Viewfinder

View From The Top, originally uploaded by Sojourner Santiago.

Winter is setting in here in Qingdao and I'm not liking it. Consider me fully confined to the interior of my parka for the next five months, because I can't stand the icy breezes that have become a daily torment - and it's not even December!

On the bright side I was paid this Tuesday, my internet connection was fixed today (hence my delayed blogging), and I just joined a gym with a pool and yoga classes. I'm fairly certain the "heater" in my room is simply blowing out lukewarm air for its own amusement, but I caved in and bought myself a blanket so I can't complain too much.

I haven't been bopping around the city taking as many photographs as would make this photo blog more compelling, so forgive the three-week-old picture of a charming October day. My daily routine has become more standardized which, despite giving me less material for blog posts and lengthy emails, I think signals a shift into a comfortable routine - something it'll be nice to have for the next eleven months.

Language lessons are on the horizon as the newest teacher at Leewen and I have decided to undertake them together. In the meantime I've learned the most valuable phrase of all: "I can't speak Chinese."

Teaching at Leewen is still proving to be a challenge for me as the lack of structure makes me feel at times as if I'm in a boat without a paddle, but my one-on-one tutoring sessions last until December and they're a nice reprieve from talking at a group of distracted ten-year-olds.

I had to buy contact solution this evening and while I was in the store pointing at things, muttering in English and trying to avoid being sold stuff I didn't want I bit the bullet and bought a Chinese brand because my American brand of solution was 110 yuen. I don't know if it would have offended the saleswoman if she'd understood me saying, "Here's hoping I don't go blind," but I know that you, fellow Americans, will sympathize.

Here's hoping I don't go blind!

This was my life choice.

Louis Vuitton Don, originally uploaded by Sojourner Santiago.

That, ladies and gentleman, is my Halloween costume.

I bought a fake LV shirt and scarf, threw on some "bling" and a pair of knockoff Gucci sunglasses - the piece de resistance (I can't figure out how to make the proper accents on a PC) of the entire ensemble. I scratched off the Gucci logo because God forbid I send mixed signals, and embellished both lenses with cell phone bling in the LV logo. Genius or evidence of just how much time I have on my hands? Let's call it a draw.

The Chinese don't celebrate Halloween which meant the "holiday" was more of a costumed bar crawl for foreigners. I spent most of my evening at the nightclub at which I've become an unofficial regular (not many options in the city), and danced as befitting of the "Louis Vuitton Don."

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I've spent the past few hours packing up all of my things for the big move tomorrow. I'm so excited to have imitation hardwood floors, and the guy who used to live in my room left behind his computer speakers!

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It snowed today. I debated this morning whether or not I would really need to put on my longjohns so early in the season. My optimism won out. "It won't be as cold as it was yesterday! That was surely just a fluke."

Optimism is for suckers, and people who don't necessarily enjoy feeling their legs all the time.

The temperature disproved one thing for sure: the TA who drew a map of the world for me that placed the entire USA north of China. I figured one of us didn't know our geography and also that I didn't hallucinate my entire life and how warm I was during it.

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P.S. Thanks to everyone who has replied to my mass e-mails! I really appreciate that you're staying in touch and I promise to get back to you as soon as I can!

The family that bikes together...

The family that bikes together..., originally uploaded by Sojourner Santiago.

I really should always carry my camera with me here in China, but I see it as a nuisance and often, regrettably, leave it behind in my apartment. I've missed snapping such sartorial wonders as the "Chic. Cultured. Destination" tracksuit (that was screen printed on the back and yes, an entire team of some sort was wearing it), and the little kid I saw sitting in the front seat of a car without his seatbelt on, staring at my bus window (more absurd/unsettling would have been the picture).

I'm excited that next week I'll be able to upload new photos that are more relevant to my daily life than the above photo of this random family, although it does speak to the aforementioned apparent lack of safety laws involved with operating a motor vehicle here.

I found out tonight that tomorrow I'll teach my last "New Concept" class, the class that I mentioned in my e-mail is a big fan of Star Trek and also not learning. After that I only have to test them to see how much of the material they've retained, which, from what I've heard about the guy who was teaching this class before me, will be very little.

Next week I'll have a few pictures of my students, a few more pictures of Zhong Shan, hopefully a few snaps of my new digs, and probably a few of my embarrassing excuse for a Halloween costume. Happy Halloween!

Coastal

Coastal, originally uploaded by Sojourner Santiago.

I'm currently sick.

I woke up yesterday with a slightly sore throat and as the day progressed, it only got worse. Luckily, this seems to be isolated to my throat and my nose as I don't feel overly fatigued or feverish. Even more luckily, I have some leftover cold medicine. Hopefully my first care package from home will arrive soon and I'll have a solid stash of Nyquil and Dayquil to get me through these impromptu illnesses.

This morning was my second one-on-one tutoring session. I asked that these be in the morning so that the rest of my day would be free, but I can honestly feel the difference in my teaching capabilities between the first and second hour. Regardless of my grande latte I still managed to drop the ball when helping my student answer some of his TOEFL (an English-language test for foreign speakers) practice exam questions, which was rather embarrassing. Then he showed me the list of SAT vocabulary he was having difficulty with and I felt even less qualified to be his tutor.

I might have a lot of work ahead of me, but I believe we can actually accomplish something since we're working one-on-one. He understands certain words in what he reads, but sometimes has difficulty finding the general idea that connects them. We're working on listening and reading exercises that push him to identify at least some of the concepts behind what he's reading, as well as trying to use the words he does understand in a sentence to piece together its meaning.

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I'm eating grapes. The last grapes I bought had seeds in them and I realized I'd never eaten anything but seedless grapes before. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with them so I peeled them all open and scooped out the seeds with my fingers. These grapes were a lot smaller than the last bunch so I assumed they were seedless. They are. Thank God some things in China are what they appear to be (unlike my grapefruit, which was actually a pomelo. Little difference, but still...)

A Walk in the Park

Architecture, originally uploaded by Sojourner Santiago.

This Tuesday (despite my new-found blogging capability I'm still lagging in the real-time updates department) I spent the afternoon in Zhong Shan park, a huge green haven in industrial Qingdao in which the TV tower sits at the top of a hill (see post below for photo).

Along with a mini amusement park there were some varying architectural influences on display, as you can see from the above photo. Did martians land in Qingdao in the 70's, or is this just completely inexplicable?

Yet looking at this photo I can't help but be reminded of California, or if I'm stretching it, Tuscany. The way the colors work together makes me wonder what Qingdao could have looked like in different hands. Granted, the Germans did have control of the city for almost 100 years, but seeing the generic apartments built up all along the coast I can't help contemplating alternatives. To think that this land could have been bought up by McMansion developers establishing China's Malibu throws into sharp relief the strangeness of seeing a country so far developed with still so much developing to do. Sure, McMansions aren't something to aspire to and it's probably telling that they're a distinctly American phenomenon, but are sardine-can apartment complexes any better? At least with million dollar homes you can be sure someone appreciates their view, but I can only hope that of the 8 million people in Qingdao at least some of them have time to stop and realize how beautiful it really is, although the trash along the beaches speaks otherwise.

Fu Shan

Gorgeous mountains..., originally uploaded by Sojourner Santiago.

These are the gorgeous mountains right behind my apartment. I've hiked up them twice and the way the breeze coming in off the sea feels as it (there are no other words) caresses your face in the fading sunshine of a glorious fall day is what drives me to these Wordsworthian raptures. God bless any spot in China that makes you feel like Keira Knightley standing on that cliff in Pride & Prejudice. You can practically hear the dramatic piano accompaniment from the dvd menu reminding you that no matter how strange it may get down there in the busy streets below, we'll always have Paris. Or the hills of China. It's whatever.