Qingdao: The City Not the Beer

It is almost here; I am going to graduate in a few days and then a few weeks later I am off to China to teach English for a year. I am moving to a coastal city named Qingdao, which is known as the Switzerland of China. It gets this name because it is a former German concession, and there is a strong influence in the architecture. All I know is what I have seen in pictures--there are several red roofed buildings that are reminiscent of German buildings. A major difference between Qingdao and Switzerland is that Qingdao is located on the coast and has several nice beaches, which sparks my interest considering that I am from Missouri.

I am going to teach at Leewen Foreign Language School which is located in a new, very nice section of town, according to what I have read. This school does not function like a normal school in the United States. Leewen has classes on nights and weekends where Chinese students take English classes in addition to their normal school. This is awesome because it means that I can spend my afternoons during the week on the beaches.

When I first told my family that I wanted to go to China to teach English, my brother told me that I should go to Austria because they have mountains. I knew that he would be excited to know that there is a famous mountain close to Qingdao. Mt. Laoshan is an impressive mountain considering that it is located so close to the sea. It is also known as "the cradle of Chinese Taoism"

Last and definitely not least, one of the major pulls for me to Qingdao was one of the best things that the Germans left behind. Following WWI Qingdao was returned to China by the Germans, but not before they had built an impressive brewery. The brewery now brews the most popular beer in China. It is called Tsingtao beer which is actually the same name of the city it is brewed in, Qingdao, using the old translation system. Tsingtao has been so successful that it has been exported to the United States, more specifically Las Vegas where I was first exposed to it. Tshingtao is famous because it uses spring water from Mr. Laoshan to brew its beer. It is also host to an annual international beer festival in September, which I am very much looking forward to.

Quote of the Week
"Always remember that I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me."-Winston Churchill