Location

Macau is a Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China, located in southeast China.

How to get to Macau

The easiest (and usual) way to go to Macau is to fly into Hong Kong and then take a ferry to Macau. There are also ferries connecting mainland China to Macau.

Macau International Airport is served by several low-cost carriers which connect it to a lot of Asian countries as well as to Australia. (more…)

What does the terracotta army comprise?

The army is formed by figures which vary in height and are all life-like and life-sized. The tallest of them are the Generals. The army includes warriors, chariots, horses, officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians. Currently it’s estimated that the army comprises over 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses most of all still buried in the pits.

History

The emperor buried his army with him with the only purpose to serve him in the after life to rule another empire. It’s estimated that Shi Huang Di’s army was buried in 209-210 BC. (more…)

The National Museum of China

The National Museum of China stretches more than 300 m / 984 ft to the north and to the south along the east side of the Tiananmen Square. The predecessors of the museum are the Museum of Chinese History and the Museum of Chinese Revolution, which shared the same building. (more…)

Because of the cold winter, short growing season and the arid climate, the cuisine is based on wheat, soybeans and millet. The modern Beijing chefs are proud of their lai mein (hand-pulled noodles)

Specialties and cuisines

While in Beijing you can experience one of the specialties or cuisines:

• Beijing (Peking) Duck (see photo right) is the must for any visitor. Half a duck along with hoisin sauce and silver fungus are rolled up in a piece of bread.
• Sichuan style cuisine is hot and spicy, with a lot of red chilies and Sichuan peppercorn, garlic and onions. One of the nicest restaurants serving Sichuan style cuisine is Shu Xiang Zhai.
• Hot pots contain varieties of meat, vegetable, tofu and some unique foods. Zhao Deng Wai Yu Lu is one of the best places around Beijing to get hot pots.
• Xinjiang food is a Muslim style cuisine and the bread is great.
• Dao Xiao Mian are noodles. They are served with soup, meat and sometimes vegetables. La Mian is a variant of the noodles, something like spaghetti
• Jiaozi are dumplings. They have different fillings, such as meat, vegetables or sea food.
• Gong Bao Ji Ding is a spicy chicken cooked with vegetables and peanuts.
• To Doe Zi is made of potatoes and green papers.

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The biggest benefit from all of this is that intangible thing called experience. There is a reason why job recruiters have specific requirements regarding experience for most positions. Theoretically, a really smart person could learn as much in a year as an average person could learn in five, but in the end, the five years of certain challenges and tribulations come with them great value.

The other great benefit have been the friends that I have been able to develop very solid relationships with in a very short time; My closest friends include a Yale MBA, Oxford grad from Nigeria, several local Chinese, VP of Anheuser-Busch, etc. etc. – but, these are just the ones to brag about titles, there are several others that are just as interesting and generous – friends from Malta, Korea, China, Nigeria, etc. Dealing with one thing after another has made me rely on others a fair amount and there is a special intimacy that comes with facing challenges together and a certain gratitude that goes with the genuine help and care of others.

For my first three month report card, I give myself a “C.” I have handled these situations reasonably well, but I have also learned a great deal about attitude; as Viktor Frankl suggested, there is a choice we all have regarding how we relate to the world and our experience; we really can choose to focus on the positive/solutions or the negative/problems – and that, my friends, makes all the difference.

This week I decided to make some money off of the referrals that I have been giving. I have a friend here that has his MBA from Yale as well as his TOEFL teaching certification. I met with the school that I have been teaching Business English with today to negotiate a finder’s fee. I am waiting for them to write up the contract, which will pay me 300RMB after the teacher has been hired and worked 5 lessons. Funny, as I was telling the boss about his qualifications he said they dont matter just that he is a foreigner??

I am not sure how far this will go, but I do know several teachers and as I meet them in the coffeeshops or where ever else, I can go ahead and do what I would ordinarily do; make a friendship and try to help out - only this time, I have an arrangment where I can get a few extra bucks out of the deal!

Other than that, I have been living in a new apartment with a German girl. The place is nice, but it has gotten a lot smaller since she returned from her trip. Either way, I still have my credit from the Century 21 office, so I will probably start looking for a new place here pretty soon. I’m too old for roommates

I taught tonight as well. It was the MAERSK class, which I like very much - they are all quite intelligent and we can have interesting conversations about all different topics - my typical class strategy is to start off with idioms and quotes - high end quotes from Voltaire, Twain, Montaigne, and of course Muhammed Ali! After that I usually print off a business article regarding China, the Economy, etc. It is a class that I really look forward to each Thursday. Tonight the article was about whether there are consequences to China’s red hot growth.

Other than that, I am working a few hours a week - teaching some rich Korean kids - they are a bit of a pain in the ass, but it is a good way to make $50 in three hours, and when the cost of living is about 20% what it is in the US……works out alright!

This really is an amazing place - there is so much potential across the board - people come here for different reasons; several of the friends I have are teaching at international schools in a more professional capacity, others are locals, lots of folks in the import/export business, as this is one of the larger ports in China.

I have the beginnings of a school started in another province in China, where I was before I returned to the US - I also have some potential for a referral business for English schools here in Qingdao. I meet with the owner’s of one of them tomorrow to discuss getting a commission for referring business to there school. Lots in the air - I just hope to continue out here and to improve my Chinese so that I can really start making it happen.

Thanks to all who check in

Adam

My computer had broken down last week (just after I moved into an apartment with an internet connection.) I got it back yesterday. They wouldn’t honor my SONY warrenty (computer is only four months old) but the cost to repair was only about $35. Not sure of the exact nature of the problem, and I wasn’t going to be able to understand even if they explained to me.

I am getting excited to have most of my major things taken care of. The weather is getting really nice and I plan to go out for a jog today. The last thing I really need to do is find a gym. The last one I joined shut down after about a week and it doesn’t appear that it will be re-opening anytime soon.

In retrospect the last couple months have been active and with a lot up in the air, but it wasnt bad at all. I often believe that things happen for a reason, and all the experience should come in handy. I was also able to meet some great people along the way.

I am in my new crib and really like the location. There have been lots of distractions since I arrived, but I have learned a lot, and experience is the best teacher. Now it is back to business. This week, I have a lot in the air, need to find out about a new job that has been presented and also need to get my classes scheduled. I should also find another gym or see if the other one is opened back up.

This last week has been the May Festival here in China. Most people were off of work. Last Friday, I went out with a group of friends here to a club called Baby Face. One of the guys that was with us plays for the Qingdao team and has appeared in two World Cups. The other folks in the club, recognized him and treated us like VIPS.

I was able to catch the De La Hoya-Mayweather Jr. fight as well. They showed it here for free and some friends and I went to a Japanese restaurant and had a great time. It was a pretty good fight; I thought De La Hoya was the more aggressive fighter and did enough to keep his belt, but when you look at the punch stats, it is hard to argue against the decision.