Happy Halloween

We talked about Halloween in all my class this week. We talked about being scared and scaring people and I showed the students how to trick or treat. They had a blast. I showed them this video one of my Chinese students downloaded for me. Most of the students watch "The Big Bang Theory" and they know who Sheldon is. They thought this video was hilarious!!!

I had an Halloween English corner on Wednesday. We did apple bobbing, the doughnut eating contest, pumpkin rolling and pumpkin carving. We had costumes which the students could try on. They had so much fun dressing up and taking pictures of themselves. 

On Friday, Halloween, Gary and I were both invited to Halloween English Corners. He went to one which he was in charge of. I went to another one. One of my undergraduate students invited me to it. She wanted me to give a little bit about the history of Halloween and play a Halloween game. At then end she wanted me to teach them how to make a Jack-o-lantern. 

They had people singing and other games, too.

I was amazed at the design these students put on their pumpkin.You can see where they colored in hair. Well after this picture, they actually carved in the hair. They were so excited that I thought their pumpkin was cool, that they gave it to me to take home. It is now sitting outside our front door.

This is a couple of the boys singing a Chinese song.

I am not a huge fan of Halloween except for the candy, but this has been a fun week. It was very interesting to see students who know the word Halloween, but had no idea what it was. It was like when my kids were little and they were so excited to celebrate any holiday. I remember Doug, Lizzie and Sara being so excited that they could hardly wait to go trick or treating. They would continually ask me, "Mom, is it time yet?" It was fun to see their excitement then and it was fun to see the excitement of the Chinese students.

I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!

Horticultural Exposition

As Gary said in the last blog, we went to the International Horticultural Expo with some friends last Saturday. We had a wonderful time. We spent the entire day looking at flowers and trees and other things from different parts of China and different parts of the world. Gary posted some pictures, but I am going to post some, too.

Gary had to leave around 6:00 to get back to the campus for an English Corner. The rest of us stayed to watch the night water show. It was pretty fantastic. They did a really good job. I can't seem to get the video to upload correctly, so you may not be able to see. Sorry.

There is another part to these videos but it is too big. You get the idea though.

After the light show, we went to the International Gardens and saw a friend of mine. What do you think of my long lost friend? I had to travel all the way to China to see him.

I think we are both very glad to see each other. We had such fun that day, but by the time I got home my feet were very tired. 

Here are some other pictures from the Expo.

It was a joyful experience!

Hello All,

Der Rats Keller Restaurant in the old German Guest House is fabulous. This is a small restaurant that will sit about 16 people total.

 

 

 

The service was great, the atmosphere quiet, and the sausages were superb. I have always enjoyed German food since I can remember.  I actually had fried spinach spaghetti with sausage. It was a some of the best I have ever had.

I did not realize as we walk the streets and see the architecture here that it can be much more exquisite the first look. I stopped. What did I find? A roof lined with these carved creatures. When we walk around this building, we found it was the Qingdao Art Museum. Qingdao is an old city and though much of the city is modern with the high-rise buildings that show great lighting, some of the older parts of town are filled with a glorious history. Look at the walk way below. It is an example of the older parts of the city with the older people taking their journey just one small step at a time.

 

 

 

We can turn around and see little fish mountain with its beautiful structure behind us.

x

 

 

 



 

 

What makes these walks nice is nice is to be able to be able to walk with Suzette. We have been able to spend a lot of time together on these walks. It is a pleasure.

 

 

She is really looking good. We are both losing weight with the change in diet and all the walking. I find that we both seem to have more energy and are laughing more.

We had the pleasure of going to the 2014 International Horticultural Exhibition. The following are some pictures. We love the students. Bonnie, Alice and Donald are great. We enjoyed their company. I hope they did not mind being with Suzette and an old guy like me.

 

Do you have a question...?

Crossing the red bridge means good fortune.

I really liked these young men from the Army. They were great sports.

Dou you like my hat?

This picture below was at the entrance to the Chocolate Exhibition.

It is really all toast. There are some 2000 pieces. I would rather eat it.

The lady above was just a volunteer. The flowers pictured below are all made from chocolate.

 

 

I enjoyed watching this man make candy lollipops.

 

The castle is also made entirely of chocolate. Again, I would rather eat it. I felt like I was in Willy Wonka's factory.



I had to take a picture of this lady. She was so funny. She wanted to know if I was single.

Confucius plays a large role in the value system of the Chinese. He remains honored and revered.

This girl wanted to take a picture with me. She was so cute. We got a picture of her mom and sister as well.

These students walked us all over. It was now time for a rest.

 The tree above is alive. The process is long a difficult to train it to grow this way.

 

We had a wonderful day with these students. Me, Bonnie, Suzette, Alice and Donald.