The Philippines :-)

Beautiful and strange...

Since last Friday I am in the Philippines. After a short but exhausting flight during the night we arrived at Manila around seven in the morning. Got money and took a bus to the north of Luzon (Baguio). Uninteresting town where we just slept and we took a bus early the next day to Sagada. This small place is really nice to spend a couple of days. The ride there is one never to forget! We visited a waterfall which can only be reached by walking through the rice terraces where this area is famous for. Also visited some hanging coffins and a cave where they "bury", stack the coffins of the death.




Today we took a bus to Banaue, another place famous for the rice fields. The bus trip itself has to be one of worlds most beautiful trips, seeing the inmense rice terraces and driving over small, unpaved roads through the mountains... just great!! The ones here are even more exciting than the ones in Sagada. Did a nice tour through some of the fields and tomorrow we go to another town in this area.



The Philippines are kind of strange... although it is an Asian country, the people and their language and habits are totally different from all other Asian countries I have been to. Almost all of them speak English and their native language sounds like a mix between Spanish and English. Same goes for the food... it is not as special as Thai or Chinese food. They serve either Western fast food such as burgers, or rice with a little bit of meat or fish. Too bad we have not been able to find really good food. The one good thing they do have is cheap and tasty liquor. A wide choice between gin, brandy, rum and whisky for next to nothing isn't particularly bad :-)

That is it for now. Tomorrow we have an overnight bus to Manila and from there we fly south to Negros island, hoping to find a great beach to chill on for a couple of days!!

Groeten uit "Azie",
Rudolf

Thailand

Dogs..? Beware!!!

After our stay in Vang Vieng we traveled on to Vientiene. Stayed there just for half a day since it is nothing but a boring city. Took a bus across the border to Nong Khiaw in Thailand where we visited a great temple with a bunch of extraordinary statues!

We liked the town, but decided to go on to the Kai Yao National Park further down south. Took a train and had a fun trip there. At some point I had to put up my umbrella because it was raining through one of the windows and they couldn't get it closed...

Changed from train to bus in Khorat to go to Pak Chong, where we took a taxi to the Greenleaf Guesthouse. Determined to explore the park on our own we ended up having a strange day. We couldn't find the bus to the park and were lucky enough to catch a ride with some workers going in that direction. From the park entrance to the actual walking trails was another 14km, but once again we hitch-hiked our way in! Did a great 8.3 km trek through the jungle just to end up (totally soaked) at the famous waterfall from the movie: The Beach! Swam a little in the pool there and to get back we once again had to catch two different rides! So we caught 4 different rides with total strangers and it was great! Thai people are (like most Asians) very friendly.

Next day a bus to Kanchanaburi via Bangkok. Here we hired a motorbike and went to the Tiger Temple, a place run by monks where you can actually touch and be close to tigers. Great experience and definitely worth going to! Did some more driving through a beautiful landscape along the Death Railway.

And just when we were on our way back to our guesthouse it happened: two dogs! And for a change one of them decided to jump right in front of our bike and we crashed. I wasn't driving fast because I saw the dogs, but couldn't avoid it anymore. The result: my right side is blue and red... My elbow is worst with two deep cuts, than my toes and last my shoulder. Shos has nothing because I served as her airbag ;-) Bad end of an otherwise good day! Once again we were lucky enough to be in Thailand because people helped us (drove me to a "hospital" where I got free medical care and medicins).

Today we paid a visit to the famous (but boring) Bridge over the River Kwai and we are going to Bangkok. Stay there for one night and then we are off to the Philippines! Really looking forward to that!

De Mazzel,
Ruudje

Luang Prabang & Vang Vieng

So what have we been up to?

Luang Prabang is nice to hang out and has a number of good things to do. Shos met an old high school friend and we already met Paddy and Becky, and English couple doing a world trip. Together we went to the Kuangsi Waterfall and did a bicycle trip. The waterfall is great and everyone should visit it while in Luang Prabang! Cycling was fun but not as successful as we anticipated... the temple we visited was closed and we were unable to locate the paper making village! But we ended up at a small local shop, drinking Beerlao and having a good time! Food was great, especially at night when there was this little buffet stand where you could get a big plate of food for 5000 Kip (40 Euro cent). We went there almost every night, just as "all" other foreigners ;-) There is also a very nice night market and they actually have stuff you would want to buy like umbrella's and duvet covers. But we decided we already have enough stuff in China and didn't get anything...


On Saturday we took a bus to Vang Vieng where we arrived 6 hours later. Didn't do much the first day, but on Sunday we went for our first Tubing trip :-) Just as six months ago it was GREAT! We took a bottle of whisky and coke, bought several Beerlao's, did a lot of rope jumping into the river and got drunk! Really an amazing way to spend a day!


Click here and here for videos of the rope jumps :-)

The next day Shos ad I took off on a motorbike and drove over a small road we were hoping that would lead us back to Vang Vieng. And it did!! We had to cross a "bridge" made of floating bamboo mats and enjoyed seeing all the little kids playing in the water and greeting us. It always rules when you find something to do that is really off the beaten track and we certainly succeeded this time!!


Yesterday we tubed again, other day, same story ;-) Today we are not doing anything... one reason is that it is raining and the other is that Shos needs to do some work for her GRE and applications and I need to read some material for the classes I will be teaching next semester. Probably we'll take a bus to Vientiane tomorrow, spend a day there and then cross into Thailand.


That's all for now folks!
Ruud

Back in Laos!!!

Sorry for the long silence!!
So what happened since my last post?

Quite a lot actually!! We (Shoshannah and I) left for our summer trip last Friday at 17.00. However before we left I had some issues getting money from the ATM and this still has not been resolved. Probably my card somehow got demagnetized or something because it just won't work anymore... And I must say that that is pretty inconvenient when you are just about to leave for a six week holiday! But at the end of the day we took a sleeper bus to Laos where we arrived almost 23 hours late and our holiday could start.

Udomxai in the north of Laos is a boring city and mostly used as a transportation hub. So we left the next day to go to Nong Khiaw. The trip was absolutely stunning and we really loved it. The landscape up here is great and never gets boring. In Nong Khiaw we didn't do that much because we were still low on money, hoping to improve that situation when we arrive in Luang Prabang. Still we had a nice couple of days up there and it is definitely worth going!!
On Tuesday we arrived in Luang Prabang. This city is very relaxed, has a lot of fun things to do and serves many, many cold BeerLao's :-) We still have some money issues, but we are working on it... The plan is to stay here for a couple of days and then head for Vang Vieng! Looking forward to that since Vang Vieng is the tubing capital of Laos :-) Already met a bunch of fun people so nothing to worry about!!


Ciao,
Ruudje

Grading and nothing

That kind of summarizes my activities for this week...

On Tuesday we celebrated Bonne's birthday with pizza and beer! On Wednesday and Thursday I graded the multiple choice part of Shoshannah's exams and I played supervisor at Aaron's American History Exam. Some of the answers his students gave to questions are so hilarious that I just have to share them with you:

Q: What term was used to describe young people of the 1960's and early 1970's famous for Vietnam War protests and their dedication to "sex, drugs and rock n' roll"?

A: African-Americans
-
Q: What was the government's response to the Great Depression?

A: Bill Clinton. He had besides wife, a lover his number two breast - we call "er nai" in Chinese - called Lewinsker. So he was in trouble. He is a great depression.
-
Q: Essay: Aside from economic and technological development, what do you believe are the most important differences between American and Chinese society?

A: In America, anyone can speak what he wants to say, even though he blames Bush. He has the right to do that. He also has the freedom. But in China, many people have complaints to government, but they can't speak, especially in public. The leader doesn't like other people's better opinions. If some deputy or just some knowledge person - like professor - gives him better opinions than his own opinions in public, the higher leader can't sleep well. Then he will use a secret way to get them off him. Many Chinese know. So in China, the most important thing is not how to do your job best, it's how to keep your leaders happy...

(this essay got an A)
-
Q: Essay question: What were some of the root causes and immediate causes of the Civil War?

A: "Light and Freedom"
A country needs something to happen. I think the main cause of the American Civil War is magic history. Maybe it isn't crazy. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't serious. Maybe it is. Magic history would change something. Magic history is the essence of reality, beyond-reality, and everything else too. That's the light of freedom, it is fate. I'm sorry, how to describe my opinion exactly, but I will you to understand. Do you agree it? My dear teacher!

(this essay did NOT get an A)
---
Yesterday I went out with Bonne, Bas, Sander and Susan to Kundu and had a real Chinese style night of fun. Just watching the Chinese acting Chinese is the best thing to do when going out! We ended the night with some great street food and I am "enjoying" the hangover from that night today...

Next week: HOLIDAY!!!

Mazzel,
Ruudje

Around the lake & my birthday party

134 kilometer on my last day as a 25 year old...

Last Friday I went cycling around Dianchi Lake. Dianchi is a big lake (approx. 40km long) just south of Kunming. Since the lake doesn't move I was quite sure that I could cycle around it and end up in Kunming again without getting too lost... And for once it worked!!! The first 40km were great! New, slick roads, hardly any traffic, amazing views and pretty clean air. However after that the circumstances started to deteriorate. Roads got worse (up to a point that there were more holes than actual road) and lots of stinky, big trucks. However I made it and it was a great experience! Although I won't take the same route again, I certainly will go back to the west side of the lake!!

Later that night we had a KTV party for Trish her students. I really am not a big fan of karaoke, but it was fun to see and hear the Chinese students having a great time! Some are very good at it (most of them don't even need to see the lyrics) and of course others suck :-)

Yesterday it was my birthday!! As a surprise Shoshannah took me to Haigen Park where we enjoyed Go Karts, bumper cars, a rocket thing that swings you upside down, sun, grass and beer! It was a very relaxed way to start the day!


Videos of the bumper cars & our space rocket ride...

Later that night we had diner with 15 people at Hong Dou Yuan (our favorite Chinese/Yunnanese restaurant). Lots of good food, beer, bai jiu, presents, songs and fun! Bai jiu is China's national alcohol --> cheap and disgusting! But of course we had to toast with it... (see the "happy" faces below). Since Bonne's (one of the other Dutchies here) birthday is on Tuesday we decided to combine the two and have one big party on our rooftop. I made 10 liters of Chinese style Sangria (again made from the bai jiu) and that together with beer and music made sure we had a blast! We also went to Kundu (the "clubbing" district) afterwards, but for me that was a little too much and had a hard time staying awake in the club... ;-) That's what happens when you get old... haha!





In the next two weeks I have to prepare for classes next year, clean out our apartment and help Shos grade all her papers so we can leave for our holiday around the 7th of July.

Thanks for all your e-cards and text messages!!
The Old Man...

Healthy as a horse

Bleeegh, rainy season...

Although the temperature still is quite nice, it rains a lot as well lately. I went to pick up my health exam yesterday and got soaked... Some streets in Kunming look more like swimming pools than actual streets after heavy rainfall. But I got the results and I am perfectly alright! No strange diseases or disorders so I will be allowed to work in China. Handed all my stuff to the Foreign Affairs Office and they are confident I will have all the required documents to apply for my work visa in Hong Kong.

Since I don't have anything else to tell that might be interesting for you, here is a little joke. Just read the sentences aloud and you'll see that Chinese isn't that hard after all!

That's not right : Sum Ting Wong
Are you harboring a fugitive? : Hu Yu Hai Ding
See me ASAP: Kum Hia Nao
Stupid Man : Dum Fuk
Small Horse : Tai Ni Po Ni
Did you go to the beach? : Wai Yu So Tan
I bumped into a coffee table : Ai Bang Mai Fu Kin Ni
I think you need a face lift : Chin Tu Fat
It's very dark in here : Wai So Dim
I thought you were on a diet : Wai Yu Mun Ching
This is a tow away zone : No Pah King
Our meeting is scheduled for next week : Wai Yu Kum Nao
Staying out of sight : Lei Ying Lo
He's cleaning his automobile : Wa Shing Ka
Your body odor is offensive : Yu Stin Ki Pu
Great : Fa Kin Su Pa

Mwuhahahaha ;-)

Hope you enjoyed my last post as a "young" person...
Rudolf

Contract signed!!

International/Foreign Expert!!!

On Tuesday I got a phone call that the the number of hours I am supposed to teach got reduced to 13 for the first semester. Still five courses, but two of them are relatively simple so I won't need a lot of preparation time for those. The second semester I will be teaching fewer hours and fewer courses as promised by the School of Economics! The courses I will be teaching are titled: 1) Business Negotiation, 2) International Economic Organizations, 3) Topics in Financial Management, 4) Readings on Economic and Trade Journals, and 5) Theory and Practice of Multinationals. The content of these courses is all up to me, so coming up with some good ideas is my job for the next few weeks.

On Thursday I received the revised contract, signed it and handed it back to the International Exchange Office asap. To speed things up I went for my Medical Check today. I was a little anxious about what they were going to do, but it was so "stupid". Get a form, complete it, give them your passport and 3 photos and start the tests. The tests consisted of: 1) weight and length, 2) an eye test (seeing and color blindness), 3) an ECG, 4) an UltraSound of my chest, 5) a blood sample, 6) a urine sample, and 7) a chest X-Ray. All that for a mere 326 RMB (€ 32)... and a good laugh because their measuring equipment for length ended at 1.90 meters. Since I am 1.89 and was wearing shoes, I barely fitted underneath that thing and the lady needed a little stool to stand on in order to measure me ;-)

I am supposed to pick up the results on Tuesday and hand them over to the university so they can arrange all the paperwork needed for my visa application. Hopefully everything works out and I have all the stuff I need before I leave China to go on holiday.
It is raining like mad right now, so no TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) on the rooftop this afternoon. Hopefully the weather will be better next week Saturday because it's my birthday and I was planning on a great rooftop party!!! So one more week of enjoying my youth before I turn to my "late twenties"...

Greetingzzz from a rainy, but still laidback Kunming!
Your International Expert: Rudi B.

Poor little thing

Wonder why it happened:
1) Customs didn’t bother to repack properly
or
2) Very lousy job by TNT/China Post

Yesterday I finally got notice I could pick up the package I sent to myself two months ago. Went to pick it up today and I when I got it I was speechless… My beautiful, strong, square, white box looked more like a big wrinkled cardboard ball than like a box :-( Unpacking it back home was even worse! It looked like they put in a paint-mixing machine for 10 minutes… Nothing, but really absolutely nothing was undamaged! The packaging of the items were torn, chocolate bars looked like chocolate sprinkles, and everything was sticky due to a small leakage of the hair gel :-(

Oh well, at least it arrived and everything is still usable, although I must say that it is very hard to put butter on crumbled “Peijnenburg Ontbijtkoek” and unwrapping crushed “Kinder Surprise” isn’t that much fun…

But I got all my stuff and learned the “valuable” lesson that you shouldn’t spend any time on neatly packing any packages to China. Just throwing it in the box and putting a lot of tape around it seems to be the best and simplest way! My dad also sent me an envelope and I really wonder in what shape that will arrive haha!

This again is an experience in Chinese ways of doing things. When you finally get them to do something, they do it fast and lousy ;-) But more on that another time!!

Zaijian,
Lu Hao Lang

International Expert @ School of Economics

Doesn't that sound great :-)

On Wednesday I finally got the e-mail that included the job offer I was waiting for! Of course I was very happy to get it, but after reading the details of the contract I discovered a few things that, according to me, needed to be changed. The number of hours and courses they want me to teach are just to high . I wouldn't be able to prepare properly for all of them. Luckily Collin (the current International Expert for the School of Economics) agrees with me and is being a great help in trying to convince the University that they need to adjust their requirements. We feel confident that there will be an agreement somewhere this week!!

Besides that i am occupied with looking up flight and making travel itineraries for people that want to come and visit me and of course for Shos and myself! But that's no problem because I just love searching the Internet for good deals on flight or fun things to do while on holiday.

Groetjes aan het thuisfront!
Ruudje

Uneventful week

Just being lazy...

To be honest: nothing exciting happened last week! Just a normal week of being alive and doing everyday stuff. Heard some more gossips that people at the University are already preparing my contract so that's great! Besides that I did some cycling, went to the gym, had TGIF (Thank God It's Friday) on the rooftop of our building, on Saturday a great party with some Dutch people I know here and I spend the entire Sunday lying next to the pool or in the hotsprings. This week hopefully good news about my job and than I can really start making plans for the rest of the year ;-)

Below I inserted a nice picture to show you what my (our) apartment looks like! I think it's a great place and we have the luck that the fuwuyuan (service personnel) come in everyday to clean everything :-)


Have a great time!
Ruudje

PS: Luckily Yunnan is a huge province, so we didn't feel a thing: Earthquake Rocks Yunnan

I... a teacher...

Can you imagine having me as your teacher?

Don't fear because for all of you this nightmare won't become reality! However chances are very high that a bunch of Chinese students will have to deal with me next academic year... The interview on Friday went great!! I talked to the Head of the Department of Foreign Trade and after half an hour he decided my educational and professional background and my English are good enough to become a Foreign Expert for Yunnan University. In this position I will be teaching economic and business courses for one year. The final decision still needs to be made by the Foreign Experts Office, but I heard that is mostly a formality. So I kind of expect an offer next week and hope it´s all reasonable what they want me to do and what they are willing to give me in return.

Last night we had a party to celebrate everything and we decided to go out. The pre-party in Trish's room was great but going out afterwards wasn't that spectacular ;-) In the SpeakEasy (the most well-known bar around here) an Italian band was performing and their music was horrible! So we got out of there in no-time, had some meat-on-a-stick and went back home. I still haven't been to Kundu which supposedly is THE clubbing district of Kunming, so that is next on my things-to-do-at-night list! Have to know where to take Mark when he's visiting ;-) Luckily I still have some time left before that happens...

More nonsense next time!
Hastelafietstas,
Tuudje

Back in Kunming

Strange weather...

A call to the consulate at 14.00 on Wednesday taught us that the passport arrived that morning and Shos could pick it up. Luckily there is a 16.10 train to Kunming for which we still could get tickets!! Racing around Chengdu in taxi got us to the train station just in time :-)

So this afternoon we arrived in Kunming after a 20 hour train ride. It feels good to be back "home"!! Had a very nice time in Chengdu, although in the end we were really waiting to be able to get back to Kunming. Nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves and did a lot of fun things and met many great people! The first few days it was really hot in Chengdu (around 32-36 Celsius), but the last few days the weather turned and it got a bit colder and even rained. Here in Kunming it is cloudy and rather chilly at the moment and I have no idea how it's going to be in the next weeks. Hopefully nice, warm and sunny!!
Below you can find some pictures and a movie from our little holiday!

Playing cards & drinking tea and beer in People's Park with Sam & Shos


American Style Birthday Diner


Little panda cubs having a great time
Watch the movie

Pretty hard to put a whole "hotpotted rat" in your mouth ;-)


Now I'm off to get some food and hopefully get a good night rest for my job interview tomorrow @ 16.00!
Toedeloe,
Moi

Pandas, mountains and Chengdu

Waiting...

We are having a nice little holiday in Chengdu! Visited the pandas, went to several parks in Chengdu and made a two day trip to Qingcheng Mountain. Now we are back in Chengdu and don't have a lot left to do except waiting for the call from the consulate that the passport is ready and we can pick it up!
But we are not bored! The weather is good (really hot), there are many nice parks with tea houses where you can easily spend and entire afternoon drinking tea, playing cards and reading. Food is great as well! Had hotpot twice, some delicious dumplings, great noodles and a fantastic hamburger... (no not McDonald's!!).

Other really good news is that I will have a job interview this Friday!! It's an interview for the position of economics/business teacher at Yunnan University and I would really like to get that job! It would be so nice to continue the kind of education I did in Maastricht only now you are the one that is supposed to know everything ;-) So instead of presenting 2-4 times a semester you have to do a "presentation" in every class!

Hopefully the passport will be done on Thursday latest so that we can travel back to Kunming together, otherwise I have to go by myself since I need to be back on Friday for the interview.

Pictures and more stories in a few day when I get back to Kunming!!
Houdoe,
Ikke

Change of plans

Why?

Because this morning someone pick-pocketed Shoshannah and got hold of her wallet. Normally that just would have sucked, but unfortunately she still had her passport in her wallet from our previous trip so this time it really sucks. To get a new passport she has to apply for one in person at the American consular in Chengdu approx. 1100km from Kunming… And it will take 5-7 working days for them to process this request. So she’ll have to wait more than a week to get it.
Besides that it is her birthday this Thursday (same date as my dad!), so we decided to combine the good with the bad and turn the trip to Chengdu into a little holiday. So once again I’m going on holiday :-)

Today we got another taste of Chinese bureaucracy. Shoshannah has to report the incident at the Public Security Bureau (PSB) of the Bus Company, then at the Kunming Municipal PSB and even at the Newspaper… And since it takes the Chinese so long (you have to get a ticket to be allowed into the PSB), we only did the first PSB today. Luckily her supervisor at the University is very friendly and tries to help when possible.

That’s it for now, tomorrow I’m going to teach one of Shoshannah’s English classes (exciting!!) and then I’m off to Chengdu for another holiday!!!

Hastelavista,
Mr. Luud

Chinese food

Has nothing to do with the Chinese food as we know it in Holland!!!

This week we actually cooked twice ourselves! Shos made Chili Con Carne and I tried to make "boerenkool met worst". The chili was so spicy we could hardly eat it and proved to be a valuable lesson in the spiciness of Chinese peppers. To prepare my dish I needed curly kale (boerenkool) but as that doesn't grow in China I used Chinese cabbage. Added some potatoes and a very mild kind of yellow pepper things to it (tasted like piccalilli) and I had a great mash pot (stamppot). And of course the real Dutch Unox smoked sausage completed the feast!

Besides that we always have diner at restaurants. Mostly Chinese, but sometimes we go to Thai, Korean or other types of restaurants just to enjoy different tastes. Chinese food almost always is prepared in a wok and their dishes consist of vegetables, meat, tofu, eggs and cheese (local goat cheese). Just order a few dishes, add some rice, a beer and you have a great meal for only a few (2-3) euro per person! The dishes we know in Holland like Fu Yong Hai or Babi Pangang just don't exist in China! Doesn't matter because this is a lot better :-)
And although I do eat and drink quite a lot here I don't gain any weight. Probable reasons: 1) Enough exercise, 2) Healthy food, 3) Increased metabolism due to all the spices, and 4) Hardly any candy...

This week I really started studying Chinese and got a call about a job possibility at a Dutch/Chinese company. More about that when I have more info! Besides that it has been a lazy week. Did some cycling and fitness, watched a few movies and that is about it!

Next week more news from Kunming!
Zaijian,
Rudolf

May Holiday

Back to the Gorge!!

After a really nice Queens Day celebration on Saturday evening, we left for Dali on Sunday morning. We arrived in Dali after a six hour bus ride and went looking for our hotel. Nice place with friendly people! The first day consisted of nothing but walking around the old city and enjoying the great weather. The second day all of us decided to go on a bicycle ride to the Shaping market about 30 km outside town. After a pleasant ride (on old, rusty, dangerous MTB's) we got to the market and did a little tour.



After the market Shoshannah and I wanted to go further north while the others decided to head back to Dali. We cycled another 20 km and towards the place we thought we could catch a boat to Dali... but we were wrong. The boat would bring us to a place about 25 km outside Dali. Luckily a bus stopped right in front of us and was heading to Dali!! So we threw our bikes on top of the bus and had a very nice ride back to our hotel! Very nice day, although everyone was caught by surprise by the strength of the sun... Everyone had a sunburn somewhere ;-)



On Tuesday we took a bus to Lijiang. Same story here, first day everyone explored the town and the second day we went to the Black Dragon Pool Park. Again it was very sunny and the Yulong Snow Mountain looked amazing! Took some great pictures in the park!



Shoshannah and I left on Wednesday afternoon to go a day early to Tiger Leaping Gorge because we didn't feel like getting up at 6.00 AM. The bus was small and packed with tourists and half an hour before we should have arrived at the gorge the bus broke down... But sometimes break downs are fun! And this was one of those times! Right next to where we had to stop was a garage and 100 meters down the road was a little restaurant that served (cold) beer... so the three hour break wasn't bad at all!!

I won't say too much about the gorge... Once again it was incredibly beautiful!!! This time the tops of the surrounding mountains were still covered in snow and it was a lot less green than last time. Just check the pictures! I once again enjoyed every meter of it even though I was glad when we arrived back at Jane's on the third day. Jane's is the place I stayed several times now and she is a great person that runs a great hostel! Always willing to help you, cheap and comfortable rooms and good food! That same night she arranged a sleeper bus for us. We left Jane's at 19.00 and got back in Kunming at 6.00 the next morning.





Trish, Paula, Amy, Katie, Morgan & Shoshannah, thanks for a great May Holiday!

I wonder what will happen in Kunming the coming weeks...
Auf wiederschnitzel,
Ruud

Almost Queens Day :-)

It's gonna be a bright, bright, sunshiny day!!

To start with I'll tell you something funny:
Everyone seems to think that I moved to a huge city and in a way you are right. Kunming has 4.5 million inhabitants, which is approximately 5x the number of people in Holland's biggest city (Amsterdam) so most Dutch people would consider it a very big city. However size is a relative matter... Weert only has 49.000 inhabitants which equals to approx. 0.003% of the Dutch population. But since there are around 1.3 billion people in China, the relative size of Kunming is almost equal to that of Weert (using population as the variable). So, in fact the change for me isn't that big at all ;-) That sounds logical, doesn't it..?





The past few days I once again visited one of Collin's classes, checked out two gyms, went cycling again and got an invitation for a Queens Day party organized by the NBSO (Netherlands Business Support Organisation, Kunming) thanks to Marc. Really looking forward to that, because it is an ideal chance to get to know and start networking with some of the Dutch people that live here. Besides that I'm grateful I will still be able to celebrate Queens Day :-)
To get back to those gyms, I decided to "join" one that is in the building opposite my apartment building. It is old, simple, small and cheap. The other one is a much more fancy one with a sauna and a lot of classes you can attend. However getting there requires a bus ride and I know that that will be my most important argument for not going...

Sunday I will go to Dali with Shoshannah, Trish and four of her friends for a short holiday. Together we will visit Dali, Lijiang and trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge. I have been to these places during my previous trip as well, but it is one of the most beautiful areas of China, so I don't mind going back at all. Travelling for a week with five girls... let's hope I (and my eardrums) survive :-)

To all of you: Have a great Queens Day!!!
See you all next week!
Branch

Cycling and having fun

Mexico vs. China...

Last Saturday I made my first cycling trip in China. I knew beforehand that is was not going to be easy finding good roads around here, but I must say that I was pretty successful! It took me about 10km to get out of the city traffic and found a nice, but very steep climb on the western side of Kunming. Of course I tried cycling up and I reached the top, but a combination of high altitude (around 2000m) and heavy gears caused me to get off my bike two times ;-) Nevertheless the top rewarded me with a magnificent view over entire Kunming! My first 33 Chinese kilometers are in the pocket!
Later that day we decided to make Mexican food (makes sense when you're in china, right..?!).



After a great diner and several Redheaded Mexicans (tequila shots) with Trish, Aaron, Shoshannah and three of their Chinese friends we went out for some real Chinese entertainment: KTV. Also known as: Karaoke... I have to admit that it was really funny, but it definitely is not something I want to do more than two times a year ;-)

You can listen to a recording of my magnificent voice, but I have to warn you: I CANNNOT SING!! Haha, enjoy the video!



On Sunday I didn't do anything spectacular, slept in, ate, watched some movies and that's it :-)

However, the next morning I joined Collin to one of the classes he's teaching (Collin's job is the one I would like to get next year...). The subject of the class was International Negotiations and I really enjoyed watching him teach. What he does is giving a kind of lecture, while actively involving his students at the same time. Felt like the system we used in Maastricht, with the difference that here they actually have a teacher and in Maastricht the students educated each other.
In the afternoon I went cycling again. Found a great road to the south and climbed the hill towards the Dragon Gate Temple (about 4.2km with a 300m rise in altitude). It was a great ride and everything went perfect until I got back into the city itself... I knew I had to go north and a little east, but it still took me about an hour to get back home! But well, another 60km could be added to my cycling total ;-)

About the weather... it is great! Feels like summer all the time. Sometimes there are some strong winds, but you can always walk around in shorts and a t-shirt! My two cycling trips already caused "sunburn lines" on my arms!

Nothing more to say at this moment!
Mazzel,
Rudi

Getting used to everything

Ni Hao!

After a few days in Kunming I'm starting to get used to the idea that I will be here for a long time. I try to make myself feel at home by exploring the streets, starting to learn some Chinese and doing things I would do back home as well. I bought a Chinese SIM-card, so I can call people and companies around here, put my bicycle back together and shopped for several items I still needed. There is one thing that is a lot worse than expected: Chinese are small! And so are their feet... The largest shoe size they sell is 44 and I'm a size 45/46 :-( So I can't find any sport shoes (except very ugly, huge basketball shoes) or normal shoes to fit my suits... It's going to be a challenge finding them!

Yesterday I got a call from Aaron, one of the Americans teaching here, that a Chinese company was looking for a white person to act as a spokes person for a perfume company. Of course I was interested, because why not get a job just because you are white... haha! Three people from that company picked me up in a huge Toyota and drove me to their company near the airport. Although one of them spoke a little English and acted as a translator, it was really hard to understand what it was that they exactly wanted me to do. After a tour of the company and lots of blah blah another person arrived that did speak "excellent" English. But even with his help my exact job description remained a little vague.
However this is what I think they want me to do: To be a representative of the company they do business with in France. To do that I have to sit in a glass office, pretending to be heavily involved in Research and Development on new perfumes and cosmetics, while Chinese tourists walk by and are impressed by this tall, white, "handsome" person that is working for this company so they will buy more products...GREAT Chinese business experience! Don't know yet whether I'm going to do it. First have to discuss the amount of time and the pay, but it sounds really "fun" to play a "white monkey"!! And at the moment I don't have anything else to do ;-)

Today I will make my first cycling trip. But that is going to be a challenge as well. There are no good maps of the area and traffic is, like in any other Chinese city, a disaster... Let's just hope I'll be able to remain on my bicycle ;-)
Besides the daily stuff, we are also planning the better parts of life: holidays!! The first week of May (National Holiday) we're going (back) to Tiger Leaping Gorge, Lijiang and Dali. For the summer we are planning to go to Laos and the Philippines! Lots of good thing to look forward to!!

Mensjes, dat was alles, de groeten maar weer!
Rudolf