27 June 2014

Hi everyone,

Well, I couldn't stay away from the blog too long.

Vera & I are in Kuala Lumpur at the moment, visiting Caroline and Andrew and getting acquainted with our new grandson, Eddie.

Little Eddie is wondering what all the fuss is about.

Three generations.

We've suddenly gone from a busy life in Qingdao to doing not very much at all.  Feels strange to just eat, sleep, chill out and relax, and watch the World Cup highlights on TV (in English, which is a nice change!).  It's  hot and humid here, but their apartment complex has a great pool (50 metres!) so we are getting some exercise.  We have been walking to the local shops (about 1.5 km) most days to enjoy delicious Malaysian curries for lunch - yumeeee.

Alex hard at work in KL.

Anyway I thought I'd better do something useful so compiled an index of the subjects included in the 18 blog posts so far.

It has been interesting to go back through the posts and remember the things which took place over the last 5 months.  It has been a busy period.

The index of subjects is shown in the table below.  I compiled the table in Word and then copy-pasted into the blog. But the formatting turned out a little strange (the dot points should be indented) - I still have much to learn about running this blog.

Index for Post #1 to Post #18 (February to June 2014)

These posts describe our lives as English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao during the second semester of the 2013-14 academic year (February to June 2014).

Although I started this blog back in February 2014, I added the monthly "Letters from China" which I had sent to family and friends during 2013.  But the photos in those "Letters" didn't transfer over from Word, and I haven't had the time to insert them manually, so the 2013 Letters are incomplete and look a bit strange.  Maybe I should just go back and delete those Letters from the blog?  I'll think about it.

Post no. & date	Topics
Post #1 15 Feb 2014 (In KL)	Andrew helped me set up this blog when we visited Caroline and him in Kuala Lumpur in February 2014.  He convinced me that a blog is the best way to keep family and friends informed of our lives as English teachers in China. The first post includes: ·            photos of our family holiday in Hawaii in January 2014, to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary ·                photos of the cruise of the Hawaiian Islands by Vera and me ·                photos with Caroline and Andrew in KL (Caroline was 8 months pregnant)
Post #2 8 March 2014 (In Qingdao)	Teaching at China University of Petroleum, Qingdao (UPC) Terrorist attack in Kunming Ukraine crisis Kevin Rudd’s new position Meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing China’s defence budget Assessing students Where is flight MH370?
Post #3 16 March 2014	Canberra connection (Fu Ying was China’s ambassador to Australia 10 years ago) Student ‘news’ Welcome to Eddie, our new grandson, born 14 March Medical & dental issues The mystery of MH370 Ukraine crisis
Post #4 23 March 2014	Mystery of flight MH370 Girl power – visit to China by Michelle Obama, her daughters and mother Grandkids: photos of Eddie in KL and Kurt, Nate & Sid in Brisbane World’s most expensive cities World’s biggest economies Doctor – patient stress in China Has Spring arrived?
Post #5 28 March 2014	Description of China University of Petroleum, Qingdao www.upc.edu.cn My teaching schedule this semester Summary of my classes Weekly class timetable for Double Major students My teaching approach
Post #6 30 March 2014	Major news items in March 2014 (in China Daily) ·                International ·               Domestic China PM Abbott’s re-introduction of British honours Flight MH370 Kit Kat King – Paul Bulcke CEO of Nestle Vanessa Mae, renowned violinist and now Olympic skier
Post #7 6 April 2014	Flight MH370 Changes in the Cuban economy The Qing Ming (Tomb Sweeping) Festival Poetry reading Student opinions on recent issues Fast Eddie
Post #8 13 April 2014	Sun, where art thou? Surprise honour as ‘favourite foreign teacher’ Coming of age – new 5 star hotels in Huangdao A mystery: China’s property market Student comments on high school and university
Post #9 20 April 2014	Student comments about college The F-word dilemma Australia comes to town – huge business delegation My public lecture ·               Were you a spy? Visit to Ling Shan Island Shandong Educational TV Flash Eddie
Post #10 29 April 2014	Trip to Beijing for the Award Building activity around Huangdao Ranking of cities
Post #11 6 May 2014	Events which made the China Daily newspaper in April 2014 ·               International ·               Domestic Chinese Operations of China’s 4 biggest banks Time Magazine’s 2014 list of 100 most influential people in the world The Wen Zhang affair Flight MH370 Ukraine
Post #12 8 May 2014	Visit to Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province In Chengdu City: Jin Li Ancient Street; Chun Xi Lu shopping precinct Leshan to see the Big Buddha (Da Fo) Du Jiang Yan, the site of Li Bing's irrigation project Qing Chen Shan, Taoist mountain Panda Research Station San Xing Dui, museum of the Shu Kingdom Cultural show at the Shu Feng Ya Yun Teahouse (special: face changing)
Post #13 18 May 2014	Potted family history ·               Photos of my mother ·               Messages from Angie and Aniko Blast from the past – Burton & Garran Hall’s 50th anniversary celebrations Student ‘Super One’
Post #14 25 May 2014	Compiling exam papers Model worker Five year rule for foreign teachers My new phone APEC comes to town (Heath McMichael) Nobel Prize List of Prolific Inventors ·                 Kia Silverbrook & Paul Lapstun Photo with UPC President Peter’s Ice Cream goes French Vale, Reg Gasnier
Post #15 2 June 2014	Duan Wu (Dragon Boat) Festival Footy Adventurer extraordinaire (Fedor Konyukhov) The China – Vietnam territorial dispute Jack Brabham, RIP What made the news in the China Daily in May 2014 ·                International ·                Domestic Chinese
Post #16 7 June 2014	Graduating class Steve’s birthday Student opinions on recent events Feedback on the semester from Double Major students China’s leading ladies ·                 Peng Li Yuan ·                Cheng Hong Eddie goes to Paris
Post #17 14 June 2014	Big month of Sport ·              World Cup starts in Brazil ·              NBA Championship won by SA Spurs ·              French Open won by Nadal and Sharapova Which part of American Culture did you find most interesting? Teaching the CNOOC group Students selling belongings Our seniors bus passes The dreaded Gao Kao The world’s most popular woman (Yao Chen) Grandkids
Post #18 22 June 2014	Campus news ·                CCTV English News channel ·                The godfather of UPC ·                Culture exam ·                Farewell to Mashine ·                Homeward bound The Queen meets the Premier Best World Cup goal ever? Spurs beat Heat to win NBA Championships What made the news in the China Daily in the first half of June 2014 ·                International ·                Domestic Chinese A bit of nostalgia (Jakarta 1972) Photo of Caroline and Eddie

Recurring international themes in this period have been the search for flight MH370 and the Ukraine crisis.  

MH370

Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March while on a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.  239 people were on board including 154 Chinese and 6 Australian citizens.  

Not a trace has been found in 3 months - not a single piece of wreckage,  nothing.  How can a huge plane just disappear from the face of the earth? 

Yesterday the Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Warren Truss, announced that a new priority search area has been identified - the orange zone (covering an area of about 60,000 sq km) in the picture below, about 1,800 km due west of Perth.

Searching in the new area is expected to start in August 2014 and take about 12 months.  Mr Truss said that a Memorandum of Understanding is being negotiated between Australia and Malaysia regarding the continuing search for MH370, including financial aspects.

I wonder how long the search should continue?  Flying is so common these days that the whole world would like to know what happened to MH370.  But there must be a point when cost clearly out-weighs benefit and the search is called off.

Ukraine

The political situation in Ukraine continues to be very volatile, bordering on civil war.   What's the answer? The new Ukraine leader seems to be on the right track: in the hope of starting negotiations and avoiding further bloodshed (an estimated 400 have died in the last 2 months) he has declared a ceasefire and suggested constitutional changes such as giving regions more autonomy.

I feel for the people on the ground, both Ukrainians and those who identify with Russia, whose lives have been thrown into turmoil and who are suffering during this period of instability.

Civil wars in Syria and Iraq continue.  Poor President Obama - he is caught between a rock and a hard place.  

Makes us realise how fortunate we are in Australia, where life is relatively peaceful and calm.  A Lucky Country.

Rotary

My sister Angie became President of the Rotary Club of Narooma at the Club's 56th change-over dinner on 25 June.

Past President Charmaine handing over the reins to new President Angie.

Good luck for your presidency over the next 12 months, sis.  We're all very proud of you!


...

That's all for this post.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah
During the university mid-year vacation, now in Kuala Lumpur enroute to Australia.
Friday, 27 June 2014

22 June 2014

Hi everyone,

My last post from Qingdao for the forseeable future.  The exams are over, and marking finished.  Vera and I will leave on 24 June, first to Kuala Lumpur (a week), then to Brisbane (2 weeks) and on to Canberra (4 weeks).  We will return to China on 26 August 2014 for the start of the 2014-15 academic year.

Hope to catch up with at least some of you during our time in Australia.

Campus News

CCTV

In our apartments we normally have access to one English-language TV channel, CCTV News, as well has a dozen or more Chinese channels (both CCTV, the government station, and some private stations).  But 10 weeks ago we suddenly lost CCTV News - it just went off the air.  Very annoying.  I kept asking the University's administration office and was told "we are looking into it."

CCTV is a Chinese government channel, but if we allow for the obvious bias it is still a way to keep up with what is happening in the world.  So then my only access to news was the China Daily newspaper, and websites (such as ABC and Canberra Times) when I had time to access them.

Five days ago CCTV News channel suddenly reappeared on our TV, and things are back to normal.  But why did it suddenly disappear? And why is it suddenly back?  We'll probably never know.  Anyway, it's great to have access to English language news again and as long as it stays on line, that's all that really matters.

...

The grandfather of UPC

I got a mention in the campus newspaper last week - click link (but you need to be able to read Chinese) :

http://sydxb.upc.edu.cn/weekly/?years=2014&weeks=18&page=3

...

American Culture exam

The exam for the American Culture course was held 7 – 9pm on Sunday 15 June 2014.  Yes, you heard right – Sunday night.  In China Saturdays and Sundays are regarded as normal days for teaching and/or exams.  58 students from class NM65 sat the exam, and 59 from class NM224 (total 117). 

The exam paper comprised 4 Parts.  Below are the first 5 questions in each of the first three Parts of the exam.  That will give you some idea of the types of questions.  In Part 4 of the exam paper the students had to write short essays, minimum 100 words, on 3 topics (they had a choice of 6 topics). 

It was an ‘Open Book’ exam: students could take in any written material, but electronic devices were forbidden.

Part 1.  20 Multiple Choice questions (choose the answer of A,B,C, or D)

1. Who warned the people in Lexington and Concord that “The British are coming”?

A. Benjamin Franklin; B. George Washington; C. Paul Revere; D. Benedict Arnold

2. When it is 12 noon in New York City, what time is it in San Francisco?

A. 8 am; B. 9 am; C. 10 am; D. 11 am

3. In the 2008 ARIS survey, what per cent of Americans said they were Christian?

A. 76%; B. 51%; C. 88%; D. 67%

4. How old was Franklin D Roosevelt when he got polio?

A. 19; B. 29; C. 39; D. 49

5. The Pope is the spiritual leader of which Christian church?

A. Mormon; B. Lutheran; C. Baptist; D. Catholic

Part 2.  20 True or False questions (indicate if the sentence is True or False)

1. The Mississippi is the longest river in the world.

2. The Bible is regarded by Christians as their Holy Book.

3. Since 1789 there have been a total of 57 amendments to the US constitution.

4. Margaret Chan is Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO).

5. The USA has hosted the Summer Olympic Games four times.

Part 3.  30 Fill in the blanks questions (insert the correct answer)

1. The 1787 Constitutional Convention was held in __________ (city).

2. There are _______ (number) of States on the US Mainland.

3. The largest US State by area is ___________ (name).

4. President Ulysses S Grant signed the law to establish Yellowstone National Park on __________ (date).

5. The Dow Jones Index of the New York Stock Exchange started in ________ (year).

Part 4.  Essays (write a minimum of 100 words on three topics)

The following are the first 3 choices (of 6) essay topics.

A. In terms of geography, what are the main similarities and differences between China and America?  In your opinion, how can China solve its environmental problems?

B. Describe the key features of the American political system as established by the American constitution.  Who do you think has more power, President Xi Jin Ping or President Barack Obama?  Explain your reasoning.

C. Describe the territorial expansion of the USA in the 1800s, from the east coast to its present borders.  How could they get so much land?  Do you think they were clever, or just lucky?

Part of class NM224 sitting the Culture exam, 15 June 2014.

Analysis

The following table shows the break-up of the scores of the 117 students.

Scores in American Culture exam, 15 June 2014.

Score	Number of students	% of 117 students
Less than 50%	6	5%
50 – 59%	9	8%
60 – 69%	35	30%
70 – 79%	49	42%
80 – 89%	18	15%

A student’s final score is a combination of the exam score (70%) and attendance/participation (30%).  The pass mark is 60%.  Students who got an exam score between 45 – 59% will reach the pass mark of 60% if their attendance was good.  My expectation is that only 2 or 3 students will fail.

Nine students got all the questions in Part 1 (Multiple Choice) correct, 5 girls and 4 boys (seven others got 19 out of 20).  Five students got all the questions in Part 2 (True / False) correct, 2 girls and 3 boys (ten others got 19 out of 20).

Actually, there were 12 individuals who got all the questions right in Part 1 and/or Part 2, as two students, Alisa and Leon, got both right.  Very impressive effort.  Three of the 12 students (25%) were left-handed (much higher than the 6% lefthanders in the two classes).

The highest score in Part 3 (Fill in the blank) was 28 out of 30.

In the Culture exam, twelve students got a score of 69% (I'm sure the Freudians among you will have a field day with this); while nine got a score of 74%, the second most common number.

...

Fond farewell

Shortly after we arrived at the Dongying campus in August 2009 we met a girl Ma Qin (English name Mashine), and have kept in touch with her ever since.  She changed her major from English to Chemical Engineering which added an additional year, but she will graduate this month.  She is looking forward to working at a chemical company near Wuxi in Jiangsu Province.

Vera saying goodbye to our good friend Mashine, 20 June 2014.

...

Homeward bound

The 4,000+ students who are graduating this month are sending their belongings home - there are huge piles of parcels at the campus Post Office every day.

Graduating students sending belongings home via the campus Post Office, which is just across the street from the residential building where the foreign teachers live. 

...

 Queen meets Premier

Premier Li Ke Qiang paid official visits to Britain and Greece this month, accompanied by his wife, Cheng Hong. In a speech to a business group in London he said "Expansion is not in Chinese DNA, nor can we accept the logic that a strong country is bound to become hegemonic."

Queen Elizabeth received Premier Li Ke Qiang and his wife Cheng Hong at Windsor Castle.  Wonder what Mao would make of all this?

The Queen visited China in October 1986.  In this photo she is proposing a toast to the President of China, Li Xian Nian, at a State Banquet in her honour.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip at the Great Wall near Beijing, October 1986.

...

Best World Cup goal ever?

The World Cup has dominated the airways in China for the last week.  Some big upsets, with Spain and England losing their first two games and looking at early exits.  The Socceroos are in a very tough Group and, as predicted, lost against Chile, and against Holland.  But they went down fighting and did Australia proud.

Tim Cahill's goal against Holland was a beauty.  He took a long pass on his left foot, and volleyed into the goal.  It was certainly a great goal, perfectly timed, on a par with the incredible header by Robin van Persie when Holland beat Spain last week.

Tim Cahill striking the ball on the full.  That was Tim's 5th World Cup goal in three appearances. 

The player who played the long ball to Tim Cahill was Ryan McGowan.  Ryan is currently on a two year contract with Shandong Luneng Taishan which plays in the Chinese Football Super League.  The team is based in Jinan, the capital of Shandong Province.  Ryan was born in Adelaide on 15 August 1989 - we share the same birthday, but a few years apart.

Talking of birthdays, 16 (50%) of the 32 teams in the World Cup have players who share a birthday. I was surprised that the proportion is so high.  Apparently it is called the 'birthday paradox' - the probability of two people in a group of 30 sharing a birthday is 70%.  The World Cup teams have 23 players, so the probability is less,  just over 50%, which is the case again this time.  Fascinating.

Tim Cahill celebrating with Ryan McGowan.

You've got to admit the skills displayed in the World Cup are impressive.

...

I watched the second State of Origin Rugby League game down at Knuckles Bar on Wednesday night.  The defence by both sides was awe-inspiring in its commitment. It was brutal, with no quarter given or expected.  NSW won a tight contest 6 - 4, and so have finally, after more years than I care to remember, scored a series win.  Well done The Blues.

...

On Saturday the Wallabies beat the French 39 - 13 (5 tries to one).  Good effort to win all three Tests, and to bounce back so convincingly after a dour game last week.  The three Roberts men were at the game. Rumour has it that Ewan asked Tom and Marty to sit on the bench, but in the event they were not needed.

...

Spurs beat Heat to win NBA Championship

The San Antonio Spurs got revenge for last year's defeat, when they beat the Miami Heat 104 - 87 in Game 5 of the NBA Finals.  The Spurs won the Championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007, so this is their 5th win.  

Young 22 year old Spur, Kawhi Leonard (nickname: 'Big hands') was MVP of the Finals Series averaging 17.8 ppg and 6.4 rebounds.  He was ably supported by 'veterans' Manu Ginobili, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Aussie Patty Mills.

Canberra-born Patty Mills, Spurs Point Guard, scored 17 points against the Heat in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. 

...

News, June 2014

As you know, I like to do a summary of important/interesting news events which take place each month.  Below is the summary for the first part of June 2014.  I am hoping that, in later years, I will be able to look back at these monthly summaries and remember the key events which took place.

Events which made the news in China in the first part of June 2014.

Note: these news items were sourced from The China Daily newspaper published in June 2014.  Actual events usually occurred a day or two before the date shown.  Currency is US$, and the exchange rate I have used for June 2014 is US$1 = Yuan 6.2.

International news

1 June 2014	World Cup interest growing. Kick off in Sao Paulo on 12 June 2014 (Brazil is 11 hours behind China time).  CCTV sending 100 reporters and crew.  All games will be shown, live and replays later in the day.
2	An international survey of working hours found that employees work an average of 2,374 hours a year in Mexico City; Hong Kong 2,296; Bangkok 2,312; Seoul 2,308; New York 2,062; Shanghai 1,967; Tokyo 2,012; Paris 1,558. In Hong Kong 40% of employees work more than 50 hours per week, with about 50% paid for overtime.
3	King Juan Carlos of Spain announced his abdication.  The next Spanish king will be his son Prince Felipe de Borbon, 46 years old, Olympic sailor.
4	Frank Lampard, 36, announced his departure from Chelsea after 13 years. He has played for England 103 times.
5	The G7 met in Brussels.  First time in 17 years that Russia was not included.
5	Egypt saw ex-Army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi elected President with 96% of votes.  Assad won another term in Syria with 89%.
9	French Tennis Open: Rafael Nadal won the Men’s Singles and Maria Sharapova won the Women’s Singles.  Peng Shuai and Hsieh Su Wei won the Women’s Doubles.
10	Flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March with 239 people on board (including 154 Chinese). No trace found.  Some relatives want to raise $5 million as a reward for anyone who can solve this mystery. Malaysia said it has spent $9 million on the search so far.  Australia has called for tenders to undertake the deep-sea search in the Indian Ocean off the north-west coast of Western Australia.
10	Aussie Daniel Ricciardo, 24, won his first F1 Grand Prix in Montreal.  He races for the Red Bull team. Rosberg was second, Vettel third.
11	A militant Sunni Islamic group, ISIL, captured Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city.
12	J. K. Rowling donated $1.7 million to the campaign against Scottish independence.  Scotland will hold a referendum on 18 September 2014 to determine the future of the 300 year union with England.
13	An IMF report warned of property bubbles in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Norway and Sweden.
16	China – Singapore bilateral trade in 2013 totalled $91 billion. Singapore is one of the largest overseas investors in China.
17	Moscow said it would stop supplying gas to Ukraine because of unpaid bills.
17	Surabaya Mayor Tri Rismaharini announced closure of the Dolly red light district. Sex workers offered $420 and training such as cooking and sewing.
17	In 2013 USA’s oil consumption was 18.9 million barrels per day; China 10.8 mbpd.
17	Fortescue Mining placed an order for four 260,000 DWT iron ore carriers, to be delivered in 2017. Total cost $275 million.
18	In 2013 about 55,000 Chinese registered marriages with foreigners (including HK, Macao & Taiwan).
18	San Antonio Spurs beat the Miami Heat 107-84 to win the NBA Championship, their 5th win since 1999. Veterans Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Patty Mills.  Kawhi Leonard, 22, was named MVP.
18	Former F1 champion Michael Schumacher has been moved from Grenoble to a hospital in Lausanne. He hit his head in a skiing accident on 29 December 2013.

Chinese domestic news

2 June 2014	Duan Wu (Dragon Boat) Festival in China. Public holiday.
2	In 2013 about 48 million visitors visited Tai’an in Shandong Province and most would have climbed nearby Mt Tai (Tai Shan), one of China’s ‘sacred mountains’.
3	The annual fishing ban in the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea will go from 1 June until 31 August (one month longer than in previous years).
3	An exact replica of the Titanic is being built at a cost of $160 million. It will be the focal point of a tourist attraction in Sichuan Province.
3	Six members of a Christian cult attacked a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant for refusing to give them her mobile number.  She died of her injuries.
3	Recent softness in China’s property market continued in May, with small price falls in several cities.  Average price in the top 10 cities was $3,160 per square meter, down 0.2% from April, but still up 14% compared to May 2013.
4	Freshman students going to Universities in Henan Province will be asked to take a test for HIV as part of their medicals.
4	In 2013, 20% of industrial robots sold in the world were bought by Chinese factories; 13% Japan, 11% USA.
5	According to the “Report on State of the Environment in China in 2013” only three of the largest 74 cities in China consistently met pollution standards: Haikou in Hainan, Zhou Shan in Zhejiang, and Lhasa in Tibet.
5	22 miners died in an explosion in a coal mine in Chongqing.
5	The 2013 Global Status Report found that China had the most capacity in Hydro, Solar, and Wind power and that China invested more in renewable power than all of Europe combined.  China will close more than 2000 small (below 90,000 tonnes per annum) coal mines.  Three sites have been chosen to study ways to harness wave and tidal power: Weihai, Zhuhai and Zhoushan.  A carbon trading scheme is being trialled in 5 cities; a nationwide scheme is expected to be introduced within three years.
6	China Southern Airlines has a fleet of 558 aircraft; it carried 91 million passengers in 2013 and 1.2 million tonnes of freight.
7	Guangdong Province crackdown on ‘naked officials’ - officials whose wives and kids have moved overseas.  They will be demoted or forced to take early retirement.
7	Campaign to halt the traditional “Dogmeat Festival” held in Yulin, Guangxi every 21 June.
9	Dong Liang Jie was released after 9 months in jail.  He was found guilty of spreading incorrect information on food safety on his blog.
12	Trial of the Lanzhou (Gansu) – Urumqi (Xinjiang) high speed railway has started.  It will take 8 hours to do the 1,776 km.  Cost $23 billion. Will be operational by end of this year.
12	The Communist Part of China (CPC) had 85 million members at the end of 2012.  The Party announced tougher criteria for future membership – has enough quantity, now wants more quality.
12	Following a series of recent terrorist attacks, Beijing will develop a force of local volunteers (800,000 mainly retired folk) to assist law enforcement.
14	Following complaints by residents, Guangzhou will ban square dancing in public areas between 10pm and 7am.
16	Factories in Chongqing produced about 55 million laptops in 2013, 25% of the world’s total. Main brands: HP, Acer, Asus, Toshiba, Sony.
17	Eight people who helped the suicide bombers who attacked Tiananmen Square on 29 October 2013 were sentenced.  Three got death, 5 got prison terms.
17	Permanent residents of Beijing have overall life expectancy of 81 years; but their “healthy life expectancy" is 58 years. Major illnesses: cancer, cardiovascular, hypertension, arthritis.
18	At the end of 2013, China had 202 million people aged 60 years and over, and 132 million people aged 65 and over (9.7% of population).

...

A bit of nostalgia 

For some reason (maybe because it's the end of semester and a time of change) I've been thinking about my first posting.  In February 1972 I arrived at the Australian Embassy in Jakarta as a very young, very green, Assistant Trade Commissioner.  It was my first time overseas as an adult and I couldn't believe that there was a place so utterly different to anything I had ever experienced: sights, smells, sounds, food, vegetation, volcanoes, the tropics, everything was different.  I was fascinated, and captivated.

The Senior Trade Commissioner was Terry Cronin, a suave and experienced gentleman.  The Number 2 was Dick Fletcher, a marketing whiz and workaholic; and  I brought up the rear.  John Kelly, a lovely bloke, was the Trade Officer.

The Indonesian economy was growing fast and there were opportunities galore.  It was an exciting, hectic time.  We all got on well; worked hard and played hard.  I fell in love, twice.  First with hashing - the Jakarta Hash House Harriers had started up a short time earlier and the Monday run became the highlight of my week.  A few months later I met Vera, the love of my life.

The following year the office got two additional staff, John Hemphill and Rob Hobart; two more wonderful friends and colleagues.

Other friends from those long-ago Jakarta days include Bob Morrison, Howard Eakins, Roger Banville, Ian Burnet, and Will Costin.

Good memories of a by-gone era.

...

Family

Vera and I are looking forward to catching up with family during the next two months, especially to finally meet our latest grandson, Eddie, in Kuala Lumpur in a few days.  He is 13 weeks old, and growing fast.

Mother & son. A classic photo, don't you think?

Then down to Brissie, to see Jen & Tom and grandsons Kurt (almost 9), Nate 7, and Sid 5, before we go on to Canberra.

...

OK, that's it for this post.

In two days we leave for Kuala Lumpur and then down to Australia.  I don't know if I'll have the time (or inclination) to do a post while we are away - let's see how it goes.  Otherwise, will start again when we return to Qingdao in September 2014 for the start of the new academic year.

I've quite enjoyed writing this blog, since starting at the end of February 2014.  But to be honest it has taken more time than I expected.  Perhaps I take it too seriously? Too frequent?   Too long? 

Some friends have provided feedback, generally positive.   But how to make it all a bit easier and simpler and quicker? 

I might try to talk it over with some of you when we meet in Australia, to get a better idea of what is of interest, and what isn't.  In the meantime, if any of you have suggestions, please comment on the blog or email me.  I'd like to hear your views.

Best wishes, and keep smiling.

Alex & Vera Olah

English teachers at the China University of Petroleum, Qingdao

www.upc.edu.cn

Sunday, 22 June 2014