So we got to Qufu around 7pm Saturday evening. We unloaded the van and had to lug all of our things up to our rooms. I live on the fourth and top floor of the building. Going up four flights of stairs with three-seventy pound suitcases worked up quite a sweat and an appetite. Afterwards, we went to a welcome dinner where we met another English teacher (Michael) and a French teacher (Rowena). It was a nice meal, with lots of amazing dishes. At the end they gave each of us a bowl of noodles. In Chinese culture, noodles are a welcome-home dish, symbolizing a wish for long life. After dinner I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep.
The next morning we were to meet up with some Chinese students studying English and they were to take us around the campus and go shopping. There were five girls who came to help us and all of them were very nice. Since there were five girls and five teachers, we each kind of paired up with one or two girls throughout the day. My partner was named Cassandra. She was very nice and helped me pick out some really cool hair products. The conditioner that I bought comes in a tub, not a bottle, so you can scoop out as much as you need (plus you do not have to turn the tub upside down as you use it!).
After a quick shopping trip, we decided to get phones. When we got there, we were told we needed to have our passports. However, we had given them to the foreign teacher liaison so we could get our residence cards. So we asked if driver licenses would work. The phone people said they would, but then after much discussion, the phone people could not use our licenses. So the Chinese students had to use their ID cards for our SIM cards. We also had to decide what plan we wanted to get. THe cheapest plan was 25 texts and 30 minutes for 9 yuan, with each subsequent minute and text being 0.1 yuan. Internet Wi-Fi on the phone was an extra 10 yuan for 800MB. So, for a month of basic service, it totaled 19 yuan, or about $3.50. All of this took about an hour and a half, after which time, everyone was hungry. So we ate at a restaurant on campus, which was delicious.
After lunch we had an hour break to rest, before we visited the rest of the campus. Within the campus, there are many mini-parks, where students can relax and enjoy some downtime in between studies. We walked around the foreign language building as well, which was neat, since it is where the majority of my and others' classes will be.
The last thing we did with the Chinese students was try to find bicycles. We went outside the university and looked at a couple places, but one was selling a bike for 220 yuan, and another for 80. The 80 yuan bike was ok, but it needed a new seat and the back brake did not work. The shopkeeper asked for more money to fix it. In the end, I decided to buy a bike from one of the Chinese students for 80 yuan.
After saying thank you and goodbye to the Chinese students, us Americans all decided to rest up. After a few hours of downtime, Jeremy, Matt, Michael, and I decided to go out downtown and to the old part of the city. We caught a taxi and went to one of the big supermarket malls in town. The cost of the taxi ride was 7 yuan for all four of us. The mall was a multi-level mall, like those in Japan, with different floors being designated for specific things (i.e. third floor was men's clothing, fifth floor was the gym, etc.) After window shopping for a while, and Jeremy buying a fan, we got hungry and so walked downtown to where Michael had lived last year. We ate at a small street restaurant which is run by Michael's friends and all the food was again amazing. There was duck, beef, tofu, and kelp, which were all cooked in different sauces.
After eating, we walked into the old part of the city, which is enclosed in a wall. Michael had spoke of a bar that was built into the wall, so we went there and shared a 30 yuan bottle of beer, which was actually pretty good. After that, we walked around some more before finding another bar. Except this one was higher end and more expensive. We decided to not get anything and to just leave. Since we were tired from all the walking we did, we caught another taxi back to campus (5 yuan). I got back to my room and fell asleep, exhausted from the day's activities, but so excited from all the wonderful and new things I had experienced my first full day in China!
The next morning we were to meet up with some Chinese students studying English and they were to take us around the campus and go shopping. There were five girls who came to help us and all of them were very nice. Since there were five girls and five teachers, we each kind of paired up with one or two girls throughout the day. My partner was named Cassandra. She was very nice and helped me pick out some really cool hair products. The conditioner that I bought comes in a tub, not a bottle, so you can scoop out as much as you need (plus you do not have to turn the tub upside down as you use it!).
After a quick shopping trip, we decided to get phones. When we got there, we were told we needed to have our passports. However, we had given them to the foreign teacher liaison so we could get our residence cards. So we asked if driver licenses would work. The phone people said they would, but then after much discussion, the phone people could not use our licenses. So the Chinese students had to use their ID cards for our SIM cards. We also had to decide what plan we wanted to get. THe cheapest plan was 25 texts and 30 minutes for 9 yuan, with each subsequent minute and text being 0.1 yuan. Internet Wi-Fi on the phone was an extra 10 yuan for 800MB. So, for a month of basic service, it totaled 19 yuan, or about $3.50. All of this took about an hour and a half, after which time, everyone was hungry. So we ate at a restaurant on campus, which was delicious.
After lunch we had an hour break to rest, before we visited the rest of the campus. Within the campus, there are many mini-parks, where students can relax and enjoy some downtime in between studies. We walked around the foreign language building as well, which was neat, since it is where the majority of my and others' classes will be.
The last thing we did with the Chinese students was try to find bicycles. We went outside the university and looked at a couple places, but one was selling a bike for 220 yuan, and another for 80. The 80 yuan bike was ok, but it needed a new seat and the back brake did not work. The shopkeeper asked for more money to fix it. In the end, I decided to buy a bike from one of the Chinese students for 80 yuan.
After saying thank you and goodbye to the Chinese students, us Americans all decided to rest up. After a few hours of downtime, Jeremy, Matt, Michael, and I decided to go out downtown and to the old part of the city. We caught a taxi and went to one of the big supermarket malls in town. The cost of the taxi ride was 7 yuan for all four of us. The mall was a multi-level mall, like those in Japan, with different floors being designated for specific things (i.e. third floor was men's clothing, fifth floor was the gym, etc.) After window shopping for a while, and Jeremy buying a fan, we got hungry and so walked downtown to where Michael had lived last year. We ate at a small street restaurant which is run by Michael's friends and all the food was again amazing. There was duck, beef, tofu, and kelp, which were all cooked in different sauces.
After eating, we walked into the old part of the city, which is enclosed in a wall. Michael had spoke of a bar that was built into the wall, so we went there and shared a 30 yuan bottle of beer, which was actually pretty good. After that, we walked around some more before finding another bar. Except this one was higher end and more expensive. We decided to not get anything and to just leave. Since we were tired from all the walking we did, we caught another taxi back to campus (5 yuan). I got back to my room and fell asleep, exhausted from the day's activities, but so excited from all the wonderful and new things I had experienced my first full day in China!