Thursday, February 15th was a very important day here in China, as well as, many other places around the world. Why? Because that day marked the Lunar New Year aka Chinese New Year or 春节快乐 (chūnjié kuàilè). In China this time is also referred to as the Spring Festival or 春假快乐 (chūnjià kuàilè). I knew this time of year was very big and important here in China, but I didn't know just how wide spread and intense the festivities were. It is about a two week long celebration, incl

The other day I went on a long walk around the city of Qingdao, China. I ended up taking over 16,000 steps that day. If you would like to see a video of my adventure that day you can watch the video below. For more videos to come, you can also check out my YouTube channel: Noelle's Life Abroad xo Noelle

The past few weeks the AQI here in Qingdao has not been good. For those who are unaware, AQI stands for Air Quality Index, essentially how much pollution (or allergens) are in the air. The higher the number the worse the air quality. The scale for measuring the AQI ranges from 0-500, however, I have been told that during winter months some parts of China surpass that 500 mark. The air quality is something I am still trying to figure out. But here is what I have learned so fa