Nancy’s Big Adventure

   I arrived in Qingdao late last night following a lengthy delay and a short flight from Shanghai.  I’ve settled in to a lovely hotel room, with a FULL size bed, a Western crapper, and hot water.  I was excited to explore the city (in the daylight) and I have not been disappointed – it’s really lovely.

  Qingdao is a coastal city with a population of about 8 million on the southern tip of Shandong Peninsula. It is considered an ideal tourist destination and is a popular holiday area in China.

  The uniqueness of Qingdao consists in its architecture.  For those who are not familiar with its history, Qingdao became a German concession in 1897 and reverted to Chinese rule in 1922. The Germans were not only occupants, but there are a lot of German or European style building scattered in the city and the alleys reminded me of southern European streets. In 2008, Qingdao will host the Sailing Regattas of the Olympic Games, so many of the old buildings are experiencing a makeover. One building from the German period in Qingdao worth a mention is the Tsingtao beer factory that was opened by Germans in 1903. Today “Tsingtao” has become China’s most famous beer brand. One special feature of the city are its numerous bars that also offer beer “to go” – the draft beer it is directly filled into a plastic bag … similar to the single beers sold at Wisconsin truck stops, right Bill?

The weather here is very pleasant (currently 80 F / 27 C and slightly overcast) and the wind from the sea provides fresh air.

 

Although I have not seen a lot of fishing boats, there are a lot of seafood restaurants lining the Meishijie (translation “beautiful-food-street”).  I suspect it is worth another visit before I leave.

I leave for Beijing tomorrow – was planning to take the train (overnight 9 hours) but have decided to fly in the interest of saving time.  There is just so much to see and so little time …

This is the view of  the Bund from the rooftop of the hostel where I stayed in Shanghai – amazing !!

I arrived in Shanghai around 10pm and was fortunate to claim the last private room at the Captain Hostel.  There were lots of backpackers, many who chose CH for the rooftop bar (and the spectacular view) and convenient location a half-block from the Bund.   I met up with a couple Brits on holiday and spent the time with a lovely woman who started teaching as a volunteer teacher in Thailand a couple years ago and now teaches English in Japan.

(Steph, hope you are having a fantastic holiday in China! I look forward to seeing you in Tokyo!  Please continue to keep in touch!)

Today was our last day of English Language Camp in LinHai.  We have spent the past few days preparing the students for closing ceremonies.  There was a television crew and newspaper reps, so it was quite a bit deal. [Continue reading this entry]

My "kids" are running around like chickens with their heads cut off - tomorrow is the last day of camp and they are living it up.  We've been "toilet-papered" and "shaving-creamed" by the naughty ones and the girls have been ... [Continue reading this entry]

I wish I could be there to celebrate your 49th birthday!  Oh, well - we'll have a BIG party next year! Love you more - N

Does it get any better than that?  WOW!

We spent the morning making Halloween masks.  The first part of the afternoon was Christmas in the auditorium, complete with a tree, merry carols, and snow (shredded toilet paper confetti).  Then we ran back to our classrooms ... [Continue reading this entry]

It has been a while since I talked about food, but the lineup presented in the dining hall today has prompted a trip back down memory lane to the American school cafeteria. We (the teachers) eat all our meals with our students ... [Continue reading this entry]

Today the kids are on a trip to the seashore and most of the foreign teachers have opted to take a day off.  It is too hot here to do much of anything mid-day (currently 107 F / 42 C  and ... [Continue reading this entry]

Last night we had an English Speech contest for the entire camp.  Competing against 18 other teams, my students won the top honors!  I really can't take any credit - while I gave each team an idea, the kids wrote ... [Continue reading this entry]

Lin Hai is situated in the middle of the coastline in Zhejiang Province.  It's a small city (about 500,000 people).  It has the monsoon climate of subtropical zone - the temperatures are a bit more tolerable than Hangzhou, but it rains ... [Continue reading this entry]

After one week in China, I am getting used to the slurping, the spitting, the singing, the sweating, and being stared at ... and I have actually come to enjoy being here quite a lot. Slurpalicious.  Slurping is considered good manners ... [Continue reading this entry]

Thanks for visiting my blog and for all the great comments!  I'll take a few minutes to answer questions. Do I miss milk and cheese?  Yes, definitely.  There is milk (whole milk, goat milk, oat (oat, no g) milk, soy milk, and the ... [Continue reading this entry]

The food here is kinda crazy. When we arrived to the University on Friday, we were escorted to the student cafeteria for our first meal.  You basically get in a line and point to a steam tray containing what looks like ... [Continue reading this entry]

Greetings from Hangzhou, China! Hangzhou is located in southeast China, approximately 180 kms (3 hours) from Shanghai.  Hangzhou is one of the most important tourist cities in China, known for its natural beauty, history, and culture.  We spent most of the ... [Continue reading this entry]

I arrived in Shanghai, China at 7:00 am Friday. The most remarkable thing is the smog - I had read the news reports but I have never seen anything like it. It is very humid and hot, almost suffocating when ... [Continue reading this entry]

   BIG THANKS to Joel for recommending a visit to Chiang Mai, Thailand.  It is a beautiful city, surrounded by a ring of mountains, with seven hundred years of history and over 300 Buddist temples ("wats").  Since I ... [Continue reading this entry]

  It has been a pleasure to visit Singapore for a few days.  The food has been excellent (with few exceptions), the public transportation system is fabulous - I zipped around the island via bus, taxi, ... [Continue reading this entry]

I spent the day on the island of Pulau Ubin, the last 'kampung' (village) in Singapore.  Ubin is a great day trip spent walking or pedaling on rustic roads and hiking shady trails and checking out secluded beaches. The only way to get ... [Continue reading this entry]

  No doubt it is a durian, the small football-shaped, prickly fruit that has such a powerful odor that the raw fruit has been banned from many hotels, subways, airports, and most public transportation is Southeast Asia.  ... [Continue reading this entry]