Picture A Day: Week III & IV

This is the last installment of the Picture a Day challenge. Unfortunately, our stable VPN was thoroughly sabotaged by The Great Firewall. Therefore, doing anything on the internet has become cumbersome and irksome. Uploading photos for this blog, much less even reaching my blog, has become hit and miss....with a lot more misses. Therefore, I don't have a picture for everyday, but the ones I could actually get uploaded.

Day 17: Technology: This is a Chinese "there, I fixed it."

Day 18: Shoes: I bought these North Face flip flops in Beijing, as a splurge. I had gone through two pairs of flip flops in five months (as there is no Old Navy) and I wanted something reliable. They have become one of my all time favorite pairs of flip flops.

Day 19 & 21: Orange | Self portrait: An early morning writing session with my favorite mug.

Day 24: Animal: Geckos are everywhere in our home. It is not uncommon for us to spend time sitting on our stairs watching them stalk their prey, such as the extremely large moth.

Day 25 & 28: Pink | Flower: I discovered this flower in a local park.

Day 26: Close up: Dinner

Cooking Lesson II

Another student, Kevin, orchestrated my second Chinese cooking lesson; actually there were three cooks to one pupil. My repertoire is growing rather quickly, as well as my understanding that the Chinese LOVE their oil and salt. Egads! The spread was extensive and extremely yummy.

Material World

Across the street from the downtown Xiashan campus, behind the Catholic Church, is the office supplies district—two kilometers crammed with staplers, paper, paper clips, tape, etc. Adjacent to this area is the electronics district; niches filled with wires, TVs, stereos and the random hot water kettle store. The key to shopping in China is understanding and knowing the districts. Wares are not disbursed throughout the city, they are localized. Instead of one option there are 462 options. 

Last weekend, with the help of a couple of students, we found the district that had been elusive to my inquiries—the fabric district. The hunt included a few rabbit trails, though one side trek revealed the knock-off hub.

Though the weather is nothing near fall-like, my internal crafty itchiness has begun to emerge, as it does every fall. We needed some cushions for our wooden couch, our office is void of curtains and I have a quilt top and batting that needed backing (though finding a hoop remains obscure). 

The material mecca was beyond my expectations and compelled me to become rather giddy. I was only able to spend an hour and a half within the labyrinth of color when I needed days to delve into pits. However, I was successful in securing backing and cushion material, plus an added meter of material generously given by the shop keeper.

I foresee myself getting lost within material mecca often.

Chinese Boob Job

While getting a pedicure today, I had ample time to survey the odd and ends stashed in the salon. This beauty product caught my eye, making Zach and I laugh hysterically for a really long time. 

Sunset Extravaganza

Amazing sunsets have been in abundance the past couple of weeks and I continually find myself stopping to enjoy their splendor. This picture was taken outside my classroom after finishing another day of teaching.

Running Reality

To supplement my swimming, I have begun the Couch to 5K running program. No matter how hard I want it, I am not a natural runner. My athletic loves lie every other direction rather than pounding the pavement. Granted, I have had some great runs and I am never disappointed with the results when I am finished, but I run out of necessity rather than utter devotion.

When a friend posted this picture, I could not stop laughing. No matter how much I train for anything, this picture adequately expresses my running reality.

Picture A Day: Week II

Day 10: Childhood Memory: This blanket came with our apartment and it reminds me of my Nanny's bedroom wallpaper.

Day 11: Something blue: Of course the weather has been amazing this week. With blue skies and sun every day, we have been spending a lot of time outdoors. 

Day 12: Sunset: The sunsets have been amazing this week and I couldn't capture only one.

Day 13: Myself with 13 things: I forgot.

Day 14: Eyes

Day 15: Silhouette: This week performances were held in front of the (badminton) gym to showcase campus organizations to the freshmen.

Day 16: Long Exposure: I took this photo during the freshmen military training weeks. They would sit on the basketball court next to our apartment and sing at night.

Today

Today, Zach broke down and confessed that his need for a hamburger far surpassed his disdain of the Golden Arches. In between bites of meaty bliss, he commiserated about his fallen state of desperation.

Today, my kitchen was revolutionized by the purchase of this beauty. The possibilities are overwhelming.

Today, after suggestions from a fellow teacher, we committed thievery in China. Wild plant starts are everywhere on our campus, so we helped ourselves to some. Our hutong looks amazing with plants.

Join! Join! Join!

Tonight, performances were given by all the campus clubs in hopes of luring the freshmen to join. Every genre was represented from harmonica club to rollerblading to ballroom dancing to interpretive dance to kung fu. Many of our students were involved, so we spent our evening being entertained on so many levels. By far, my favorite performance was the rollerbladers; more than once I found myself gaping at their skills.

Simplicity

One of the best things about overseas living is gaining a great appreciation for simplicity. Today, we received a package which contained a packet of taco seasoning, a packet of enchilada sauce, one t-shirt and five packs of Easy Mac. To many, it would be trivial to spend money on such hum drum items. To us, it was the greatest assortment anyone could ever send to us. The hardest thing was to refrain from eating all packets of Easy Mac in one sitting.

Lunchtime Guest

While enjoying our cold noodle lunch, we were joined by this little fellow who we think escaped a nearby nest.

Picture A Day: Week I

Day 3: Clouds

Day 4: Green: The weather was atrocious so I was unable to take a photo today, but I stumbled across this one in searching for another photo. It made me smile, for as much as I love the current adventure there are pangs of longing for these days. I miss the half pint. I miss the basement. I miss the ease of living without a language barrier.

Day 5: High Vantage Point

Day 6: Low Vantage Point: A new Kiwi teacher is coming and renovations have begun on an apartment to accommodate him.

Day 7: Fruit: Fruit stands in Asia always make me happy.

Day 8: Love: This sticker is on our office window, and has been for a long time.

Zhanjiang Botanical Garden

Approximately 5km north of campus is the Zhanjiang Botanical Garden, a plot of land boasting of exotic and rare plants. Like most things in China, its ads showing manicured gardens and meandering stone paths was less than honest. Perhaps upon its inception, the park could claim such a refined state, but upon our visit the park had become untamed.

Even in a feral state, the garden was charming. The misting rain reminded us of many excursions in Portland, but the foliage was vastly different accented by the blooming plants in October.

One of my favorite finds was the trees that appeared to be a weeping willow/palm tree hybrid. I really liked the wispy leaves and the sudden flare at the base of the trunk.

In typical Chinese fashion there were many alcoves hiding delightful plants, as well as many locked or off limit sections.

Unfortunately, what we thought would take us all afternoon to explore actually took us an hour. It was probably for the best as the rain drops became fatter and we had left the house without an umbrella.

It Began with a Road...

Our daily holiday plans have been in limbo due to the impending typhoon. Chinese weather tracking is extremely sketch and southern China isn't that important of a location to warrant sufficient weather reports. As an example, forecast declared the typhoon could happen anytime between Monday and Wednesday. However, as I type this post the winds have picked up dramatically, so we may sleep through the torrential downpour this round.

Compounded by the fact that we didn't wake up until noon today and had dinner plans at six, our range to explore was limited. It had been mentioned that a road cut through the village (located across from our campus gate) that connected with another village. I have been trying to figure out where the locals get their vegetables as our local stand hosts a rather small selection and her prices make me question her honesty.

The village appears tiny, but becomes larger within its boundaries thanks to the typical Asian alleyways. Crumbling masonry and gated complexes are the backdrop to clucking chickens and imaginary sword fights between the children. Every so often, we would stumble upon a family shrine bearing the signs of burnt incense and fruit offerings.

We never found the road, but we did discover the local temple. The door was locked, but we discreetly undid the latch and took a peek within the walls.

The murals were intricate and beautiful. The decor was odd, not the typical temple adornment which made us think this is honoring a local deity.

Strolling out of the village we were shocked to find a man toting a rifle. Guns are illegal in China and we have never seen one outside of the military issue variety.

We don't know what he was hunting, but we didn't stay around long after I snapped this picture.

We spent our evening hosting two students, Nicole and Damon. Nicole is one of our students, whereas Damon is a engineering student who wants so badly to talk with a foreign teacher. (English majors are the envy of the school for they have foreign teachers to actually teach them English. Most departments clamor and nearly beg to have foreigners work for them.) They were eager to learn and experiment with western food, which made the kitchen a lively place for the evening.

Day 2: What I Wore Today

Day 2: What I wore was my typical tank top, shorts and flip flops.

October: Picture a Day

The challenge was given, I accepted and the list was emailed. For the month of October, I will be taking a photo a day--the Chinese version.

Day 1: Self portrait