My new address

Even though I didn't move, I do have a new address. A few days ago, the house where I live was finally assigned a house number: 542. So, I don't have to refer to the number of the house opposite anymore, I now have my own proper address. It will take a while until the postman will know how to find it though, since house numbers are assigned in order of release, and have no relation to geographical location. The house opposite for example is number 293, and my neighbours are at number 457. Go figure..
To let the postman get used to my new address quickly, it would be really helpful to send some mail!

A walk around the park

Since Ling Ling arrived in Xiamen a couple of weeks ago, we have been looking for a new apartment to live together, but both the availability and quality are low, and the rents high, so we decided to stay at my room in Zeng Cuo An for the time being. My room is quite comfortable, but lacks a kitchen and a balcony. Other than that it's conveniently located, and cheap, at 800 RMB a month. The apartments we visited are all further away, and rather grim looking, except maybe for one which was quite nice and bright, but at 2200 RMB a month (excluding service fees) a bit expensive for its size of only 45 square meters.

Today we went out to find the "most beautiful bookstore in China", according to an article I read recently, located in an old villa near Zhongshan park, in the old city center. I have visited the park several times, but have not been there for a long time. It's a typical Chinese city park, with lots of older folks hanging out to play card games, exercise, drink tea, or dance in that typical slow-motion Chinese style.

Most men playing cards use the typical Western playing cards, but we also saw several tables with mostly women playing a game that uses narrow strips of coloured paper printed with some large Chinese characters, and some of these strips folded into small triangles, apparently used as a currency, like casino chips. One of the women told Ling Ling it's actually a paper version of the classic Chinese game Mahjong.

Another common group activity performed in the park is physical exercise, usually guided by a woman acting as the trainer, while tens of others imitate her movements. At the time we passed by, the exercise consisted of rubbing and pulling one's ears, and gently massaging the temples. A curious sight, with a large group of older women loosely arranged around a portable radio or cassette player hung from a tree, emitting oral instructions, which were duly followed.

Leaving the park through it's western entrance, we first went for a quick snack of local seafood, after which we headed for the ONCE bookstore, which is housed in a nice villa surrounded by a small garden with trees and flowers, and some sculptures and benches. The ground floor of the house functions as a bookstore and cafe, in a very casual and homey setting, full of nicknacks and 50's and 60's furniture. Pillow-loaded sofas and comfy chairs invite you to sit down and start reading. There is no pressure at all to actually buy anything, the staff being as relaxed as the general atmosphere. A very pleasant environment, a place you wish you would actually live.

I did buy a book though. An illustrated history of old Xiamen (in Chinese), with lots of interesting photos and maps. It covers the past hundred years or so, and illustrates the enormous change Xiamen went through in that period. Still, in this area there are many streets and buildings which still breath the atmosphere of old Xiamen. As a matter of fact, after leaving the bookstore, we passed the old People's Stadium, a public sports field surrounded by a running track which is popular by local residents and certainly has this old-school China feel to it.

Another day at the beach, another night at the Absinthe bar

Another semester at Xiamen University has come to an end. To celebrate the last weekend with some classmates, we went to the beach at Hai Yun Tai （海韵台） for a long afternoon of swimming and bumming around. I hung my hammock from the branches of a large pine tree at the edge of the beach, providing some shade to the hot sand. For the past several weeks temperatures have been in the thirties, so I have been swimming almost everyday to cool off a bit.
This afternoon I was joined by Paul from Germany, Hannah from the UK, Ding Ding from the US, Jack from Korea, with his girlfriend (also Korean, but not in our class) and one of the Korean mothers in our class, who also brought her ten year old son. An American acquaintance showed up later, with his Chinese girlfriend.
The sea water is now about 26 degrees, very comfortable, and the waves are relatively big at this beach, which is also the favoured spot for kite surfers, so some attention while swimming is required.
After several hours of beach fun, and going home for a quick shower, we met again in the evening in Zeng Cuo An for dinner. The party had shrunk to just four people, but not less animated, and hungry too! We sat down at one of my favourite small restaurants where the always friendly staff served us a fine selection of local seafood, including sauteed clams, steamed fish, and oyster omelette （海蛎煎 - a Xiamen specialty), delicious as always.
The night was still young, so we headed to the ever popular Absinthe bar to help digest our meal with this mysteriously green spirit, dripping through a sugarcube in icy water. The bar has some guitars and ukulele's (the latter for sale), which Paul and Ding Ding skillfully handled to bring us some sweet songs to lull away the night. In my hands, the ukulele produces nothing but some random pling-plong...