No time in Europe but news from Thailand

As I just stayed less than two weeks after coming back from the Balkan there wasn't much to write about. I had a really great seminar and time in Mostar which helped me to kind of sort out what to do and how decide with my lecturership. Another thing came up that I actually will do my MA in organisational studies so I've somemore things to regulary do back in China. The topics and lecturer we had have been really skilled and enthusiastic...

Beginning of February I flew back to China, again via Beijing. I had this weired feeling I never had before while landing in China, but it somehow was like coming back home...

As I just arrived Hefei downtown by nighttime I had to deal with no electricity or water because my landlord didn't pay the bills. Good to have a 24 hrs service though!

To get used to time (just because of this reason *lol*) I spent the night out and got to meet lots of the people I knew.

Next evening I flew to Guangzhou with more than 2 hrs delay which caused me to miss my connection with airasia to Bangkok. Stucked @ 11:10 pm not a nice thing I can tell now! No matter what for I got to coose between staying in China or leaving next day by paying a huge extra money... Guess what I chose?!

One day later I finally arrived after a nice overstay in Bangkok at Olli's place close to Ao Thalen in the north of Krabi town. I got to stay in really nice bamboo bungalow and met lots of nice people beside Wolf who I went to visit there... We had really good Thai food (*yummy*), Thai Rum and any other drinks we would like to have. All Thais working there, Olli the owner all try to make you feel home, no locks, no money you need, when you go to bad late you shut down the music and lights.

The first week came out to be quiet busy as we went canoeing, on a tour to some pool, lagoon and buddah on a mountain. My so much appriated stair climbing was this time offered for free... An other tour was bringing us to some islands with nice beaches or snorkeling grounds. Some nights we went to Aonang or Krabi to have a massage or drink. I love my motorbike here!

Now we left our cozy place to go to the nearby island Koh Yao Noi. So fare as I can tell and explored the island there is not too much tourism here, the beaches are not as the beach but still beautiful AND I was able to find one for my own. Noone there!!! I loved it...

How to find order in a disordered world?

Ok, as you see, the last post is without structure, but being back in China means as well that you only have restricted use of websites.

It has been quite a while I've been living in Hefei now, well it feels like, but I'll start telling about the last 6 weeks. After Hong Kong I got straight back to Hefei... As nothing worked out for me the easy way, even my arrival here was different. First I couldn’t find the person that was sent to pick up from train station, and then they showed me my flat on the new campus which was out of imagination. Didn't expect a lot but that was all over the ways, couldn’t shower or use the toilet for days, wouldn't enter the kitchen and so on. But they tried hard to clean and fix everything.

For now I'm only living in one room of the apartment because without heaters it's only possible to get one warm room with aircon and an oil radiator which I bought. Even if it's far from anything I got used to the "non-existing" life on campus. There are two places outside where I get my food from, local family ran restaurants. The so called spicy noodle lady and fried rice, noodle couple. They are always nice and interested...

Just few days after I tried to figure out my living situation, I had to start my classes. Actually it wasn't that hard to get used to. Preparation is getting quicker and the students surprise me every time. Having studied about 3 months they can keep up with German, show passion and have fun doing presentations, role-plays and games. I don't see my colleagues too often, but they are always nice. We had a comfortable and relaxed lunch to speak about the next weeks, got invited to their homes and so on.

Just before Christmas there was set up a big diner for all foreign teacher by the Department of foreign languages which gave me the possibility to meet more people, the dean, party secretary and so on. Seemed like most of them had heard about me somehow, just rushed on me in talking Chinese... Taff, but good practice though.

As Christmas arrived I was a bit moody, being a Newbie, there weren't too many options to hang out with people, and I cancelled Nanjing because I was tired of travels. So I spent the time on my own, cooking nice diner, reading and reflecting my situation. Christmas Day there was a party set up by a French teacher. Best thing about this evening is maybe that I met a Chinese who lived 15 years in Germany. That fact alone is not spectaculars but that he lived in Duisburg was too funny. Little world, little China and Hefei!

Days passing too fast, just few days later we went to a New Year’s Party at the German Department of another University here. Lots of other German teachers, nice Chinese people and self-made salads... Just before 0:00am we took a taxi downtown to the Revolutionary Bar. Not knowing who might be there, it turned out that lots of the expats where celebrating there. So good time to meet and greet...

For now I can't believe that the semester is basically over which means that I'm flying back to Europe in less than 4 days. I'm looking forward but somehow I feel like it's too early to leave. We will see how I feel like later...

Ok, hope to see lots of people back in Germany!

Hopefully no more travels for a while

HK skyline taken from the peak

To change my visa I got a couple of days in Hongkong, not sure to be able to change but optimistic. And no need to tell, everything worked out! After 24 hrs I hold my ZZZZZZ-visa in my hand. So time for some HK grumpling and shopping :)




this is the Chinese consulate: thanks guys for the express visa ;)

Some more impression from my travels

Beijing haizi Beijing new pedestrian street at qianmen

winter in Nanjing... :)




Xiamen
When Julia and me arrived at the airport we got disapointed because the weather wasn't the way we imagined at all. Thanks to governmental control of environment they fired chemicals into the air so it pulled rain for days.
The days in Xiamen passed in a rush, that's what time does in China anyway - its faster than back home. Louke organised a great German day for his students, getting guest lecturers from companies, schools and locals involved. As you know me, even if time was short I didn't miss to see how Xiamen's nightlife is like ;) And I can tell, we had lots of fun...
The last day of our meeting we went to some Hakka village around Xiamen which are called "Tulou" (土楼).

Ok. I should stop thinking in what order to write this post but I should use the uncensored internet in Hongkong to upload a couple of fotos. There you go...

Over 6000km through China

It has been over 2 weeks I'm travelling in China. Two weeks ago I left my sweet frog bed in Nanjing to see how my colleges, the other lecturers are doing in their locations and universities.
As I planned I visited everyone in time so fare... Just to follow, it's nearly an entire tourist tour! :)

As I thought last time in Xian, it has a pretty nice atmosphere with the walls around city center and as Chinese love it, the walls and towers are colorfully lighted during night time. Arriving after a 14 hrs train ride, Jan already started his cooking video project with his students. Which was really amazing is that I still met stuff people I knew from last time in the hostel I stayed at. So coming into their bar for a drink was nice. Remembering people at a place you have stayed for no longer than a week, wow… Thanks for the night guys!

Another thing started to take place: so far all people I visited got sick while I was there, maybe it’s my personal aura or it’s just autumn weather… *lol*

A train ride and really nice conversation with two Chinese (a Dad with his 27 year old daughter) later I was about to see how my loved city Chengdu is doing. This is the place I’m connecting lots of good and hurting memories with: not just the flair and quality of life in this city are in my memory, also the dog bite happening in Aba Tibetean Area and the connected rabies worries…

Anyway it was a good night out meeting Katinka again and lots of other Chengdu locals…
A day later we made it to Mianyang by a lovely standing ticket which was unbelievably full charged… Especially the point that we were 3 blond haired girls was just too much for some of the Chinese. They just didn’t know where and which body parts to look first at…


Mianyang turned out to have lots of nice and hidden spots, just to mention two: a lovely shao kao street and hidden military suburbs. Think what you want about, as I want to have this blog running I leave it to your own imagination.

In case of time I took a flight to Kunming because a train ride around the mountains takes more than a day which I didn’t want to spend on the train even if I love train rides in China. Arriving in Kunming was first disappointing: I expected nicely warm weather but it got autumn in Kunming too. Anyways it was so restorative to have kind of fresh air, blue sky and shining sun again. That’s maybe one of the points I’m already disappointed at: POLLUTION. One day Caro and me made our way out of city to visit a little temple located in the hills around Kunming and a really Chinese touristy spot. This one wasn’t famous for its restored Daguan Lou but for its roller coasters… Well you never know.

Since yesterday morning I’m at Julia place in Guilin. The train ride was full of memories because we had to pass Nanning, the place I loved so much and even more when I left it. Having seen these karst mountains lots of times it was still amazing. So was the view from one of the hills in Guilin during early evening, just calming…

Oh, if anyone is not sure if I started in Hefei yet?! NO, I didn’t, still waiting but there should come up some decision this week. Anyway there are 2 more weeks with plans, the IRT in Xiamen, visit the girls universities in Nanjing and the DAAD meeting in Beijing.

Keep you updated…

我到了中国 - First days in China

After a rollercoaster ride of emotions and organization in the last 8 days, I am now in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. Until Tuesday it was not exactly clear whether I would take my booked Air China flight on Wednesday or not, but I finally got the green light and startet the 17 hours journey.

The route let me pass Dusseldorf, Munich and Beijing before arriving at Nanjing Airport, where my collegues Katja and Isabell picked me up. Right now I'm stay in Nanjing, with Katja and Gerald...

It's definetly not the way I imagined my start as lecturer in China but I'm enjoying these days. It's comfortable to have some spare time and to get used to the Chinese. I'm in between old memories and new developments. I couldn't believe how many western products made it to Chinese supermarkets, you can nearly get everything from German chocolat to deodorant and hairspray. Things I hardly could by in 2006/2007.

The next days I've to decide how to work on my project which basically aims to describe and portait the other lecturers in theirs universities and environments. It should give some detailed answers on the different German and Chinese pictures and stereotypes we as lecturers are confronted with. I guess a well illustrated brochure is useful for a lot of insitutions and people.

If I'm able to schedule my travels I'll be on my way to Xi'an, Kunming, Guilin and Xiamen really soon...

Finally moving to China...

Hours, days and months have been passing. It's end of October and I didn't settle in Hefei yet.
Seems like I wasn't lucky with the German and Chinese running systems.

4 days ago we decided to react on the newst development in China as they told me to wait an other 4 weeks. ***conclusion - move to China***

Hard to believe but I'm hopefully writing my last post from Germany sitting in my lovely little flat.

By thursdays I will be first in Nanjing which is home of two other Bosch-Lecturers who offered me their place. Therefore my start in China will not be that one with the status of a homeless...

Still in line

Ok, I thought I'd write my next entry from China but it came out differenty. I'm still spending my time in Germany waiting for my certificate.

In the beginning it felt quite comfotable to organise all my things without rushing through but know this feeling turnes; I'm more and more bored and uncomforatable with my situation, I want to start my new thing in China...

Anyways I got the chance for a little break with my Dad and his girlfriend. We spent a week on Amrum, one of the islands across the North Sea, which was really nice and restorative after all the discipline the months before. Actually there's nothing special except long, loney and windy beaches. The island counts 3 small villages with around 800 people living there.

After this sweet break, the every day life got me back, I restarted to enoy the student office to push them on my certificates. Yesterday for the first time I got a word: they will fix it till next week!!! :)

Hopefully that'll mean to be in China by beginning October!
Hefei there I come...