New Apartment

Well I have been talking about it for a while, but we were finally able to move into our new apartment. We love it. It is very bright with so many windows and so much light. The walls are light yellow and off white which as to the cheeriness. We have brand new beautiful curtains, too. The floors in the living room and bedroom are brand new and are beautiful too. 

Entry Way

We keep our shoes on a shelf outside the front door. We take our shoes off before we come in. Well except this time because Gary brought me a surprise and did not have time to take his shoes off before he came in. I will show you the surprise later. The blue cupboards hold our coats, umbrellas, vacuum, grocery bags, tools, holiday decorations and other storage items.

Living Room

 The chairs with the blanket on it and the one in the corner will be getting new covers soon, so they will be red and yellow instead of brown and gray or having the blue blanket on them. The long picture is a replica of an original that is 4 meters long. It is an old picture of one of my student's home town. She brought it back for us when she came back from spring festival vacation.

We are starting to get greenery back into our apartment. As you can see we have a few plants already.

The plant below was Gary's surprise for me. It is a happiness tree. I think it looks like a small orange tree. He had it put in a special pot with a Chinese picture and Chinese writing on it. What a wonderful and happy surprise for me. The long wall is blank. The part closest to the window will eventually have photos on it, but the part behind the TV will remain blank. It will be our movie screen. Gary bought a very small projector when we were in Hong Kong. It creates a great picture on the blank wall. It is almost like we are at the cinema.

This is Gary's bamboo forest. We think it is really cute and he loves it. He only has to spray it to water it. It will not get much bigger than it is now.

Our one and only desk. Gary uses this. I usually sit on the side of the couch and use the kitchen table to put things on when I am not using them.

So far we only have one wall of pictures. I am waiting for the maintenance people to put in our other air conditioner before I put up more pictures on the empty wall. I want to put up some more pictures of our trips around China too. If we do not have a new picture of you and your family, please email me one, so I can put it up.

Our favorite part of the apartment is the following area. Yes, we have a balcony. On a clear day we can see the sea. We are planning on getting a couple of small, outdoor chairs, a small table and a grill to put out there. We can't wait until we can start to barbecue. We can only have a charcoal one, but it will be wonderful! The view is pretty spectacular, too!

On a clear day, we can see the ocean to the right of the tall building in the middle of the picture above. We can see ships coming and going. It is quite neat. In the picture below, on a clear day we can also see the sea in the open space between the buildings. There is also an island that we can see.

The following three pictures show the campus garden area that we see out of our window and from the balcony every day. The view is so much better than the one we use to have.

The Bedroom

We have two big windows in the bedroom. They bring so much light into the bedroom. The bedroom is much bigger than our last bedroom. We love having so much room.

Gary found this bed online through WeChat. A expat couple was selling this IKEA bed and Gary was able to get it for us. We had two twin beds put together which made a king size bed. We did not like it very much because it was too big. Gary and I both sleep on the edges of the bed at night, so we were never close when we slept. Now we can be close with the wonderful bed. I love the black rod iron.

 The picture on the door was painted by one of the students that I tutor. It is a picture of shrimp. He is very good at only 16. The bedroom still is not complete. I will be moving my wardrobe over to the other side once the other air conditioning get in.

The Kitchen

The following pictures are of our kitchen. It is smaller than the kitchen in our other apartment, but it is very functional. 

The Bathroom

Our bathroom is also smaller than in the other apartment, but we have a counter where we can put things. The shower head is new and it feels like rain. We have hot water at specific times during the day, but it comes out instantly. Yes, we can only shower between 6 and 8 am, and 6 and 10 pm, but we do not have to plug in the water in order to make it hot.

We love our new apartment and are glad to be here. We are grateful that we have been able to have this new home.

New Marina Area

A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk on my way to get some cheese. Yes, actual cheddar cheese from Wisconsin. I know it sounds funny, but cheese is the one thing that I splurge on here. It is kind of expensive. It costs 37.50 yuan or just over $6 for 8 ounces. It is well worth the splurge.

Anyway, I decided to take a different path to the market. I had scene a marina that I wanted to explore a few days before that I wanted to explore further. It turned out to a great discovery, again. Not only did the marina have many statues, but it had paintings, fishing boats, and the sea. It also had something called the China Sea Level Datum

As you can see, this point in Qingdao is the place where all mapping and mountain heights are measured from. All mountains are above sea level from this point. It was very interesting, something I did not even know about.

There were even some rocks that show what the heights are for the highest mountain peaks in each Chinese province. Here are some examples.

Mount Everest is even measured from this point in Qingdao.

There is a huge, gold statue of The Goddess of the Sea Heavenly Mother. It is enormous.

There were many other sculptures there and beautiful sights of the ocean. It was very educational and enlightening.

 

 

This is a bridge, the view from afar. This is from on top. I got to cross the bridge in order to get out of the marina. It was pretty cool.

Some other views of the bridge.

 Yinhai Marina was a great place to explore. Next time I go visit, I will take Gary with me.

Hiking with Friends

So we got our internet back for a little bit anyway, so I thought I would hurry and post about our fun hike that Gary and I went on with some friends on Saturday.

Peter Hwang and Shelly Zhang are our great friends. They are so fun to be with. Peter is Korean and our Branch President. Shelly is Chinese and my 1st Counselor in the Young Women program. They are a great couple and we love to spend time with them. Shelly and Peter have been great about taking us to new restaurants in Qingdao. They took us to an Italian restaurant Saturday after our hike. It was fabulous. The chef is from Italy. The pizza was amazing.

Anyway, before dinner they took us on a hike to another side of Fushan. It is the one side I had not been to. I love hiking and we had a blast. The weather was a little foggy, but it was still beautiful.

I have a new friend, too. Her name is Coco.

As you can see, she really likes me. Actually, she is trying to lick the chocolate brownie off of my hand. She is a good dog. She runs out in front of us, turns around and to make sure we are coming, and then goes on. Sometimes she would stop to make sure Shelly was coming. As long as she heard Shelly's voice or saw Shelly, she would keep moving. 

She reminds me of another dog who looks just like her. Malayna, I think I have found Rocky's girlfriend. She is a lot like him except that she does not come back to us when people come around. She just goes by them and just keeps going. What do you think? I think you and Rocky should come over to China, so we can introduce them. They would hit it off swimmingly. 

This hike reminded me of all the hikes we have taken, you, me, Rocky, the kids. I am glad I was able to go on this hike and make new memories while remembering old memories.

English Corner

So every Wednesday night from 6 pm to about 8 pm, I have an English Corner. An English corner is set up so that students can come and practice their English skills. It is a safe, fun environment for them. They are not given a grade, so there are no worries about tests and things. We have fun and speak English in a relaxed way. I went to a few last semester, but this semester I am in charge of an English Corner. I have done two weeks so far and it has been fun and interesting. I usually have about 8 people there, all boys so far. That is okay. I know others would like to come, but they have classes on Wednesday nights. 

Anyway, even though it has only been two weeks and I don't have that many students attend, I have been worried about the activities and what the students might like. I want to give them as much time as I can to speak English. I don't want to speak to them all the time. They gave me some good ideas last week on what they would like to do. So I took their advice and found an idea of my own for today's corner.

We talked about Survival. First, I showed them a clip of the reality show "Survivor" and talked a little bit about what they do on the show. I divided them into groups and told them they were going to have to figure out how to survive.

Here was the scenario:

SURVIVAL: A Simulation Game

You and your companions have just survived the crash of a small plane.  Both the pilot and co-pilot were killed in the crash. It is the middle of January and you are in Northern Canada. The daily temperature is 32 below zero, and the night time temperature is 40 below zero. There is snow on the ground and the countryside is wooded with several creeks crisscrossing the area. The nearest town is 32 kilometers away. You are all dressed in city clothes appropriate for a business meeting. Your group of survivors managed to salvage the following items:

A ball of steel wool

A small ax

A  loaded  .45-caliber pistol

Can of Crisco shortening

Newspapers (one per person)

Cigarette lighter (without fluid)

Extra shirt and pants for each survivor

6 x 6 meter piece of heavy-duty canvas

A large map made of plastic

One quart (about 1 liter) of 100-proof whiskey

A  compass

Family-size chocolate bars (one per person)

Your task as a group is to list the above 12 items in order of importance for your survival.  List the uses for each.  You MUST come to agreement as a group.

I gave them as much time as they wanted to decide which things were the most important and why. I had two groups and each group had the items in a different order. I really liked listening to their reasoning and logic. Once they each had decided what order to put the items in, each group (one was the Avenger and one was Superman) had to get up and explain (in English, of course) what they chose and why. 

After they explained their reasoning which were very logical, I might add, I gave them the answers of an expert. There was a point value for each item that they chose as their top 6 (usually 5, but I did 6). The team with the least amount of points for their top six was the team that survived. If you want to try this by yourself, stop here so you don't understand the explanation.

Here is the explanation:

EXPLANATION

Mid-January is the coldest time of year in Northern Canada.  The first problem the survivors face is the preservation of body heat and the protection against its loss.  This problem can be solved by building a fire, minimizing movement and exertion, using as much insulation as possible, and constructing a shelter.

The participants have just crash-landed.  Many individuals tend to overlook the enormous shock reaction this has on the human body, and the deaths of the pilot and co-pilot increases the shock. Decision-making under such circumstances is extremely difficult.  Such a situation requires a strong emphasis on the use of reasoning for making decisions and for reducing fear and panic.  Shock would be shown in the survivors by feelings of helplessness, loneliness, hopelessness, and fear.  These feelings have brought about more fatalities than perhaps any other cause in survival situations.  Certainly the state of shock means the movement of the survivors should be at a minimum, and that an attempt to calm them should be made.

Before taking off, a pilot has to file a flight plan which contains vital information such as the course, speed, estimated time of arrival, type of aircraft, and number of passengers.  Search-and-rescue operations begin shortly after the failure of a plane to appear at its destination at the estimated time of arrival.

The 20 miles to the nearest town is a long walk under even ideal conditions, particularly if one is not used to walking such distances.  In this situation, the walk is even more difficult due to shock, snow, dress, and water barriers.  It would mean almost certain death from freezing and exhaustion. At temperatures of minus 25 to minus 40, the loss of body heat through exertion is a very serious matter.

Once the survivors have found ways to keep warm, their next task is to attract the attention of search planes. Thus, all the items the group has salvaged must be assessed for their value in signaling the group’s whereabouts.

RANKINGS

1.  Cigarette lighter (without fluid)

The gravest danger facing the group is exposure to cold.  The greatest need is for a source of warmth and the second greatest need is for signaling devices.  This makes building a fire the first order of business. Without matches, something is needed to produce sparks, and even without fluid, a 

cigarette lighter can do that. (I did not really know this. I figured that without fluid, the cigarette lighter would be useless).

2.  Ball of steel wool

To make a fire, the survivors need a means of catching he sparks made by the cigarette lighter.  This is the best substance for catching a spark and supporting a flame, even if the steel wool is a little wet. (None of the students knew what this was, so they did not put it high on their list. I brought a piece to show them, but did not explain what it is for. I wanted to see if they could figure it out).

3.  Extra shirt and pants for each survivor 

Besides adding warmth to the body, clothes can also be used for shelter, signaling, bedding, bandages, string (when unraveled), and fuel for the fire. (This was number one for both teams. They understood that staying warm was their main concern). 

4.  Can of Crisco shortening

This has many uses.  A mirror-like signaling device can be made from the lid.  After shining the lid with steel wool, it will reflect sunlight and generate 5 to 7 million candlepower.  This is bright enough to be seen beyond the horizon.  While this could be limited somewhat by the trees, a member of the 

group could climb a tree and use the mirrored lid to signal search planes. If they had no other means of signaling than this, they would have a better than 80% chance of being rescued within the first day. 

There are other uses for this item.  It can be rubbed on exposed skin for protection against the cold.  When melted into an oil, the shortening is helpful as fuel.  When soaked into a piece of cloth, melted shortening will act like a candle.  The empty can is useful in melting snow for drinking water.  It is much safer to drink warmed water than to eat snow, since warm water will help retain body heat.   Water is important because dehydration will affect decision-making.  The can is also useful as a cup. (I showed them a picture of this and explained that it was like liquid vegetable oil. Both teams said they would use it to cook animals they had killed).

5.  20 x 20 foot piece of canvas

The cold makes shelter necessary, and canvas would protect against wind and snow (canvas is used in making tents).  Spread on a frame made of trees, it could be used as a tent or a wind screen.  It might also be used as a ground cover to keep the survivors dry.  It’s shape, when contrasted with the surrounding terrain,  makes it a signaling device. (Both teams put this high on their list because they could use it to make a tent).

6. Small ax

Survivors need a constant supply of wood in order to maintain the fire.  The ax could be used for this as well as for clearing a sheltered campsite, cutting tree branches for ground insulation, and constructing a frame for the canvas tent.

7.  Family size chocolate bars (one per person)

Chocolate will provide some food energy.  Since it contains mostly carbohydrates, it supplies the energy without making digestive demands on the body.

8.  Newspapers (one per person)

These are useful in starting a fire.  They can also be used as insulation under clothing when rolled up and placed around a person’s arms and legs.  A newspaper  can also be used  as a verbal signaling device when rolled up in a megaphone-shape.  It could also provide reading material for recreation.

9.  Loaded .45-caliber pistol

The pistol provides a sound-signaling device.  (The international distress signal is 3 shots fired in rapid succession). There have been numerous cases of survivors going undetected because they were too weak to make a loud enough noise to attract attention.  The butt of the pistol could be used as a 

hammer, and the powder from the shells will assist in fire building.  By placing a small bit of cloth in a cartridge emptied of its bullet, one can start a fire by firing the gun at dry wood on the ground. The pistol also has some serious disadvantages.  Anger, frustration, impatience, irritability, and lapses of rationality may increase as the group awaits rescue.  The availability of a lethal weapon is a danger to the group under these conditions. Although a pistol could be used in hunting, it would take an expert marksman to kill an animal with it.  Then the animal would have to be transported to the crash site, which could prove difficult to impossible depending on its size. (Both teams would use the gun to kill food to feed themselves).

10.  Quart of 100 proof whiskey

The only uses of whiskey are as an aid in fire building and as a fuel for a torch (made by soaking a piece of clothing in the whiskey and attaching it to a tree branch).  The empty bottle could be used for storing water.   The danger of whiskey  is that someone might drink it, thinking it would bring 

warmth.  Alcohol takes on the temperature it is exposed to, and a drink of minus 30 degrees ahrenheit whiskey would freeze a person’s esophagus and stomach.  Alcohol also dilates the blood vessels in the skin, resulting in  chilled blood belong carried back to the heart, resulting in a rapid loss of 

body heat.  Thus, a drunk person is more likely to get hypothermia than a sober person is. (This was an interesting bit of information. Since I don't drink alcohol, I had no idea that it takes on the temperature it is exposed to. I have always heard that whiskey warms you up inside. Both groups put this high on the list for that very reason. Who knew?)

11.  Compass

Because a compass might encourage someone to try to walk to the nearest town, it is a dangerous item.  It’s only redeeming feature is that it could be used as a reflector of sunlight (due to its glass top).

12.  Sectional air map made of plastic 

This is also among the least desirable of the items because it will encourage individuals to try to walk to the nearest town. It’s only  useful feature is as a ground cover to keep someone dry. (They both put the compass and map fairly high on their list because it would help them walk to the nearest town. None of us really thought about just staying put and waiting. We should have because of the cold though).

How to score

Each team should list its top 5 choices in order prior to seeing the answer sheet.  To award points,   look at the ranking numbers on this answer sheet.  Award points to each team’s top choices according to the numbers here.  For example, the map would earn 12 points, while the steel wool would earn 2 

points. Lowest score wins (and survives).

So the Avenger score 30 points and Superman scored 34 points. Unfortunately Team Superman did not survive the experience.

What was even more interesting was that they really liked the activity. They said they really liked it because they had to speak English and they had to think and use logic. I was not sure they would like it, so I was glad that they did. It was a fun night. I actually like only have boys in this English Corner. I will let you know what we do next week and how it turns out. 

If anyone has any suggestions for activities involving speaking only English for Chinese students, I would love ideas.