One month and counting

I have now been living in Yantai a little over one month and the time has come to do something about this blog. On my to-do list: buy a cell phone and buy a camera. So photos will be coming soon.

So far my travels have included Penglai and Weihai, each an hour from Yantai. I also visited a Buddhist monastery not far from where I live.

The first week of October is a holiday here so I will be traveling! Woohoo! Now I'll just have to decide where I want to visit.


Interesting observations:

• Chinese students choose weird English names. Some of my students are Echo, Hike, Jolly, Cinderella, CCS, Rocky (a girl), Joy (a boy), Asia... well you get the idea.

• It's common to eat seafood as is. A shrimp is eaten with the shell, eyes, little legs and all.

• My shower area and bathroom are one and the same.

• Women walk around with umbrellas when it's sunny in order to stay as white as possible.

• Good thing I brought deodorant from home, I think it's impossible to find here.

• Chinese is hard.

• DVDs cost less than a dollar, and you buy them in secret door shops - all very exciting.

• Everything is fried - ovens are not common.

• A medical exam is required to be a teacher. Complete with X-ray, ultrasound, blood tests and more.

• Classes are once a week for 2 hours at a time.

• On the whole, Chinese people are very friendly.