Well today I hit it, my first year anniversary. I’ve officially been in China for 1 year.

As I reflect back on the year I can hardly believe it is already over. As a kid years seemed to crawl by at an unbearably slow rate, now they seem to fly by. As I look forward to another year in China I know this one will only go by faster.

I have my list of regrets and accomplishments. I hope to add to the accomplishments and reduce the regrets as my second year gets underway. I know I’ve made the goal before but this year I’m serious, I will not go home until I can carry on a fluent conversation in Chinese.

I always scoffed at those who lived in a country for more than six months without trying to learn the language. I have become the worst offender and am determined to change that this year. I can do it! I can no longer hide behind the excuse of settling in. With a full year under my belt the big surprises are gone. There is plenty of room for the little ones which will inevitably come but I can turn my focus to Chinese and the culture and way from day to day living.

I’d just like to say Thank You to my family for all they support they have given me over the year and continue to give. I could not be here without all your constant love, support and of course Skype calls.

I’m no longer the newbie! I’m officially a Sophomore!

Everyone dig in!

I Skyped home this morning and caught the family about to sit down for dinner. As the house is now hooked up with Wi-Fi and Ammon was already at the table I got to join in. So as I enjoyed a bowl of Chocolate & Hazelnut Museli for Friday breakfast the family had Thursday night dinner. Family dinners are what I miss most about leaving home.

Dinner as a family was not an option growing up, for which I will always be grateful. No matter how busy the schedules got with school, work and outside commitments consistent family meals were are intricate part of the Reagan household. Although I would start at the table I would rarely finish at the table in my younger years but as I grew up dinner time is something I came to cherish. It was a time for everyone to talk about their day. Heated conversations, debates and a volley of opinions were always being discussed in a less than formal manner. Anyone who has ever had the opportunity to eat with my family knows firsthand the difficulty it is to get a word in if you can’t make your self heard or keep up with the speed with which we bounce through topics.

For those who have not had the fortune of eating with my family watch the dinner scene in ‘While You Where Sleeping’ its my family’s favorite. We practically have the dialog memorized and if we find the conversation lacking at the table we just start quoting for pure entertainment. If the speed with which we race through topics isn’t dizzy enough there is always at least two conversations going with which everyone is expected to participate in both simultaneously. My mother has often apologized to guests as we rarely stop to clarify for anyone left behind.

Today’s dinner/breakfast was no different. As everyone sat down and started, guests arrived and the chaos began. Conversations started and opinions were coming from all over, those sitting, those arriving, someone was lost, new topic started, where were we, so that’s what I was trying to say, no Ammon you got that wrong, wait so that reminds me… Oh how I miss dinner as a family.

KaiYu Hostel - Great Location and always clean.

Thus far the trip has been wonderful. The train coming was on time, not crowded and clean. The weather was not what I had anticipated but really nothing to complain about. Leaving high humidity at 98*s for high 70*s and an ocean breeze isn’t going to kill me. I was hoping for a little more sun for tanning purposes but the week is still young.

I’d opted for a quiet week in Qingdao over Beijing as I wanted a relaxing week that didn’t require much mental exertion for getting around. I quickly reached the hostel and checked in. I swear they have me in the system tagged for bed G it’s the dorm bed they always give me. It’s a great bunk and I settled in to an empty dorm. I’ve discovered the perfect traveling bag, my big red one I packed for the day and set out to tackle my list of must-dos.

Jimo was first, Rolexes for Victoria and if I’m at Jimo it’s required I stop by Sunny’s so I picked up pearls for presents and actually showed some restraint for once and didn’t buy anything for me. I did stop by the perfume shop to get a bottle of Burberry Weekend. Katie had picked some up in Xi’an and I just loved it. I bought a Chinese burrito from a stand and for the first time contemplated the probability of food poisoning but my cast iron stomach seems to be doing fine still.

The Protestant Church over by Jimo

After my rather successful shopping trip I wandered around the old German neighborhoods and found the Protestant Church. In my opinion Christian churches in China always have a deserted feel even if they are in service.

The first real Graffiti I've seen in China

A path along the hill within the German Quarter

You never know what you will come across on a walk.

Beehives I stumbled across

Monument at May 4th Square

I walked down to the beach and caught a bus uptown. I stoped at May 4th Square and enjoyed people watching. The sun came out for a bit and I read.  I began to wonder if I’d been presumptuous in planning four days in Qingdao with no set itinerary. I’m always complaining I don’t see enough of Qingdao as a tourist spot but I don’t treat it as such and thus failed to do my homework. I began to worry I would get bored and stick to my usual spots. So I made a list of spots I’d wanted to visit in the past. That’s what I’ll do.

Water activities are a favorite in China - Every major square as some sort of activity

The site of the Olympic Sailing events in Qingdao

Last week I’d tried to give Brad directions to our favorite DVD store and so I went to see how off I was as they had been unable to find it. I felt terrible Was about five blocks off. For future reference it’s a block east of MyKal not Carrefour. I stopped by but as I wasn’t invited to the back room I saved my money and headed to the grocery store. I qued behind an Egyptian who was shopping for could only be a splendid meal. He offered an invitation, no Mom I didn’t accept. We chatted fir a while and he suggested a quite beach to the east near Lao Shan  for a pleasant day.

I bought Subway for dinner and headed back to May 4th Square to enjoy it.I returned early and read in the lounge for a while. Oh the ease of wi-fi I quickly discovered the wi-fi on the third floor and sent about an hour online. I’ve up until his point only appreciated my iPod for it’s offline features wi-fi this thing and you couldn’t pry it from my dead body.

I soon went to sleep with only one roommate in. Oh the wonders of a sleeping mask. I had been too lazy to retrieve my earplugs and paid for it as each other occupant returned.

So let me preface this with the fact that it is hearsay. Kelly Skyped me yesterday with a story that will have a profound impact on my future WalMart shopping. Although I’m waiting for the personal experience to write a truly scathing review of the experience, I am grateful all the same never to have one.

While shopping at WalMart with Ryan, Kelly got a truly unique WalMart experience. As she was walking towards the dairy section she noticed an arched stream out of the corner of her eye. She turned to find a Grandmother holding her young grandson over the floor to pee. Kelly couldn’t help but verbalize her surprise and pointed the scene out to Ryan. Kelly even drew attention as she exclaimed  ”You’ve got to be kidding me!” The only response from the Grandmother was a friendly smile. Really people, is the Yogurt aisle not even off limits as a public restroom. To Kelly’s complete horror, she walked past 10min later to find that the puddle was still there. You’d think as peeing everywhere is a common occurrence there would be a designated pee cleaner-upper. But WalMart is a large store so perhaps they were engaged elsewhere.

I just appreciated the heads up. I’ll now be taking the long way around to the milk. I’m not naive enough to know this was not an isolated incident I’m sure the entire store has been peed on but really when you know the exact spot its just not the same walking there anymore.

I admit I’m a slow learner oh and I have a very bad habit of forgetting perfectly sound lessons. The past two days have been frustrating to say the least. To be completely honest I’m having trouble deciding which parts are the most aggravating, the situations that start the frustrations are the ending results that eliminate my ability to complain. I’m a complainer, when you take that I way I guess I’m just fumbling for something to say and silence is just something not to be stood for. To my mother’s utter horror I made the following quote my motto all through my teenage years:

Ah! Oh, don’t the days seem lank and long
When all goes right and nothing goes wrong,
And isn’t your life extremely flat
With nothing whatever to grumble at!
~ William Schwenck (W.S.) Gilbert, Princess Ida (1884 opera). Act III

The past two days have seemed like the world has turned against me, from ridiculous class decisions to being swindled out of ¥500. But as I’m in the middle of writing a perfectly sound rant to upload to my blog blessings come pouring in and I just can’t complain. I actually delete the Note and start laughing at the entire situation. I know Mother, I’m recording this in hopes of remembering in the future. Here are a few examples.

Yesterday the Chinese teacher I work with for the young class asked if I was up for class by the river. As I mulled over the plan I knew it was a bad idea but couldn’t pass up the chance at reduced class time. Why a rambunctious class of eight year-olds who can’t managed to sit still in an air conditioned classroom would sit still in humid 98*weather by a river beats me but hey for less class time in front of them I’ll do just about anything.   Things just seemed to go from bad to worse throughout the entire expedition including arriving late back at the school. I was tired cranky and dripping sweat when I finally arrived at my lunch appointment with Kelly. The unproductive trip to the train station after lunch did nothing for my mood and I was fuming by the time I caught a bus home empty handed. But then came the most undeserved blessing of the month. As I reached my apartment I caught up with Julie the new French teacher. I helped take up her groceries and chilled at her place for a while. As I ranted about the horrors of purchasing train tickets in China she chuckled and then did the unthinkable. “Since you have to work tomorrow I can go back to the train station in the morning and get your tickets for you. Just give me the times and dates.” I was dumbfounded. I quickly backtracked and declined the offer. She obviously didn’t know what she was agreeing to. It was at least a two hour errand, it wasn’t like she was running my trash down the stairs. She insisted it was not a big deal as she had nothing to do in the morning and this would give her an opportunity to see more of the town. Finally, on the verge of tears with gratitude I wrote down the information and remained horrified at all the bitter feelings I’d been accumulating all day. I doubt Julie had any idea what the offer alone did for my morale. I was on cloud nine the rest of the day.

Late that evening Kelly called with exciting news, she had ran into Polish Peter at Walmart and was informed of a Train Ticket Booking Office around the corner. She gave me the directions and insisted it was a breeze. I was grateful to be able to call Julie and cancel her ticket run in the morning. I still felt terribly guilty about accepting her offer.

As for today, the big hoopla was my Summer Salary. It had been a struggle and a half to negotiate my terms and I had anticipated problems so came to the meeting prepared. I had printed and kept my weekly schedule and had to remind them of extra classes added last minute. In the end I was still jipped Y500 but have learned sometimes its just not worth the argument. I left determined to black list the school and began writing my daily post. But Heavenly Father was determined to stop the bitter feelings before they could germinate too long. I had a few errands to run and as usual anticipated frustration, miscommunication and more bad luck.

Instead things couldn’t have gone more smoothly. I found the ink refill stall in the Technology Market immediately and discovered that it was only Y10 to refill both my black and color cartridges. I think I confused the poor couple as I was so shocked with the price. After that I quickly found the wonderous Ticket Booking Office and managed the entire transaction in Chinese. To top it off the attendents were helpful and actaully slowed down and repeated things in Chinese instead of reverting to poor English. The blessings didn’t stop there as I caught the bus home a sweet Chinese Lady smiled and said “你好” . That’s all I really want a friendly greeting in Chinese every now and then. Not the constant screaming of “HEELLOO” behind you back from crude shirtless men. Oh and I forgot to mention that Kelly called and asked if she could come by with lunch, my choice, she’d meet me in about an hour. I declined the offer as it was out of her way but she was insistent and who am I to kick a gift horse in the mouth.

At this point I had to make a comment so I begged for the blessings to stop. Seriously Heavenly Father after this morning’s event all I wanted to do was wallow in self pity. I wanted a good well deserved rant towards all those that had made my last two days miserable but all I could manage was a happy light soul with nothing but positive thoughts. I almost burst out laughing as the rain broke as I stepped into my building. It down poured for two hours straight once I reached my apartment and I had forgoten my umbrella today, boy would that have been a disaster.

As I sat down at the computer Victoria Skyped and we had a good laugh as I relayed the last few days.

Why is it that no matter how hard I’ve tried the last two days to write my usual scathing posts of the atrocities of living in China all I can reflect on are the abundant blessings and tender mercies my Heavenly Father has bestowed these last few days. With my iPod I’ve started writing posts as they happen or on the bus between events. But within the hour something changes my mood and the feelings of frustration and self pity dissolve. For goodness sake can’t I just have one hour, one miserable hour to be my old self to find nothing good with my current situation and no sliver of sunshine on a stormy day.

So here is my Lesson learned: no matter how hard the situation there are always blessings around the corner that will lighten ones mood if you let it. I truly do live a charmed life and I spend too much time dwelling on the bad rather than appreciating the good. It is a better feeling going to bed each night reviewing the blessings in your life rather than your misfortunes. Now may I please remember this over the next year as I know many more frustrating days are ahead.

This is an old post that I’ve just finished. So bare that in mind if the references seem out of place.

I went to work today at the Middle school and had a rather interesting experience.  

When I walked into class I was promptly informed by the class monitor that “today all students run out together, you also run.” I’m not running anywhere I remarked and didn’t think much more about it. I figured she was referring to their truly rejuvenating morning recess in which the entire student body runs the track in perfect rows.

I would just love to see that practice implemented at a junior high in the States. I imagine it would go something like this:

Principal: We’ve decided to start pursuing a more aggressive physical education program that will increase cardiovascular strength and endurance. Now I know it will be met with resistance at first but I know if we all get on board this new program will be in everyone’s best interest.

Faculty Response: Great, this is going to be a losing battle.

Student Response: Grumbling, the inevitable foul mouth, and then the too horrified to respond immediately.

Within hours parents outrage with the revoking of free recess as an American institution will capture the six o’clock news. It would be nation wide within the week. Some obscure children’s rights group would step forward demanding the resignation of the principal for the cruelty of it all. And in the end a bill would be drafted and signed in the House safeguarding what every school child in America guards as sacred, the freedom to choose their recess activities.  

Anyway that’s what goes through my head every morning when I watch them run. 

So back to today, like I said I didn’t think much of it all and so when the siren started I panicked. I soon realized this must have been the event the monitor had been referring to as the students took it all in stride as if it was a game. In my bewilderment I was soon the only one left standing and uncovered. When in doubt follow the natives right? I crouched behind the desk and waited for further instructions. A word of advice for future drills, send a competent teacher to the foreigner’s class as they have no clue what’s going on and absolutely less idea of procedure.  

Fortunately the class monitor was on top of things and the class was soon in orderly rows proceeding to the nearest exit. No attention is paid to the aimless foreigner standing in a deserted hallway so I opted to follow the class. During this whole ordeal I’m struggling to identify the siren. It did cross my mind they could use different sirens for  disasters here but it sounded so familiar. 

As we congregated on the track I found Richard the older British teacher. He laughed as I asked what was going on. “It’s an air raid drill. Haven’t had one of these since I was a child. ““A what? Who’s going to attack China?” “Beats me.” “Well here’s a journal worthy experience. I’ve officially participated in an air raid drill.”

On reflection is congregating in an open area really a wise choice when bombers are above? I mean I understand evacuating the buildings but I thought you were supposed to go to a bomb shelter.

Just incase anyone was wondering alternative methods of travel to see me, here is Google’s suggestion. When I typed it in I figured it would come up with ERROR but trusty Google comes through as usual!

Personally my favorite parts are the ocean crossings. Although I don’t really understand the stopover in Hawaii. Also, how exactly do you fit your car in the Kayak, or the jet ski? Inventive though.

Driving directions to Weifang, Shandong, China 9,595 mi – about 36 days 20 hours Suggested routes

This route has tolls.- more info » This route includes a ferry.- more info »

 756 N M St Tulare, CA 93274

 Weifang, Shandong China

Unfortunetly this will only get you to the edge of town. So just give me a call about Roundabout and I’ll meet you. I’m sure you’ll be tired so I won’t plan anything for the day, you can just rest but hey no Jet Lag so we’ll start bright and early the next morning.

Well see you all soon, well 36days and 20 hours soon. Remember no potty breaks you need to make good time.

Now that I’ve moved in reality has decided to pay me a visit. As I lived between apartments I was able to keep reality at bay as I deluded myself with the notion that something big and different was just around the corner. Settling into yet another apartment I realize that I’m looking at just another semester much the same as the last two. Did I make the right decision to stay another year?

Living in China was suppose to be this grand adventure but now it seems rather normal and unexciting.

I have a nasty habit of complaining to people in hopes that they might provide me with a magical solution that will eliminate my dissatisfaction and map out the rest of my life in a nice perfect timetable. Yeah we all dream and then one day we finally wake up and realize the only person who can do that is ourselves.

In all my conversations I’m confronted with the same advice, find your passion and follow it. Okay simple enough but what in the world is my passion or better yet how on earth do I find it?

So here’s my lofty goal this semester, find my passion.  I’ll leave following it for another semester. Baby steps.

If anyone is up for sharing…what’s your passion and how did you find it?

Just when you think you’ve peaked at your Frogging* skills you get ran over. After 11 months 0 weeks and 6 days my luck was bound to run out soon. But did I really think I would be taken out a mere foot from the curb, no. Let me backtrack a little and discuss the dangers of being a pedestrian in China.

1. No where do you have the right away

2. No place is convenient for you to walk

3. No where does it say side walks are are the safest choice

4. And the golden rule ALWAYS check before stepping off a bus

I broke the golden rule and somehow in this unjust world I figured I would not suffer the consequences. Tip for your future safety, never play Chicken with a Chinese, you WILL lose. They play it everyday, all day. Their favorite is scooter vs. bus. Surprisingly the bus is not always the winner.

As a bus enters the bike lane all the bikes, scooters and the occasional taxi don’t try to get out of its way, oh no they just pull closer to the curb. Nor does the bus wait to load or unload passengers until these daring individuals progress past the bus, they just expect you to jump out between them. Really why not let the passengers join in all the fun of a good game of Chicken? So the assumption that the two foot gab between bus and curb is an unspoken safe zone for pedestrians is nothing short of laughable.

Today as I disembarked bus 50 during lunch I learned my lesson. As the bus pulled closer and closer to the curb I disembarked with confidence that nothing was or could squeeze into that unspoken safe zone, then HE hit me like a wall of taro. Somehow through the initial stun of being plowed down I managed to grab the door with my free arm and grip the curb with my toes. He caught my shoulders for balance, as he had been running and by the end of the ordeal was most definitely over me I think it was safe to say I was run over today.

But hey it could have been a lot worse. Um lets say that scooter I bearly manged to miss last week with a full basket of groceries. Or the sidewalk inccident outside of work just yesterday.

Just when you think you’ve finished another level that Bright Red Semi always gets you!

*Crossing the street in China is the ultimate game of Frogger. You must cross lane by lane and avoid oncoming traffic.