Qingdao
Survival game in the PRC (Qingdao)
02/14/2011 International exchangeQingdao
Apart from it being cold, and half of the organizers being Chinese ex-military, the scary thing was that this was in a normal park with people walking their dogs or going for strolls with their kids.
Recycling the trash
12/17/2010 ChinaChinese mythsQingdao
In Japan, and several other countries, household trash needs to be separated into various categories and those categories of trash are put outside for collection on predetermined days. Common categories may be metals, plastics, glass, combustible, noncombustible, etc. The main reason for this is to increase the amount of recycling and decrease the amount of trash that ends up in landfills. Here in Qingdao though, all trash can be thrown out together on any day of the week. That makes life much simpler for the average household, who probably wouldn’t separate it anyway, and means that the trash is collected daily. But, what about recycling? How can glass bottles, metal …
Problems with landlord – Part 2
12/01/2010 ChinaChinese peopleQingdao
Following on from before . . . After leaving China on the 30th August with the landlord threatening to have a locksmith open the door and change the lock, I returned to a busy schedule in Japan. Two lawyers and the real estate agent assured me that not even this crazy landlord would be so stupid as to have somebody open the door without my permission as that would be a clear breach of several laws, and that the only way he could gain access to the room was if I were to open the door. Since there was no way I was going to do that, I felt sure …
Old Stone Man, Qingdao
10/22/2010 Qingdao
Shilaoren, which means “Old Stone Man”, is one of Qingdao’s most popular tourist beaches. It was named after the shape of the prominent rock outcropping located just off the Shilaoren Peninsula. The rock is said to resemble an old fisherman waiting for his daughter to return from beneath the waves. The daughter was taken by the dragon prince who later turned the waiting father into stone.
Problems with landlord – Part 1
09/01/2010 ChinaChinese peopleQingdao
Here’s why I haven’t had time to update my blog for a while . . . The saga started simply enough, but went on for three weeks, and isn’t really over yet. It may end up in the courts, but for now I just have to wait and see. Since it would be too long to write, let alone read, if I described all the details, I’ll just give you the outline of how I came to move the Chinese office. Not far, just to the room below! On the 2nd August, I went into the office to find that water was flowing from the kitchen sink all the way …
