Journal article.

HBR Management Tip of the Day

MARCH 14, 2011 Don't Let Your Job Define You Getting consumed with work is easy to do, especially when you spend most of your waking hours working. But people who only talk about their jobs are boring and one-dimensional. Here are three ways to detach yourself from work and create a more reasonable balance: Assess how much time you spend at work. You may need to put in long hours at times, but make sure you're doing it for the right reasons. Don't stay late to impress others or because you can't manage your time well. Banish time-hogs. If something or someone is wasting your time, get rid of it. Stop attending unnecessary meetings, limit face-time with your demanding direct report, or stop visiting distracting websites. Treat non-work time as sacred. Protect your time outside of work for your health and sanity. You will only feel refreshed if you truly disconnect and recharge.

Polo Jersey - RL

Chillaxing in ATL

Chilling this weekend... listening to Elton John, Coldplay, Midway State, Jack's Mannequin... =)
It's storming in New Orleans this weekend so we ended up not going to Mardi Gras. However, I did have a great day helping my dad with some mechanic-y things. We went to Home Depot and an auto parts store, and then took apart the golf cart. It was quite fun. =)

Almost. Spring. Break.

Tomorrow is when the chaos begins! (In a good way, of course). I head to Atlanta to see the fam -- Al and Christine drove down from Ontario, and Randy and Lin are flying down from Christchurch -- and then very early Sat morning I head to New Orleans with Kristin, Em, and JD for Mardi Gras. =) Back to work at ExecPlans on Monday, then to Washington DC on Tuesday/Wed/Thurs for Care Int'l conference. This is going to be an awesome week!!

Music-wise, I have a few favourites I'd like to pass along... I can't stop singing Eyes Wide Shut by JLS. Here are a few others: Blind Faith by Chase & Status (ft. Liam Bailey). Solitude is Bliss by Tame Impala (from Australia). Pretty much anything mixed or mentioned by Zane Lowe. What Else Is There? by Royksopp (from Norway). Light of the Morning by Band of Skulls. I also love their song I Know What I Am... and several others. The funny thing about Band of Horses is that I actually saw them play a show in Atlanta but had no clue who they were... and I didn't even like them when I heard them. They were the headliners when Alex and I went to see Metric last year. Also check out WILD NOTHING. Great band. Summer Holiday and Chinatown are my favourites.... it's just so lighthearted. =) And they were great live. Peace!

Yes, This is Cleveland. Haha.

Shaken or Stirred?

I've decided I want to be a bartender at some point in my life. Obviously that won't happen in the next half year, since I live in the middle of the Bible belt and go to a close-minded Christian school, but hopefully when I move away from this place I'll be able to realise my bartending dream. :) Haha.

The weather has gotten a bit cooler over the past few days...which still hasn't stopped me from wearing shorts, but I am really hoping that it will get nice and sunny and warm this week. Mmmm. There is nothing like studying outside.

My brother drove down to Atlanta with his girlfriend yesterday, and they'll be spending their Reading Week down here. Randy and his Chinese buddy Lin are also making their way down south, so it'll be a nice reunion this Friday! I cannot wait! Right now I feel so disconnected from reality, from life. Cleveland is the most isolating place on earth. It'll be nice to get back to the city next week.

Adventures in Tutoring

I tutor a 2nd-grade class a few times each week, and it's quite entertaining to say the least! This morning the kids were doing research on small laptops, trying to gather information on key people in black history. As I was helping one boy with using the computer, another boy calls out to me, "Is Usher still alive?" -- to which I reply yes. Haha. Then he looks for Usher's date of birth, only to conclude, "If Usher was born in 1978, that means he's 78!"

Hmmm. Then he's pretty dang fit for a 78 year-old!

With a straight face, I told the boy that Usher was actually 33. "He lives in Atlanta," I mentioned. The boy replied, "Cool, I want to meet him!" and then broke out in song with his friend, literally in the middle of class, singing Baby let me love you dowwwwn, there's so many ways to love youuuu. It was pretty entertaining. Oh, kids. So hilarious. They keep me down to earth, I'll give 'em that.

Uganda's Election Results

Uganda just had a national election -- the first election without the presence of the LRA in northern Uganda. (Sidenote: the LRA has since been pushed into the Congo and is wreaking havoc on villages there.) Musaveni, one of Africa's longest-serving rulers, is head of Uganda's National Resistance Movement (NRM) party and has served as the nation's leader since 1986. He received over 68% of the votes. Whether this is a good thing for Uganda, I'm not sure... Read the BBC NEWS Africa article for additional details.

Overworked yet Hanging In There!!

I got amazingly good news today -- to be revealed later. =)
But, this week has been overwhelming... to say the least.
That piece of paper with the letters "B.A." better be worth all this stress. Yeesh.

Studeó, ergo sum.
I study, therefore I am.

Maybe I should quit trying to translate things into Latin and get back to studying for International Law. *sigh*

Exams and such.

Today I totally choked on a political science exam. And I mean choked.

But it's over now, and there's nothing I can do to change the outcome. I already put in my due diligence in study hours. Hopefully I can redeem myself by the end of the semester. I just struggle sometimes with gathering all my thoughts and organising them into concise essays or short-answers. I tend to put a lot of time into formulating my words just so ... or thinking of the best way to structure a sentence... Time escapes me, and the next thing I know the professor is calling "Thirty seconds!"

So it goes.

Tonight's agenda includes baking cookies (check!), writing two briefs for international law (in progress), studying for tomorrow's ILO exam (in progress), and finishing up my finance homework (in progress).

I am armed and ready, coffee in hand.

If Not Now, When?

A few months ago I found an amazing blog -- one which I had forgotten about until today when I finally managed to remove viruses from my laptop. The blog is called "eatbees", and it's by a man named Marcel V. Côté. I strongly urge you to check out his article titled "In or Out", which opens with the following words:

A few months before leaving Morocco last fall, I remember trying to explain to my best friend a dilemma that has confronted me throughout my life, and that I have never fully managed to resolve. I told him that I feel pulled in two different directions in response to injustice in the world. One instinct is to withdraw and seek an island of inner peace. ... The instinct pulling me in the opposite direction is engagement. ... Having seen inequality firsthand, do I have the right to ignore it?

Upon reading Côté's biography, which is pretty interesting by the way, I discovered that he's written a novel (published online --> under his "About" section). I haven't read any of it, nor have I read a significant number of his online articles... so the views he expresses aren't a reflection of my personal opinions. Just wanted to clarify that.

Spent the morning listening to the Sunday Baroque program on the local classical station, making homemade Larabars, and trying to rid my laptop of a spyware program. Fun stuff. Now I'm off to Panera for an intense day of prepping for exams. Shane and Shane concert tonight on campus!

Wow, what a stressful week. Nothing like a glass of merlot, a hot shower, and some classical
music to ease the stress... This is going to be a beast of an upcoming week.

Hope Renewed

Praise be to God who knows my needs before I can even express them. He is making me whole, even as I stumble and fall continuously. What greater love than this? I know none other. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil." I will get through this and I will focus my heart and mind on what is to come -- Christ in me, the HOPE of glory.

Reading a corporate finance book but would much rather be globe-trotting... At least I have BBC Radio to fill the void. :) Four months to go, woohoo!

Rugby Fever

What beautiful weather we've had so far this weekend! Today was the perfect day to watch the Lee rugby matches (and watch the ATL Renegades defeat the UTK boys) and get a nice bike ride in. As my Saturday evening goes, nothing says "I don't feel like doing any homework" better than reading an entire non-class related book, looking at Harvard graduate programs, eating dark chocolate (which, by the way, has almost nothing to do with productivity), and memorising the biographies of all the Oxford University Rugby boys. Yes, this has been a great Saturday.

China seeks more for rural poor amid pressing needs of economic transformation

By Xinhua Writer Zhu Shaobin.
SHAOXING, Zhejiang, 10 Sept 2010

As countries from around the world share their visions of "Better City, Better Life" at the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, experts say the rural poor should not be forgotten, as improved livelihoods in rural areas are key to achieving sustainability and economic transformation.

"There is no doubt China's growth over the past three decades has been remarkable, but this growth has not been trouble-free," said Eric Maskin, professor of social science at Princeton University and Nobel laureate in economics in 2007.

China's fast economic growth has come with side effects, the most notable of which has been an increase in income inequality, especially that between cities and the countryside, Maskin said at a forum held Thursday and Friday in Shaoxing City in eastern China's Zhejiang Province.

The two-day forum discussed how rural areas can reduce the economic gap with cities, amid the broad and pressing need of economic transformation.

Li Yang, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that income distribution amid China's fast urbanization has not been satisfactory. He noted that in China, the Gini Coefficient, the main gauge to measure income disparity, is very high.

Li said the Index was 0.475 in 2007. But estimates put the figure at 0.5 nowadays, far exceeding the United Nations' target of 0.4.

China's income gap between rich and poor is largely due to gap between cities and the countryside, said Li, adding that the urban-rural divide contributes 40 percent of the unequal income distribution of China.

"China's big urban-rural gap is mainly reflected in three things: income; infrastructure and facilities; and social rights," said Ke Binsheng, President of China Agricultural University.

Ke said the urban-to-rural income ratio has widened from 2.56 in 1978 to 3.33 in 2009 as China's 200 million-strong pool of migrant workers do not enjoy equal access to education and health care.

"It has become a great challenge in developing countries to speed up the process of modernization through rural-urban interactions," said Zhang Xiaoqiang, vice minister of China's National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic planning body.

Zhang said the divide seriously impedes the process of building an overall well-off society in China, adding that the integration of rural areas with cities is a major task for the transformation of China' s economic growth pattern.

Greater efforts must be made in establishing comprehensive public services for both cities and rural areas, Zhang said, adding that the building of infrastructure and facilities in the countryside is also important.

"Only if roads are built and electricity networks are well equipped can rural areas expect more social resources, such as capital investment," said Li Yang.

Public services equalization for cities and the countryside is the most important way to narrow the divide, Li Yang said.

Maskin also suggested more job training and education be provided to low-skilled workers, to allow this group themselves to narrow the gap.

Leafs Game in Blueland

The Leafs OWNED the Thrashers last night... I had a blast with Anna at her first NHL game! Woohoo!!

China needs more resources for skills training of rural people

BEIJING -- Chinese Vice Premier Hui Liangyu said Monday the nation needs more resources to conduct skills training of farmers and migrant workers.

The country should encourage more people and social resources to take part in charity projects in this field, Hui said at a ceremony to mark the 15th anniversary of a charity project run by the National Association of Vocational Education of China (NAVEC).

The NAVEC project has trained more than 6.4 million urban and rural needy people over the past 15 years.
Rural people who leave their hometown for cities should have more vocational skills while those staying at home should learn more farming techniques, Hui said.

Last year 145 million rural residents, or over one tenth of China's total population, left their hometown to work in cities.

The NAVEC project tries to help unemployed people in the countryside through skills training and vocational education, Hui said.

The association has financed about 430 million yuan ($63.24 million) for the project over the 15 years.

Source: chinadaily.com (click for article)

Christmas Expeditions

I flew with my Dad to Toronto so we could spend a week visiting our family and friends. It was a bit hectic, but I think we all enjoyed "catching up" with everyone. Special thanks to Mr. Fisher for the amazing sushi, Aunt Grace for hosting two Kooistra get-togethers, and Grandma for having us at her B&B (and also getting up at 6:45am with me to go the running track). We also stayed four nights at the Toronto Hilton Suites, which was basically like living in a hotel. It was so much fun -- and our suite felt like an apartment!

My dad and I stayed a day longer in Toronto thanks to Delta Airlines, who overbooked the flight. We volunteered to give up our seats and received $1500 in flight vouchers and were put up at the beautiful airport Sheraton. We ate at the hotel bar and watched Canada play in the world juniors (hockey) tournament... and had a great time sharing travel stories with a couple from Oakville.

Back in Atlanta with an hour of sleep, I had to quickly clean the house and get ready for the arrival of my two best friends from Ontario, Katie and Kaitlynn. They spent 5 days with me down here and we had a blast! We took a road trip to Nashville for New Years and stopped in Chattanooga along the way. After Nashville we drove east to the Cookeville area and explored Burgess Falls, Cane Creek Falls, and Fall Creek Falls. We climbed all the way down to the bottom of the "big" falls at Burgess and got completely soaked from the mist shooting down. Luckily we had a suitcase full of spare clothes to change into. And although we got screwed over by the iPad navigation system (Katie almost threw it out the window), we made it back to Cleveland alive. Somehow.

Kristin's car broke down that same night, so she was in Cleveland and let us crash at her apartment for the night, even though she was headed out to Atlanta for the Passion conference. I gave the girls the "grand tour" of Lee University (which took a total of 5 minutes by car, haha) and then we headed back to Atlanta -- after stopping for 2 hours at McKay's used book store, of course. The rest of the week we spent hanging out in Kennesaw... watching movies, get-get-gettin' in the hot tub (it's from a country song), hiking up Kennesaw Mountain with Callie and Duke, and shopping. Now it's back to just my mum and I at home and I'm preparing to leave for school again! One more semester and I'm done. Woohoo!! Click my Picassa page for more pictures.

New iPad!!

It was a Christmas present from Steve -- thanks Steve!!

Wilderness Volunteers

I spent about four hours today reading Backpacker magazines, and came across this cool non-profit organisation called "Wilderness Volunteers". Anyone can sign up to camp out at a national park for a week and help restore/maintain trails. Some of the places you can go are: John Muir NP, Yellowstone NP, Glen Canyon NP, Zion NP, Yosemite NP, Denali NP, Glacier NP, Acadia NP, etc etc etc!! Check out the program's website:

WV homepage | WV project schedule | WV FAQs

Great Resource for Healthful Living

I just stumbled upon a site called Evolving Wellness. It appears to be a Canadian site (score!) and it's very useful for those of you looking for ideas for healthful living -- food & nutrition, environment, chemicals & health, natural products, recipes, etc. It is amazing -- check it out!

Also, I haven't tried this particular flavour yet, but LÄRABAR has a new product line called JŎCALAT.

JŎCALAT is Fair Trade Certified™ chocolate in its purest form. Harmonizing with fruits and nuts, each flavor contains no more than seven simple ingredients. Deliciously rich. Organic. No added sugars. Free of dairy, soy and gluten. A wholesome indulgence you can feel good about eating.

NHL Fever

So my amazing boss got me corporate tickets for two NHL games -- looks like I'm going with some friends to see both Boston and Toronto take on Atlanta. I can't wait!!! In other news, I'm flying to Toronto next Wednesday just in time for the annual Kooistra girls' ornament exchange. ♥ Then, I'll attend a few dinner parties and spend some good quality time with friends over coffee (fresh Tim Horton's, perhaps, if I can stomach it). Pretty soon I'll be coming back to ATL with Katie and Kaitlynn for some New Years adventures ~ I'm thinking a roadtrip to Nashville is in order. The Opryland Hotel is so gorgeous this time of year, so I think we'll see that and spend some time sightseeing downtown Nashvegas. :)

Wintry Weather... Well, Kind Of.

I'm about to start teaching a class called "Winter Driving for Southerners -- Why the Threat of Ice Does Not Constitute Driving 30 km Below the Speed Limit". Maybe I should take my hockey skates out and see if I can get to work faster in those. :)  It's perfect walking weather, though, and I love being the only one outside at night when I take Callie and Duke out for a walk/run. Sometimes I sleep with my window cracked just so I can breathe in the cool, crisp air. Love it.

CARE International Conference

In March 2011 (during Lee's Spring Break, might I add) I am trekking up to Washington D.C. for CARE International's annual conference. If anyone is interested in going with me, please let me know! :) See links below for more info.

CARE homepage | CARE conference | CARE the girl effect

I love my iMac

The Importance of Community

As someone who is a self-starter and very motivated, I oftentimes find it hard to be in large groups. I have a small, tight knit group of friends and spend a lot of time doing things alone -- cycling, reading, working, playing piano, etc. Although I like the feeling of being alone in a crowd, i.e. reading in the library as opposed to reading at home, the "alone-ness" often turns into loneliness. I found a great article on the subject of singles and living in community (click here) and continue to remind myself of the quote by John Donne, "No man is an island, entire of itself. Each man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main". Enjoy. :)

On an entirely different note, if you're looking for easy-yet-delicious recipes for the holiday season, check out Slow-Cooker Tapioca Pudding (click here) and Slow-Cooker Apple Crisp (click here). Mmmm.

Handel's Messiah

My mom and I went to see/hear the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra perform Handel's Messiah and it was spectacular! I've heard sections of it growing up -- a byproduct of growing up in the church, I'm sure -- but there was nothing like hearing all of the songs in order, and live.

Washington DC

This weekend I'm in Arlington/DC/Alexandria area with Jason, Randy, Linn, my parents and my dad's parents. It's so nice to be back in "civilisation" again and in an actual city. Sorry Atlanta, but you don't qualify as an actual city in my books. lol. The weather is nice and crisp -- perfect walking weather!! I can't wait to take the metro into downtown DC tomorrow and explore. :)

Come What May

All of a sudden reality hits and I am left wondering about the impact I have on others' lives. Life definitely is not predictable. Never have I been more thankful for a loving, caring God who says you don't have to do this alone. Being able to accept grace and more forward at a time of utter confusion is not my forte, but I'm getting better. I just have to keep reminding myself where my identity lies.

"The sense of being led by an unseen hand which takes mine, while another hand reaches ahead and prepares the way, grows upon me daily." - Frank Laubach

Family Weekend

My family is home!!! Well, Duke has always been here, but I thought I'd show off his blonde hair. Haha.

Tonight's Playlist

• Just Like Heaven by Katie Melua
• Skeletons by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
• Forever Young by Youth Group
• Seein' Red by Unwritten Law
• Between The Lines by Sara Bareilles
• Innocent by Our Lady Peace

Add a playlist to your page using iLike

October 2010

GREAT WEEKEND

Coffee and wandering around the Borders book store
Exploring the biggest wine/liquor superstore ever
Late-night sushi, mmmmmm....
Day-trip to Chattanooga/Lookout Mtn with Mom (Rock City & Ruby Falls)
Painting my room (still, yes) and movies, movies.