Apollo International Hotel Fuzhou

It has been a while.

So, not much has happened since my last blurb.

We have been exploring the city, and trying to meet new people. We went to 'English corner' the other day. It is in the square, held under a statue of a communist leader... Interesting.. The only people that go are Chinese who want to practice their english. We were the only foreigners, which as ...

Nihao all! (Chinese for Hello)...

Another week in China, which inevitably means another week of no sleep. I think I have said it before, but, the Chinese are the nation of early risers... 5.30 am and they are all making as much noise as is physically possible...

Other than that the week has been hugely productive, we have been teaching Chinese kids, opened bank accounts, restored internet access, found someone to teach us Chinese, and most important of ...

... around an artificial lake. It was pretty awesome, despite the stares at the 'white' foreigners!! We found an 'all-you-can-eat' place for £4 per head... bargain!

Yesterday evening our employer took us out to a restaurant in which he did all the ordering, so I got to try Shark!!! It was different.... Some others tried scorpions, but I couldn't stomach it!
Then he took us to a ...

... br>
As soon as I get my camera out and batteries charged I will take plenty of pictures!

The food is fantastic, and we have not, yet, had any catastrophies in ordering.... however, in the supermarket they have 'fishtanks' with live fish in - you catch your fish, they bag it (still alive) and you take it home for tea. This was one of the few delights that are on display, but I wont divulge the rest just yet!

Anyway, for today, over-and-out!

Matt

... The codfish were so plentiful there that when the sailors had lowered baskets into the water and hoisted them up, they were full of squirming, silvery fish.

　　Although the merchants and the nobles at court did not care about this discovery, the fishermen of Europe became very interested.Before long, many fishermen were ...

... it), so it might seem an odd choice, but we both love people watching, so it worked out quite nicely. I'm not really one for crowds either, so it is kind of silly that I've ended up in China I guess, but when I'm in a good mood and don't actually have something that I am supposed to be doing, I really like mingling among crowds. There is something cool about being in the thick of things. So we wandered for a while, then left the shopping district for a hill with temples ...

When you drive through Fuzhou, you might think the city is only 20 years old. It looks like it's been completely demolished and rebuilt in the modern way. But while the modern facade stretches to the horizon, one can still find old China right behind. The new houses are built all along the roads but in the center of those city blocks you can still find old China, with wooden houses and a maze of little lanes, too narrow and winding for cars, and so it seems worlds away from the hustle ...

... mainly labeled as a business destination but I thought there might be more to it. The first impression on arrival was wide 6 lane avenues and modern high rise buildings as far as the eye can see. At the end of the day, I found one historic street, turned into a pedestrian area with a lively night market, but the rest seems to be all cleaned out. Jade hill is a real gem though, the way up is not easy to find, tucked away behind a Mao statue, but then a ...

... families in the village have at least one or two sons in another country, mostly in the United States, some in Europe. 70% of the villages are considered well off. There are even people from other poorer provinces such as Sichuan working and renting in our little village! I had been to our village 5 years ago with my father and I could not even recognize the place, let alone my sister Cathy who is visiting for the first time in nineteen years ...

... for. Mine is in no way conditioned to do nothing at all. I really did begin to feel horribly unhealthy and found it so hard to get motivated to even think about doing anything...anything at all! Place one foot in front of the other peoples! Get out there and have fun! Beers N Noodles toya.....shane _________________________ The soundtrack to this entry was Inxs The album was 'Live Baby Live'