Blogs from Ji'Nan, Shandong, China, Asia - page 4

Qilo Normal University is located right in the centre of the city on Lishan Lu very near the intersection of Huayuan Lu Today the sun was shining, the skies were blue, I finished teaching at 10-10am so time to explore my surroundings. So after lunch, laundry and vacuuming, I stepped out and went east along Lishan Lu. I suspect the more east I went the more expensive things got, streets immaculate and swept, gardens manicured and clipped and expensive looking shops and restaurants. Some of the more expensive places have flower gardens outside the entrance, hundreds of plants pots all neatly displayed and flowering to perfection. There are contrasts though with a gritty street seller on one corner and on the other a boutique. Most buildings, the streets, cars really everything is covered with a fine ... read more

It’s Friday still…… Arrival in Jinan was smooth, passport and luggage and minimal hassle especially since it was near the end of the 8 day holiday period. Hershell was there to meet me, I had no idea what he looked like, I was easy to spot, the only Westerner on the flight. He is my only contact, he works in the International Department of Qilo University and will also be my translator for some of my classes. Jinan is smoggy, typical Chinese city off the tourist maps. Industrial, chaotic roads, tree lined, high rise dwelling, functional but not pretty. Quite odd to see lots of BMW and Mercedes, a sign of the new wealth in China. We drove to the old campus, lots of ducking and weaving in and out of lanes, straddling 2 ... read more

Jinan, die Stadt der Quellen Mit schwerem Herzen habe ich mich von meinen Kollegen in Qingtao verabschiedet und mache mich auf den Weg in die regionale Hauptstadt. Die Taxifahrerin hatte entweder Mitleid mit mir und meinem riesigen Gepck oder sie wollte sich die lukrative Fahrt zum Bahnhof nicht entgehen lassen. Kurzerhand hat sie mich ins Taxi verfrachtet, ist in die Garage gefahren, dort hat ihr Wagen einen Oelfilterwechsel innert 20 Min erhalten und los ging die Fahrt zum Bahnhof. Hat man das System der Bahnhöfe mal verstanden ist es sehr einfach: es gibt verschiedene Wartezonen denen die Züge zugeordnet sind, wie auf dem Flughafen. Der richtige Warteraum wird auf einer grossen Tafel neben den Zugsinformationen angezeigt. Wie auch beim Flug werden die Passagiere aufgefordert das Perron zu betreten. Meine Tickets habe ich in einem Reisebuero gekauft ... read more

Getting off the plane in Beijing, it would be fair to say three things about me; I was more than a little nervous, I was very tired and I was expecting a massive culture shock to hit me any second - so to walk out of the arrival gates and immediately see signs for Pizza Hut and KFC brought me more comfort than I ever thought either of those brands could. Walking out of the gates, incidentally, into a city where you know nobody and you are certain there will be no one to meet you is a weird feeling and not one I'd recommend making a habit of. The culture shock wasn't far away though. The first thing to hit you is the driving (the first thing, aside from the fact that there are Chinese ... read more

I går holdt Walter og jeg vores største forelæsning på Shandong Normal University. Temaet var IBM, succes i erhvervslivet og med karrieren. Ja med min karriere var der jo en del at fortælle :-), men så alligevel - for 400 universitetsstuderende så ser det jo alligevel ok ud :-) Det var ellers vældigt underholdende. Det var en blanding af førsteårsstuderende og ældre studerende, så det var lidt savært at lægge niveauet rigtigt. For meget teoretisk stof, og de nye var koblet af, for lidt af det samme og de ældre ville kede sig - men det gjorde ikke spor: Jeg vil gætte på at 50% forstod 25% af hvad vi sagde. Blandt de andre 50% var det 25% som faldt i søvn, og resten sad ed meget koncentrerede miner og prøvede at følge med. Kunne vi ... read more