Jinjiang Inn (Dalian Jiefang Road)

Okay so to shut you all up Im writing a blog. Yes on travelpod like everyone else. I was going to do a video blog on youku (Chinese you tube) and I started doing it on the bus, but everyone was looking at me funny so I thought I would just use this =P

Anywho, I arrived in Dalian and was picked up by my buddy Amanda, and we spent the next hour driving around in the taxi trying to find my apartment in California Town, a nice gated community of like 20 ...

... doesn't fit you and you look even better! Remember, if it doesnt look like its been sitting in the sun for 20 years, YOU CANT WEAR IT!

If you don't have the perm, (mostly if your a guy), then you have outrageous hair!! Especially popular is shaving the sides, and waxing your hair up and over it, kinda like a greasy bowl cut that sticks out over the shaved sides like ...

... maybe Canada. He worked for a guy but the guy stole his recipes and Eddie left. Then he came back and opened "The real Eddies" Not sure if all that is correct but hopefully it is close. I guess there is another restaurant in Kai fa qu called "Eddies" Anyway, he serves western food and has a delicious bakery. I had some of the chocolate chip cookies. They were tasty.

Again, back to the story, we went to ...

... that I would feel happier living on the coast. Even after I made the decision to stay working in Jinan, I figured I would go to Dalian for a weekend to relax at the beach at some stage. The weekend never came around, until arrived in Shenzhen. So, fleeing the humidity of the south, I packed my bags and headed for the airport, for a flight to Dalian.

Unfortunately, on the way to the bus stop, I decided my pack was much too heavy and lugging it around was ...

... I was caught off guard. All he said was "relax, you must relax." I almost laughed, but did manage to relax.

Without a doubt, it was one of the most amazing massages I have ever had, head to toe.

Unbeknownst to me, Kirsty had called ahead and specifically requested one of the fellows who is particularly well skilled at targeting troubled areas, and is also blind. I felt guilty after when she told me, and ...

... after meeting, and not really accomplishing much. The faculty member assigned to ‘supervise’ was nearly useless, and completely unhelpful other than hosting the meetings in her classroom.

We finally got to the point that they wanted T-shirts for all the English Ambassadors, banners that fell from the building, and the song "We will Rock you" playing, as it was already chosen by the larger group as the anthem.

OK, now we are getting ...

... time.

But, to accurately demonstrate the era we were teaching—The Stock Market Crash of '29—suddenly the stocks started to drop, and of course the banker recalls all the loans... Still more frantic trading and the prices keep falling. The game ends when stocks are worthless, people have been cleaned out by the bank, and thus the discussion begins.

Who says that there is no capitalism in China? The students’ awareness of the emotions ...

Chris and I decided to come visit our fellow REUers in Dalian. I can't remember what the school is called. We flew in Friday and while walking around the mall trying to find a place to eat, a girl named Irenie (3 syllables) asked if she could help me, to which I replied I didn't need help, I was following friends. She then asked if I could be her foreign friend. I said ok and she walked around with us to find a place to eat. I don't like traveling in big ...

... s Square with City Hall. Below my apartment is a retail/restaurant complex with about 30 businesses. Japanese, Korean, Italian and Chinese restaurants, convenience stores, laundry, coffee shops and at least one cheap night club. This place was just completed before I moved in, now filling up with tenants. One interesting fact is that the construction workers live on site. About 20 or 30 males move ...

... loaded the clapped out old bus, but couldn't find one passenger. They left without them eventually (who knows where they got to - the Lion seemed to be smiling in the morning!). We got to the airport at 0645 and were due to fly at 0700, but they produced some breakfast vouchers and sent the international group off for food. We didn't board until 0830 (not before I tried to board a flight to Beijing - this was not really my fault as it was boarding at the gate ...