Hey guys,
It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update so it’s time for me to write something. A lot has happened since the last time I’ve updated my blog so I’ll highlight the things I’ve done that were the most interesting to me.
Qingdao
I’ve been travelling to Qingdao twice now. Qingdao is almost a village here, I mean there’s only 8 million people living there so it’s rather small (right?). Qingdao is located between Shanghai and Beijing and is a port-city (4h30 with the fast trains). It’s also the city in which Tsingtao beer is brewed so it’s definitely important to go there and have a look around.
I’ve been there twice with my colleagues, Ian and Teddy. Our main office is located there so I had the chance to meet all my colleagues over there and finally put a face behind the people I work with via chat/skype/… In Qingdao most of my colleagues are Chinese so it was a lot of fun to meet everyone there.
The expat community there is smaller than in Beijing so once you meet some people, you immediately get connected to big network of foreigners/locals who know each other et cetera. I’ve been lucky to accompany my bosses and meet a lot of their friends, and in turn make new friends myself. I have a ‘local’ bar, called Flinders, I went every single night I was in Qingdao. It’s a fun bar, a lot of people go there every night so that’s where I meet most of my friends when I head to Qingdao. I’ve also been to some other bars (Ol’ Jack, Freeman, …) or even clubs! Funny because I’ve never been to a club in Beijing but I do have in Qingdao and Shanghai.
I’ve also had the opportunity to meet a couple of clients over there which is interesting as well. As I’m working for them it’s easier understanding them once you’ve actually met them face to face.
I also went to some kind of Chinese gaming hall, where you get the change do to dancing games, driving games, ridiculous games, … You get the picture. It’s a lot of fun to go there with a couple of people and just do loads of random things :D.
I have never taken the time to actually visit the city properly, but I am going back to Qingdao in two days and I’ve asked for a day off to actually go and visit.
Comedy Shows
We’ve organized two more comedy shows with my company (same show different venue). It was definitely worth going as there were two comedians there, one Chinese comedian and one English comedian. The Chinese one was able to make a lot of jokes about Chinese and get away with it, so that was quite funny. The English one was a ventriloquist, and he was damn good at it! He had a play with three different puppets, each having their own characters. All in all, incredibly funny, loved it.
Random Fun Things
I will list a couple of things I’ve done here as well, I won’t explain it all in detail as that would be way too much to read for you guys.
- KTV (Karaoke)
- Fashion Show in the Art district of Beijing (798)
- Welcome parties
- Got a taste of Duvel Tripel Hop 2015 (probably the most imported thing listed hihi).
- Many parties and good foodies.
- Started learning how to write in Chinese and having a blast doing it.
- …
Things to look forward to:
- Going to the night market tonight, and taste some crazy things (scorpions, sea horses, …). This night market is actually just created for tourists, but whatever right? Might as well try it!
- Going to do a tour in Hutongs (small alleys) by bike.
- Going back to Qingdao.
My coming back home is drawing ever closer, but do not be fooled, I keep enjoying my stay here to the maximum extend.
See you all soon!
