14 September 2014

Hello everyone,

We are back online, after a long hiatus during the university mid-year holidays.  Time to start my weekly blog posts again.

Vera & I arrived back to the Qingdao campus last Monday, 8 September 2014, which was Mid-Autumn Festival in China.

Mid Autumn Festival

In Chinese this festival is called Zhong Qiu Jie (中秋节). 

Its origins go back 3,000 years, and it is regarded as the second most important traditional festival (after Spring Festival).  It fell into disuse under Mao, but was reinstated as a 3 day national holiday in 2008.

It is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar Month, to mark the end of the autumn harvest.  The moon is at its brightest and roundest at this time.  It is regarded as a time for family reunion - indeed we met a young man on the bus from the airport who had flown up from Shanghai just to spend the day with his parents.

The giving, and eating, of moon cakes is an important part of the festival.  The cakes are normally round, and feature many different fillings such as lotus bean paste.

Moon cakes are traditional food during the Mid-Autumn Festival

This year, as part of its austerity drive, the Communist Party of China (CPC) issued strict instructions that public servants should not give or receive extravagant gifts of moon cakes.  Sales of luxury packages of moon cakes plummeted.

A popular legend relating to this Festival involves an ancient hero, Hou Yi, who was given the elixir of eternal life by his Emperor for saving the world.  The legend then has different versions, but all agree that his wife Chang'e drank the elixir and subsequently had to take up residence on the moon (accompanied by her faithful dog, Yutu). 

Moon Goddess Chang'e

China's current manned space craft are named after Chang'e.  The "Lunar Rover" vehicle on the last mission was nicknamed Yutu, in honor of her dog.

"Yutu" exploring the lunar surface, 13 December 2013.

I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let's go back to my last blog post on 27 June 2014, when we were in Kuala Lumpur enroute to Australia.

Kuala Lumpur

We had a week in KL to see Andrew, his wife Caroline and their baby, Eddie.  KL is a big, bustling, spread-out city which takes a little getting used to.  We thoroughly enjoyed our week there, getting to know our newest grandson.

Eddie at 6 months, Sept 2014

Brisbane - Canberra

From KL we flew to Brisbane and spent 10 days with the Roberts family.

Tom & Jen decided to take the 3 boys on a 5 month camping odyssey around Australia - see map below.  They left Brisbane on 2 August and this week crossed from the Northern Territory into Western Australia: one-third down, two-thirds to go.

An outline of the Roberts family itinerary August - December 2014

At the NT / WA border earlier this week.  

Jen keeps a blog of their trip - see: robertstour2014.wordpress.com  They are now 6 weeks into the trip and have seen and done lots of interesting things.  Life will seem very dull when they get back to suburbia!!

We picked up our car in Brisbane and drove to Canberra.  We stopped in several places to catch up with friends: Tweed Heads to see Dennis & Irene; Nambucca Heads to see Bob & Siri; Port Macquarie to see Leon & Kate; Sydney to see Paul & Niniek and Howard & Angie; and finally to good old Canberra.

We intended to spend 3 weeks in Canberra, but Vera needed minor surgery which meant we stayed an additional two weeks. But it meant we had more time to catch up with family and friends, including Aniko & Peter; Sharon & Ian; Tomoko & John; Christine & Logan; Kaye & Patrick; Patricia & Paul; Donna & John; Helen & Neil; Barbara & Richard; Somsong & John; and others.

I particularly enjoyed watching rugby and playing golf with mates Paul, Noel, Dave, Don, & Neale.

Vera & I have toyed with the idea of moving to the Gold Coast when we finally settle down (this time next year?), but every time we are back in Canberra we realise that it is 'home'.  I know the winters are harsh (by Aussie standards) but it just feels right. Canberra is well organised, and easy to get around.  And most of all, it's nice to get together with old friends. Often when you are in Civic or Woden or Dickson you will run into someone you know - there is a sense of belonging.

Herewith some photos of our time in Australia.

Lunch at the Roberts' place in The Gap, Brisbane, from left: Tom; Sid; Jen; Nate; Kurt & Vera

Taking Tilley for a walk.  She used to be so full of beans, but now it's just two old codgers together!

Vera with Sid, 5 years old and a handful!

At Lake Cathie near Port Macquarie: Barry & Sharyn (ex- Monaro High School, Cooma); Vera; Kate & Leon (our former neighbors in Canberra - very pleased with their move north - wonderful hosts).  

Birthday party for Tui (Dejon) Labutte in Canberra organised by Britt and Pierre.  Angie came from Narooma, and Sasha from Sydney.  It was a good chance to catch up with the extended family.

We did the 'Inner Basin' walk around Lake Burley Griffin once or twice a week.  One day we came across this 'Santa in Speedos' Fun Run raising money for charity.  This was winter - late-July - but fortunately a lovely day.  The nights can get pretty cold in Canberra - we had 4 nights in a row with minus 7C - but the days are often clear and bright, with maximum temperatures between 10 - 14C. 

I presented a copy of my book "It's all about the students" to Carol Keil, President of the Canberra Branch of the Australia - China Friendship Society.  We were at the ANU together, more years ago than we care to admit!

At Federal Golf Club with fellow hackers, Noel and Des.  The couch fairways brown off in winter, but still play well. Note the 'gallery' of kangaroos in the background.

Celebrating my 68th birthday.

With good friends Yvonne & Jim.  Jim has just retired after an illustrious career with the Department of Immigration. We met while working at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta in the late-1980s and have kept in touch ever since.  We were both keen members of the Hash House Harriers, but alas our running days are behind us. 

Farewell dinner for Moritz (my cousin's grandson) who visited from Germany; from left: Moritz, Vera, Richard, Peter, Adrienne, and Aniko.  An impressive young man, Moritz spent 5 weeks around Canberra and the south-eastern corner of NSW.  He seems to have fallen in love with the place, and said that he is determined to live and work here when he finishes his apprenticeship with BMW.

We went to a wonderful concert by honky-tonk pianist Jan Preston at Smith's Alternative Bookshop in Civic.  We have been keen fans since we first heard her perform at the National Folk Festival 14 years ago. 

My glamorous sister Aniko was a stand-out model in a charity event.

Lunch with former Austrade colleagues; from left: Geoff McKie; Jim Enright; Brendan Dyson; Dick Wilson; Des Walsh; and John Bush.  Missing were stalwarts Ian Ffrench, Pat Stortz and John Smith.

While there's a lot to like about life in Australia,  the things that strike one most after living in China are the clean fresh air, the big blue sky, and the lack of crowds.

Always love the 1,200 km drive from Brisbane to Canberra: the wide, open spaces; the clear, blue sky; seeing old friends.  We use public transport in China, and find it both convenient and cheap, but it's still nice to get behind the wheel of a car again and cruise along a highway.

After only having access to one English language TV station (the government's CCTV News) it is a pleasure to switch on the telly in Australia.  I especially enjoy Monday nights on the ABC starting at 7pm: News; 7.30 Report; Australian Story; 4 Corners; Media Watch; Q & A; Late Line.  It's entertaining, stimulating, often challenging but always interesting, stuff.

It may be my imagination, but it seems to me that the quality of media reporting (TV, radio and print) is diminishing in Australia.  Murdoch has a too-dominant position in Australia's media scene.  ABC radio and TV at least give some relief from the incessant advertisements on commercial channels and the biased editorials.  The Abbott government seems determined to shackle the ABC, which I think is a great pity.

Everyone tells you that the biggest problem with Australia today is the cost of living.  Twenty years ago we used too marvel at how expensive life was in the UK and other European countries compared to life in Australia, but we have well & truly caught up.  It's crazy, but New York City is now much better value than Sydney or Melbourne.

Why have costs of food, energy and services gone up so much in the last 20 years?  Some commentators blame the rush to privatise in the Howard years - utilities, airports etc.  There was a widely-held belief that the private sector could run such facilities more efficiently and prices would come down.  But in many cases, the opposite happened.

We were lucky to escape the worst ravages of the GFC, but countries like the USA and UK have rebounded with meaner, leaner, more efficient economies. Somehow, we have become too self-satisfied and complacent, and our productivity is lagging far behind.

Mr Abbott promised to lower the cost of living, but his options seem limited.  The Aussie dollar is depreciating (now around US$0.90) which will put up-ward pressure on the price of imports.

There are probably many reasons why the cost of living has increased so much, and I'd be very interested in your comments and ideas.

Enough about Australia; time to come back to the present.

2014-15 Academic Year

Key dates of the university's 2014-15 academic year:

First Semester: from 9 September 2014 to 24 January 2015
Winter break: 25 January to 7 March 2015 (incorporating Chinese New Year / Spring Festival which will start on 19 February 2015)
Second Semester: from 9 March to 3 July 2015

My classes actually start in Week 2, on Monday 15 September (tomorrow).

My teaching load this semester is 7 two-hour classes per week (5 Western Culture, 2 Oral English); three classes on Tuesdays, and one each on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

No weekend classes this semester - yippee!!

...

Well folks, that's all for now.

I hope to do another post next weekend, which will include details of my classes and students.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao
Sunday, 14 September 2014