China style!

Noooo... I`m not back in China!

 Just happened to see heaps of Chinese tourists this weekend in Rotorua and had to conclude that nothing`s changed...even when going abroad "China style" come with ;)

So to give an idea of what I`m talking here...some samples from my China photo archives ;)

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!

 

HAPPY SNAKE YEAR!!!

First let me wish you a happy SNAKE YEAR :)

This was my first Chinese New Year in China (in 3,5 years!)

Other years during this crazy "firecracker war time" we were having exotic tropical escapes to Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. This year we opted to stay in the "war zone" ;)

Chinese NEW YEAR essentials:

1) red posters with good luck characters 

2) "war arsenal" = all kinds of explosives ...anything from annoying noise makers to somewhat reasonable fireworks 

3) New Year dinner 

(followed by watching 8PM National New Year show with the family members)

So this was a cosy company dinner for those who stayed in Rizhao. 

Shortly before 8PM all the Chinese left to make it home for the TV show :) (even though there was a TV placed specifically for the show viewing purpose)

Our little foreign community stayed a while longer checking out the prosperity of the TV show ;) and then continued to our own party!

And this was how we left the table when we had finished our meal! 

(Many more dishes had already been taken away..)

4) Blowing up your arsenal :)

The morning after 

But even after the New Year is celebrated "the war" goes on ...starting around 6:30 every morning for the duration of the whole Spring festival (Chinese New Year holiday) for about 2 weeks...so forget about sleeping in ;)

It all luckily ends with Lantern festival that we just celebrated this past Sunday!

Lantern festival in Rizhao is quite a feast and this year the main celebration was held in Sun Park!

Some days before the Lantern festival

All kinds of colourful floats are being put together for this major festivity!

Inspired by Avatar?;) 

And wondering off the main tracks we bumped into float workshop! 

LANTERN FESTIVAL

1 hour long fireworks!!!

Masses of people!!!

Countless floats!!!

  

My first proper snow in China :)

A miracle happened yesterday - it was snowing in Rizhao!!!

My first proper snow in China in 3,5 years!!! 

Grabbed camera and went to enjoy the white powder falling from the polluted Chinese sky :)

Observations:

Traffic was chaotic...but then it always is ;)

Snowmen were appearing like mushrooms after the rain :)

Taxi driver helped herself to 30% "tip" due to "extreme weather conditions" :)))

Stroll around the market

Almost a winter fairytale ;)