Qingdao – Day 13 of Sailing

August 21st

Today we had a crew meeting at 9:30a, so I had to go in early. All that was left was 2 medals races that were on live, so there was not any editing to do.

After the meeting, we took a group photo of our crew.

I am in the middle – about 4-5 rows from front. I am near another blonde who was wearing sunglasses.

Then my department had to sit and wait until the medals races were complete before we could start packing.

In our department, we also had 4 students (loggers) who were there to upload our video to a FTP site in Beijing. They also typed logs of the video, typed cue sheets, etc. The first few days were interesting because Billy, the head of our department, was never informed they were going to be with us. They had training on how to use their computer programs – but none of us knew how to use it. In the beginning, it was a little chaotic working with them, but we grew to enjoy their company very much.


The all spoke English, so it was great because they could translate stuff for us and tell us where to go and what to do. They thrived on helping us and enjoyed the little tasks we assigned them.

They were also very interested in Western music. Billy made them CDs of artists from the U.S. and they were so excited!

It is unbelievable that here are 20 year old kids that have never heard of any of our music or artists. I thought everyone in the world at least had heard of “U2”!

Anyway, because of their interest in music, eagerness to help us, etc. Billy bought them all MP4 players and gave them to them today. They were so excited!

Then they surprised us with gifts and thank you notes. They bought the 4 of us a little Chinese gift – which was so thoughtful of them!

They each told me how much they loved me and how they were going to miss us all and how the past few weeks have been the best thing that they have ever experienced. Which was so touching, yet sad.

While awaiting the sailing to end - Ben, Alex and Billy made about 70 photo CDs for the crew. It was a compilation of several people's photos over the past few weeks.

It started raining again – another deluge. So when we finally were ready to start packing the gear, we were limited by the rain and had to quit.

Tonight was the big wrap party at Club NY. It is a bar a few blocks from the hotel where the crew spent a lot of time over the past few weeks.

Several of the guys on the crew decided to start a band while here – they talked the bar into letting them perform for us. They were awesome!

You would never believe this group of guys had just met a few weeks before. They named themselves “Capsized”.

The Loggers were there and having a blast! They had never been to a party such as this. They were drinking and rocking out with the band.

Each one of them is so sweet. The experience with them was amazing and so hard to explain (and understand).

Other photos:

Qingdao - Day 12 of Sailing

August 20th

Got up early this morning to meet Billy & Andy to go to the “North Face” store – which is in the basement of the Jimo Lu market. I went to Jimo Lu last week to shop for souvenirs, but didn’t realize the “North Face” place was there as well.

You go to shop #17 in the lowest level (2 levels below ground). You tell them “North Face” and then they guide you down a maze of shops & hallways. You go in this back area and they open this sliding door that is covered with curtains.







Inside is a maybe 10x10 room with piles of North Face coats & snow pants.



There were maybe 8 of us in this tiny room with no A/C trying on winter coats.
They said no photos, but I snuck some anyway.

I bought 3 coats and 2 fleeces for 1,400 yuan (approx $230 USD). Which I couldn’t of gotten one of those jackets for in the U.S. It is said if you go alone or in smaller groups, you can bargain more. But I was content with the price.

Andy & Billy left for work and I continued my search for this item I had seen in Beijing. I wanted it as a gift for a few people and couldn’t find it anywhere in Qingdao. I even had asked our Chinese students in out office and they told me “only in Beijing”.

Well, when I become obsessed about something, I will get it!
Sure enough, I found.

It was not without incident, of course! For starters, I wanted 4 of this item. It took about 10 minutes to get that thru their heads. A crowd circled around to watch the “show”.

I didn’t have enough cash, so the lady escorted me to the ATM. I had already withdrawn 2,000 yaun the night before for other stuff. Since it was still August 19th according to the bank, it would only allow me to take 500 yuan because otherwise I was over my daily limit.

I still didn’t have enough, but the shopkeepers were sick of me – so they let me take the gifts even though I was 200 yuan short. Which actually was fine with me – because I ended up paying what I had wanted to pay – not what they wanted me to pay.

The items added up to about 40lbs since they are jade. I had to stop shopping because I had no way to carry the crap. The shopkeeper had to help carry to a taxi.

I get in the taxi and realize I only have 20 yaun. I kinda panicked and hoped there wasn’t a lot traffic, otherwise I would have enough. Thankfully, it only came to 17 yaun!

Now started the quest of getting bubble wrap so I could put them in my checked luggage. Dear God! Will explain the bubble wrap saga later!

Work was uneventful. It was our last day of editing, so that was nice J

I went to dinner with a couple of guys to this tiny Italian restaurant. It is fabulous but impossible to get in because they only have room for 24. They have 2 seatings – 8p & 10p. One of the guys I was with is from Italy and became friends with the chef – who is Japanese – but studied in Italy.
Anyway – excellent food!
BUT it takes an eternity because he only cooks 1 entrée at a time.


This is my crew:

Gary/Producer (Colorado)
Andy/Assistant Director (LA)
(Gary & Andy work in the live truck; the rest in photo work in editing with me)
Alex/Editor (Italy)
Billy/Summaries Producer (LA)
Nic
Ben/Editor (LA)


Here are some random photos:



USA getting the Gold (I forget type of sailing class)










I *think* these are the locals working on the nets to keep the algae out of the harbour






The locals go & get beer in a bag to take home - see the plastic bag he is pouring the beer into - you see them walking down the street with bags of beer.





This is Peter. He stands out front of the hotel and asks (the guys) if they need a girl. Allegeldly, he has had to move his "business" outside since they closed down the massage parlour here at the hotel. (It closed about 2 days after we got here - it's on the 4th floor)

Qingdao - Day 11 of Sailing

August 19th

Had another good run this morning on the treadmill.

I walked around a few streets near the hotel that I had not yet explored. Nothing too exciting.

Had to go to Carrefour to look for a bike tire pump so I could fill up my tire.








Exterior of my most hated store

You have to ride escalators inside to get to your level

Of course the bike pumps were all for the strange kind of valve. BUT, there was a girl there speaking in English to one of the employees, so, being the rude American that I am – I interrupted the conversation and told him I bought a bike there last week and have a low tire. He didn’t know what I meant, so the girl tried to mime it for me. He understood and started running around looking for the pump. I apologized to the girl, but she understood why I interrupted their conversation. She was from NY and was buying a bike.

The employee hands me a pump and I tell him no it wont work. So I took him over to the bike I had bought and pointed to the nozzle and then knew. He ran around another 5 minutes and brought one back that would work. I made him show me it work, and it did. It was just a little tricky on getting it on and using it.

Ok, problem solved. I then go and wait 20 minutes to buy it.

AGHHHHH. Worse than Wal-Mart.

Get back to the hotel and immediately go to the bike garage and want to get this done before I get ready for work because I know I will get all hot and nasty.

As soon as I kneel down, the garage attendants come out and try to put their pump on my tire – I mime no it doesn’t work. So they proceed to rip my pump out of my hands and try to use it. I saw the writing on the wall here – they wouldn’t know how it works.

Sure enough, they jammed the pump on there and started pumping… I could hear my tire emptying. I kept trying to take the pump back but “no, no, we”.
This went on for 20 minutes before they tell the security guard to tell me (he spoke a tiny bit of English) “it not work”. I say, “yes, let me do it.”

By this point they had the pump so jammed on, I couldn’t get it off to put it on properly.
Meanwhile, I am kneeling in dirt so now the dirt is mud from my sweat.

They couldn’t get the pump off. They called maintenance to come help. At this point, I knew they were going to either puncture the tire or ruin the valve. I was already late for work, so I tell the somewhat English speaking dude “I be back 1 hour”.

As I was walking back up to the hotel, I passed a maintenance man carrying a screw driver and pliers. I feared what my bike would look like upon my return.

I took a super quick shower and was ready in 20 mins. I go back down. They said – “you buy new one” and handed me the pump. I couldn’t even look at the bike. I left and walked to work.

Upon my return, I went and found the bike. Yep, valve still attached but I knew it was ripped from the tube.

The thought of going back to Carrefour and trying to find a tube – not doing it!
Not to mention taking the tire off, etc.

People were going out to celebrate on of the camera guys birthdays. Not me. I stayed in and did nothing. Enough frustration with the Chinese for one day!

Just some random photos....

Qingdao – Day 10 of Sailing

August 18th

Started the day with a run on the treadmill. The hot gym and smoke-filled air no longer bother me.

There is a place to buy “North Face” clothing here – a factory outlet or something. Numerous crew members have come back to the hotel with trash bags full of gear.

So I asked at the front desk where this place was… they showed me on a map and I walked there. It was a mall!

There is regular priced North Face clothing at every mall – that is not at all what I wanted.

I did stop at some local shops that I hadn’t been to before, but for the most part, a wasted morning.

Work was fine – we had to edit 16 races, so it was the most we had done to date.

I noticed as I was leaving for work, that my rear bike tire appeared to be low. I went back to the garage as there is an air pump in the bike area. The attendants were eager to help, only to find out their pump had a different nozzle than the tire.

So I gave up and went to work.
It really needs air as it is getting hard to ride.

Asked around at work to see if anyone had a pump. One person did, but it also was for the different type of tire. Agh!

In the evening, I went to the Italian place down the street with a couple of co-workers.

Another uneventful day.

But here are some photos – I will admit, I didn’t take these. Most are stills from video.

I am not sure where this sign is... somewhere inside the venue I am guessing.

Boats going back into the harbour

Nic, busy at work! (yes, I have given up on my hair in this humidity!)

Qingdao - Day 9 of Sailing

August 17th

Was raining when I woke up this morning, so I decided to just hang out in my room and catch up a little on email, etc.

When it was time for me to go to work – still raining – so I took the bus.

There are supposed to be golf carts inside the venue that will give you a ride to your work area. Nope, not today! I started with just an umbrella, but got drenched quickly, so dug out my lovely light blue B.O.B. poncho. Even with that, I was soaking wet by the time I made it to the compound.

(Later found out the golf carts weren’t running because they are electric and is unsafe to use in the rain)

The winds were strong, so they were actually sailing. However, the water was very rough! It was raining so hard that at times you couldn’t even see the boats on camera.

The camera guys were the heroes of the day… they endured really harsh conditions on the water – some for over 6 hours. Constant up & down with the waves and were not only drenched from the biting rain, the waves coming over the boats.

After a week plus of insane heat, they were now shivering.

Once they returned, many admitted they didn’t think they would ever make it back to shore.

Our offices have laminate flooring – no rugs or anything. So when people are coming in/out non-stop in the rain, the floors were very wet & slick.

There was also standing water in areas of the compound which freaked me out a little, considering there were endless cables sitting in that water too. A lot of voltage!

Some of the races were entertaining though since many of the sailboats capsized – some several times in the same race. (Sailing is pretty boring to watch – capsizing is about as exciting as it gets)

It came as no surprise when many of the races were cancelled due to “no visibility”.
Only means we have more to do tomorrow.

I ate dinner at the hotel with a couple of friends. None of us felt like going back out into the rain.

Sorry no photos today…. Am hoping to find some of the ocean – but haven’t found any yet.

Qingdao – Day 8 of Sailing

August 16th

I tried to sleep in today as it was Saturday and figured I could use a little rest.
Didn’t happen. Was wide awake by 8a.

Checked email, talked to mom & Dave on Skype and then ventured off to Starbucks for a coffee. Came back and had some breakfast.

Decided to spend my morning at the park reading a book. Left the hotel around 10:30a – something was going on because Micky & Minnie where out front of the hotel ??


Rode my bike to May 4th Square. Found a spot, spread out a towel and laid down to read and get a little sun. This proved to be quite the Saturday morning entertainment for the locals. I think tomorrow, I am just going to take photos of them taking photos of me. It doesn’t really bother me – it is just amusing, that I am so amusing to them.

Spent about an hour reading and then headed back to the hotel.

I have the worst timing ever! Upon returning, I caught the tail end of some sort of celebration out front of the hotel.


Once inside, I was told there were 3 weddings taking place at the hotel – that’s the reason for all the hoopla.

I took the bus today instead of riding my bike.
While waiting to depart, I noticed this hotel employee vacuuming the confetti from the wedding party off the front lawn.


The bus leaves the hotel every 30 minutes drops off about ¾ of a mile from our compound. It even gets a police escort. (A tad safer way to get to work then riding my bike)


After work, a few of us went to ‘beer street’ – which is an area near the Tsingtao Beer Factory. All the tables are out on the sidewalk and it seems like a fun district.





We randomly chose a place (I think they tend to all be the same).
They spoke pretty much zero English. At least the first 10 things Gary (our producer) pointed to on the (English) menu – we were told they were out of.


The servers had us walk around and point to dishes on other people’s tables. Which really isn’t the way to order since many of the meats are unidentifiable. But, oh well.

The dishes were something new… your set was shrink wrapped.

They bring out the entrees one at a time. So you never get to eat things together.

The first that that came out, none of us remembered ordering, but was good. It was lamb (we think) and I will admit, was good!

Next came rice and various seafood dishes. I went to town on the rice because I assumed it was all I would be eating. I was forced to use chopsticks and did pretty good. When you are hungry enough, you figure out how to use them very quickly!

We ordered chicken & peppers. Good, except for the bones. Was spicy and had a kick… and then out of nowhere – bam! It felt like my tongue was on fire! I had several glasses of beer and had a ton of rice before the fire went out.
(glasses of beer are actually large shot glasses, so a “glass” isn’t very much)


Food (and beer) came out over the next hour. We were entertained by the kids selling roses. They are very persistent! It also was disturbing…. What is this 6 year old boy doing selling flowers at 9pm on a Saturday night? But, you have to keep in mind that the traditions and culture here are very different than ours.


Eventually, Graham broke down and bought flowers for Christina and I with hopes he would go away.


Didn’t work. He stayed for easily 20 minutes arguing the price… but of course, he was yelling in Mandarin, so we have no clue what he was saying. He eventually settled on 10 Yuan and switched out the roses for crappier ones.


During dinner, China was playing basketball – it was fun watching the Chinese people get so excited over their team (and win).


This is something that makes us all giggle. The men do this with their shirts. They walk around like this all over China. Why not just take it off?


So of course, one of the guys on the crew showed up at our table mimicking the locals.


A good night… lots of food & beer and only cost us about 70 Yuan each (approx $10 USD)

Fun time had by all.... but I would give a lot to "rewind" and be where I was a month ago tonight... watching "The Menus" in Put-In Bay with Boo, Cliff & Dave.... "... sweet caroline... good times never seemed so good!"

There is a new building being constructed next to the hotel, finally found a hole in the fence to take a peak. I found it to be interesting.