Tian He Yu Hotel Dalian

... mushroom. OR, shave off one side of your hair, and have a long emo fringe that covers your face. (These styles were very popular at the hairdresser I went to (where no one spoke English) so as you can imagine, I was very nervous. But coming out looking like I just come from a preppy private school in the English Countryside is better. Phew way to dodge a bullet Peter J.)

... restaurant and I really couldn't decide what I wanted. Burger or Enchiladas and somehow I had a vision of Randy Hansen telling me to order the Enchiladas. So I did. On the menu it says (all in English of course) that I would get three chicken enchiladas served with rice, beans and tortilla chips. Count the chips in picture. Tortilla chips must be very valuable in China. In case you don't see it, I received three (3 ...

... saw some security guards sitting in front of their little station. So I asked Wo keyi ma (Can I?) They yelled – Bu keyi (No you can’t) Clear enough for me. And I headed down the hill and back home. Maybe I can get up to the space ship before I leave. The ride down the mountain was definitely more fun than the ride up.

On the way back to the apartment I had to stop for one more picture. One thing you do notice here is interesting translations on signs and shirts ...

... of the country.

The next morning, I packed my bag, set out and caught a bus on to Dandong. I didn’t know anything about Dandong except that it was on the border with North Korea and thus intriguing. Much to my amusement, Mum sent me a message warning me not to accidentally wander across the border. I know I am vague but I was a little concerned that other people thought I was vague to the point that I might actually be capable of crossing into North Korea unawares!

I gave in to two vices today... melted cheese and a massage.

Kirsty organized for us to go to this little place in Jinshitan for a message, and I was really excited. For Y80, we would get pampered for nearly an hour—one of the strongest motivations to moving to China.

We walked there after school, and I wasn't totally sure what to expect. The lady led us to this backroom that was decorated... I am trying ...

... ripped off like foreigners always are... bargain hard.

Finding the ‘mall’ itself wasn’t too ************ce we went through the doors—it was like entering a giant, six storey flea market. We wandered, and wandered, and finally came across some stalls that offered clothing, but none had plain t-shirts. After what felt like hours, but was probably closer to one, we found a place that had a few options... We explained we wanted 15 black ...

... would have felt was bang on. One student said: "If this had been real life I would have jumped from the building." The dejected way he said it was pretty funny, but under the circumstances, that is exactly what some people did.

Certainly some of the students did make money, but there was enough variety that it better demonstrated the result across the nation, rather than for a few individuals. One of the best parts was the first and only person to go ...

... are available on many street corners, cooked off the back of bicycles or on open grilles over wood and charcoal. It's not that uncommon to see a barbecue taking place in a street pothole. Several streets have become outdoor cafes where the sidewalks are lined with the charcoal grilles, tables and tripod seats about 8" off the ground. Smoke and grease everywhere. The smell of fried octopus is something awful - like the dumpster in the ...

... brought my camera because i saw some pretty interesting storm-related damage. Trees were ripped out of the ground, billboards were knocked over, scaffolding was hanging precariously from buildings. The photos i took are from three days after the storm....here's some links to news reports - http://www.shanghaidaily.com/sp/article /2007/200703/20070305 /article_307936.htm http://www.freshplaza.com/2007 ...

... with fireworks is not a good combo. I won't get into any incidences but one involved me losing a shoe for a few minutes... after that we headed to the nep bar for some drinks....by the way, al was home sick in bed that night. He had eaten some cookies that were no doubt stale, but it's al. He just can't help it... the next day, with al feeling a little better, i decided i should actually show him a little of dalian besides the insides of ...