New West-East Campus!

Now that you've seen where I work in the afternoons, here's a look at where I usually spend the rest of my time. I give you New West-East Campus:

South Gate, the main entrance of campus, where I catch my daily $1.50 cab ride


upon entering the South Gate, this building is straight ahead of you....


this building is to your left...


and this building is on your right.

I'm not sure what any of these actually are, but I found a foreign language library in the 1st one. A nice Chinese woman in the international office offered to get my library card for me. Yay! That was 5 weeks ago and I'm still waiting. The second building is where I get my xeroxes, and I'm pretty sure they think I'm a total idiot. The last building is where you find the international office, where I go when things go tragically wrong or when I need to pick up the many many presents and care packages you have sent and will continue to send me.

From there, follow the breezy little road

make a left at the Marxist Theory Department


pass a few open green areas


until you find yourself at the campus hotel.

I was only told that the hotel was called "University Hotel," so my first day here, that's what I told the taxi driver. I learned something that day! There are multiple Shandong University Hotels in Jinan, and my cabbie and I stopped 4 people on the street until we somehow found someone who made sense of where I was trying to go.

across a small street is this

I think the landscape is a bit over the top, but really it's quite pretty, and I hope they fill the cement pond in soon. The building behind it? that's...

the foreign language school, where I teach and study! Kind of an odd shape, this picture is just a corner of the building. Not too shabby, though.

and just behind the hotel is (trumpets) my apartment building. See the window on the far upper left hand side? That's home sweet home!

When I come back to the states, I'm totally bringing the "pastel bathroom
tiles on the outside of buildings" trend with me.

Construction running through the heart of campus gives me a severe sensation of déjà vu.

On the north end is the student canteen.

That's where the main cafeteria is, along with a few little shops.

It's important to note that SDU cares about safety. That's why they make sure students, faculty, and visitors alike are all well protected from hidden dangers, like unstable manholes. Observe:

And perhaps the most important part of New West East Campus-- the basketball courts on the north end of campus:

During most of the day, this (and the rest of campus) is pretty packed.
I took most of these pictures pretty early in the morning.

Oh, and one important thing on our tour that I almost forgot!

Mic & Mac. obvs.

ps my blog looks different on my computer at home than my computer at work, so I'm not sure what it looks like to you. If things are too big/too small and it's a pain in the ass, let me know. and Lis I want to talk to you about layout?? we'll chat.