The end of the academic year always comes so quickly when you roll over into the second semester. And next you know it is the summer holidays again.
This summer we had lots of goodbyes. It is sad to see your friends / colleagues leave, but that what happens at International schools. People move on.
So before we started our official holiday, Meenu invited us to dinner with some other colleagues to end the school year.
What a beautiful bunch of people.
Some very tasty Indian food was served. Thank you Meenu.
We then made arrangements to visit our home city in China. The first city we started out in, Rizhao. We have not been there for four years. And when we got there, so many things had change. It just showed us how quickly China is developing. We had so much fun and met all our friends. It was really good to see those who made our lives very comfortable when we were so new to China.
I also want to thank Vivian for all she has did for us. From organising transport to pick us up at the airport to organising outings for us to go. Thanks Vivian, you are really a blessing.
Vivian met us at the Share House that she had managed to organise, very much like a Chinese Air B&B. After settling in, we headed to a Korean restaurant. It was so good being back with our friends.
The next day we visited the Bamboo Forest. It was extremely hot in Rizhao and walking through the bamboo was nice a cool.
This little man, Nian Nian, was not born yet. This was the first time we got to see him. He is a bundle of energy and joy.
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We even saw a performance of different ethnic dancing. The last dance we were called up to join them as they taught us this bamboo dance.
We were then off to have dinner. Vivian took us to Dong Yi Town. It has some beautiful scenery. There are lots of different street food traders around, as well as high end and local restaurants. We had some street food while deciding where we were going to eat. Eventually we decided to eat at a outside seafood restaurant.
Some of the street food we ate. These were baby potatoes in a sweet sauce.
At the restaurant waiting for our order of seafood.
Since Rizhao is a coastal city, their seafood is amazing. I must say, I have not had a tastier dish than this seafood bowl. It had all sorts of crustaceans, that are edible, from the ocean in it. Delicious, delicious, delicious.
Then after our meal we walked it off. It is really beautiful here. There are also hotels and share homes here so you can actually stay in this area too.
Some of the hotels on the water.
And walking around can get you feeling hungry all over again. So this is me buying and eating a lamb skewer.
Even though it is not Chinese New Year, because of the area being a popular tourist area, all the decorations and lanterns are displayed.
Very busy with tourists.
The next day we had a date with all my colleagues I used to work with. Some could not make it. When we got there, Chloe had already ordered the lunch. There was so much food. It was so good to meet up with them all. Out of the four that attended the lunch only one still works for the school. out of the seven that were invited, only 2 still work at the school. It is amazing how time changes things and how people move on to better opportunities.
With Chloe and Sunny.
Chloe - was the first Chinese person we met and she helped us with everything. She picked us up from the airport and settled us in our apartment. If it was not for her making our stay as smooth as it could be, we probably would have not lasted in China.
From left to right: Sunny (was my co-teacher), Myself, Chloe (HR), Cindy (HR), Daisy (Reception) and Paul.
The view from our share apartment.
The next day, Vivian took us to a Japanese restaurant for lunch. The food was out of this world.
After the lunch we went to rest for a while as we had another meeting with Dora, now called Zoe, who worked in our operations section. We were really a tight knit family at this school. So that evening we met at Starbucks to chat all our news away. After meeting with Dora, we walked past the food court on our way back to the share apartment and go ourselves something small to nibble on. The Japanese restaurant kept us fill all day.
Please note that all these places and restaurants, even the MixC Mall were not in Rizhao when we lived there. When we lived here, there was not much western anything in the city. We had to visit Qingdao to get anything western. So I was pleased to know that Rizhao was also becoming a little bit cosmopolitan.
We also visited the Rizhao Ocean Park. On entry it is the aquarium. You can watch shows of aqua ballet and also feed the seals. As you exit the park, you also walk through an Avery with parrots and macaws. You can buy some seeds and the birds come and sit on your hands, shoulders even you head in an attempt to feed on some seeds.
This whale was made of plastic bottles.
Aqua Ballet
In the Avery.
Watch out for your earrings. The parrots like those too and will tug on them hoping to get them loose.
Vivian took us to a restaurant for lunch afterwards called Encounter. Loved the decor and the food. But most of all I love the company.
And after lunch we went to the beach. Nian Nian was so excited. He chased Paul the whole time we were there. The storm the night before swept tons of seaweed onto the beach. It looked like grass on the beach.
That evening we met up with Daisy at Starbucks to chat. Even though we keep in contact with all our colleagues on Wechat, it still is not the same as seeing face to face again.
We could not leave Rizhao before we had a hot pot. And that is what we did on the last day of our stay in Rizhao before we flew home to Hangzhou. Vivian and Nian Nian took us to a popular hot pot restaurant in Mix C Mall. If you come to China, you have to have a hot pot meal before you leave. It's just one of the things to do.
The next day we packed, Vivian and Nian Nian came to say their goodbyes. Thank you Vivian for being the greatest tour guide we have ever had. It was so good to see you and Nian Nian. Until we meet again.
Goodbye for now Rizhao.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Please keep reading and I will keep writing.
