My first Chinese Massage!!

When you think of "Chinese Massage" a lot of things pass through your head as to what techniques they would use, how good it is and so on. I had NO idea what to expect last night when one of the other teachers, John from Kansas, suggested that we go get foot and body massages, and a thing called "cupping" which involves taking a glass cup and placing it on your back and removing the oxygen with a flame, so it sucks to your body and "removes toxins". I'm not sure about that, but it did give me EPIC bruises over my back. It looks like I got hickeys from a shark. To top it off, it was 158 Yuan or $23 for about 2 and a half hours of work. wow.

Facebook is dead

I can't access Facebook from China because of the racial fighting in the North West province. Super.

So today is the beginning of what will surely be some of the hardest work days I have ever experienced. I will not have a single day off, pending heart attack or swine flu, untill August 23rd. Yippee! 236 hours of classroom time between now and then. Eesh. I hope that kids and I don't kill each other. Wish me luck.

Where is the Bicycle Shop?

Yesterday I had the whole day off and to myself, so I decided I would try and find a bicycle shop and buy some things so I could do home repair if I needed to. So I left the house around eleven and took the 316 bus towards where I guessed the bike shop was. (the only directions I got was "It's close to the Navy Museum") OK, so I headed out that way.

After about 45 min on the same bus, I came to what I believed to be close to my goal. I got off and walked over a retaining wall and saw Beach No. 1, with 1000s of patrons. I also saw the "Navy Museum" about a mile back down the beach. oops, overshot my goal.

I took a stroll down the famous Qingdao Pier and then headed off toward the museum.

I was walking and sight-seeing for a good hour and a half and suddenly I looked up and there it was!! The Bike Shop, right in front of me!! I went in and the super nice guy named Chin, who spoke English, helped me get what I needed. I felt like a million bucks at this point. A huge sense of accomplishment indeed. I then went down and around to the lighthouse island, Xiaoqingdao Park, and took some pics of the Navy Ships and the city from a distance. By this time it was around 2:30 pm. I then back tracked to the bike shop and decided that I was ready to go home. Time to look for a bus stop. Ummm. no where close. So I began walking away from where I started and came across Beach No. 2, again packed with people, Tonnes of them. I meandered through the boardwalk and vendors, had my picture taken a few times. Finally finding the bus stop around 3:30 pm. Got on and got home around 4pm, just before rush hour. Whew, what a day for just a bike shop.

Soooo, yesterday was spent mostly in bed kicking my little cold. With lots of rest and psuedoephedrine I feel tip top. Went back to the night market in Taidong, rode the bus all the way there and back for a whopping $0.60, about 1 hour round trip. Always fun. Today, I worked out and am about to go to work and teach "TPR1" which is a fancy word for "5 year old." Tomorrow, I have two, three hour classes, both are high school students, it might be disaster or really fun. The "Wind of May" is what is in the picture. enjoy.

Your Future!! (in 13 hours)

Today I went and worked out at the Gym, only $90 for a six month membership. Crazy Cheap! When I got home, Nathan and his lady,Sissi wanted to go eat Hot Pot (a chain resturaunt done similar to a Fondue). While we were out we saw this person (above) toting way too much stuff on a bike. Oh China, when will you learn.

Tonight I had my private tutoring w Jasmine. That's going great and is nice for the extra change in the pocket.

I have a small head cold and want to kick it as soon as possible so it doesnt grow into a monster!

Bowling

Last night, we (the American/Canadian teachers) all went bowling, SOOOOOO fun. We were the only people in the place and it was a nice taste of home.

Basketball in China

So, Basketball is huge here. All the kids play, all the adults watch, everyone loves Kobe and LaBron. Nathan and I went to the TaiDong district and played w abunch of Chinese dudes. They are all very prone to call FOUL and are kind of 'limp wristed' when it comes to playing physical. I am a very physical player and bump, push, reach, grab constantly. So you can guess what happened. I "fouled" alot and they moaned and groaned. One actually ran into my knee and gave himself a charlie horse and had to leave the game. All around fun for me though!!

I am MUCH more comfortable buying things and my Chinese phrase cache is building quickly.

Teach Much?

This last week I began teaching/observing in the classroom. It takes up a lot of time, I guess that's what work is for, haha. really enjoy the kids and the classroom, I'm a natural born teacher. I've been making a lot of new friends here in Qingdao and trying to experience everything possible

!!

Today.

Today, Nathan and I are cooking Western food for his class. Burgers, chips and Coke! Hope they like it!!

Day Nexter

This Morning I went around the corner to SPR Coffee for my morning fix and talked w my crew on Skype.
For lunch, Nathan, Dan and I went to a Japanese place around the corner. I had Tofu and Noodles, not bad for 24 Yuan ($4).
So, my phone crapped out and Vivian and I had to go get another one and return mine. from 2pm to 5pm we spent trying to get it done. total test of patcience. we were sent to some place to 'test' the phone and had to come all the way back to the store and then we hadn't brought the right copy of something and it took another hour to get that straightened out. GAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! 3 hours later, phone is fixed.

At 6pm i met Diana @ Book City to eat dinner for her Mom's b-day. We ate at a place called Nine Dragons, super nice, private room and great food!! there was one big table and all the food was served via lazy susan.

After Nine Dragons, we trucked it down to KTV karaoke where you get a private room and everything is super nice. Met Nathan there and had a great time untill about 12am and we hit the road.

Day Next

I walked along the boardwalk today. took some pics and got a tan! spent about 3 hours out there and somehow found my way home... Stopped by JusCo (Japanese WalMart) and bought a lint roller and towels. Lastnight I cooked Noodles and beef for dinner, mostly uneventful.

Day Next

Instead of Mexican last night, we had some SUPER authentic Chinese grilled foods. The place we went to is literally translated as "Fat Sister's". It's named after the lady that owns the place.
We ate Durian or stink fruit, Silk worm, crawfish, sea worms, fried tofu, spicy cucumber, chicken, beef and brilled bread
We all ate and drank for about 90RMB or $15 dollars. CHEAP!

durian... stinky.

Third full day

Vivian helped me get a phone today which will be a huge help for the future to get around!
Still not real sure how to get around or to school but I eventually found my way to Leewen to meet Vivian. Even blind Squirrels find a nut sometimes.
Nathan and I went to the roof and showed me the city from great heights, but the fog from the sea was too thick and we came down pretty quickly. Hopefully it will be more clear soon for a good view.
We plan on going out to a Mexican place here in town. Not so sure how I feel ab Chinese making Mexican.

The Apartment complex. Mine is the furthest full one on the right

Second Full day!

this morning, I woke up around 4am because of the jet lag and forced another 3 hours of sleep untill 7am. I woke up and took a shower, where the water has to be turned on prior to recive any.
Spent the next few hours talking to mom,dad and kat via skype.
Then, Nathan and I went to the Bank of China to exchange my USD for RMB. I didn't have my passport and had to make a huge round trip to get the darn thing so I coule change monies. I did finalise everything and got the money. All's well that ends well.
On the way home I made my first successful transaction for an egg sandwitch and a coke zero!!! Woot!!

Here we go!!

First off, I have to say that Korean Air is AWESOME! The food rocks, the stewardesses are uber helpful, the planes are great and the Icheron airport in Seoul is a mammoth beast of beauty. An all around pleasant surprise to the beginning of my trip.

I got into Qingdao this morning around 9:30am and was met by Vivian, Sonny and Kevin at the airport. The drive to the school and apartments was about 20 minutes and kinda awkward to say the least, due to my complete inability to speak or understand Mandarin. Conversation was sparse and brief. We got to the school and then went on to the apartment where I met my roommate Nathan, who has gone completely out of his way to help me out on my first day in China. He has been here for two months and is still learning, but is light years ahead of me in the ‘getting around department.’ He and I went to the local Dillards-esque department store to look for some bedding, pillows and towels. That location was unfruitful and a smaller mini mall next door unearthed the goods I was after.

Nathan left for lunch around noon and I had quiet time to Skype talk to my crew (Kat, mom, and dad). Then I took a nap and when I awoke, I began unpacking. Extremely easy considering the small amount of things that I brought.

My first venture out alone was interesting because believe it or not, I still couldn’t speak Mandarin and buying things is hard when people ask questions in a language you can’t understand. I went to a small Korean store for some staple items and played a game I like to call “charades and blank looks” with the clerk who checked me out. THANK GOD for digital read-outs on cash registers, otherwise we would have been there all day.

I have now had my first run in with a Communist Regime. As soon as I got here, Nathan and I were chatting about this and that and he mentioned that YouTube, Blogger, and Twitter are inaccessible due to a certain 20 Year anniversary of a certain event that rhymes with TeaCinnamon Pear. Darn Commies, never can let Freedom Ring through web videos, and useless tweeting. Oh well. This bad boy was written in Word and copy/pasted. Boo Yah!

my 12 hr seat, my neighbor was a burly Korean man that kept expnading into my seat region. its cool tho, Ambien is my new best friend.

Back of the bus for me!

this is where I took a sink shower, sorry for the mess Korean janitor.. a mans gotta be clean.

My swine flu check up sheet, "Do you have it?" "No.", "cool, have a great trip"

Today is the day! I write from the reLAX lounge, clever, in the International hub of Los Angeles Airport. The Last few days have been exciting and nerve racking at the same time.
Kat and I left Conway after she was done with her SOAR session for SOS at about 2p.m. We made a stop in Maumelle to say "good bye" to Dad and Sherry then continued on to Little Rock to drop off Kats Jeep and say "good bye" to Mom and Steve.
We made it to Emily(Kat"s cousin) and Jason"s(Emily's husband) house in the Big D around 8:30p.m. and went to dinner at El Fenix and had Emily's favorite, YOGURT LAND!!!! for dessert.
We got up this morning and Emily made us the best breakfast ever or at least I thought so. Then, I drove Kat, Emily and I to Love Field for my flight to Houston. Needless to say it was really difficult to say good buy to my sweetie, Kat. I can honestly say that she is the love of my life and I cannot wait till our wedding day!! Back on topic, the flights thus far have been good, lots of small talk with my neighbors and napping with my Ipod. The Los Angeles airport is HUGE and the weather is perfect.
I will leave for Seoul, South Korea at midnight, Pacific time and the flight is 12 hours but I will arrive in Seoul at 4:30a.m. Mind bending travel tricks! Jet Lag here I come!

Thank you all for the encouraging texts and phonecalls. I will keep you posted on what's next!

Outie two Scoutie.

I guess I'm on my way...

Well, I have to go now. I just bought my plane ticket through Expedia.com. I will be flying Korean Air out of Dallas!! Not much to say, except it is very real now.

Lessons Learned

Lesson 1: Always have someone around who can read Mandarin symbols.

My work permit and letter of invitation came in yesterday and guess what, it was 98% Mandarin symbols. I had a question about if I should sign it but I couldn't read a word of it. I ended up faxing it to my travel agent, Wendy, in Dallas and she informed me it was a space to put my wife and children's names. oh well, I know there will be more of that.

Lesson 2: Always ask your travel agent if she has all the documentation to apply for your visa.

Yesterday, after I got my permit and letter, I overnight FedExed them to Wendy, along with a $200 check. She called me this morning and left a message saying to call her immediately, it was urgent. I did and I had not sent her my visa application, travel declaration, passport, or recent photo. I didn't know she needed all of this and she assumed I knew to send it. So today, I got all of that together and sent it on its way. A day late and a dollar short, as always.

What's this all about Stephen?

Unrelated

Um, This has nothing to do with the trip...in any way. But, I found it recently and thought you might enjoy it. A baby Stephen for your viewing pleasure.

The Beginning

I write today from the comfort of my temporary upstairs bedroom in Maumelle, Arkansas. Soon I will begin an adventure that will surely change the course of my life. In June, I will be traveling to the city of Qingdao in the Shandong province of China to begin a six month internship with the Leewen School of Foreign Language. I am feeling excited, nervous, unsure, confident, proud, supported, ready and unprepared all at once, quite a bundle of emotions for a future teacher. The farthest I have been away from the United States is Puerto Rico (2000 mi.) and now for my next trick I will travel to a country 7200 miles away, from my safe little bedroom, where I know about three out of one billion people. I am sad to leave my friends and family for such a long time but as Andy Dufresne says in Shawshank Redemption, "get busy livin' or get busy dying."