Ahhh...for a breath of fresh air!It's May holiday--which means we SORT OF get 4 days off of school. I say SORT OF because, if I haven't already mentioned this, China doesn't give free lunches--or real vacations. Here's how it works: the school gives you a few days off--but the classes you miss for a holiday are just RESCHEDULED--they must be "made up"! So--for example--I am not teaching my usual 3 classes on Friday b/c of May Holiday--instead, I am teaching those exact classes the next SUNDAY!
Some vacation.
But, that said--I do have a stretch of 5 days without class--so, of course, I'm hitting the road! Virginia and I are taking a 21-hour train to the seaside village of Qingdao tomorrow afternoon. This is almost a last-minute surprise--we tried to get tickets last week but were told they were sold out--then today got the news that there were cancellations so we can go!
Called "China's Switzerland," Qingdao is an oddity. In 1898, the city was ceded to the Germans, who opened the famous Tsingtao Brewery (now one of the most common beer options in China, along with Snow beer), installed electric lighting, established a university and built churches. After the German occupation came the Japanese invasion and then the CR--but according to all sources, Qingdao has kept its German roots intact.
Virginia and I plan to explore the old town (where our hostel is happily located), try out the beaches (we're not sure what to expect of Chinese beach culture--or of the early May weather), tour the brewery, pray in the Cathedral, and eat and shop and relax to our hearts content!
Mostly, I'm just excited to get out of Wuhan for a few days and get some fresh sea air and fun time with Virginia. This will probably be my last major trip of the semester before I return to the States--so I'm going to soak it all in as much as I can! I'll be posting pics when I return! Have a happy May Holiday!
3 comments:
I found your site from a comment you left on a friends blog (Laura and Annslee-Ladybugs and Dragonfly) and I hope you don't mind that I am following your blog. It is really interesting and I love all the traveling you are able to do.
Tracy
P.S., our daughter 3.5yrs is from Guangxi Province and our son -almost 2- is from the Hanoi, Vietnam area.
Hope you weren't coming from Beijing. Read the news about the train and I was like "Good thing I don't know anybody going to Qingdao." Well turns out I do. Be safe.
Tracy--you're welcome to follow my blog! May God bless your family--I daily dream of moving South to Guangxi--Yangshuo is possibly the most beautiful city in China!
Jonathan--our train is coming from another direction--and we're flying back, so I think we should be ok! Thanks for your concern though!
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