Halloween Party

I am not one to sing and dance when it comes to a party or night out, as everyone well knows. So I was a little bit worried when the Americans decided to have a fancy dress party for Halloween. Luckily, I was walking around the supermarket and I spotted a cap that looked remotely like a golf hat. Perfect. Polo-shirt, trousers and cap - thats me sorted. The party was actually really good. Helped by lots of alcohol and some classics blasting out of my ipod speakers (Cyndi Lauper - Girls just wanna have fun).

Charlie, given the fact that he was born with a face that would soon resemble a certain Mr Potter, is gifted an easy option when it comes to fancy dress. He needed a wand to finish off the outfit and China provided the perfect object - a chopstick. Ah China, how you do amuse me. Anthony came dressed as a gay American and I can honestly say I will be stuck with the image of him dancing around in a pair of tight orange shorts for the rest of my life.

The party did offer one moment of pure comedy that thankfully was caught by myself on camera. An English man dressed as Harry Potter, A French man dressed as a gay American, both dancing like madmen to Cyndi Lauper on the futon in the room - a funny sight all by itself. However, it was about to get much more funny, as this video shows -

Click here

I would just like to add that yes, I did look more like a gay chimney-sweep rather than a golfer. I hate fancy dress!

I saw this while preparing for next weeks lesson and decided it had to go on the old blog of mine -

The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, published in 1911, gives the following definition:

Wit n. The salt with which the American humorist spoils his intellectual cookery by leaving it out.

Sorry fellow teachers, you know i'm only teasing!

English Corner

I was asked by Hilary weeks ago if I would like to go to English corner with her one Thursday evening. Obviously, given that English corner is merely two hours of sitting, surrounded by many Chinese students, chatting about anything they wish, unpaid - I said no. After relentless nagging, I gave in and decided to give it a go. If all goes wrong, i'll just pretend I am French and understand neither the Chinese students nor Hilary.

Only 30 minutes before it was due to start, this being 7.00pm, did Hilary inform me that English corner takes place outside. Not inside, huddles round a table, as I had imagined. But rather outside, literally on a street corner. My anger reached new levels, but there was nothing I could do and off I went. Following on from my previous post, you can imagine how cold it was.

Now for those who know me well, I am not one to enjoy having to speak to many new people at once. Add to this the inability to speak Chinese and the fact that it was freezing cold and I was all ready to jump in the next passing taxi. By ten 7.10pm, no word of a lie, I had nearly 35 students stood around me, listening to every word as if I had something important or intellectual to say. Which of course I didn't. But it didn't really matter. I could have spoke in cockney rhyming slang and they still would have been enthralled by every word that left my mouth.

Two hours flew by and the fact that I was surrounded by so many people meant that it wasn't remotely cold. I amused myself by telling them that the reason Hilary invited me was because it was called 'English corner' after all and not 'American-English corner'. Questions ranged from 'what is my favourite colour?', to 'do you think that the Earth will be able to cope in the near future given the ever increasing population?'. Obviously I stuck to what I know - 'my favourite colour is blue' and 'don't worry your little head about the population, keep reading your books'.

It kills me that it wasn't the worst evening I have ever had in my life. Unfortunately, I may be inclined to go back again. I never thought those words would leave my mouth. But it did make me realise that the students here must be pretty desperate to practice their English with native speakers if they are so eager to listen to what I have to say!

It's a bit chilly

Less than a week ago I was strolling around Qingdao in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. With a smile on my face and a beer in my hand, I was a happy chappy. The temperature was around 27c I am now back in Shijiazhuang and lets just say it's a little bit more fresh!

The Yahoo website said yesterday that the weather would vary between 19c and 9c. I didn't believe it and took it as yet another sign that never once has anybody ever predicted the weather correctly. How wrong I was.

On my way to class I can literally see my breath it is that cold. It is still only October and yet the temperature is dropping ridiculously quickly. One day this week I went to class wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. One of my students was wearing long-johns, jeans, t-shirt, shirt, jumper and coat - and he was still cold!

It has dropped about fifteen degrees in total in the last two or so weeks and does not look like stopping anytime soon. But, I suppose I should have seen it happening. I can remember myself about two weeks ago, clearly, saying out loud to the others - 'I cannot possibly see how it is going to drop to minus ten degrees Celsius in around a months time! It must be wrong!'. Yet again, it appears I opened my big mouth too soon.

Qingdao Part II

Something else that 'may' have forced the decision to go to Qingdao is that it is home to the Tsingtao brewery. So, purely for the purposes of research, we did our darn hardest to sample as much as we could. When we arrived at the brewery though, we decided that the price to go on the tour was simply too much (about £2.5op), therefore instead we just went to the bar that joined onto the brewery. Just over £1.50 for a 1 1/2 litre jug of lager - woo hoo.

I was almost about to put an order in for this car for my mam and dad for Christmas, but decided that they probably wouldn't appreciate the sentiment - plus postage and packaging may be a little steep. So i'll have to rethink what i'm going to go for, maybe some fake pearls or dodgy electronic goods?

One thing everyone should have in their posession at some point in ther life - a VIP card to Club New York. Especially when your name is David Stdices. Its a good job they have stated that the copyright belongs to Club New York for the design of the card, otherwise there may have been a scramble to copy it first!

Isn't it funny how things that seem amusing at the time, when your drunk, make no sense when your sober. Who this man is or why I decided to get a photo with him is a mystery to me. But I am sure it made perfect sense in my head at the time!

Qingdao Part I

Well were safely back home and what a trip it has been. I can now say that Qingdao has undoubtedly been the highlight for me so far in China. We chose Qingdao as we had been informed that it was a sunny, seaside City with many tourist attractions to keep you occupied. But our first task was to get the train there...

As I said in the last post, we only had standing tickets. Once aboard the train, we made ourselves comfortable in a tiny little doorway. Happy with the fact that we would be able to curl up into a ball and hopefully fall asleep for the 11 hour journey. But, with a stroke of luck, a ticket inspector pointed down the train and told us to go to carriage six. Unsure why, we dutifully did as we were told. Once there, we then realised that there was a little ticket booth where people seemed to be buying further tickets. So, armed with money, a smile and a pretend yawn to show I wanted to sleep, I attempted to buy better tickets. It worked! Ten minutes later I had three tickets for what we though were beds, from a station three hours away. Jackpot. Things got better as we then found a food carriage that more importantly stocked lager. One o'clock came and we headed to our beds, which to our delight turned out to be 'soft-sleepers', with quilts and cushions. We were overjoyed. Apart from a little incident involving a policeman who accused me of stealing his hat at 4.00am in the morning (a story I shall go into no further!) the remainder of the journey was hassle free.

When we got there, our hostel was fine once we had changed our four bed dormitory to a three bed ensuite - complete with western toilet. Off we went to explore. Now this will come as no surprise to anyone who knows my luck - it was raining. As these pictures show –

This didn't dampen our spirits however. The air was fresh and it was warm, something we haven't experienced in Shijiazhuang for a while! Things took a turn for the better not long after though - as the sun came out. We headed for St Michaels Church. Not far from our Hostel and a fine example of the German Architecture that exists in Qingdao (due to the German occupation here towards the end of the 19th Century I think?). As you can see, it was quite a sight -

Qingdao at sunsent was unbelievable. Whether from the side of the beach, or high up at a viewing station nearby, the City looked very impressive -

On our second day in Qingdao, we took a visit to the Qingdao TV Tower. Although it wasn't an entirely clear day when we went to the top, we still got some good views of the whole city. Instead of trekking all the way back down to the roadside to catch a cab home, we jumped on the cable car. When I say jump, I literally mean stand on a box and wait for this little old wooden seat to come spinning round - then jump on it as it carries you forward off the edge of the station. Not the safest method im sure you'll agree –

To finish off our trip, we decided that we had to go on the beach. So before we left on Saturday, off came our shoes and into the sea we went for a stroll. I believe we are stood in JiaoZhou Bay which faces the Yellow Sea (or so the internet guide tells me) -

All in all it was great. We stuffed ourselves with A chicken fillet burger, a twister wrap, large fries, corn on the cob and a large Pepsi from KFC for the return journey (cost = £2!). We had hard-sleeper beds for the return journey which flew over. Now its back to teaching and earning the Yuan we will need for our next planned trip - Beijing for the A1 Racing meet in November in Beijing. I cannot wait!

All the pictures from the trip are again on tinternet - Qingdao Photos

Off to Qingdao

On Thursday and Friday, the little bundles of joy that I attempt to teach each week have exams. As such, I am going as far away as possible for a long weekend. As it gets colder here in Shijiazhuang, i'm off to Qingdao, which is around 700km south - east I think. It is on the coast and i'm assured that we will be able to swim in the sea. Failing that, we can always go on a tour of the beer factory!

Anyway, my train leaves tonight at 9.00pm, and will not arrive in Qingdao until 8.45am tomorrow. To add to this, we have not been able to book a seat. So at worst, we will have to sit on the floor on our suitcases for the entire journey. Hopefully though, we will be able to jump on the first available seats.

I have learnt my lesson well from Beijing - never trust a lady who offers you anything for free. So hopefully this new knowledge should serve me well. I will let you know on Sunday when I get back home.

Photos Uploaded

I've started uploading all my photos onto the internet in full size. This makes it easier for me as I don't have to store them on my laptop. Feel free to have a look through them all - All my photos

Scorpion Tattoos

Friday night arrives and Charlie and I decide to hit the alcohol again. Two cans of Brown Ale, a bottle of lager and a bottle of wine finished off are all part of our preparation. Two hotel bars later and a visit to the Scotland Bar and were all set for some late night food.

We head to the end of the street that our appartment is on, knowing full well it is open 24 hours and they are very friendly. Its about 3.30am and it is still busy with hungy taxi drivers popping by for a bite to eat. We order our usual and begin to tuck in. Suddenly, a kind of dip in the atmosphere occurs. Heads are bowed slightly and nobody is talking other than Charles and I. Our only explanation was that this was due to the three gentlemen who had entered the restaurant and sat behind. They were 'dodgy' looking is how I would describe it. Given my inebriated state and the fact that I am not Columbo, thats as best asI can do.

It was upon closer inspection that we noticed that all three had tattoos of scorpions etched all accross their right hand. Now I am no expert, as I do not need to tell you, but our guess was that this must be some sort of gang or something. W e could and often are wrong however.

Anyway, they kept looking over at us two, almost smiling, but not quite. It was then that one of them motioned to us that he wanted to fight us (we think). He clenched his fists and acted as if he was punching the air, pointed to us and then to the road. He did this quite a few times and both of us were in no doubt what he meant. So, I decided to do what any naive, young, drunken foreigner should do in this situation. I stood up, arched my back and strutted over to their table in a menacing fashion. I then smiled like a madman. Started saying 'Hello' in a ridiculous fashion, both in English and Chinese, shook their hands and then returned to my seat. Charlie was doing pretty much the same from his seat.

It seemed to work, they were now looking very confused and amused at the same time. Shortly after they left and the restaurant returned to its lively norm. Now I admit, in our drunken state they could easily have just been loyal taxi drivers, road sweepers or members of a local Trade Union. However, the next day, when we walked past the restaurant, we saw the owners and chefs who are always overly friendly with us everytime we walk past. But this time, not a word. They went out of their way not to talk to us.

So as ever, I haven't got a clue and neither does Charlie. But it was a fun evening thats for sure.

Ah'Way the Toon!

I've seen more people wearing Newcastle tops than Manchester United tops so far! Although yes, that is only one so far. I found the Bottle of Dog in a supermarket nearby, in an aisle filled with western products. Price? About £1 a can. Can't go wrong.

P.s. yes I know my t.v needs dusting but I am too busy drinking the Brown Ale to care!

Bai Hei Park

One of my favourite parts of Beijing was Bai Hei Park (sounds like that, probably not spelt like that). Since I have lived in a smog/concrete jungle for the last 5 or so weeks, on of the main things I wanted to do was take a leisurely stroll around a park. It was perfect, even though it was busy, very very busy! From the top of the Bell Tower you could see out over the Forbidden City, which looked very impressive. I think my hands only left my pockets about two times, I was incredbly relaxed.

It was quite amusing how the park, like many other things in Beijing, was apparently over 3000 years old, built during the Yang or the Tang or the Ding Dynasty (Who knows?) but due to an earthquake, it was all rebuilt in 1989. So what we were actually seeing was an 80's impression of what it used to look like. I imagine it didnt originally use as much plastic as they did this time round! I may be exceptionally synical, but given the fact we went during the holiday period and everyone we saw was carrying a digital camera - I think that this is their version of DisneyLand only without Mickey. Im serious, for all the history, for all the atmosphere of the place, it felt more like an attraction than a historical location.

Oh, and we found some more cannons that I simply couldn't resist -


Feel free to add your own caption to this one -

The Great Wall

Our group for the Great Wall, from left to right - Zach, Ken, Hilary, Me with Mike behind, Brock, Gaz, Anna, Natalie and Charlie.

Although not in order, I think I need to start with the Great Wall. It was as spectacular and stunning as it looks in the photos, if not more. We paid a bit extra to take a four hour bus journey to a less touristy spot and it paid dividends. Other than the group of us who went together from our Hostel, we didnt really see that many other people for the entire walk. When I say walk, it is as far from a gentle stroll as you can possibly get. As Brock so gently put it - 'Great Wall? Its more like a huge staircase through a load of bloody big mountains' and he was right! The photos dont give justice to the sheer gradient of some of the steps. The total distance was about 10k, but not one single meter of that was on flat ground.It never dropped below about 30 degrees, there was no break in the sunshine and we didn't really have that much water to go around. However, it was still worth it just for the experience.

When we reached the end of our section of the wall, we had to cross a suspension bridge. Following that, we had a choice - carry on down the road for a furth 1k to the carpark, or jump on zipwire and shoot down the side of the wall and over a lake. It took me about 30 seconds to scrounge the £2 off Hilary before I was strapped in. This is a photo of me and a video I took whilst hurtling down the zipline...

From the start

Given that my head is numb at the best of times, i'll start at the beginning and work my way through the week. The train journey there was a struggle in itself. We were unable to buy tickets to cover the entire journey to Beijing. Instead, we had to book a ticket to the next stop, some 20 or so minutes away from Shijiazhuang, then we had to stand for the remaining 2 1/2 hours. This wasn't too bad, the train was far better than we had imagined, it even had tv's (beat that GNER).

One of the first things we did when we got there was go to the night market. A culinary delight if ever there was one. It is simply about 30 stalls or so, selling nearly everything you can imagine. Want deep fried sea horse on a stick? Starfish, squid, fish, lamb, beetle, lavae all on a stick? Me neither. I opted for the safe option, scorpion!

It tasted like a small bit of chicken skin from KFC, only a little bit crunchier. I would eat it again were it ever to crop up on the menu thats for sure.