Hello Donna From Beijing...

My pal Donna Renae used to toil for ABC Newsradio and CNN Radio, skipping across the country covering big and small news. She's got an interesting take on what its like to live in Beijing at this point in time as China puts the best face forward with the world watching not only Michael Phelps play Flipper but just how the most populous Communist nation on earth deals with the free spirit and enterprise of sports.

In the old days this would have been a major undertaking, but today it was a simple as figuring out how to make an international call (hint: just dial 0-1-1 to get the ball rolling, and don't expect the ringing to sound the same) in radio morning drive. Usually the five or six o'clock hour is death but half a world away means 12 hours ahead on the clock so our call before sunrise in Akron actually came at the end of the workday in Beijing.

Donna (seen at left with an honest-to-God walking logo) is out of the j-business but now in the e-business -- as in education, working to help teach english via long-distance web learning in China as well as communications and performing arts in Beijing proper. From home base in Oregon to China may be just a flight over water but it's worlds away in terms of time zones, political underpining and cultural understanding. Donna's spent much of the past two years in China and her eyes sparkle when she talks about the differences, challenges and surprises. I've posted audio on my AkronNewsNow.com blog as well as including this link which should work for Quicktime and Media Player.