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it has just been waiting for me |
28 March 2008
the other day i went to starbucks. this was the third time i've been in there since i've been in china, but the first was only to buy a generously-proportioned mug, and the second was a take-out iced mocha. there is something so incredibly comforting about the place that for a little while i felt as if i might be at home. the smell of coffee in the air, the clinking of mugs, the banging and whooshing of machines, the light jazzy music in the background, the hum of conversation all around. heaven. and starbucks is almost totally un-chinese in its setup, even here. menu in english. order in english. same drinks, similar combinations. different food, perhaps, but the food is always slightly different in foreign starbucks. another thing you can rely on is that there will be westerners in there among the largely-chinese crowd. if you're wondering where the white people are, go to starbucks. in qingdao, a large and internationally-minded city, there are quite a few foreigners (certainly lots compared to the cities other teaching volunteers have gone to), but we're still a bit of a novel sight. not in starbucks. so i bought my drink and settled down at a table, and it was glorious. i hadn't had a real coffee in ages. on a daily basis i've mostly been drinking water, green tea and mugicha. but on account of that, my brain went a bit haywire when presented with caffeine. it really knocked me for six, and i spent the rest of the afternoon in a subtly-adjusted parallel universe.yesterday i spent my evening downtown, surrounded by tower blocks and neon signs. i have the most tremendous urge to photograph qingdao which is rather stifled by being looked at when i do. not only by members of the public, but by the security guards and various types of law enforcement people visible on the streets. i don't feel threatened by them as much as vaguely uneasy when taking pictures. but i think i need to overcome that and take a few more, because it's bothering me terribly. i see the world in photographs. i walk down the street and frame them, compose pictures, delight in colours. i don't want everything i've seen in china to be confined to my memory alone, where it will inevitably fade. utterly utter [
02:29 ]
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Anna! Hey :) Sorry I haven't commented for a while.. I've been away skiing in the Alps and just, well lazy at commenting (what's new there eh? hehe). I just looked through some of your photos... You're a fantastic photographer you know. I've never seen a snowy beach before, so thanks for that! What's the weather like now? Is it warming up? How British do I sound..Ah deary. Well it sounds like China's really interesting. How are you enjoying the teaching aspect? How are things with your gap buddy person? Miss you but keep having fun xx
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