On to Xiamen!

After completing our tours of Xian, we flew about two and a half hours to Xiamen. This city of three million people is located on the East China Sea - almost directly across from Taiwan. It is an island and also has a smaller island near it - Gulang Yu. The weather is tropical - Xiamen is as far south as Cuba or the middle of Mexico! It is hot - usually 90 degrees and quite humid.

The housing is similar to the apartment high rises we saw in Beijing - but not as plentiful. There are numerous parks in the city - almost on every corner. Our apartment complex was near "Coffee Street' which has numerous small restaurants and coffee and tea houses - which face a gorgeous lake. It was about a 20 minute walk to that area.

We were also walking distance to the sea and the area known as "Old Xiamen" - an area made up of many tiny stores and restaurants - with many bargains. There is a street that is closed to cars - which is usually filled with pedestrians - at all hours of the day and night ! Really fun.

The city is beautiful! The coastal drive would remind you of a resort area in Florida. I called it the "Chinese Riviera"!  The food is outstanding - Xiamen is noted for spicy dishes and of course, fresh sea food. In that I am allergic to shellfish, I was unable to taste some of the dishes - which I was longing to! However, I was always more than filled at meal times with the quantity and quality of the food - which is very different from Chinese food I have had in the States. The sauces in China are complex and light. The vegetables are fresh and the meats are prepared in a delicate way. In a word, "yum"!




This is one of the many high rises apartment buildings in Xiamen




Time to read the paper before work!




I thought this was interesting in that it showed the contrast between "Old" China and "New" China.

 The residents of Xiamen are quite friendly. Though I don't speak Chinese, many could speak some English. My job was to teach Chinese teachers of English various methods of how to teach English. This is where the "Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm" came in most handy. In addition, the time I spent studying with Dr. Howard Gardner was a tremendous help.


This is the apartment building that we occupied on Hubin Xi Lu Street!