Blogs from TEDA, Tianjin, China, Asia

Incheon to Tanggu English below Die Fähre von Südkorea nach China war die einfachste und gemuetlichste Option . Auf der Faehre traf ich Monica und Philip innerhalb weniger Minuten, da wir die Einzigen aus dem Westen waren. Spaeter traffen wir ein paar Koreaner mit denen wir einen schoenen Abend verbracht haben. Bis um Mitternacht haben wir Bier getrunken, chinesisches Barbeque gegessen und die beliebteste koreanische Unterhaltungstätigkeit, Karaoke, genossen. Obwohl die Fähre 25hours dauerte, war es der billigste und bequemste Weg um nach China zu gelangen. The ferry option from South Korea to China was so easy and really classy (may be exaggerating on the latter). I met Monica and Philip straight away. It was quiet easy to figure out that all three of us were back-packing. It was a real laugh to meet some Koreans a ... read more

The area I am living in is perhaps not typical of the rest of the country, but then again China is a very big country. I am told that this area, called TEDA (Technological Development Area), had very little here 15 years ago. Now it is full of wide boulevards and modern looking high-rises. And they are throwing up more at breakneck speed judging by the surplus of construction sites and scaffolded buildings rising up everywhere you look. This would be a good area to invest in real estate as apparently the prices have been doubling every 3 or 4 years. It also does not have the typical street food vendors so common in Asian cities (which is too bad because there is no selection of supercheap, convenient food near us). Apparently the authorities have decided ... read more

Ni Hao people we LOVE! Well... the girls have been here for just over two weeks now, and we are getting very excited to move on from Tianjin to VIETNAM!!! The last two weeks have been awesome. I was really starting to get homesick, especially on my birthday, but two of my lovely girls helped to make it very special. School has just been finishing up here. It was nice that the girls got to meet some of my students, but that meant that I had to work during the weekdays. It was a little lame- since I so badly wanted to be exploring and hanging out with my girls... BUT this has forced them to have to learn a lot on their own :) which is great- it has made for some funny stories. John's ... read more

Porque é que eu escolhi a localização TEDA? Também eu não sei, talvez porque é a Technological Development Area de Tianjin e ultimamente alguns amigos têm-me falado muito deste sítio. Enfim, já não escrevo aqui desde que começaram as férias. A passagem de ano na China: na realidade ninguém liga nada à passagem de ano do calendário solar portanto não se passa nada de extraordinário nesta noite, fomos comemorar a passagem na casa das catalãs e vimos a CTTV9, que lá se deu ao luxo de passar uma cerimónia de passagem de ano do calendário solar. O que conta de facto é a nossa festa 'privada' de estrangeiro extraído violentamente do seu habitat. Depois seguiu-se a discoteca chamada sitong - que é uma espécie de wide-giles mal lido - coisa que se compreende já que deve ... read more

The bonus of the service component of my job is that I get invitations to community events. The first event Craig and I have been able to attend was last Monday September 24th, 2007 - The Mid-Autumn Day Tea Party. This was Craig's first time out with me representing the school in the community, so I think it gave him a taste of some of what I have been experiencing. You walk into such an event having no idea as to the proper etiquette, really having no idea of what to expect and you just have to stay on your toes. Watch others before diving in, mimic gestures of politeness etc. Additionally, you have to be ready for anything you do to possibly be photographed. This tea party was hosted by the Teda Chamber of Commerce, ... read more