Royal Dalian

The people in Dalain, omg, I dont know how they get up in the morning, look in the mirror, and think they can step out in public. Heres some tips of how to fit in in Dalian:

Perm- The perm is IN. Get a short perm, wax it down with excessive wax but with fuzzy bits fraying out everywhere. Maybe like a huge afro waxed down I guess, but shaped like a bob.

Shinny ...

Ok, I did it, I ate some western food. I still haven't eaten at McDonalds or KFC yet. KFC is everywhere. I wonder if they were the first American chain to come to China. McDonalds are prolific as well. No, my roommate and his friends wanted to go out for a western meal and we headed down to a place called "The Real Eddies" Not sure of the story behind the name. But here goes - Eddie was trained as a cook/chef in the ...

I have decided that I am going to roast once I get back to south Texas. Hot in Dalian, China is 90 degrees and that is long gone here. I hope I am still acclimated to real hot weather because I haven't felt hot here. Sure I get a little sweaty walking home but not like in Harlingen. Also, fall must be coming because the mornings and evenings have been cool. I almost thought about pulling out my long sleeve shirt the other day but knew it would warm up. Plus, my roommate would strangle me ...

... a big pang. So it wasn’t just me who felt that way about them. They missed me too. I told him I missed him too and missed Songpan. He asked me if I would ever come back again. I said yes, definitely, but I would not have any time until winter vacation. Chuffed, he told me to come to his family’s home when I came back in winter. I was touched. Goodnights were said. I fell asleep in a room in Dalian, but I dreamt of mountains, friends and horses on the other ...

... didn’t fess up right at the beginning. She was happy with her massage, but after some comparisons I definitely think I got the more skilled masseuse.

To top off the evening, we headed to Susan’s, one of the only true western restaurants in this part of China. I went all out and ordered an orange Julius and a poutine. It is not quite the same, but a pretty darn close replica, especially for China. The ...

... and got the price down to Y60. So we agreed, and the shop keeper started running around to gather them all up.

All the places around us were closing, so we felt relieved and accomplished that we were getting the shirts. We had to open each one individually, because many of the first ones he gave us were navy blue, not black, so we had to keep a close eye on him.

Once all fifteen were amassed, we handed over the money—and he started ...

... br>Before we arrived in China, the one thing we were told was that it was really hard to get the students actively involved in the class—that they remained stoic, sombre, and serious. That was NOT our experience. With very little prompting, students were up, out of their seats and rapidly trading, wheeling and dealing.

One student I watched kept making deals right before whatever stock he sold went up by hundreds of dollars, groaning at his misfortune ...

... couple years for a recommendation and she admitted that since she has curly hair, doesn't bother getting it done here. But-- she had heard that some teachers had some success at a little place near her apartment, and that I should expect to pay around ¥50-- or $10. I went on to the internet and found a photo of a short hairstyle that I was aiming for, packed my laptop and camera into my bag, and Patricia and I went off on an adventure to cut ...

... to actually walk on the sidewalk and, consequently, it's just easier to use the street, watch out for traffic. Walking in Dalian is a great entertainment. In Zhongshan and Xigang districts, which comprise the "downtown", maybe 2 kilometers wide and 6 kilometers long, it's hard to walk more than 3 or 4 blocks without encountering something of interest on the sidewalk - fruit strand, cobbler, newsstand, if not an entire market with ...

Another coastal town North of Yantai. We took an overnight ferry (7 hours) from Yantai to Dalian. We arrived in Dalian at 3:30 in the morning, and surprisingly enough, didn't get rip-off by the taxi driver. This is the first city in China that I see signs with Russian. This probably has to do with its proximity to Russia and a large ...