I got the title for this blog post from this first picture... as I recall, this picture was taken at the McDonald's in Qingdao... we were downstairs (as opposed to upstairs) relaxing after a long evening of walking and shopping at the night market. I decided to get a hot cocoa (yes, random, I know) with a pineapple pie (YUMMMM!!!!!) and probably some french fries. anyhow, we found the cup hilarious. :)
this is my "freakin' dork" pic. actually, a friend and I were "climbing" at Laoshan in Qingdao and it was THE HOTTEST day ever ever. we were sweating in places we didn't know we could sweat. haha by the end of the day we had sweat soaked clothes. quite disgusting. but I'll never forget that trip!
my school! I can never, ever, ever forget this place. and not just because I spent 24/7 there. haha
YTETDZ (Yantai Economical and Technological Development Zone) Tian Di (earth and sky) square. just a short walk from my home.
the fruit and vegetable market. this building used to not exist and the fruits, vegetables and meats were sold out on a dirt road right in the general area. this building wasn't built and used til either late 2002 or early 2003.
food everywhere! sooooo easy to get food. that's probably why I ate so much in China. haha (this is actually outside of the fruit/vegetable market on the street that used to be a diry road where the market used to be before)
"the blob". the mysterious sea creature that would creep you out by touching your leg while you were swimming but you couldn't see it despite being able to see all the way to the ground. me and my friends/students would throw these at each other.
Christmas year around. hahaha yes, there were literally Christmas decorations up year around. this one is special to me as it was at school on the front gate on the way out of school.
"ayi". I miss her so much... and the little shop. I spent so much time there. she sold it after I moved away. :(
Starbucks at the Forbidden City. it actually no longer exists... and by the time I tok this pic, the big sign advertising it no longer existed. 
my "body guard". oh how I miss him. I'd spend time goofing off with him at the front gate to the school when I had nowhere else to be but didn't want to go home. he's a really sweet guy and I hope that he moves up in life.
the trains. I took trains all over China... this is what a typical "hard sleeper" looks like. 6 bunks to a cubicle, hardly any sitting space... and no space to walk. so many memories on trains...
Christmas at school. our "Christmas party" was always a BIG deal. we started preparing late Oct. early Nov. for our Christmas performances. the kids always did a great job... and I now can not stand the song Jingle Bells (one year I taught it to maybe about 4 different classes) and we had to sing it daily throughout Dec. and most of Nov. until we had it down perfect.
random English activities with my students. I miss my students and Kelly (who has now changed her name to summer...), my best friend and assistant teacher.
Jackie's Cafe! a restaurant conceived in Dec. '00. started in a small little place off the beaten path with about 5 or 6 tables. they got so much business that they had to move up in the world and took a few months of to decorate their new place. and it's AMAZING! they get such good business that they don't even open for lunch anymore. I miss Jackie and Harry. :(
random banquets in my honour. tons and tons and tons of them. this one was small.... but I always ate so much. too much yummy food... and some not so yummy food. this banquet wasn't "high stress" as it was a going away banquet with just some leaders from my school. typically, banquets involved government officials.
Guilin. breath taking. literally. I've never seen such beauty that literally took away my breath. but this place did it to me. I don't think I could ever get tired of Guilin and it's beauty. God's creation is AMAZING!
the Great Wall, off the beaten path. I only went to the touristy part of the Great Wall once or twice. that was MORE than enough for me. thousands and thousands of people and the wall was all restored... I wanted the real thing... and I got it! it's a terribly difficult walk... and taking the short cut is only safe if the season hasn't been rainy. but it's amazing.
putting Princess in quarantine at a "wild reserve"... and being shown these baby tigers (9 and 7 days old) and 4 three month old white tigers that they tried to sell me... and 3 baby monkeys. oh... I didn't get to just "see" them. they let me play with them. there were also full grown tigers and lions, but they were scary and we tried to avoid getting too close to their cages.
da mao and xiao mao. I miss these guys SO MUCH! :( their mom is "ayi" from the pic way up above. they were always at the shop working and I'd go there to bug them and we'd hang out for hours on end. this pic was actually taken outside the shop while we were goofing off. they're "freakin' dorks" :)
Qingdao. I went there several times a year. not really sure why... shopping, I guess. but I loved the beach and walking through the older parts of Qingdao. most tourists go to the newer part of Qingdao and to the parks there and whatever. I was happy to just walk around the old part and walk along the beach and go to the night market on the beach.
so yeah.... that brings my "photo diary" to an end. I really would love to put lots more pix, but I don't want to bore you.
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1 comment:
Nice pictures! I think I took some of them :).
Surprise, surprise I can view blogs today; maybe the government unblocked them, along with wikipedia, to prove that they are not horrible people??? I don't know, but I'm not complaining!
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