Getting Settled / Learning Chinese

I'm so glad we came about 3 weeks before work started! It has really allowed us time to get settled. Part of the adventure is trying to find the things that we need (or want) when we don't speak the language...yet! We realize how easy living in Hong Kong was as an English speaker as opposed to living now in mainland China. In Hong Kong you didn't need to learn Chinese. English, as an offical language, was prevelant everywhere. If someone didn't speak English, there would be someone right next to them that did. Not so in Qingdao...Gabriel said on our first day here, "We'll have to learn to read Chinese".

So we've had fun trying to learn necessary words quickly, and being the adventerous type we have made great strides in getting decorations and fixtures for the apartment. Tammy found a plant shop and after buying a number of large plants, realized they wouldn't fit in a taxi back to the house. By using a handful of words and playing charades with the vendor, she negotiated for a motorcycle with a small transport bed attached. Of course she had to ride in the back with the plants and she phoned me saying, "I'm coming home in the back of a motorcycle / pick-up thing...run down and bring the camera."

We had a similar situation with the delivery of a couple of chairs for our balcony. Gabriel BEGGED me to ride in the back of the pick up on one of the chairs. Since it was a short distance, I finally gave in and let him do it all the while thinking, "If I was back in Boulder, I would be SO arrested for this," Forget the police, in Boulder I would have been stopped or honked at angrily by other drivers. In China, the Chinese kept passing us laughing, pointing at Gabriel, and giving the "thumbs up" sign. Picture a 10 yr old white boy (in the middle of China), sitting in the back of a pick up on a LAWN CHAIR shooting down the road. All he needed was a can of cheap beer and a shotgun to complete the picture.

I have pictures of Tammy's ride but didn't have a camera for Gabriel's. In this country I need to carry a camera EVERYWHERE because you have NO idea what is going to happen next.

Goodbye with Friends

Allow me again to hit the "rewind" button and submit an entry I have been meaning to do. The Saturday night before we left for China, our closest and dearest friends, Tre and Jen Cates threw us a special going away party. It was a wine and cheese affair that was the perfect sendoff for us. The house was decked out with a Chinese theme complete with fortune cookies for the guests. Lights and torches were set outside creating a relaxing ambiance and the mix of good friends, good conversation, a buffet of cheeses, and plentiful amounts of wine made for a memorable evening.


As a going away gift, Tre and Jen arranged to have a black and white portrait of the Boulder Theater (a city landmark) out on a table with all of our friends signing the border with farewell messages. Thanks Tre and Jen and all of our wonderful friends for that special (and emotional) evening!

Olympics Pt. Deux!

We had no idea, even up until 4 months ago, that we would be living in China when the country would be hosting the Olympics. In America, the Olympics are pretty important but are only really a "big deal" in perhaps the host city. Here, the Olympics are a "big deal" everywhere. The logo may say Beijing 2008 but make no mistake, China is the host country.

Everywhere you go banners are displayed, gardens are created, and public jumbo-tron televisions are set up to celebrate the Olympics. On a recent trip to the local mall I was amazed at a few hundred locals watching China play in a basketball game. Everytime China scored a deafening roar would erupt from the crowd. I found it fascinating, and was caught up with the others beginning to root for the home team.

It really is more than a series of sporting events here. It is China's way of showcasing themselves and making a public step onto the world stage. What is intriguing is how the people here often know how many gold medals China and America have. A taxi driver told us at the end of the first couple days, "China has 8 gold medals, America only has 3".

As an American, I really haven't felt a specific "rivalry" since the demise of the Soviet Union. When the U.S. Hockey team beat "the Russians" in 1980, I remember the national euphoria that was felt and the personal pride I experienced at the time. No such rivalry exists for us now. We all want Michael Phelps to do well and break the "gold medals won at an Olympics" record, but the passion to beat "the Chinese" just isn't there...at least not yet. Much to some of the locals disappointment.

Street Food

Street food!!! Mmmmmm. The very term conjures images of both scrumptious delights and intestinal nightmares. People often warn when you go to developing nations not to eat from street vendors. But I would say unto you, "Go and seek out such delights. For those that do so will be richly rewarded."

When I was a student in Beijing (a long time ago), I used to live off street food. My favorite was a local fare called a jiang bing. It was basically a plain crepe cooked up on a cart with a cast iron griddle powered by a gas tank. The 'chef' cracks an egg on the crepe and spreads it around, then flips the crepe over and spreads on plum sauce & chili sauce - if you like it hot! The filling is then added: a crispy wafer, some lettuce, a sliced hotdog and green onion. Voila! When its finished it looks like a big burrito...but tastes much different. Tammy spotted a jiang bing vendor the other day and after a fifteen year sabbatical, I was able to once again devour one of these unique Chinese delicacies. I realized that the depressing changes to the body's metabolism from a 23 year old student to a wise old man of 41 mean I won't be able "live off them" anymore (or at least if I desire to reach 42) - but they will serve as an occasional treat :)

On the subject of street food. We had some street Bar-B-Q the other day with some of the other teachers from the school. Sitting around a cheap folding table on plastic stools we were treated to a buffet of skewered lamb, pork, vegetables, and bread covered in a delectible blend of spices and cooked on an open flame. It is a fun atmosphere and the whole street is lined with little vendor / restaurants covered in criss-crossed twinkle lights. Everyone is sitting outside enjoying the aromatic breeze from the grills. Wonderful!! And the fringe benefit is the price: 7 adults and 3 children, eating their fill, as well as beer and soft drinks came to a grand total of $22 USD.

Of course, you realize after your second bathroom trip later that evening that there was an additional surcharge. :)

Going to Church

We had been told that there was an International Church meeting in Qingdao so one of the first things we did was connect with other Christians in the city. One of the members of the church was kind enough to meet us at an easy to find supermarket and walk us to the meeting. In fact, I needed to call him and lacking a cell phone, asked the first foreigners I saw walk by if I could use theirs. Turns out it was the coach and a team member from the Argentina Olympic sailing team. They were kind enough to oblige us the use of their phone and I was able to call our new friend.

Going to church is a little more difficult for us here. Tammy and I are technically in Huangdao, which is across the bay from Qingdao. Huangdao has far less "foreigners" so we have to travel to Qingdao to attend the International Church. (The interesting nature of the country dictates that only foreign passport holders may attend the International Church). After a couple weeks now, we're starting to get the hang of it.

So Sunday morning goes like this:
1) Eat a big breakfast because it will be a while before you eat again
2) Go to the bathroom because you don't want to have to use a public restroom between home and destination (TRUST ME ON THIS!!)
3) Walk out to the street and hail a cab to take us to the ferry terminal
4) Arrive at ferry terminal and realize you just missed the boat that you see pulling away from the dock and will have to wait 30+ minutes until the next one
5) You wait in line as the crowd for the next ferry begins to press in all around you with very lttle respect for the the foreign concept of a "line" or "queue". As the hot humid August sun beats down on you and sweat begins to pore through your shirt, you have to decide what Ipod tune is going to put you in a better mood, Hosanna's worship song "Holy Ground" or Ted Nugent's "Free for All"
6) Enjoy a relaxing 45 minute ferry ride across the bay as the cool ocean breeze cools both body and temper.
7) Disembark and grab a cab for a nail biting 25 minute ride across town as you narrowly miss pedestrians, vendors, and other cars. Think Disney's "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" without the safety rail or the assurance of reaching the end in one piece
8) Arrive at church, worship with the Saints, and feel the presence of God. Easy!

The Beach

Adapting to life in China can be challenging! For pampered Americans it is especially difficult...There is no cable TV, no English signs, no taste in furniture, and no Oprah to hold us and tell us everything is going to be OK!

When Tammy gets moderately depressed about not having this, or the unavailability of that, she likes to remind herself, "Hey, I live at the beach now"

One of the best things about our new location is that the ocean can be seen from our apartment and "Golden Beach" is a mere 10 minutes walk away. It has been our haven and place of refuge. For Gabriel, who is missing his friends from Boulder greatly, it has been a welcome diversion and one of the "cool" parts of living in China. The water is wonderfully warm and he can literally body surf until exhaustion.

So for the Hackmans, when things get us down or get under our skin, we just look at each other and say, "The Beach."

PS: I had to include a picture of the men's showers at the beach right up against the urinals. Gabriel says, "I can shower and take a pee at the same time" :)

Jonus Brothers

Ok, I have to backtrack some blog entries that I have been meaning to do but the whirlwind of leaving did not allow.

Those of you that know Gabriel know that he loves all things Disney Channel. After Miley (Hanna Montana) Cyrus, the biggest thing going in that world is The Jonas Brothers. (If you have no idea what I am talking about it means you don't have a child between the ages of 9 and 15).

I have always been proud of my son's musical choices, but when he announced one day that he liked the Jonas Brothers (the 2000's equivalent of Hanson) more than Queen (arguably one of the most musically respected rock bands in music history) I went into a depression. Was it me? Was it my parenting skills? What could cause this breakdown in musical taste? "It must be Tammy's fault" I thought.

Anyhow, I started checking out The Jonas Brothers (or Jo Bros for those in the know...insert fist bump). Found out they are 3 Christian teens whose father was a minister...good there. They pray together as a family before every concert...better, and wear fidelity rings...Ok, they're in!

Well, I found out they were going to play at Fiddler's Green in Denver 2 weeks before we left for China. I went online and bought tickets but didn't tell Gabriel. We told him we had to go to a dinner in Denver and that he needed to come along...until the last minute when we showed him we had tickets for the Jonas Brothers and that we were going to the concert that night. Thought he was going to have a seizure right there. We made it a men's night as Gabriel and I along with our best bud's Tre and his two boys Trevor and Preston.

Fiddler's Green was packed with thousands of "tweeners" and I soon found out that teenage girls can scream at a level that can literally shatter eardrums. To their credit, The Jonus Brothers themselves are pretty musically talented and I enjoyed the concert much more than I thought I would. Large screens showed close-ups of the boys (and their fidelity rings...which I assume that the large number of questionably dressed girls would have loved to put to a test).

Anyhow, in the car going to the concert I asked Gabriel, who seemed lost in thought, what he was thinking? He said with a smile, "I was thinking how cool my dad is." Yes I Am!!

New Blog / New Country

Well after a week of trying to access our blog at wordpress to no avail, we've decided to start a new blog here at Blogspot.

We've been here a week now and it has been great! (Well...mostly great...I don't want to get carried away)

Right now we are relaxing on a Saturday morning with breakfast and coffee after an evening of watching the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. It was one of the most amazing spectacles we had ever seen. The rumor here was that it was going to be something incredible, but as we sat watching it on TV last night we were awed by some of the performances. The one English station was unable to broadcast the event because of copyright regulations so we watched it in Chinese.

The last time I watched the Olympics in mainland China it was during the 1992 games in Barcelona. I was in a hostel in Urumuqi (a city in the far west desert of China) watching the events on a cheap broken down TV with a group of guys I had traveled there with (and pineing for my newlywed wife back at home). Watching the Opening Ceremonies last night, I was struck by how far China has come in 16 years. We consider it a real privilege to be here during this exciting time