Summer Update, Thoughts, and Qingdao (with pictures!)

The update with a few thoughts:

Classes will start August 31st, which means the week prior will begin my responsibilities with greeting new teachers, scheduling classes, and hosting our first staff meeting.  This also means that summer vacation is coming to a close.  

I have to say, it has been a very productive summer for me.  At about the eight month point, I realized I was at a huge loss for not knowing the immediate history of this place.  Here in China, it's as if all of our history dating back to 1776 were still alive and active in our collective memory, and this history has a direct impact on events going on today.  So I ran to a former professor, this time Dan Bays, for a read list to help me get a little perspective.  

Over the course of the summer, I've managed to digest Jonathan Spence's The Gate of Heavenly Peace: The Chinese and Their Revolution, Lao She's Rickshaw Boy, and I've just begun Peter Hessler's River Town.  In these books, I became exposed to many of China's important minds of the 20th Century, as well as the hearts of the average Zhou (pronounced Joe, a very common surname).  I was enthralled by the energy, the terror, and the hope that all seem to simultaneously characterize this place.  I was most enthralled with a turn of the century philosopher named Kang Youwei, so much that I dragged my dear friend to his place of residence in Qingdao when we went on vacation together (more to come).  

I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say, I am now in possession of a Chinese copy of the Book of Great Community (大同书) - way above my reading level, but a prize to work towards as I could find no copies in English.  

I also realized I needed to get a little more serious about my studies and take advantage of the billions of native speakers I find myself surrounded with to really start practicing the language.  So inspired by a TED talk, I made my way to www.conversationexchange.com (I still need to buy these guys a beer) and found my prayers answered nearly instantaneously in the form of a young man my age who has lived in Dallas for three years and has returned to Zhengzhou, his hometown, for a short time before taking off to Australia for study, as well as a middle-aged man in another city who obtained his masters in Chinese literature.  These two have made for a perfect duo to help me with my speaking and writing, and I couldn't be more grateful!  The one off to Australia has even offered a replacement in his friend, who is living in Zhengzhou and has also lived in the US for some time.  

I also managed to add a few hundred more words to my working vocabulary, which I'm very happy for.  

Study, punctuated by visits from Felix, who was busy teaching a summer school program that his older sister runs, characterized the entire month of July.  I learned to enjoy cooking while listening to podcasts, I started being more deliberate about exercise, and I studied in typical fashion with bursts of diligence and bursts of procrastination.  Maybe if I learn to slow, steady will follow.

I feel like there's more to say, as my experience of the summer seemed like it merited more than the few short paragraphs above, but I can't think of much more, and I suppose I should be getting to the pictures sooner rather than later.  So with out further ado:

Qingdao

Qingdao is a beautiful coastal city in northern China.

It is looks out at the Yellow Sea, which separates the mainland from the Korean peninsula and thus is home to the largest Korean population of any Chinese city (which means Korean food).  Also, it is located in the Shandong province, which used to be occupied by the Germans during the colonial period where the West carved out slices of China for themselves (which means good beer).  Heavily influenced by German architecture, the area where the hostel we were staying in could only be described as quaint - an adjective I'd previously never thought I would use to describe a Chinese city.  

However, not an essential trading city like Tianjin (where you may have heard about the explosion), there is no high-speed railway connecting this city to the rest of China.  And not wanting to spend the money on a plane ticket, this meant the K-train.  We booked too late for a sleeper, so we were relegated to a 14 hour ride on the infamous hard seat car.  Infamous, to me at least.  

The full excursion lasted six days - two days of travel on either end with four full days in Qingdao.  

Our first day we didn't try anything too adventurous.  We were pretty tired after all.  Before leaving we had booked a hotel, but when we arrived, the receptionist realized that a foreigner was one of the two guests checking in and had to decline us.  Apparently in China, foreigners are only allowed to stay at three-star or higher hotels, which usually start at at least double the price we found this one for. 

So we quickly hopped on a cab and booted up the phone to find a youth hostel nearby that would give us a private room that we didn't have to share with strangers for roughly the same price as the initial hotel.  It turned out to be the perfect place, as it was nearly walking distance from a lot of the points of interest we wanted to check out - including the beach.

So after finding a place to stay, we took to the streets.  First stop: the residence of Kang Youwei.

The property itself was gorgeous, but I wasn't particularly impressed with the museum (partly because I couldn't read a lot of the information!).  But Kang Youwei really inspired me in my reading, and visiting his place of residence had the feeling of an academic pilgrimage.

As we meandered through the beautiful streets of the southern district, we found a place called Little Fish Hill.  It's a park that sits atop one of the highest points in the city, giving a spectacular 360 view of things.

It was a little foggy, so the pictures didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped, but the day was beautiful, and looking out over the red rooftops of such a charming city gave me a sense of being ready to settle down in a place of my choosing that inspires me.  After further study, I look forward to putting my roots in such a place.  

Finally we went to an area called Ba Da Guan, or the Eight Great Passes.  It's a series of streets with beautiful houses inspired by German architecture.  Many Chinese go to these areas to have their wedding pictures taken next to these quaint homes.  One in particular was turned into a bit of a museum as it used to the the residence of a minor Western royal (I can't remember who or from where).

We didn't take too many pictures, but the walk was peaceful on the first night of our arrival.

The second day was beach day.  

It was great going for a swim.  We also visited the aquarium.  It was an overwhelming experience for me because it was so crowded!  We were nearly shoulder to shoulder in every part of the walk-through.  It was a strange museum, with life-size replicas of giant fish, and specimens preserved in bottles like some mad-scientist's experiment.  

But it did have one of those cool tunnel ways that take you under water to see the sharks and fish.

Day three was Mount Lao.  When you get to the base camp where you purchase your tickets, you choose from a few different areas to start your hike.  We chose the one that claimed to have a waterfall, which turned out to be very disappointing.  But we did get to see some beautiful scenery.  

But, like all things in China, it was crowded.

Not only that, there was rarely a stretch without vendors along the pathway selling junk tourist trinkets or some lovely tea (which I bought). 

After our full day of hiking, we made our way back to the city and partook of some delicious Korean food that had a few Chinese characteristics.  And after the meal, we took an evening stroll to May Fourth Square, a park right on the water that commemorates the rallies of May 4th, 1919 - an important day for China as students took to the streets in protest of China's ratification of the Treaty of Versailles, which included a portion that would have passed the Shandong province from German hands to Japanese.  And perhaps for the first time in China's long history, the government acquiesced to the will of the people.  

The statue is a large steel flame that attempts to capture the energy and spirit of the May Fourth Movement.  

Our final day was another peaceful day.  We tried to visit an art museum, as well as the residence of Lao She - arguably China's greatest 20th century novelist, but they were both closed.  So instead we took a cab to an area of Qingdao known as Pichai Yuan.  First, we visited Qingdao's Catholic church, a beautiful example of Western architecture that I really wanted to show Felix, who'd never seen anything like it.  

Then we made our way to another area of Pichai Yuan where much of the traditional Chinese architecture remains untouched by the bulldozer.

We meandered through the narrow alleyways and discovered a large outdoor restaurant that had nightly live performances.  So we headed home for a nap and returned for the six o'clock show.  I should mention that I had been eating nothing but yummy fish and seafood this entire time.  

It was available everywhere, and the restaurant we went to did not disappoint the taste buds.  It was also a restaurant that preserves a traditional atmosphere, including serving tea through kettles with extremely long spouts that supposedly aerate the water to make for a smoother cup of tea.

The performance was wonderful.  The stringed instrument is a traditional Chinese instrument, and the musician, who was quite skilled, played modern and ancient songs.  There was also a calligraphist who displayed his skill.  The murals were then auctioned later in the evening.  

And that was pretty much the trip.  It was great getting out of Zhengzhou and seeing some new sites.  In parting, I will leave you with one last photo where Felix and I are standing in front of the character for "blessing" as we pray that you, too, will be blessed.