Cold War Graveyard

When my parents visited earlier this month we made first time visits to two unique QD locations one of which was The QD Navy Museum (or what I dubbed the Cold War Graveyard).

The QD Navy Museum is an especially attractive site this year, as in October China will celebrate 60 years since the founding of the People's Republic of China and the country is spending the year showcasing it's mighty military strength, especially @ sea. They began this effort in April (see pics at this site.)

The overpriced museum (entry fees were about $10 per adult, or about 10x the price of getting into the much more pleasant Olympic Marina where sailors from all over the world convened last summer for the Olympic Sailing Regatta.) featured aging marine water vessels... slowly rusting away in the briney waters of the Yellow Sea. The highlight, although not for me... I panicked and bailed out early... is the submerged submarine (entry to which is an additional fee!) When I decided to bail out of the submarine, it required that I exit through the entry porthole, which proved amusing to some non-local tourists who also requested a photo shoot with the only blond left in that portion of the vessel. I complied, much to their amusement, and I must admit, mine!!

For me, by far the most interesting portion of the navy museum are the exhibits on land. Old military tanks, missiles and missile launchers, ancient planes and not-so-ancient ones parked forlornly in an overgrown field. It's less of a draw for the Chinese tourists... they prefer the floating metal vessels an/or the submerged one. Perhaps it was, that to us, as Americans it serves as a grim reminder of the fear that gripped our nation over the threat of the Cold War, and because of which, we became imbroiled in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. (For more detailed info, this link is a good start.)

End of the Year

this pic is decpetive.

u see 4 blonde kids.

there are a total of 4 blonde kids

in the whole school!!

The other towheads

hail from Germany & Denmark

While our friends in the United States are wrapping up seasons of baseball and tee-ball, gearing up for Independence day, and wondering where the first month of summer has gone, we are, in China, within the confines of a British International School, just beginning to get a glimpse of summer. The school calendar kept our kids captive until (almost) the end of June. BUT, surprisingly, the kids didn't seem to mind. Their brief summer holiday (which began Monday) will no doubt fly by. August 19 finds them already back in their respective classrooms!

Last week we enjoyed a series of events at school. A Shakespeare in the Park production (mercifully recreated in the 4th floor auditorium with the A/C on, but plenty of lush potted plants to simulate an outdoor experience.) We watched with enthusiasm as children in grades 3 to 9 presented various performances and quizzed the audience. I think this event reminded me again, that the benefit of staying in school until the corn in IL is knee-high is that our kids end up academically ahead. In the US, most kids won't encounter Shakespeare until they enter high school!

Last week was also the end of the year performance and awards ceremony. The kids did a great job... singing, performing and receiving awards. EHJ was pleased to be the recipient of the award for academic excellence for her age bracket and we of course are proud!!

Good byes and Transitions ...

Surprise!!!

We told Joan it was birthday party for Diane

and Diane it was a going away party for Joan

Food... Conversations... Bubbly...

Tears... Laughter and Friendship

marked our happy/sad event

My exiting and in-coming editors @ Qingdao Expat Magazine

qingdaoexpat.com

You'll have to click on each photo to see the whole thing.
I lifted these pics from Carla's picassa album, and they don't want to shrink.

Mud Men

They've been dubbed the eighth wonder of the world. The massive terra cotta army, buried beneath the terra firma for two millenium. Life sized, clay figures, lined up as if for battle, to protect the paranoid Chinese emperor who ruled parts of present day China 200 years before Christ.

They are truly amazing to behold, and although I have my frustrations with the Chinese governments marketing (ie. Is the old guy in the big shades really the farmer who happened upon this treasure trove thirty odd years ago when he and some other farmers were digging a well for their parched land? --- Buy his book for 20 times the price it is elsewhere and get his John Hancock! or, is it really necessary to stop, mid tour, at the on-site government run factory to buy a reproduction... we thought not.) Never-the-less, even though it was my third (and I hope final visit) the terra cotta soldiers of Xi'an are amazing, and I'm glad I got to make the trip a few weeks ago with my sister and MGJ.

I'm also glad we got to bike the Xi'an city wall, take in a percussion performance at the Drum Tower, wander the Muslim market, and visit the Great Mosque. It was also fun to chill outside a lovely hostel (especaily lovely, since we didn't actually stay there --we were checked into the Shangri-la courtesy of Mr. Johnson-- we just sampled some local pi jiu under an umbrellas while MGJ played badminton with a backpacker from Canada) and have an otherwise low key morning in the art district. We came home with some new "farmer art," scrolls, plenty of pics, and memories to last as long as those mud men of Xi'an have.

Montenegro

Dear Readers,

My readership is down. Way down. Google analytics (which is also blocked) reports my monthly viewership has dropped 39%.

This is not all together surprising because:

1. I'm operating a blocked blog (which means I must go through a somewhat cumbersome processes to gain access and wait for the slow connection.)
2. Because of the cumbersome process I am less inclined to blog
3. Because I am less inclinded to blog, readers get bored and don't check in as frequently
4. Because of the blocked status and several other extenuating circumstances in our host country I am finding it (personally) more difficult to find positive subject matter to blog about. And really, since no one likes an angry blog, I have refrained on many days.
5. I've had family visiting (which is wonderful, but interrupts your daily routine-- These of course are wonderful interruptions like traveling to interesting destinations like Xi'an, or Beijing; opportunities like late night sea side walks with my sister, or afternoon coffee @ a trendy Korean cafe with my parents!)
6. The magazine gig is keeping me pretty busy. (Go to www.qingdaoexpat.com and check out our latest issue.)

But, all that aside, when I accessed analytics today I learned I had a hit from Montenegro*. (The Chinese government is not the only one who can monitor my blog site!) I don't even know anyone in Montenegro. But, I was privately pleased. Blocked or not I'm still getting out. And, dear readers, even if my posts are less frequent, thank you to those of you who check back regularly even if it is to find the same post and pics lingering at the top.

Yours very cordially,

Tai Tai Johnson

*Montenegro is located in the Balkans or southeastern Europe along the coast of the Adriatic Sea.

Sad Goodbyes

Its that time of year again ... the time that leaves me with a pit in my stomach and reminds me that establishing temporary international friendships represents both the best and worst of being an expat. We have met so many interesting people in our last three years! Our address book has grown to include snail mail addresses on four continents. We share e-mails with friends we met in QD who now (again) live in their original time zones, or in some cases new ones. But sometimes, even though the world is growing smaller with so many great ways to stay in touch, it can still feel like a big and lonely space when good friends say zai jain.

Last night we collected EHJ from her classmate's home. Four little girlies had gathered to bid her farewell. They had spent their fleeting hours together in a carefree way fitting for six and seven year olds... climbing trees, eating pizza and creating general mayhem. But, when it was time for the mommas to come, and the exchange of addresses and e-mails began among the adults, that the little ones grew more quiet, and the reality hit.

EHJ's little blond friend from Mexico collapsed on the love seat of the fully furnished villa she will call home for only three more days. Three more sleeps before jetting home to North America, and for all intents and purposes, probably never again seeing the other three girlies she had just entertained at her fun and frenzied farewell party.

Last night EHJ nestled in to our big bed. (With a month of relatives we've been playing musical beds anyway, but last night it was especially appropriate that our gentle middle cozied in with mum and dad.) We talked about friends moving, about our own eventual departure, and on a very real level I could empathize with my baby. I too have experienced that overwhelming sense of loss, and the accompanying reality, that this is part of the price we pay for the life we live.

The benefits still out way the costs... we live a life in a foreign land forging deep, relationships with a select few people over a relatively short period of time. But since our shared experience is so profound, and so few others will ever fully understand what our experience has been, those friendships that were founded @ international playgroups, fellowships and PTA become lifelong, even if we may not set foot on the same country or continent again with these unique sets of friends.

Good bye our dear friends, know you are not forgotten. Thank you for the memories and for the shared experience. We are so glad our times in the Middle Kingdom overlapped and that our lives intersected in this way.

Good bye. Zai Jian. Hosta la vista. God Bless.

The Lunar Market

We have the opportunity three or four times each year to host international guests in our Asian home. (We've been fortunate to have plucky family and friends who are willing to trek across the globe to visit the Johnson's in China about that often. And I think it is a fair assessment, to say that nothing validates our experience more than having people willing to share a portion of our experience in real time and in a very real way. Because, as Mr. Johnson always says, you don't get the smell in the pictures! No smell-o-vision on the blog either.)

For us its a little of a tricky balance. We want to provide for our guests in the best way possible (Sunday brunch on the patio of the delectable Wildfire Restaurant @ the InterCon, for example) while still wanting them to feel like they get a slice-of-life in China too. When my sister reported to my friends @ the international playgroup that she had yet to see anyone publicly voiding, they smiled and reassured her that I was just shielding her from the experience. *

So, in our attempt to offer the Real China, we spent one morning of the aunties' visit @ the Lunar Market, an outdoor market that follows the lunar calendar (thus the name) and sets up every five days in a large dry drainage ditch near the airport. At the Lunar Market vendors sell just about everything: puppies for pets and dog meat for dinner, dried deer penis (for Chinese medicinal purposes) and scorpions for deep frying. There are flowers and tea vendors, teapots and toe nail clippers. And its always good to wear closed toe shoes, if you know what I mean. We bought tea sets, a goldfish (which Bei Bei named Rapunzel), some blue & white ginger jars, and a watering can.

Bei Bei & Gu Gu set for the Market

Dried Deer Penis

Scurrying Scorpians

Dried fruits and Teas

Beautiful Roses

* As for the public voiding, the aunties did get to see their fair share. At the Jimo Lu Market they saw a baby in split crotch pants, suspended in the air and pooing onto a sheet of newspaper. In our own complex, they watched as a little boy voided into a plastic bag lined bucket-- his father supervised, wiped and then sealed up the bag (more on this family and unique situation later). The ultimate, though probably goes to the boy who peed into a plastic bag during the dolphin performance @ Polar Ocean World. Neither mom nor son wanted to miss out on the action, and really why should you, as long as you come prepared -- any flimsy plastic bag will do!

Blonde Bei Bei on Children's Day

Bei Bei and her pengyoumen (friends)

@ the outdoor Children's Day performance at her Kindie.

Mickey & Minnie made an appearance for Children's Day

The highlight of course was when they switched the mic

to echo, so that everything was not only too loud, and distorted,

but also had an echo, echo, echo...

It was a standing room only crowd.

The aunties and I opted for a view from outside the gate.

Can you find the blond in the crowd?

Upside Down

Of course, I don’t have a picture. But I will help try to conjure one in your mind.

He had selected a shady spot in front of our garage, a space that gets just enough morning light that it’s neither musty nor excessively hot. There, the grass grows lushly through the interesting Chinese bricks which are designed so that green can poke through an otherwise utilitarian driveway paver. He had brought with him a newspaper and positioned it just so. Then, without seemingly a care in the world, he proceeded to do a headstand right there in the driveway space in front of our garage. We were, at that moment, just pulling up into the same space, but he remained inverted and undeterred. Bea and I disembarked from the van, and after a few moments stood openly gawking at the man who was openly performing an undeniably challenging physical feat before our eyes. His skinny A shirt was tucked snuggly into his high belted pants, his feet, suspended about five and a half feet in the air were shod with cheap plastic sandals and paired with dark socks. He gently descended from his pose, only to steady himself and then went on to regain his upturned posture. Bea and I continued to stare unabashedly (When in Rome… we have certainly been stared at for doing far more routine things than hand stands, mid-morning in someone else’s designated space.)

He eventually returned to an upright position, and our driver, who was nearly as curious as we were, but clearly not as surprised, asked him how long he could stay inverted, and how often he completed this routine. I, of course had a host of other questions, mostly why and why here. Not able to let the matter rest, I asked ayi about it inside. She explained he does it to keep his body strong and probably does it every day. I asked if she thought it strange that he selected a space in front of our garage to perform headstands and she said, not really. Do you stand on your head? I asked. No, she replied, we aren’t the kind of people who stand on our heads. And, she added, you shouldn’t do it if you are used to doing it. As if that explained everything, or perhaps she was just worried I was going to grab yesterday’s China Daily and rush out to find a semi-private, shady, concrete spot.

I wish my sister had been here to see it. I had just dropped her and my auntie off at the airport. It was the best trip of her life, she had said sincerely, as we stood in the security line waiting until the very last moment to actually say good bye. Best and probably weirdest, I think. Because, really, life here is so often so peculiar, and so unexpected. Its exciting in an I-can’t-wait-to-see-what- will-happen-next kind of way. And, just when you think you’ve seen it all, you find a perfectly sober man doing a headstand in your driveway like it’s the most normal thing in the world to do on a sunny Wednesday morning.

More Saturdays

Saturday Seaside Boardwalk with the Aunties

Saturdays

It's a foggy, socked-in morning in Qingdao. Even through unopened windows I can hear the low moan of fog horns from vessels on the Yellow Sea. It's misty, cool and a little surreal to see the fog roll in. And, while we've become accustomed (somewhat) to coastal living, I think this morning's fog is a preview of the soupy summer weather that is just around the corner. Which is why I'm thankful for the many beautiful Saturdays we had in QD in May. May and September are hands down the most beautiful months here, sunny days with low(er) humidity and many times when the not-so-distant horizon is visible.

Here are some pics from some recent Saturdays:

SPORTS DAY IN HUANG DAO

(& ON THE FERRY THERE)