Friday, January 31, 2014

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

Happy Chinese New Year!

2014 is the Year of the Horse.

Whoo-Whee! Do the Chinese LOVE fireworks!

I hear fireworks every day. Yes, I said EVERYDAY. They are set off to celebrate or bring luck to a new phase of construction. Done laying the foundation? Set off fireworks. Done with the frame? Set off fireworks. Done with the doors? Set off fireworks. You get the picture, right? There is a bunch of construction going on where I live, well, all over China really, so I hear fireworks all the time.

Chinese New Years Eve was fireworks all day, and then it was as if a war had broken out from the amount of fireworks that were exploding, for over two hours, around midnight. I didn't sleep well, I went to bed at 3:00 am when I thought it was finally quiet, only to continually be woken by the sound of fireworks going off.

I went out to take pictures and video of the fireworks just before midnight. I live on campus and am the only one here right now, besides the security guard, because everyone is on holiday (for a month). The building I live in is at the back of the school grounds, on the end, so I am in the corner flanked by a tall fence along the road. I was in my slippers and PJ's, I walked through the grass to the fence so I could photograph the fireworks through the fence. After a short while, I noticed the red LED's on the security camera I triggered. Oops! The security guard came to check things out, and told me I could see the fireworks better from another area. He came around a second time to make sure everything was okay, it's nice to know there is someone watching out for me. Next year I am going to buy fireworks, some beer, and go to the guard's booth to celebrate with him. I feel left out...I was the only one not shooting off fireworks!





























Lishui, Zhejiang, China

Greetings from China!

I am living in Lishui, Zhejiang, China. Everyone tells me that Lishui is a small town, and it must be because we don't even have a Starbucks yet! The population of Lishui is 2.5 million, that's small for China. It feels like San Francisco to me; high rise buildings, crowded, lot's of traffic, ton's of stores for shopping, etc.

I like it here. The air is relatively clean and there is a lot of nature just outside the city. It's very fitting that I ended up in Lishui, it's listed as a Town of Photography, what better place for a photographer? There is an International Photography Festival held here every couple years, I am disappointed that I just missed it...I guess that means I will need to stay here for a couple more years so I can go to the next one!

Here are a few shots I took. There is a really nice waterfront park area along the river.
















Korea didn't happen...but China did!

Well, it's been a while since I posted that I was moving to South Korea. The day that I drove to Los Angeles to pick up my passport with my Korean work VISA was the day that North Korea threatened nuclear war with South Korea and the United States. So, I decided not to go.

I was supposed to start work April, 2013 in Paju, South Korea, which is the border town with the crossing to the Kaesong Industrial Region. The Kaesong Industrial Park is where North and South Koreans work together, but in April 2013 it was shut down, and didn't reopen until August 2013. Not knowing what North Korea might do, and being so close to the border, made me a bit worried about my safety. I am a big, white, American woman and would stand out like a sore thumb! If the North invaded, there would be no missing me in the crowd.

North Korea ended up just being full of hot air. I was sad that I didn't go, but I was able to spend an extended period of time with my family, which was nice. However, I was unemployed and wanting to do something EXCITING, so I started looking for work/an adventure overseas.

I ended up accepting a job offer with Forsun International Education. I was sent to work in Lishui, Zhejiang, China at Lishui Foreign Languages Experimental School. It is a boarding school and I teach English to Primary Grade 1 and Grade 2 students that are six to ten years old. So far, so good!