When coming to China, we were told over and over again "everything is so cheap in China!" Well, unfortunately, we have not found that to be so true. I'm not sure if it is because I am a bargain shopper in the States (I rarely spend more than $6-8.00 on a shirt), or what, but many things, especially Western ones, to us are quite expensive.
For example, M&M's are around 4-5 Kuai, which converts to around $0.66. A standard can of Dr. Pepper is probably the highest markup I've found, ringing in around $1.75 (12 Kuai) in Qingdao. We expected this about western treats and delicacies though. However, meat, towels, bikes, and many other semi-necessary items have often taken us by surprise. We were particularly frustrated when it looked as though Nathan would need to pay several thousand kuai for a good bike. Luckily he was able to buy an affordable one second hand from someone we know.
I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, when a couple days ago I went to the market with around 350 Kuai(~$50 US) and walked away with four sweaters, two turtleneck long underwear, a thick jacket, two sets of earmuffs, a pair of gloves, and several snacks, spices, and veggies. And that's even with my foreign face!
What it really boils down to, I've decided, is being willing to look for the good deals. Things that are convenient to us, (where we live, this is often Western things) are often quite marked up. At our local shopping center you'll find clothes ranging from a few hundred to several thousand kuai. Fruits and veggies are often more expensive than in Texas. But when I have the time to go across town to the market, these prices quickly drop down to around 30-50 kuai a sweater, and a negligible amount for fruit, depending on how willing the seller is to bargain with.
What we have been pleasantly surprised with the prices of include services such as taxis, restaurants, hotels, massages, and repairmen. For our anniversary we stayed in a five star hotel for approximately $65 US a night! And luckily, the massage clinic down the road is less than $10 for a 70 minute massage. Ahhh, all the important things in life :-)
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Back to School
Wow, my first post of 2009 and it's already January 14th!
So, what have we been up to the past couple weeks? So much! School has started back up, and I have all new classes. Then last weekend we headed off to Chengdu to chaperon the ISC chess tournament.
Some of you may remember, Chengdu is the closest large city to the epicenter of the huge earthquake last year. Amazingly, most of the city was spared as the shock waves radiated out in an oval shape rather than a circle, thereby nearly completely missing the city as far as damage is concerned! As far as I know, we did not see any evidence of the earthquake in the areas we visited.
What we did see though was pandas! Chengdu has a panda preserve, similar to a zoo but with large, natural areas for the pandas to live in. Enjoy the pictures of these amazing creatures!
Btw, our Chess team did AWESOME. Our HS team took first and second place, the only two places that the tournament recognized. Congrats students!
It also snowed again. A lot! In fact, we almost couldn't make our flight on Friday for the chess tournament. After it started coming down hard around 2:00 PM, they closed the airport. After a few hours it opened back up, and we were only delayed by about 1 hour 40 min. And we had a lot of fun playing in the snow at school :-) Pictures of that coming soon.
Other than all that, nothing major is happening. We have a two week break starting next Thursday for Chinese New Year, and while we could do a bunch of traveling, we're planning to just lay low and get some rest. Who knows, I might even work some and get ahead on my lesson plans!
Miss you all and hope you are well!
So, what have we been up to the past couple weeks? So much! School has started back up, and I have all new classes. Then last weekend we headed off to Chengdu to chaperon the ISC chess tournament.
Some of you may remember, Chengdu is the closest large city to the epicenter of the huge earthquake last year. Amazingly, most of the city was spared as the shock waves radiated out in an oval shape rather than a circle, thereby nearly completely missing the city as far as damage is concerned! As far as I know, we did not see any evidence of the earthquake in the areas we visited.
What we did see though was pandas! Chengdu has a panda preserve, similar to a zoo but with large, natural areas for the pandas to live in. Enjoy the pictures of these amazing creatures!
Btw, our Chess team did AWESOME. Our HS team took first and second place, the only two places that the tournament recognized. Congrats students!
It also snowed again. A lot! In fact, we almost couldn't make our flight on Friday for the chess tournament. After it started coming down hard around 2:00 PM, they closed the airport. After a few hours it opened back up, and we were only delayed by about 1 hour 40 min. And we had a lot of fun playing in the snow at school :-) Pictures of that coming soon.
Other than all that, nothing major is happening. We have a two week break starting next Thursday for Chinese New Year, and while we could do a bunch of traveling, we're planning to just lay low and get some rest. Who knows, I might even work some and get ahead on my lesson plans!
Miss you all and hope you are well!
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Beijing
One of the main reasons we headed to Beijing this week was because our friends from Tianjin were having their baby girl in the hospital up there. She was due on the 29th or 30th, and we were hoping to catch a glimpse before we had to head back down to Qingdao.
On the 29th, Kim woke up with mild contractions. Hoping this was the real thing, we all went to lunch at a restaurant near the hospital she was going to deliver in. (By the way, this restaurant has the best Tex Mex found in China, and definitely filled my Tex Mex craving.)
During the lunch, Kim told our little friend Anna, who is two and a half, that there is a baby in her tummy. We caught some adorable pics of Anna trying to feel the baby. Anna also found out that lunch that her mommy has a baby in her tummy too! (Jacquelyn is 8 weeks pregnant and we are so incredibly excited for them!) Here's the pics of Anna and Kim:
I decided that some positive encouragement would do little Keturah some good, so we told Anna to tell Keturah to come out. We missed the photo shots of this, but it was very cute, I can assure you!
Needless to say, I was a little bummed after lunch when the contractions had lessened and Kim and Patrick decided to head home to let Moyer (their almost two year old son) take a nap. Nathan and I headed off to do some sight seeing on our own. (Pictures of our sightseeing to follow at the end.)
Well, anyways, little did we know, but shortly after they arrived back at the house we were all staying in, they decided it really was time to head back to the hospital. Keturah was born at 8:00 that evening.
We went to the hospital the next day to view their beautiful baby, and it was fun to see Anna with the baby less than twenty four hours after she had told Keturah to come out. Anna wasn't quite sure what to think about this, but the rest of us were thrilled!
Congratulations Patrick, Kim, Moyer, and Baby Keturah! We're so excited for you!
Other than seeing friends and meeting baby Keturah, we tried to spend a little time sight seeing and eating at western restuarants we don't have in Qingdao. Here's some pics of what we saw this week. Enjoy!
On the 29th, Kim woke up with mild contractions. Hoping this was the real thing, we all went to lunch at a restaurant near the hospital she was going to deliver in. (By the way, this restaurant has the best Tex Mex found in China, and definitely filled my Tex Mex craving.)
During the lunch, Kim told our little friend Anna, who is two and a half, that there is a baby in her tummy. We caught some adorable pics of Anna trying to feel the baby. Anna also found out that lunch that her mommy has a baby in her tummy too! (Jacquelyn is 8 weeks pregnant and we are so incredibly excited for them!) Here's the pics of Anna and Kim:
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| From Beijing '08 |
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| From Beijing '08 |
I decided that some positive encouragement would do little Keturah some good, so we told Anna to tell Keturah to come out. We missed the photo shots of this, but it was very cute, I can assure you!
Needless to say, I was a little bummed after lunch when the contractions had lessened and Kim and Patrick decided to head home to let Moyer (their almost two year old son) take a nap. Nathan and I headed off to do some sight seeing on our own. (Pictures of our sightseeing to follow at the end.)
Well, anyways, little did we know, but shortly after they arrived back at the house we were all staying in, they decided it really was time to head back to the hospital. Keturah was born at 8:00 that evening.
We went to the hospital the next day to view their beautiful baby, and it was fun to see Anna with the baby less than twenty four hours after she had told Keturah to come out. Anna wasn't quite sure what to think about this, but the rest of us were thrilled!
 |
| From Beijing '08 |
 |
| From Beijing '08 |
 |
| From Beijing '08 |
 |
| From Beijing '08 |
Congratulations Patrick, Kim, Moyer, and Baby Keturah! We're so excited for you!
Other than seeing friends and meeting baby Keturah, we tried to spend a little time sight seeing and eating at western restuarants we don't have in Qingdao. Here's some pics of what we saw this week. Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Layers
It's cold. Really cold. And being that the houses are concrete boxes, it's really really cold.
One interesting note is that getting dressed when it's really really cold takes a lot longer, and has a lot more to it! Gone are the days that one could hop into a pair of jeans and a top, pull on some shoes and socks and head out the door. Dressing is an intricate process now!
Today's outfit consists of two pairs of socks, thick black tights, jeans, a tank top, three layers of sweaters, a hat, and a thick scarf. And that's indoors!
This week I've felt particularly cold as we've been visiting Beijing. Located a few hundred miles north of Qingdao, the days rarely get above freezing, and the nights are well below. Add to it the expansive house we're staying in, and even indoors it's only about 14 degrees Celsius. That's one fantastic thing about our small apartment back in Qingdao! Located on the third floor and warmed by city heat, it stays relatively warm. I will be looking forward to heading back there tomorrow!
One interesting note is that getting dressed when it's really really cold takes a lot longer, and has a lot more to it! Gone are the days that one could hop into a pair of jeans and a top, pull on some shoes and socks and head out the door. Dressing is an intricate process now!
Today's outfit consists of two pairs of socks, thick black tights, jeans, a tank top, three layers of sweaters, a hat, and a thick scarf. And that's indoors!
This week I've felt particularly cold as we've been visiting Beijing. Located a few hundred miles north of Qingdao, the days rarely get above freezing, and the nights are well below. Add to it the expansive house we're staying in, and even indoors it's only about 14 degrees Celsius. That's one fantastic thing about our small apartment back in Qingdao! Located on the third floor and warmed by city heat, it stays relatively warm. I will be looking forward to heading back there tomorrow!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Snow in Qingdao!
It's snowing, and snowing a lot! What a great anniversary. Today we've been married five years. And what a fantastic five years it has been! Here's a few pics to memorialize the day. :-)
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Worse than...
I've finally found out what's worse than taking finals. Even worse than grading finals...I think.
Proctoring finals. Walking around for an hour and a half staring 200 kids down to make sure they are not cheating on their finals.
One fellow teacher even stated "If I had an hour and a half left to live, I would want to proctor an exam. That way that hour and a half would feel like an eternity." I added, "And at the end of it, you would look forward to death."
Well, finals are over and grades are in. Hurrah!
Proctoring finals. Walking around for an hour and a half staring 200 kids down to make sure they are not cheating on their finals.
One fellow teacher even stated "If I had an hour and a half left to live, I would want to proctor an exam. That way that hour and a half would feel like an eternity." I added, "And at the end of it, you would look forward to death."
Well, finals are over and grades are in. Hurrah!
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