SUMMER 2013 impressions

"Ticket to heaven" - coolest open-air chill out place by the river in Riga 

Parnu

...and Brainstorm @ Watergate festival (Ewert and The Two Dragons were also there, but it was getting too dark for photos by the time they hit the stage ;)

BEST-Riga 20th anniversary 

and 

a small bit of alumni with a small bit of historical evidence

Song & Dance festival!

Countless concerts and markets @ "Kalnciema kvartals"

"The Tall ship races" is back to Riga after a 10 year break! 

Bye bye boats! 

Culinary treats!!!

@Milk fest

And lots more :)

And now ..time for autumn and colours!!! :)

Things I will miss about China...and not!!!

The amazing race in China has already ended (left China more than a month ago), so there`s one last post about it - to sum up the 4 year experience (if that`s at all possible!) 

   

Amazing things done

• participating in a controversial play "Madame Butterfly" that was banned after the 3rd show
• performing ABBA`s "Thank you for the music" +  hosting a show on Rizhao TV
• teaching all ages: from kindergarten to University students (total number of students exceeds 1000)
• singing in a local bar with a band a couple of times
• lots of KTV (karaoke)
• being detained by military and then handed over to police for detailed questioning, etc. (for hiking into a military object without realizing it) - charged with not carrying an ID :)
• boot-camp training with 9 other cool ladies in Shanghai as a part of Shanghai Dolls club 
• volunteering @ Shanghai EXPO for Latvian pavilion 
• horse trekking in Western Sichuan - Tibetan area
  
• been a "wedding angel" 
  

Things I will miss about CHINA

• cheap and great massages
• xiaolongbao (small steamed buns with meat & broth)
• supper fresh oysters and other shellfish at a very low price
• compliments on how great my pale skin is :)))
• strawberry season starting in February!
  
• singing as never before :)
• all the crazy little things foreigners get to do in China: crazy dress-ups, using bar`s musical set for playing, feeling like some kind of supper-star most of the time ;)
• amazing travelling experiences
• Chinglish :)
• long and frequent Chinese traditional holidays ;)
• cheap taxi rides (used as a mean of public transportation)

Things I most definitely won`t miss

• the sound of a spit
• the tones of Chinese language
• squat toilets (especially those of bus-stations and Rizhao schools)
• Baijiu!!!
• sea cucumbers
• being a passive smoker
• being stared at all the time
• fences, walls and other obstacles Chinese are so good at putting up to make it hard for you to get to all the good places ;)
• repeatedly answering or avoiding to answer all kinds of personal questions from random and complete strangers (the most annoying being: How much do you earn?) 
• asking the price of every item on the menu in order not to get scammed ;)
• actually having to ask a price of everything I wanna buy
• people who are afraid to lose their face
• Chinese fashion ;) (or absence of it!) 
• "mei you, bu zhidao" mentality (don`t have, don`t know)
• Chinese inability to plan and assume you are always available for lunch/dinner/work assignment with a 15 minute prior notice)
• not being able to buy a proper ice-cream in a shop in winter (or ever, actually ;)!
• "privacy" policy (lack of it) of Chinese hospitals!
• ever increasing construction site landscape!

Things I`ve learnt

• speaking Chinese (Mandarin...probably with some Rizhao accent ;)
• that it`s better to stay away from military objects
• biking (and getting my first ever "Jinxi" bike!)
• playing badminton
• bargaining hard
• making strawberry jam
• making pumpkin cream soup, liver pate and other Western dishes that I had not ever made before 
• to take a left-over food in a "doggy bag" from a restaurant
• to understand sale system: if it`s 8 - it`s 20% off, if it`s 3 - it`s 70 % off :))
• film editing and making
• that my after-winter-pale face skin is beautiful :)) 
• Chinese traditions and superstitions

Things I`ve learnt to like

• spicy food (Sezchuan pepper, chilli - bring it on!)
• drinking plain hot water and actually being able to enjoy it!
• always carrying a Thermos mug with me to get my hot water refill
• simple noodle soups
• couple of types of tofu
• kimchi (ok, that`s Korean, but we got South Korea right across the "Yellow pond" there)

 Trips made and provinces covered

1. Shanghai (lived there for 1 year)
2. Beijing
3. Chongqing
4. Shandong (lived in Rizhao for almost 3 years!)
5. Gunagxi
6. Yunnan
7. Sichuan
8. Zhejiang
9. Jiangsu
10. Henan
11. Hunan
12. Guizhou

...and also some trips in the "neighboorhood":
+ Vietnam
+ Philippines
+ Indonesia
+ South Korea


Stay tuned for whatever comes next ;)

Spring has arrived to Rizhao Botanical Garden!

 

SEOUL!

Seoul is only 1 h 10 min flight away from Qingdao (our closest airport) and we finally made it there last weekend during Chinese Qinming festival from April 4 to April 7....VERY NICE, VERY CLEAN, VERY RELAXED!!!

Very delicious tarts, cakes, waffles, donuts, etc!!! 

Seoul seems to have hundreds of cafeterias and it was a true pleasure to be hungry there!

Hello Kitty cafe

Cheonggyecheon Stream - 5, 84 km long stream running through down-town

Insa-dong - probably the best neighbourhood to be based in Seoul!

Gwangwamun Gate

Bukchon Hanok Village: perfect for idyllic and quiet walks

Gangnam - walked more than 4 km and didn`t see a single person doing Gangnam moves... what  a cheat ;)

Noryangjin Fish Market

A cool place for "window-shopping" and also buying fresh seafood (don`t forget to bargain ;) and getting it cooked in a  restaurant of your choice on the 2nd floor of the market! Highly recommend!

Fish market restaurant of our choice and our purchase - way too many mussels and the biggest shrimps we could find (that had already been eaten at the moment of taking the photo ;)

Wedding area in a shopping mall 

Strolling around your regular shopping mall (I`Park Mall in Yongsan) we came across an area for weddings!!!!

So along with other guests we hanged around the waiting area and even peeked into a couple of weddings :))....looked like a true wedding conveyor amidst the shopping craze!

Modern romance ;)

Trick eye museum - located in Hongik Uni-town area, it`s one of the coolest museums I have ever visited!!! Extremely interactive! The whole neighbourhood is also real cool!

Mt. Namsan park and Seoul tower

for a hike uphill, forest & fresh air in the very centre of town! 

Now that`s a perfect gym!

The disappointing bridge otherwise known as Banpodaegyo Bridge
which is registered in Guinness Record book as the longest bridge fountain...
After having waited for all the possible listed evening show times (with many other Guinness Record experience seekers)...all I can say is "what fountain???" 

But...there is a direct bus from under that bridge that will take you very close to the heart of ITAEWON - very lively neighbourhood catering to very different foreign tastes (read: bars, pubs, restaurants, cafeterias, shops..)! 

And now the newest spring season 2013 trends from South Korea!

1) Vampire pale skin

2) Mix and match!

3) Focus on your best assets!

4) Fancy hill-hiking footwear!!! 

5) gadgets - the more the better and preferably Samsung!

The End :)