Doing Things the Chinese Way

Michael is doing a good job of rowing his boat, all the way to China and back again and in September all the way there again on a slow boat to China for his second year at the University of Ningbo, a coastal city slightly more than two hours south of Shanghai.
     Michael joined the meeting last week at the invitation (or is it insistence) of his father, Paul Kasango, to tell us about his experiences in China and his studies in microelectronic science and engineering.

A proud Paul Kasango and his son, Michael

     His is a fascinating journey into a strange land and culture, but then he is following in his father's footsteps, who graduated at the University of Zagreb!
     Michael says Ningbo, with a population of about 7 million (Johannesburg numbers just over 4 million) is relatively small by Chinese standards, with both Shanghai and Beijing numbering well over 20 million each.

Michael Kasango's presentation on Ningbo

     The university has 25000 Chinese students and a further 5000 from overseas.
     The Chinese government has granted 800 bursaries for South Africans to study in China, but much to Paul's frustration he has not yet been able to access those funds.
     Michael says he is enjoying his studies, even learning Mandarin, which is compulsory. It took him 3 days to master the art of eating with chopsticks, but he looks healthy enough, so he must have leant the right way.

Michael says he has met people from all over the world in China

     He lived on campus for his first year, but is moving into digs for the second year with a student from Morocco and a fellow South African.
     The nightlife consists largely of going to karaoke bars, he said.

The life of a student is full of fun and hard work

     It's not the first time Michael has spoken to the club. He went on a Rotary Short-Term Exchange Programme in Germany before his university studies and came and told us all about his experiences there.
     He says he initially thought of qualifying in Germany, but chose China instead when that proved impossible to arrange.

Mike MacDonald talking about the Golf Day

     The rest of the meeting was taken up by club matters, most notably the Golf Day.
     After the meeting when Carol went to speak to the Parkview Golf Club management about arrangements, we found out that the Golf Day reservation had never been made, as we had believed.
     This has meant a date change and the Golf Day will now be held on Friday, 30 November.
     Please change this date in your diaries to avoid confusion.
     Frank Odenthal has pledged a "good old German Bollerwagen" (his words) to help sell raffle tickets. We'll have to see whether it is in addition to, or replaces the wheelbarrow we customarily use for the Barrow of Booze.

The sturdy German Bollerwagen

     Mike MacDonald is helping with the arrangements for the Golf Day, as Greg Smith is finding it difficult to attend meetings because of the nature of his work. They'll be speaking at the meeting again this week to make sure we're on track.
     In the meantime, please bring any spare bottles you have at home so that we can start filling the wheelbarrow (and/or Bollerwagen) as soon as possible. It helps no end to have a full barrow when selling the raffle tickets.
     Mike asked each member to provide one fourball to the competition to help make it a success.
     Please do anything you can to help; apart from players, we need sponsorships, prizes for the players and of course help in selling as many raffle tickets as possible.

Lucille Blumberg told the club she had been given an award by the Medical Research Council
 "for making the public safe"

     There was also a short discussion on social meetings and Carol Stier, who chairs the social subcommittee, asked that any suggestions of things to do or places to go, should first be sent to her for consideration.
     The club decided that the upcoming 5th Wednesday would take the form of a Spring celebration at the home of Julian and Debby Nagy. It will take place on Saturday, 1 September from about 4pm and members are asked to bring guests along, but also to bring something to braai and something to drink.
     The address is: 9 Roxburghe Ave, Craighall Park.
     Remember, the speaker this week is the Afrikaans singer and Mellvillite Jannie du Toit, a special guest indeed.
     A Thought for the Week: There are two theories to arguing with a woman. Neither works. - Will Rogers (1879-1935)