Eight honors, eight disgraces

Love the country; do it no harm.
Serve the people; never betray them.
Follow science; discard superstition.
Be diligent; not indolent.
Be united, help each other; make no gains at others’ expense.
Be honest and trustworthy; do not spend ethics for profits.
Be disciplined and law-abiding; not chaotic and lawless.
Live plainly, work hard; do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.

I found that on a notice board near the outdoor exercise equipment here at Seasons Park. I suppose one could do worse than living by those guidelines. (Though shouldn't "live plainly" and "work hard" count as two...?)
I mentioned the place called A-Che in a previous entry. Here’s what it looks like. This is the place where you can eat Cuban food with Jamaican beer and listen to a Chinese band play American music while Russians dance on the chairs. All together now: “It’s a small world after all…”
I was walking along the sidewalk this afternoon and saw this dog waiting patiently while its owner was in the bank. By the time I got the camera out, the owner had returned, but he didn’t seem to mind me taking the picture.

In the next block after this, I stopped into a DVD store to see what they had, and heard someone ask in English if they had Season 3 of Lost. Being a big fan of the show, I piped up and told him that wasn’t likely since it’s still in progress. (There actually is a little 3-disc set on sale here of the first part of Season 3 that aired last fall, but the rest will have to wait.) At first I thought the guy was American, and then his friend spoke with a distinct British accent, so I figured they were both Brits. We exchanged a few more words, then I picked out a Japanese CD and continued on my walk. As it happened, I bumped into the same two guys at a grocery store a bit later, and started talking again. We went to a place called the Bookworm that I had heard of but not yet been to. We had cappuccinos and talked for over an hour. The first one I spoke to is actually Canadian, a student here in Beijing, and his British friend works at the International School. They both seem to know their way around town pretty well, and are familiar with neighborhoods I haven’t been to yet. The Canadian said he has been to Seattle before, and really liked it. Don’t get me wrong – I like my coworkers, but it’s nice to talk to someone outside our little circle for a change.