Markets and Such… (5-20-08)

I haven’t much to say on this entry because there’s not much to say.  Yesterday we went shopping in Qingdao, it was incredible.  We saw the Qingdao Wal-Mart which was three stories tall (and oddly enough, all the stuff that was inside was made in the country that in which it was located.)  I had some of the most fantastic ice cream, it was 5 flavors in one: coconut, coffee, kiwi, melon, and something else I didn’t know.  But it was delicious.  Last night we went to a factory that is run by a brother of ours who is Korean and ran a rehearsal.  This rehearsal included the students from Korean Christian University and a skit by what I dubbed Korea-tron.  It was a great experience.  Today I awoke tired, and ate a smallish breakfast, I then took at 15 minute Chinese taxi ride across town to the pearl market where they sold real pearls for fractions of what they cost in America.  There were also many other shops in this upscale flee-market of cheap prices and quality goods.  Then we went to Qingdao International School where we gave a concert.  During the middle of it there was a three-minute moment of silence for the victims of the earthquake.  After the concert we came back to the hotel and had dinner and rehearsal.  Afterward we had a bit of free time which I occupied by playing cards because I was so tired, which I still am, and therefore am getting ready to sign off and go to bed.  Talk to you soon.

By The Sea Side, Qing-dao, By the Beautiful Sea (5-19-08)

Today is gorgeous, I haven’t filled you in since before the train so here goes.  The train wasn’t bad, it was a sleeper and I was on the top bunk of three.  The train station however…. Horrible.  There were thousands of people and it was crazy.  They don’t believe in lines in China, it’s look out for numero uno.  We finally did get on the train however without anyone losing a limb or without anything being stolen.  The train ride was fun I slept most of the way (‘cause that’s what I was supposed to do.)  We arrived in Qingdao which is a sea-side city and the host of the sailing events for the Olympics in August.  I haven’t seen much of it since all we’ve done here is eat and sing so far.  Food is still good.  Not as good as in Beijing, but still very tasty.  The concert last night went well, we were about three quarters full in the auditorium, which meant like 700-800 people.  It was nice.  We shared the concert with the Korean Christian University from Seoul, S. Korea.  They were pretty good.  Today I spent the morning on the beach, I have now touched both sides of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  It was rocky and the water was cold, but it was still neat.  We found out today that because of the horrible earthquake that happened a week ago in Chengdu the country is in a national state of mourning for three days, which means that our concerts tonight and tomorrow are cancelled.  Oh well.  We’re trying to work on alternatives.  So we’re actually going shopping here in a few minutes, I figured I’d let people know what was up.  Lata yo.