Qingdao - The one where the girl drinks beer out of a bag

It’s been two months since I started teaching here in Shanghai and my first long weekend came and went like a flash. Qingming (pronounced Ching-ming) is a statutory public holiday here in mainland China and Tomb Sweeping Day is its most common English translation. For the Chinese, it’s a day to remember and honor one's ancestor’s grave sites. Young and old pray before the ancestors, sweep the tombs and offer food, tea, and/or wine.

I was originally going to stay in and do various touristy things in Shanghai (which would have been fine but I probably would have felt like an idiot for staying when I had three magical days to do whatever my heart desired) - and then randomly on Thursday night, Kate and Heather (Fellow BSKers) knocked on my door and asked if I wanted to join them on their trip to Qingdao. The obvious answer was “Of course, why not”? Twenty minutes later we had our flights and hostel booked and we were anxious to get going the next day.

Qingdao (pronounced Ching-Daow) is a coastal city on the Yellow Sea, about a 15-20 hour drive north of Shanghai. It’s famous for its German history and Mt Laoshan, but I’m sure that the most popular reasons people flock to this city are its beautiful beaches, and for the fact that it’s home to the Tsing-Tao Brewery. I have been a fan of this beer for the past couple of years and have been very lucky that it’s one of China’s most popular brews. I urge any of you to pick up a few bottles the next time you are at your local LCBO... I think most of you will like how light and refreshing it is as a summer beer.

What I found interesting was it's fascinating history; Did you know that between 1898 and 1949 Qingdao was occupied by both Germany and Japan (Germany between 1898-1914, and Japan between 1914-1922 and 1925-1949)? I bet you not! It was 50 years before the Chinese even had control back of the city - which might be why this is one of the more efficiently run and cleaner cities in China... ;-)

For more info on Qingdao: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingdao

Our trip was packed with all kinds of excitement – from beach strolling, to mountain climbing, to drinking beer out of a bag. (Yes drinking beer out of a bag.)

There were clean beaches and amazing German houses, buildings, and churches - but we found our favourite part of Qingdao down a dirty side street a few minutes from a giant German church. What we found there was no other than Beer in a Bag. Now I’m not talking about any old fancy bag; I’m talking about lowest of the low; the thin, flimsy bag you might use for lettuce at the grocery store. Of course it wasn’t really us foreigners who found the beer, but really the beer who found us: As we turned down this street, we spot this giant keg on the side of a store and before we even realize it, the Chinese beer lady smiled and started to pour her beer into one of the flimsy bags.

How nice to know that the Chinese know us so well as to start pouring the beer before we even know that it’s beer! Once we all have our very own 2 kuai (35 cents) Bag o’ Beer, she passes out the straws and we proceed to laugh hysterically at what now looks like cheap bags of pee with straws sticking out of them.

It was- as much as it could be- my favourite bar in China. There is something about sharing a ridiculous moment with people, realizing it’s a moment that - for the three of us - is probably going down as one of our most hilarious. And while we spent our afternoon drinking and laughing, my guess is that we all had a few quiet seconds to ourselves where we thought “how did I get here??” Because I can promise you this - only the luckiest of people can say they got the chance to sit in a park on a cold afternoon, sipping beer from a bag...

Drinking the famous Beer in a Bag

Gambei! (Cheers! )

Of course the whole weekend wasn’t spent drinking beer out of bags (although come summer if could have been different story. 0.35cent bags of beer on a beach? Common, why hasn’t Canada taken on to this idea???)

Apart from walking around town, we strolled the boardwalk for 4 hours on Saturday and climbed a mountain on Sunday. Both of which have given me great pictures and even better memories. The beaches in Qingdao are surprisingly clean and the waters are a beautiful blue-green. And even though it was only 15 degrees there were even a few brave Chinese who made it out for some chilly polar bear dips.

Morning mist over New Downtown

One of the many beaches in Qingdao (6 all together!)

Beauty defined

A man and his son enjoying the water

A family enjoying the views

A family remembering loved ones who passed on by throwing flowers off a cliff.

A sculptor sculpting a portrait - much like a sketch artist in Canada (but better!)

Gloves? check. Socks? check. Itty Bitty Blue Bikini? check.

She sells seashells by the sea shore

Fisherman taking advantage of the beautiful weather

Mt. Laoshan is a gorgeous mountain known for its great views, sea air, and “magical powers”. The hour long bus ride to the mountain was as scenic as it was long but definitely had us appreciating the mountain once we arrived. This mountain has been dubbed the birthplace of Taoism, which surprised me since there were only a few temples - although to be honest, getting a temple up on this mountain is a feat in itself.

Gorgeous views on our way to Laoshan

Boats off a little fishing village

The cable car we took to get up to the top of Laoshan

Taoist charm hanging off a wishing tree

Lovers' locks off a bridge

Waterfalls

The Laoshan Dam

Of course, not all of it was great - we did find ourselves in a hostel with walls decorated like a frat house, and with no A/C (in chinese this means no heater!) so the room was incredibly cold. Thank heavens for the lovely heated sheets that came with the beds though - sleep came easily in those. And of course we couldn't figure out the shower head and cleaning turned into a bit of an acrobatic act on the shower floor, but this only made this weekend that much more memorable.

Come monday morning, we were sad to leave this city we had had such a good weekend in. If only all weeks had three day weekends and if only all cities had beer in a bag. I think it would be a much nicer to place to live in :-)

The Qingdao Airport

Miss you all. Happy Canadian Easter! xx

Another reason why I love China

I've been seeing a ton of these little shops with photobooth-like machines that take your picture and all the girls here get them done with friends or boyfriends, so I thought, why can't I? 20 minutes later I had gone through 6 catalogs of background images, posed a few dozen times, and had 2 sets of glittery fabric stickers and a dvd of the proofs for the bargain price of 40rmb. The plain paper pictures would have cost me half but I had to go all out, haha.

You can also find an extra sheet of my pictures posted on the door of the store. Apparently having an example of a foreigner using your shop is good PR.

Here are my results. And yes I am posing "a la chinoise" (Chinese style).

xx

Only in China...

This says so much doesn't it?

Life in China...So far.

Alright so it's been nearly two months since I've arrived in China. How time flies - it's truly amazing.

February was a month of firsts:

• Flying over international waters and getting my passport stamped for REAL (Cancun Mexico is not "real" traveling. sorry.)
• Being in a country where I actually can't figure out the language
• Being in a country with a 12 hour difference with home
• Jet Lag
• Eating certain animal body parts that aren't ever on a Canadian menu
• KTV (chinglish for Karaoke)
• Using Chinese banks and ATMs, using Chinese money and convincing myself that it's NOT monopoly play money
• Chinese transportation systems
• Working for a mostly Chinese company
• Teaching, in general
• Teaching within the Chinese School System - and in a Chinese school
• Shopping, bargaining in Chinese
• Being long away from loved ones
• Blogging!

I can't say that life here has had too many surprises. I don't know if it was the large amount of research that I did beforehand, or maybe it's just my general carefree attitude that has made the experience easier than anticipated. And to be honest, I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. One of the reasons for coming to China was to expose myself to a different world - its customs, foods, people, habits, etc.

I blame Toronto for warming me up to the experience (i.e.: china town!), and for the media in north America for creating a skewed image of this country that I thought was going to be more "shocking". Of course, this makes me blame myself for being yet another Westerner who thought she could run off to this developing country and have it fascinate her with its crazy foods and crazier people. So far the disappointment lies in the fact that China has proven itself much more similar to Canada than anticipated.

Of course, I am in Shanghai and as a cosmopolitan city; it may not be as provincial in terms of reflecting the same virtues, attitudes, and interests as the rest of China. Hm. I must get out of this city soon and explore the rest of China!

Anyways, let’s get into the teaching as so many have been asking me about it.
Please check out this website: http://www.middlekingdomlife.com/guide/chinese-education-system-students-english-teacher.htm. If offers a great overview of the Chinese school and education system.

I teach primary kids, some as young as 5 and have found that I need to be as entertaining as educational in my classes to keep their attention – which in turn can be very tiring. Conversely, as the only foreign “oral” teacher here I have more freedom in what I can teach – as long as I can stick to broad themes I am good to go. I teach them vocabulary and useful lingo they can use in their daily lives, with a focus on speaking and listening. There is nothing better than a student being able to practice their English in front of family as a great motivation to learn English.

Anyhow, Discipline has not been a MAJOR issue yet so I’m glad I haven’t had to take out my stink eye. I work on a points system which usually keeps them in tow, or least gets them quiet when I need to bring back some focus to the main subject when they find something too exciting. That and stickers are worth their weight in gold ;-)

School life is also simmered down, although the students are definitely more comfortable around me and go through everything on my desk and board. I’ve had to start locking the doors during class time because the odd student will try and come in to say hello in the middle of a class, which I do not appreciate at all. There is nothing like having a whole class lose focus when someone barges into a class. It’s also frustrating more so because they would NEVER do this to one of their Chinese teachers so I try and demand the same respect from them as I would if I were a Chinese teacher, although I don’t reprimand if they give me a wrong answer. It’s a difficult balance.

My co-workers at school are incredibly friendly and constantly ask me out which I’ve come to accept only half the time (I’m a strong believer in keeping my work life separate from my social life) and they always try and show me a good time which I appreciate. I do love having a life outside school though and try and socialize with the other English teachers as much as I can, in which case I am out in Shanghai enjoying the big city life there.

The weather has warmed up considerably since I arrived (it has been the wettest spring here in many many years, or so I’ve been told) and ideas of travelling are popping up left and right in my mind. I’m finding it harder and harder to stay in for more than a few hours and the pressure of being in this new country sends me out to explore whenever I have a moment. I’ve always been a person who has tried to do the most with her time but I feel as though it is slowly developing into a neurosis and I often feel guilty if I don’t do enough with my free time. This is something that I need to relax on and force myself to enjoy the quiet moments here in China.


Well, it looks like it’s time for me to log off. More on this later.

xx

Blossoms in Shanghai

Shanghai is home to some of the most beautiful flowers. Here are a few that I've been able to capture so far.

magnolia. amazing.
plum blossoms
pink plum blossoms

You know you're in China when...

• You may have shorter legs but are still walking ten times faster than the rest of the population
• Toilet paper costs more than a bowl of noodles.
• You bargain for a taxi, and then discover you just bargained for a ride on a motorcycle (don’t assume the taxi he’s standing next to is actually his!).
• Umbrellas are used for protection from sun and rain, as well as to enforce personal space.
• “No Smoking” might more appropriately read “Please Smoke Here”.
• He who persists longer wins.
• Your mattress rivals Home Depot’s lumberyard.
• People eagerly try to make you feel comfortable while practicing their textbook English.
• You leave the insanity of the main street and turn down an alley, enter a world of peace, tranquility, laughter, and food.
• You still understand nothing.
• You have experienced, used, and actually meant the phrase “It’s all Chinese to me.”
• All modes of transportation beget spiritual behavior (prayer, more prayer).
• Try as we might to avoid Western creature comforts, you find yourself munching on Oreos andLays Chips more than you'd like to admit.
• You can judge the popularity of the karaoke music videos (played on almost all long-distance buses, along with C-rated Kung Fu movies) by the number of schoolgirls and elderly women singing along.
• You now understand why Singapore implemented a “no spitting” rule.
• Cell phones work absolutely everywhere.
• You've heard it so many times, that you actually begin to believe “Hellooooo” might be a word in Mandarin.
• English menus never fail to entertain. A few of my favorites: “strange tasting pork”, “fish flavored meat”, “questionable meat”, ham (may mean hotdog), “Red Ox” (Red Bull), and “Mixed vegetables” always seems to mean bok choy mixed with…. more bok choy.
• Even after two months, you still understand nothing (Or you just think you understand things, which gets you into even more trouble). "Wo Ting Bu Dong" (I don't understand) is your most used phrase.
• You yourself start staring and pointing at foreigners.

Let there be light!

I woke up today to the most beautiful sunshiney day. I think spring has finally made it's way here...

I'm in love!