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Published: April 19th 2007
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I know, I keep saying how big China is and it's boring but I have to say it again. Everything in China is BIG!
Qindao is small by Chinese standards . . . about 6 million people. It will host the sailing regattas in the 2008 Olympics and you can tell they are working toward it. Everything is in various states of repair and rennovation. But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. . .
I felt like a very responsible person to be allowed to walk from my apartment to the canteen without an escort this morning. After webphoning with my Mom (Hi Mom!), I dressed in lots of layers and set out for my morning stroll down the hill to the campus. I was, maybe, two minutes late. But at 8.00 on the dot, the phone the college gave me began to ring. I knew it was Shu Fong wanting to know where I was. And yes, I was right. I was practically within shouting distance, but he was concerned that I was not standing in the appointed place at exactly the right time.
A few minutes later I was having my last canteen breakfast.
Fried egg, sort-of-hashbrowns, a new sort of soup made with yellow beans, and a muffin-sort-of-cake. We set off immediately and caught the first bus to Qingdao. This took about 20 minutes, passing through lots of new buildings and a Free Tade Zone. When we reached Qingdao, we had to take a ferry to the city proper. We chose the slow boat (do I hear a song? Slow boat to China, perhaps?) and arrived about 30 minutes in the city. From there we took another bus to our first stop, the Staging/Landing area. This is the pier the Germans used when they colonized the city in the 19th century. There is a lot of German architecture here, and the Germans actually built the Qingdao brewery . . . very delicious beer I must say!
The pier is a symbol of Old Qingdao. We strolled through the vendors and crowds to walk onto the pier and look at the pagoda at its end. While I was not accosted by many beggars at all in Shanghai, Qingdao is another story. There were quite a few very small children, and others, who were begging. I knew from my travels to poorer areas of
the Caribbean and Mexico that it is not wise to give to these people, no matter how pitiful they appear. One child who could not have been older than 5 or 6, could have a great career in major league basketball. This child knew how to block. He stood almost toe-to-toe with me and no matter how I tried to move away from him, he was faster than I was. Shu Fong kept saying, "Come on Sally" and I kept saying, "I don't want to knock him over and I can't get away from him." This went on for at least a minute (which seemed like an hour) and even Shu Fong had a hard time getting him to leave me alone. It was heartbreaking to see such a young child pressed into service like this.
After visiting the pier we went to a huge park, the name of which escapes me at the moment. There is a cable car that takes visitors to the top of the mountain and then down again. But first, we admired the tulips. Yes, I had to travel to the other side of the world to admire tulips when I live in the
tulip capital of the world! We only had time enough to see a little of the park and then we headed up on the cablecar. We decided not to go into the tower because there were lots of tourist buses and I was not interested in standing in a long line when I had so little time to see the city.
We took the cable car down to the other side of the park and hailed a taxi that took us to lunch. By this time I was starving and our goal was a seafood restaurant as Qingdao is on the Yellow Sea and famous for its seafood. Lunch included eggplant (aubergine for my European readers) butterflied and stuffed with shrimp (which has become my favorite dish . . . the is the second time I've eaten it here) and the specialty of the house which was a stewed pork dish. There was also a vegetable dish which you wrap in very thin crepes. Shu Fong said that this vegetable only grows in the wild. I don't know what it was, but like everything I've eaten here, it was delicious.
We were both feeling a bit sleepy after
Beautiful blossoms
The cherry trees are almost finished with blossoms but there are still wonders to behold! lunch but pressed on the see the sculpture that is the symbol of New Qingdao by the sea. The kites I saw there were incredible. I couldn't really get a good enough shot of them to convey their extravagence, but I was enthralled!
The music pavillion with the large piano where you could play by stepping on the keys was under renovation, so we hailed another taxi and went to a quite posh neighborhood for a stroll along the beach and to admire the impressive homes there. Shu Fong told me that you can tell who people are here by the license plates on their cars. Blue is for ordinary people, black is for foreigners, and white is for the military. In this neighborhood we saw some white tags that had very low numbers, which signified very important military people who lived in these grand houses.
By this time, we were both pretty well done in. Shu Fong's mother is a little younger than I am and he told me that there was no way she could do all the walking we had done together today. Of course that made me feel good, but the minute I got
home I laid down on the couch to rest my feet, only to awaken 2 hours later!
I chatted with Rob and my Mom online and packed, as I'm leaving Qingdao tomorrow for Beijing. Blogging is my last activity for today and I'll be happy to snuggle up in my nice, hard bed and sleep late tomorrow. I don't have to meet Shu Fong until 10.00 in his office. Luxury! I'll have a chance to give my small gifts of Dutch chocolate and pepermuntjes to my new Chinese colleagues, and a small remembrance gift to Mrs. Huang, the director of education.
Then it's off to the airport and to new adventures in Beijing. I hope you'll stay tuned!
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Sally
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I'm sticking with you! I feel like I'm there. You go girl!