Ni Hao!
Hope everyone back home is doing well! Things in Nanjing have been busy, as usual. Thomas and I went to the bike market with a bunch of friends a week weeks ago and bought used (or possibly stolen...??) bikes for a really great price. My bike is an old vintage piece from the seventies that is bright orange with a flower on it and it says “fashion,” haha kind of cool. We love biking around town. It is very easy to get around and we are seeing the city from a totally different perspective.
Last weekend a bunch of us foreign teachers attend an Oktoberfest celebration here in Nanjing, interestingly enough. It wasn’t your typical German bar or party is was more of a white linen wedding than anything else. It was held at a brand new and absolutely beautiful (and expensive!) hotel. The party was on the patio right along the river next to the city wall. It was beautiful! There were games, live music, a bachelor auction, and a raffle. It was a really great time. Oh, and the German micro brew was good too!
Thomas and I both started our tutoring jobs as well. They both seem to be going great and we are making a little extra money on the side that we can save or spend on travel! I’ve really enjoyed tutoring my student. All we do is read together and watch American TV; it’s perfect!
At school here the foreign teachers were expected to write a short article about their time in China that was then published on the school’s website. If anyone is interested in reading what Thomas and I contributed here is the link:
http://www.nflsxl.com/ws2004/KeTangNeiWai/waijiaofengcain/
You can find our articles on the top few links. Our names are listed in the title and there is only one Thomas and Cassandra.
Well, that’s all the information I have for you at the moment. Thomas and I are headed to Shanghai this weekend to attend the world expo. We are leaving right after school and are extremely excited! A typhoon is heading for mainland China this weekend as well so it should be an interesting trip. We will keep you all posted! Love and miss you all!
Zai Jian!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Crabs for Brunch!
Ever been to a televised crab brunch before?? Neither had Thomas and I, until we moved to China. Our school informed us that we were invited to a free crab brunch. We had no idea what to expect and didn’t really know what it was for so naturally we signed up for it.
The event started 9:30 in the morning. It was at a huge convention center with an elaborate set up: white linen tables, a huge decorated stage, gift bags, and cameras everywhere. When we first sat down a band started to play that can only be described as a wedding band that only played hits from the 90s. Then we witnessed a traditional Chinese wedding between a cartoon male and female crab dressed in costumes. The male crab walked down the isle to a Star Wars song, mind you. The wedding was supposed to symbolize the birth of many baby crabs to come, the baby crabs we were supposed to eat that very day. Then, after the wedding, they had girl drummers/dancers, children dancing with crabs, and they unraveled a huge painting of crabs and played the song “You are so Beautiful.” There was also a magician and a mask changing dancer. Once the show was pretty much over, they brought out the crabs for us to eat. At this point we figured crabs or no crabs this event was completely worth attending. Each person received two whole crabs and pair of chopsticks to eat them with. It was a bit difficult to eat the crabs with just our hands and a handful of cameras filming us eat but we managed just fine. It was a pretty interesting experience.
The next day when I saw one of our aunties (the older women who work at the front desk of our building and watch over us foreigners) she said she saw me and Thomas on TV at the crab event. So we are pretty much famous here in China! It was a bizarre and interesting experience, to say the least!
The event started 9:30 in the morning. It was at a huge convention center with an elaborate set up: white linen tables, a huge decorated stage, gift bags, and cameras everywhere. When we first sat down a band started to play that can only be described as a wedding band that only played hits from the 90s. Then we witnessed a traditional Chinese wedding between a cartoon male and female crab dressed in costumes. The male crab walked down the isle to a Star Wars song, mind you. The wedding was supposed to symbolize the birth of many baby crabs to come, the baby crabs we were supposed to eat that very day. Then, after the wedding, they had girl drummers/dancers, children dancing with crabs, and they unraveled a huge painting of crabs and played the song “You are so Beautiful.” There was also a magician and a mask changing dancer. Once the show was pretty much over, they brought out the crabs for us to eat. At this point we figured crabs or no crabs this event was completely worth attending. Each person received two whole crabs and pair of chopsticks to eat them with. It was a bit difficult to eat the crabs with just our hands and a handful of cameras filming us eat but we managed just fine. It was a pretty interesting experience.
The next day when I saw one of our aunties (the older women who work at the front desk of our building and watch over us foreigners) she said she saw me and Thomas on TV at the crab event. So we are pretty much famous here in China! It was a bizarre and interesting experience, to say the least!
A Farm Family Experience
A few weekends ago I woke up and headed over to Mao Kong, a nearby tea cafe, to meet with Cassie and the mother of a girl Cassie has since started to tutor.
I anticipated maybe an hour or so long meet and greet over tea before returning to a day of leisurely activities. Little did I know what was in store for the day.
It started off, as i already mentioned, with tea at Mao Kong. Afterwards the mother, who to this day i still don't know the name of (a week and a half later), suggested we go to "Talking 2" (A fav. expat hangout) for lunch.
Afterwards we headed over to the daughter's (Aerial) apartment where she stays during the week for school. The apartment building had a huge marble foyer that was spotless. The strict security of the building was apparent by the fact that you had to use a key card just to get through to door leading to the elevator. And again to get to the floor encoded on the key card. All other floors were inaccessible.
When we left the apartment building we drove an hour outside of Nanjing to the family's farmhouse in the country, an invitation extended to us while having lunch. The farmhouse was very nice but not what you would think of as a traditional floor plan (think a hotel with the doors exposed on the outside). Each room, (laundry, kitchen, bedrooms, etc.) were accessible by an outside walk way.
When we arrived we had a tour of the farm. Although the green houses containing a sort of rare flowering tree were interesting, the families pack of Tibetan mastiff's (47 in all) take precedent for a detailed explanation.
The dogs were kept in a separate kennel building away from the house. The dogs seem to lead a pretty leisurely life. There's an area where they can run and exercise as well as a kitchen staffed by workers who prepare meals for them. Apparently the dogs diet consists of fresh meat, yogurt, milk, and tea.
Once back inside we had tea while we sat around and chit chatted while dinner was being prepared. The parents seem to be quite the connoisseurs of tea. On hand they had several varieties of Puer tea (a particular type of tea that goes through a fermentation and aging process). Interested readers should search "puer tea" on wikipedia.org. We had two different types of puer that had been aged 20 years. They tasted great!
Dinner consisted of several Thailand dishes and was served "family style". Generally everything tasted good and just about every dish was a first time experience. After dinner the parents showed us several of their guest bedrooms and extended an invitation for Cassie and I to come and visit for a weekend sometime.
The highlight of the evening happened right before we left. They gave us four bricks of the 20 year old Puer tea. Although its a bit difficult to gauge how much the tea might actually be worth it's easy to say that even if we walked into any local tea store in Nanjing the equivalent would be pricey by American standards.
So, after arriving back home around 9PM, about nine hours after initially leaving for what I thought would be a brief encounter, I was exhausted but glad I was able to partake in the afternoon events. It was a pretty amazing day all around.
I anticipated maybe an hour or so long meet and greet over tea before returning to a day of leisurely activities. Little did I know what was in store for the day.
It started off, as i already mentioned, with tea at Mao Kong. Afterwards the mother, who to this day i still don't know the name of (a week and a half later), suggested we go to "Talking 2" (A fav. expat hangout) for lunch.
Afterwards we headed over to the daughter's (Aerial) apartment where she stays during the week for school. The apartment building had a huge marble foyer that was spotless. The strict security of the building was apparent by the fact that you had to use a key card just to get through to door leading to the elevator. And again to get to the floor encoded on the key card. All other floors were inaccessible.
When we left the apartment building we drove an hour outside of Nanjing to the family's farmhouse in the country, an invitation extended to us while having lunch. The farmhouse was very nice but not what you would think of as a traditional floor plan (think a hotel with the doors exposed on the outside). Each room, (laundry, kitchen, bedrooms, etc.) were accessible by an outside walk way.
When we arrived we had a tour of the farm. Although the green houses containing a sort of rare flowering tree were interesting, the families pack of Tibetan mastiff's (47 in all) take precedent for a detailed explanation.
The dogs were kept in a separate kennel building away from the house. The dogs seem to lead a pretty leisurely life. There's an area where they can run and exercise as well as a kitchen staffed by workers who prepare meals for them. Apparently the dogs diet consists of fresh meat, yogurt, milk, and tea.
Once back inside we had tea while we sat around and chit chatted while dinner was being prepared. The parents seem to be quite the connoisseurs of tea. On hand they had several varieties of Puer tea (a particular type of tea that goes through a fermentation and aging process). Interested readers should search "puer tea" on wikipedia.org. We had two different types of puer that had been aged 20 years. They tasted great!
Dinner consisted of several Thailand dishes and was served "family style". Generally everything tasted good and just about every dish was a first time experience. After dinner the parents showed us several of their guest bedrooms and extended an invitation for Cassie and I to come and visit for a weekend sometime.
The highlight of the evening happened right before we left. They gave us four bricks of the 20 year old Puer tea. Although its a bit difficult to gauge how much the tea might actually be worth it's easy to say that even if we walked into any local tea store in Nanjing the equivalent would be pricey by American standards.
So, after arriving back home around 9PM, about nine hours after initially leaving for what I thought would be a brief encounter, I was exhausted but glad I was able to partake in the afternoon events. It was a pretty amazing day all around.
Must See Pictures
Hi Everyone!!
Here are the pictures I promised you... there are some pretty fantastic ones, so enjoy!
Fuzi Miao:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=4e2eeb350f1cb1102a944dfefaeb216b&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLzQ
Mochou Lake:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=2aae3a16e9c582fc2f762628e38c6d8e&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGL1I
Qixia Shan - Thousand Buddha Mountain:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=145e2611ee6077c99a16dcf07a6807f9&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGL3A
Here are the pictures I promised you... there are some pretty fantastic ones, so enjoy!
Fuzi Miao:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=4e2eeb350f1cb1102a944dfefaeb216b&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLzQ
Mochou Lake:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=2aae3a16e9c582fc2f762628e38c6d8e&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGL1I
Qixia Shan - Thousand Buddha Mountain:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=145e2611ee6077c99a16dcf07a6807f9&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGL3A
Sunday, October 10, 2010
More Sights to See...
Hello Again!
Yes, we've got more for you! And some great pictures to add as well. Let me pick up where I last left off… Here are a few more places that we visited over our holiday break.
Fuzi Miao and Confucius Temple! One of the coolest places in Nanjing. It's pronounced "Foots Meow," in case anyone was wondering. That is how I remember how to say it. Confucius Temple used to be an actual temple dating back to 1034 AD but has since turned into a huge market that mixes both modern and ancient Chinese culture. We went shopping there during the day as well as went there at night to see the light show. You can actually ride these really cool boats that have Chinese lanterns hanging from them. It's Venice's gondola equivalent with a little bit of a Vegas flare to it. It's so cool at night! Thomas took some really awesome night pictures so you should definitely check those out.
We also went to Mochou Lake to see Maiden Mochou or the Lady of the Lake. The story says that Maiden Mochou was very much in love with a young warrior. One day her lover left to fight and never returned. They say she cried so hard for so long that she eventually turned into the lake that exists today. Her name means "Without Sorrow" (ironically enough) because it was said that her voice was so beautiful that it could banish all sadness- except her own apparently. This is a beautiful place to spend the afternoon. The best part was the lotus flowers that were floating everywhere. Once they bloom they are supposed to smell wonderful, so we will have to go back soon!
The last visit we made was to one of the biggest Buddhist seminaries in China called Qixia Shan. This temple dates back to 483 AD and houses the thousand Buddha cliffs. This cliff has over 500 Buddha’s carved in the side of it. It is extremely cool to see. This temple is a part of the purple mountain but you have to pay a different fee to get in. They have wonderful hiking trails and several scenic pavilions to stop at. The temple itself was the most impressive temple we've seen yet. We were there during the monk’s early evening prayer ceremony. They were burning incense, singing, chanting, playing the drums and other various instruments, all while walking around the big golden Buddha in the middle of the room in a circle. It was really cool to see. This Buddha was HUGE!! And the temple was so peaceful. It was one of our favorite places to visit yet.
That is all the stories I have for you today… We have more to share but we have been busy with school. We’ll write again soon!
Yes, we've got more for you! And some great pictures to add as well. Let me pick up where I last left off… Here are a few more places that we visited over our holiday break.
Fuzi Miao and Confucius Temple! One of the coolest places in Nanjing. It's pronounced "Foots Meow," in case anyone was wondering. That is how I remember how to say it. Confucius Temple used to be an actual temple dating back to 1034 AD but has since turned into a huge market that mixes both modern and ancient Chinese culture. We went shopping there during the day as well as went there at night to see the light show. You can actually ride these really cool boats that have Chinese lanterns hanging from them. It's Venice's gondola equivalent with a little bit of a Vegas flare to it. It's so cool at night! Thomas took some really awesome night pictures so you should definitely check those out.
We also went to Mochou Lake to see Maiden Mochou or the Lady of the Lake. The story says that Maiden Mochou was very much in love with a young warrior. One day her lover left to fight and never returned. They say she cried so hard for so long that she eventually turned into the lake that exists today. Her name means "Without Sorrow" (ironically enough) because it was said that her voice was so beautiful that it could banish all sadness- except her own apparently. This is a beautiful place to spend the afternoon. The best part was the lotus flowers that were floating everywhere. Once they bloom they are supposed to smell wonderful, so we will have to go back soon!
The last visit we made was to one of the biggest Buddhist seminaries in China called Qixia Shan. This temple dates back to 483 AD and houses the thousand Buddha cliffs. This cliff has over 500 Buddha’s carved in the side of it. It is extremely cool to see. This temple is a part of the purple mountain but you have to pay a different fee to get in. They have wonderful hiking trails and several scenic pavilions to stop at. The temple itself was the most impressive temple we've seen yet. We were there during the monk’s early evening prayer ceremony. They were burning incense, singing, chanting, playing the drums and other various instruments, all while walking around the big golden Buddha in the middle of the room in a circle. It was really cool to see. This Buddha was HUGE!! And the temple was so peaceful. It was one of our favorite places to visit yet.
That is all the stories I have for you today… We have more to share but we have been busy with school. We’ll write again soon!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
A Bug Explanation
For those of you who are taking the time to peruse through the pictures we have provided on Shutterfly, you might be asking yourself: “Why are there so many pictures of bugs?” Allow me to explain… Thomas considers himself, quote: “a modern day Darwin!” (His words, not mine). His odd interest in social organisms and bugs has affected his life to the point that if he sees an insect (preferably a large or odd looking one) he has to stop and take a picture of it. Hence the reason we have so many pictures of bugs throughout our Shutterfly albums. It may be an odd hobby but it is endearing nonetheless. Just in case anyone was wondering, there you go!
Monday, October 4, 2010
Pictures:
Here are the pictures I promised from the last post. I've included pictures from both of our Purple Mountain trips, Jiuhau Hill Park and Temple, and from our night at the Japanese restaurant called Teppanyaki with the all you can eat and drink special. Enjoy!
Purple Mountain:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=d1e9ab4379381f62f12f12eb75ef82b5&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLug
Jiuhau Hill Park and Temple:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0a08bd55c4b028386cdd16a80fdf8c46&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLxY
Teppanyaki Fun:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=2260d483cbef6945bcfd7207a7b1fe91&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLso
Purple Mountain:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=d1e9ab4379381f62f12f12eb75ef82b5&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLug
Jiuhau Hill Park and Temple:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=0a08bd55c4b028386cdd16a80fdf8c46&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLxY
Teppanyaki Fun:
http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=2260d483cbef6945bcfd7207a7b1fe91&sid=0AZs2jlo3cNGLso
Michael Jackson and Scenic Temples
Hi Everyone!!
Again, we are so sorry it has taken us so long to update… but we've got some awesome information for you as well as some pretty amazing pictures. Our vacation time as been relaxing and productive to say the least. Let's start from the beginning...
One of the first nights of our vacation we actually had the opportunity to go to a bar and watch a Michael Jackson band stand off. There were four bands, two were Chinese and two were German bands, and they all played famous Michael Jackson songs all night long. I had two requirements for this evening. The first being that I wasn't going to leave until I saw someone dressed up like Michael Jackson. Check! Some guy was wearing an MJ mask from when he was super white with that tiny little noise… it was sooo creepy! It looked more like a Michael Myers mask than a Michael Jackson mask, haha! My other requirement was that they play a Jackson Five song called "One More Chance." I checked that requirement off the list twice because two bands played it. Needless to say I was a dancing fool… I showed everyone my "mom dance" in honor of my mom. It was a hit!!
The next day we actually decided to brave the purple mountain again. Guess who didn't get lost this time! We took the bus almost directly to the front gate of biggest attraction on the mountain: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum. It was pretty cool. We were there on China's national day when the Chinese celebrate the rise of communism so it was pretty busy but it was also kind of neat to be there on such an important day to the Chinese people. It was extremely rewarding to finally get to see this place and it was really beautiful. But there is still more to see on the purple mountain AND we bought 12 month passes so we will be back! Over by the Ming Tombs there is a place called Plum Blossom Tree Hill that is supposed to be beautiful, so that is next on the list.
We also ventured to another park called Jiuhua Hill Park. It has a small temple in it but it is mostly known for it's breathtaking views of the city. It is a five minute walk from the main campus where we live so I have a feeling we will be frequent visitors. At the top of the park they actually have a huge stone turtle and then statues for all of the zodiac signs. It was really beautiful.
We've had perfect weather for all of our sight-seeing and venturing out into the city. We are pretty lucky this time around. Okay that's all for now! I will add some pictures after this post from Shutterfly so you can check out these places. Hope everyone is doing well! We love and miss you all!
Again, we are so sorry it has taken us so long to update… but we've got some awesome information for you as well as some pretty amazing pictures. Our vacation time as been relaxing and productive to say the least. Let's start from the beginning...
One of the first nights of our vacation we actually had the opportunity to go to a bar and watch a Michael Jackson band stand off. There were four bands, two were Chinese and two were German bands, and they all played famous Michael Jackson songs all night long. I had two requirements for this evening. The first being that I wasn't going to leave until I saw someone dressed up like Michael Jackson. Check! Some guy was wearing an MJ mask from when he was super white with that tiny little noise… it was sooo creepy! It looked more like a Michael Myers mask than a Michael Jackson mask, haha! My other requirement was that they play a Jackson Five song called "One More Chance." I checked that requirement off the list twice because two bands played it. Needless to say I was a dancing fool… I showed everyone my "mom dance" in honor of my mom. It was a hit!!
The next day we actually decided to brave the purple mountain again. Guess who didn't get lost this time! We took the bus almost directly to the front gate of biggest attraction on the mountain: Dr. Sun Yat-Sen's Mausoleum. It was pretty cool. We were there on China's national day when the Chinese celebrate the rise of communism so it was pretty busy but it was also kind of neat to be there on such an important day to the Chinese people. It was extremely rewarding to finally get to see this place and it was really beautiful. But there is still more to see on the purple mountain AND we bought 12 month passes so we will be back! Over by the Ming Tombs there is a place called Plum Blossom Tree Hill that is supposed to be beautiful, so that is next on the list.
We also ventured to another park called Jiuhua Hill Park. It has a small temple in it but it is mostly known for it's breathtaking views of the city. It is a five minute walk from the main campus where we live so I have a feeling we will be frequent visitors. At the top of the park they actually have a huge stone turtle and then statues for all of the zodiac signs. It was really beautiful.
We've had perfect weather for all of our sight-seeing and venturing out into the city. We are pretty lucky this time around. Okay that's all for now! I will add some pictures after this post from Shutterfly so you can check out these places. Hope everyone is doing well! We love and miss you all!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
