Saturday, May 28th

This morning, I was up at about 6am. Breakfasts are now good because of my new Chinese word - Jinga. Jinga makes buying food much easier as it simply means "that one". Now I am able to point at stuff and say "Jinga"....they then know I want to buy it. (below is a picture of what I think will be a "typical" breakfast for me, as well as the view from my little apartment each morning.....I am on the 6th floor of "dorms" at E&A College).

Miranda also left this morning, which was sad! She was awesome to travel with, and tons of fun to go see stuff with. Since it was her last day, she asked if I wanted to go on her usual early morning run with her. She had found a kind of secret running path in an urban park area called forest by the sea. This park is just a couple of blocks away from the college, and she claimed that in the early morning it was just beautiful.....very tranquil, peaceful and a little bit of "North American" for when you needed a break from "China".

We went out at about 7am for about 30-45 minute run, and she was right, it was stunning! It even included a number of interesting sites like groups of about 40 older Chinese men and women practicing Tai Chi(?). Unfortunately, I did not take my camera. Further, it is HIGHLY unlikely that I will experience the park at 7am again, so you will have to visualize it yourself....but if the same people are still doing Tai Chi in the park at 4 or 5pm in the afternoon, I will snap a few pictures and post them into the blog!

Anyway, after Miranda left (pictured below with Gis and Lisa.....Lisa is the one who helps us foreigners settle in) I took the day to actually try and do some work for classes next week (plus write Blog postings).With my marginal A.D.D., this became boring surprisingly quickly, and so I wandered down the hall and "called on" Gis. He and I decided to go fly a kite....literally. We walked down to the beach, which is only about 4 blocks away, flew his kite for a while and then sauntered around for the rest of the afternoon looking at the sites.

We then grabbed supper at a restaurant on campus (all the food has been very good - one of these days, I'll try and get into describing it a bit more than just it was good/great/etc.)

After dinner and a nice visit with Gis, it REALLY was time to get back to the salt mines.....and to try and get at least something ready for Monday.

Because it was kind of a stupid work day (and I have a feeling this whole "working" thing is going to cut into my leisure time), this might be a good time to talk about the crazy variety of vehicles on the roads here in China. There is everything you can imagine on the roads! There are BMW's, Audi's, Honda's, Hyundai's, Motorcycles, Motorized Tricycles, Electric Bicycles, Bikes, 3 wheel cars, Donkey's etc etc. etc......it is just amazing!!!! The pictures below were all taken in about a 35 minute stretch on the road just in front of the college (except for the buses - that one was taken downtown - there were 11 of them lined up like that.....it is not very difficult to catch a bus in Qinhuangdao!).

P.S. My father-in-law, who is a car FANATIC, probably knows the name/makes and models of everything pictured here.....as for me, I do know what the one is called...that one is called a horse!

....well off to bed - tomorrow I have big plans, as I want to head out to the Olympic Park in Behaihe!

Friday, May 27th - The Great Wall!

Friday's will always be a big touring (and therefore, usually a busy day) for me as I do not have to teach and today was certainly evidence of that!

Miranda's plan for today was to have us see the Great Wall, do some shopping in downtown Qinhuangdao, and then make it back in time for dinner with some of the other English speaking foreign teachers who work at E&A College.Needless to say, we got an early start.

Rather than talk about any of the other Friday activities, today was truly about the Great Wall, and so that is what I will talk about!

The Great Wall (Changcheng in Chinese) is quite appropriately one of the seven wonders of the world. It is so spectacular that it simply takes your breath away. This is especially true as you see it for the first time, or as you begin walking along it.  For obvious reasons the whole " wall" is not maintained (after all it is some 2000 year old and 4000+ km long). Therefore, visitors to the Great Wall choose one of several different "viewing" locations to see the great "Changcheng".

In our case, our visit was to Shanhaigan, which is where the Great Wall meets the Yellow Sea. Shanhaigan is usually referred to as the Dragon's Head....because from the water, the Great Wall looks like a giant dragon's head reaching out into the ocean.

To get to the Dragon's Head, we jumped on the 32 bus, which took us downtown....and then transferred to the 25 bus.....and after total travel time of approx. 1 hour - we were at our destination (NB: total cost 3 RMB...or 43 cents Canadian)

As you enter the site, there is a giant temple that acts as kind of a great wall "museum". This is kind of cheesy, but still worth the 30RMB it cost. Plus, as a bonus, this fee also covered the cost of touring the Buddhist Temple next door to the museum.....and this part of the tour was very cool!

After these tours, we paid our 100RMB to go see the wall (this fee included a boat ride which was absolutely hilarious). You throw on an old lifejacket and jump in this rickety, leaky, old bucket of a boat (that I'm sure was around when the Great Wall was being built) and immediately begin racing 100 miles an hour out into ocean. The little boat crashes through the waves, and after about 10 minutes of this, you begin to wonder:
a) what the hell is he doing?......and way more importantly.....
b) where the hell he is going??????

.....just after you think you are about to land in South Korea, the boat driver (no English, of course) turns your little boat around, and races 100 miles an hour back into the shore.

We think the idea is for you to get a better appreciation of what China's enemies felt as they were  trying to invade China and breach the wall......the bottom line is that it was a hoot - dangerous as hell, but all-in-all, still a hoot!

After the boat ride, you simply begin walking in, around, beside and on top of the Great Wall. As I already said above, this was honestly an incredible and completely moving experience (see.....who says I can't teach touchie-feelie courses?).

Below are just a few of the 1000 pictures I took during this adventure

We stayed at the Great Wall until later on in the afternoon and then headed back downtown for some shopping (I think Miranda had 11 cents left in her wallet and was determined to try and find some more bargains before she headed home!) I am just kidding, and this was very helpful to me because I was able to get some more presents.....I got Heather and Jordyn a Gucci and YVSL(?) Wallet; they were about $6 Cdn (each)!

In case you are concerned, I believe that these are, in fact, real Gucci and YVSL products. the reason I say this is because I asked the lady at the booth if they were, and she nodded. This gave me great confidence......although the only minor worry is that neither of us had any idea what the other was saying during the entire transaction. I was not even 100% sure as to how much they cost. I just kept handing her money until she gave the wallets to me (and then stood there for a bit, just in case she was going to give me back some change). Just kidding (again), Miranda did all the negotiating for me. HOWEVER, I am not kidding when I say I am in trouble when she leaves tomorrow and my training wheels come off. So far, whenever no one else is with me, that is truly how I am buying stuff! I buy my fruit, meals.....basically everything but beer (surprisingly, I know how much that is) the same way. I pretend to ask how much, they say something totally foreign to me, I hand over money until they smile.....and then I stand there for a few seconds after the purchase in case they want to give me some change back....yikes!

P.S. In case you are wondering, yes we did make it back in time for dinner with the group. They go every Friday, and it is quite an EVENT (I even saw/used my first "hole in the ground" toilet pit....AND ate the food there.....makes my hair curl just thinking about it!) This crazy crew and their zany adventures are definitely worth more than a paragraph or two (plus pictures) and so will save one for another Friday! New record, stayed awake all the way up to 12pm!

Thursday, May 26th, 2011

Today, I got up around 7am. There is a street vendor selling fresh fruit right outside my building, and for breakfast, I tasted some of his yummy products. I also now have coffee (and toilet paper) from the little market located on the campus, so already a better start to the day.

After breakfast, I sat in on a couple of Miranda's classes (I will describe the classroom environment in more detail in some other day's Blog posting)....but, in general, I have to say that the students appear very keen and eager to learn (especially in comparison to our typical Canadian students) and that Miranda will be a tough act to follow - the student's love her!

We (I guess I now mean "I") teach Organizational Behavior, Human Resources and Business Communications. As you can see, given that I am such a touchy-feely fellow these courses are right up my alley.....but as I said, I'll talk about the students/school/teaching some other time - back to the important stuff.......namely eating, shopping and sightseeing!

For lunch today one of our "classes" (and by class, I mean every student - incredible!) met us and took us for a dumpling lunch in the marketplace. This was to say goodbye/thank you to Miranda as well as to welcome me to China.

We then spent a few hours in the ancient market in Qinhuongdao....there is tons of stuff to see, do and just plain look at!!!!)

Miranda had to teach an afternoon class (her last one in China), and I laid down for a nap....the time difference had caught up with me a bit)

After her class/my nap, we had an intensive discussion about the student's and our teaching philosophy (OK.....the meeting might have been more accurately described as a "happy hour"). As far as I can tell, China only sells beer in giant bottles (580ml...I think ours are 355ml????). The bottles cost 2.5 RMB (which is approx. 35 cents Cdn). NICE!!!!! PS: I have now officially given up water, milk, juice and all other unnecessary methods of hydration.

David (the E&A teacher I mentioned the other day) and his wife Tracy took Miranda, Gis and I for another fabulous traditional Chinese dinner at a hotel/restaurant with a Chinese name (in fact the one they were married in!) I had some very nice pictures of this dinner - but deleted them in error as I thought I had already transferred them to my computer....grrrrrr! (Because the blog website is blocked by the gov't and I can not enter stuff in directly, Chad and I are having quite a time figuring out a system to get the info/pictures on to the website).

Anyway, back to the dinner, and suffice is to say that dinner was awesome! As for more information/details about what we ate, I know we had a lot of Chinese dishes, that also had Chinese names (maybe as I am here longer I will get better about those types of details), but Miranda is a foody, and she probably gives restaurant names, what the food is called, how it looks and tastes etc. in her blog. 

After dinner, David drove us back to the collage and Icollapsed into bed at about 10pm.

Wednesday, May 25th – First Full Day

Please note that I’m sure these “reports” will get shorter the longer I am here...it is just that everything is so new, different and totally cool. It also seems like my stories might be kind of “all over the place” (it just seems like it is a bit hard to organize your thoughts in this environment).

This actually probably works out well when you are trying to describe the “China experience”.....because the country just seems to carry a “vibe” that feels chaotic, frantic and busy. Having said that, everyone seems very happy, friendly and stress free....maybe they actually really like it that way!?!

Anyway, got up at about 7am...and felt surprisingly good after a full night’s sleep (maybe this means no jet lag?) The first item of business was to start unpacking and get the apartment set up. One thing that quickly became clear is that I am not exactly the best “suitcase packer” in the world.....as proven by the fact that I did not pack a couple of pretty important items; namely toilet paper and coffee.

This is certainly not the best way to start your day....but on the positive side, forgetting (the one item in particular) helped to prioritize my “to-do’s” on my first full day in China! Further, and trying to stick  with the whole "bright side" of things, I did pack 3 bathing suits (which is great considering that even the locals do not recommend swimming in the ocean here) as well as two pairs of Heather’s clean patnties (yes...Darren, Claude, Garry, Tim, Brad et al, who as they read this are thinking up their “oh so hilarious jokes” I am fully aware that from the outside looking in, this might appear a little creepy).

Anyway, back on topic, Miranda is a godsend, and has made settling into China 1000 times easier. She showed me around the college, where to get a good breakfast, where the local market is, where our classes are etc. etc. etc.

First Major “Chinese” Lesson – How to Cross the Street

OK, the first lesson for me....was how to cross the street? The “idea” over here is that you are to go slow and steady when crossing a street. This, of course, is against every instinct you have! Generally when cars are racing at you, I think most of us would think it is best to run for it!!!! However, the logic behind this "slow and steady theory" is that if you walk slowly across the road, drivers have the ability to swerve around you. If you are running and “darting about”, they cannot predict where you will be, and might hit you by accident! (it sort of feels like a real life game of frogger).

Believe it or not, once you get over the terror and fear, this system actually seems to work pretty well. Plus as one of the students said, if drivers were to stop for every pedestrian, it would take them hours to go 4 blocks. (Yes, I can now also officially confirm that there are A LOT of Chinese people over here).

Next up, Miranda gave me a quick tour of the college grounds (more on the college grounds and student/teacher life in future postings), and then her (....and my future class) took us on a tour of the local area around the college as well as the beach, the Olympic soccer stadium, and the Qinhuangdao Ancient Marketplace (pictures below).  

Then in the afternoon, one of our previous students from Medicine Hat (Ranier) met us and took us to Beidaihe, a very famous summer tourist place (it is kind of “part” of Qinhuangdao....sort of like a Redcliff/Medicine Hat idea) Again more on this city in some other posting. First stop was their famous pearl marketplace (lots of Russians come here in the summer). Heather (...and in fact any woman who likes to shop) would feel like they have died and gone to heaven here – and even I managed to find some gifts...which is a good start, given that I hate shopping (but note it helped to have Miranda there telling me what is not tacky....and, more importantly, Ranier there to help negotiate for me).

Anyway....the pearl market is basically 3 stories of booths/stores/people selling pearls and other items from the sea (the red things are coral necklaces and stuff)

After shopping...and let me tell you – Miranda (again probably like all women) is a professional shopper!), Ranier took us to meet his family. They treated us to tradition Chinese feast at a fancy restaurant “to thank us” for teaching their son last year. (I have to say, the kindness and hospitality of the Chinese people is completely overwhelming – and we could learn a lot from them in this regard).

The restaurant we went to was also in Beidaihe and was called Toast Beer City....the meal was really something else – lots of seafood and traditional Chinese dishes. We even had a “Big” Beer, and of course had many toasts! Ranier’s father is head of the hospital, and his mother manages the largest hotel in the area (2000+ staff!). David was also with us (bottom right hand seat); he is a teacher at E&A College and was in Medicine Hat last winter for 4 months visiting us.

I am told that all the fancy restaurants have private rooms where guests gather to have special meals....needless to say, we felt pretty special!

NB: I do not know the names of any of the dishes....so far my Chinese consists of Ni-Haw which I think means “hello”, and shi-shi which I think means “thanks”......but while I might not know the names of the dishes, I do know they were really good.

Another pretty full day, and so after dinner, we headed home. I got my internet set up (piggy backing off of Gis’s wireless network) which was great as Heather and I were able to have our first Skype call...free video calls halfway around the world...this still blows me away and tough to understand the economics there!...... anyway, as the call ended I was basically asleep
!

Tuesday, May 24/11...The Trip Begins....

(All pictures are below)
Part A – The Flight from Vancouver to Beijing.....and the 3 Major things that you (can only) learn during an 11 hour plane ride
1)     Airplane designers did not use 6’1’’, 220 pounds guys to design the seats on an airplane. As a result, real estate on an airplane is a HIGHLY valued commodity. Fortunately for me, Diane Douglas (Fare Finders .....thank you, thank you, thank you!) booked my tickets and got me a seat beside exit on all the legs of this trip. This gave me about 16 to 20 inches of extra leg room which was AWESOME!
2)     If you are unable to sleep on the airplane because you feel the pilot will crash if you are not available to help him...... you are in fact able to watch 5 movies in a row.
Ratings: The Tourist (2.5 stars), The Mechanic (3 stars), No Strings Attached (4 stars), I am Number 4 (4 stars), The Dilemma (1 star)
3)     Time on an airplane helps you to understand what a dog’s life is actually like. You know how they say that each year of a dog’s life is really like 7 people years? Well, an airplane ride is exactly the same. 1 hour in the air is worth approximately 7 hours on the ground.....therefore, an 11 hour flight is really equal to approx. 77 real people hours.

Part B – landing in Beijing....you cannot believe how damn big the Beijing airport is!!! (I could not see the end of the terminal building from either the inside or the outside)


Part C – The 4 hour drive to Qui Huang Dao and E&Y College
My major observation around this part of the trip is how most of the cars and roads look brand new. This makes sense given that the freeway and road system in China has really only developed over the past 5 years or so. The picture below is of “Peter”, the driver who took me to the college

Driving is in China is really interesting. The three things that become pretty clear right away are as follows:
1) Lane markers are really just suggestions
 2) Everybody flashes their high beam lights at drivers when they are going by them (right side, left side, in between 2 cars on the shoulder....no matter!). I am assuming that the high beams lights that all the drivers’ are flicking on and off activate some sort of invisible force field that surrounds the car and protects it from crashing?
3) Car horns must wear out pretty quickly? They are used to say everything from “why, hello there” to “get the hell out of the way you poor unsuspecting pedestrian”!
Needless to say, I didn’t sleep on this trip either!

Part D – The College and My First Night in China
...anyway got to the college, and again was really pleasantly surprised about my room. It is more like an apartment than a room, and was much cleaner and nicer than I was told to expect. (It might not pass a “girl clean test”...but for a guy – it is perfectly fine).

As you can see from the pictures, the bathroom is a bit unique....the big tank above the toilet is the electric water heater and the shower is right beside the toilet. This is very efficient, you can go to the bathroom, then simply stand up and shower!

Part E – Out for supper and in Bed by 8:30....one tired little traveller!
A nice surprise for Peter and I was that when we drove up to the college, Joan, Gis and Miranda met us at the front door. This was great of them to do, and after a quick shower, shave and change, we headed out for dinner. Dinner was also fantastic! 4 big beers plus 4 food dishes that were just delicious (and more than we could eat) all for 55RMB (which is approx. $7.85 Canadian).

I will tell you more about the food and restaurants on another day when I have no babbled quite so much already.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line is that my first impression of China is that it provides you with an assault on all five of your senses. It is much greener, much prettier, hotter and much more interesting than I was expecting!!!!!!

In bed by 8:30pm (China time) and out light a sack of potatoes!!!!!