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
- Shanghai (lived there for 1 year)
- Beijing
- Chongqing
- Shandong (lived in Rizhao for almost 3 years!)
- Gunagxi
- Yunnan
- Sichuan
- Zhejiang
- Jiangsu
- Henan
- Hunan
- Guizhou
+ Vietnam
+ Philippines
+ Indonesia
+ South Korea
Stay tuned for whatever comes next ;)
