More weekends

The boats were quiet as ghosts in the darkness as we walked on the beach in the foggy evening down the street from the school. The wind was glassy-calm and the sky was dense, sitting on the water like a yogi in mid-meditation. The statue of Budda on the nearby hillside was invisible in the skyline as our line of sight only traveled for about 20 meters before everything disappeared into mist. I wondered to myself how it could be the last Thursday in October and I was standing comfortably on a beautifully quiet beach, enjoying every one of the sixteen degrees that was keeping us warm. Halloween was approaching, so after a day of telling students about the western customs of Trick or Treating and dressing up in costumes, a few of the teachers from the school thought it was only appropriate that we tell ghost stories in a place that inspired just enough darkness and unfamiliarity to contribute to an eerie air. With full bellies and fresh air in our lungs, we slowly walked along the sandy beach before heading back to the school and back to the reality of lesson prep and marking.

The week was pretty quiet and other than too much eating out, nothing was particularly exciting. The weather began to turn yesterday and today met me with the slapping wetness of a cold, coastal rain. This is the first real day of miserable weather I've experienced, and it shook me out of the expectations that maybe, just maybe the good weather would last through the winter. Stupid thought, I know. Winter is most definitely coming.

I'm sitting cozily at D&M's (as per usual) on Saturday morning, pretending to work on school stuff while D&M both tap away on papers and projects. I should be doing the same, but I'm feeling a little too restless for work at the moment. I think the feeling with pass soon, but it's not gone yet. I have to go out and purchase the various pieces of my costume for tonight's Halloween outing with a bunch of the teachers. It should be a blast, and I have high hopes for my costume. I wracked my brain all week to think of something that would be hilarious and easy to assemble (and wouldn't cost too much), so all I'll say is that it should be the following: Flashdance meets a Richard Simmons Tribute. You'll have to wait to see the pics. For now, though, I'm going to make a noble effort to try to type up a worksheet or two so my Monday is silky smooth. Depending on the fun tonight, there might be more to report tomorrow. Until then, though...

T

Photos

I'm not sure if I posted it already, but I finally posted the photos from my hike a few weeks ago at: www.flickr.com/dimsumseeker

Hope you enjoy!

T

Things done well and not so well

As of Monday, I will have been here for a month. It's slipped by quietly and sneakily, and I can't seem to figure out where the month has gone. 

As any typical foreigner living in a far-off land, I've become very aware of the things China does well and the things China does, less well... maybe even poorly. I figured that since you have all been hearing me talk about my daily adventures, that this would provide a bit of pragmatic insight into things over here. So, here's my "Top 5" (or 7) list of things done well and not well, beginning with the not-well.

Things done "Not Well" in China:

1) Plumbing. To be honest, there's actually only one issue with the plumbing: no gas traps in sinks and shower drains. You know that little "U" shaped pipe under your bathroom and kitchen counters? That, my friends, is there for a reason. With any plumbing system, methane builds up in the pipes and septic system. That little "U" pipe doohickey prevents methane from entering your house and filling your kitchen and bathroom full of funk. China knows nothing of the "U" pipe. So without a cover over your drains, the funk builds up in a seriously pungent way. Bad news. For the first 3 weeks living here, I was sans-cover.

2) Showers. I needed to follow the first point with a closely connected second. Chinese bathrooms have showers, but the concept of tubs is simply for the rich and famous. Most bathrooms have a shower faucet and shower head attached to a wall. And a drain. There is not tub to contain the water... just a floor that slopes toward the drain. Generally speaking, the water sprays everywhere and you need a squeegee to clean up after the shower. Lame.

3) Coffee. People in China don't drink your average cup o' joe. There is instant coffee everywhere, but you can't find regular coffee grounds just anywhere. And if you do find it, they're not cheap. For a 1/2 pound of Starbucks coffee, I paid 85RMB tonight, the equivalent of about $12 Canadian. CRAZY! And an Americano is the equivalent of about $4.00. In the land of cheap stuff (I can eat out at a nearby restaurant for 13RMB, which is about $2!), this is highway robbery. But there are some things I can't remove from my diet. Sacrifices shall be made.

4) Dairy Products. First off, they don't have Half&Half. Strike one. Secondly, Chinese diet doesn't really include cheese, which makes it expensive and hard to find (the good stuff, anyway). Strike two. Third, the milk is homo and is often "super-pasteurized". Not sure what this means, but it's scary to buy milk in tetra packs from the dry goods section. In my books, you're out.

5) Blue jeans. Apparently, the one consistent thing said amongst all the male Canucks I've met over here is the same: buy jeans before coming. Mens jeans come in slim fit or mom jeans. Not much in between. This makes me just a bit sad.

6) English. The signs around China are hilarious. And jibberish is common. On menus I've read the following: "Self-control beef", "Baked smail", "Good for yoo chiken part". There are also a lot of other signs that make no sense. They provide endless entertainment, though.

7) Smoking. Word hasn't reached this burgeoning nation about cigarettes being bad. I've experienced people smoking in elevators, in clinics, in cabs, in restaurants, in bathrooms, in markets and massage parlors. The memo didn't quite make it here (or it got lost in translation). *cough*

Things done "Well" in China:

1) MSG. You can buy it in bags, in boxes, in barrels, and it's in ALL the food. If you have sensitivities to food, avoid this country as a culinary experience. I have still not actually found just plain old table salt here, but in every supermarket there are complete AISLES dedicated to a wide variety of MSG brands. I didn't even know you could BUY the stuff! Strange.

2) Cheap stuff. I can eat at restaurants for cheap. I can shop at markets for cheap. I can ride the bus for 15 cents! I can buy beer or wine for the same price as bottled water sometimes. That, my friends, is simply great.

3) Neon. I mean lights, not coloured clothing. Sorry to all the Colour Me Badd fans out there who got excited that maybe a trend was coming back. It's not.

4) Massage. You can go pretty much anywhere at nearly any time of night and find a massage place. There's one in Darren's building that I've attended a couple of times. Although the massage therapy practices and schools differ here, paying less than $15 Canadian at 2am for a full-body relaxation mass is just simply AWESOME.

5) Honking. People don't use signal lights. They don't stay in simple driving lanes. Any area of the road is fair game, and the communication method most widely used is the tootling of the horn. It means many things including, "I'm passing", "I'm right beside you", "I'm crossing a double-solid line so I can move faster", "You're an idiot", "Watch out pedestrian, because even though you're on a crosswalk and have the right of way doesn't mean I won't mow you down like Kentucky crab-grass", "I'm driving! I'm driving! I'm driving!". Now, there are other uses for the horn, but this list covers most bases. You'll never hear more honking in your life.

Okay... another day is done, and Halloween is coming. Gotta rest up (and think of a costume. Any ideas?).

T

Weekends

It's Sunday night and the haze of a dark October fog is making the sky outside my window thick and heavy against the glass. I just walked in the door after taking a brief but entertaining trip to the capital of Liaoning province, Shenyang. Darren plays with a hockey team made up of teachers from his school, so they had set up a couple of games with the Shenyang team they've played on a few occasions in previous years, so I tagged along as interim coach and single member of the Dalian Ice Dragons Booster Club. We left yesterday morning for the 6 hour bus ride north to both the political and cultural capital of this province. It was once a vital city in the Qing Dynasty, and there's a palace in town that is second only to the Forbidden City in Beijing for Qing history.

Although I didn't have much of a chance to see the sites and explore the city, Shenyang left a very different impression on me than Dalian has since I've been here. It is much more a city of bright lights and neon, and seems a lot more structured and ordered than Dalian has seemed so far. I think part of this is due to the fact that Dalian is still expanding and growing in a very large way right now, whereas Shenyang is much more well-established and doesn't have to contend with the hilly terrain of this part of the peninsula. I'm hopefully going to return to Shenyang again in coming  weeks and explore more of the sites and check out the Palace and another cool local features: the "Strange Slope". Apparently it's an anti-gravity hill like the one that can be found in New Brunswick, where your car will coast while going "up"hill and you must accelerate to go "down"hill. I've been told that there is some sort of optical illusion at play, but whatever the case truly is, I'm intrigued like you wouldn't believe!

I've realized that my ambition to explore this area more and this city as well has been severely hampered by my lack of confidence in getting around and being able to figure things out here. With no access to local maps or bus/LRT schedules and no real sense of the language, I've been avoiding getting out on my own to trail-blaze my way through this very foreign place without a tour guide to translate for me. I hope that in coming weeks that changes, as I'm only ever good at finding my way around if I actually attempt to figure it all out myself through trial and error. A map would be hugely helpful as well, so I might have to get in touch with my Canadian contacts to see if they can conjure up a recent Dalian map that will help me figure out this crazy place. Once I get my marking and school prep under control, the self-directed adventures will ensue.

T

Photos

I'm not sure if this will work or not, but I'm going to attempt to post some pictures on here. I don't have access to Blogger, so I've setup my account so I can email my posts and they are automatically published at the site. However, I'm not sure if attaching pictures to an email will work, so you will have to give me some feedback as to whether or not it worked.

The two pictures will be from my computer's webcam, and I took them this morning from the front window of my apartment so you can see the view I have. Hopefully this works. If not, I'll have to set up another site where I can put up my pictures. I have a bunch of pics from the hike last weekend, but the files are too big to just send via email, so I'll have to do that if I ever access a reliable proxy. Wish me luck!

T

Streetside experiences

It's Saturday night and I'm walking towards D&M's apartment in Kaifaqu. Darren and I were returning from the cobbler and a few other stops after he took in some of his shoes for fixing. For less than $15 Canadian, he had two pairs of shoes fully repaired and a pair of Mandy's boots were polished, buffed, and had the heel replaced. As we talked about how impressed we were with both the price of the job and the seemingly great quality of the work, we noticed a bit of commotion on the street ahead. Twenty feet from us, on the boulevard and sidewalk of a moderately busy road (and only another twenty feet from the entrance door to D's building), men were setting up boxes and standing beside stations, dodging traffic in the typical Chinese Frogger way, dodging cars and motorcycles, coordinating the order in which everything would take place. D and I were intrigued and excited, as we knew what was approaching. Other curious spectators from the nearby businesses and apartments poked their heads out of windows and doors to get a glimpse of the action. After final adjustments were made, the first match was struck and was held to a fuse at the corner of one of the boxes. As this man pulled away from his box, three other men approached their stations with lighters lit and carried out the same task. Within a second, lights and fire and sparks shot from the boxes and explosions boomed overhead. Traffic moved between the boulevard and the sidewalk as if oblivious to the explosive fireworks blasting only a few feet away. Rockets shot into the air and exploded about 40 feet above our heads in a myriad of colours and sounds. The ash fell silently amidst the crashing and whistling and pounding of the flashes above. The childish laughter of D and I was mute in comparison to the roaring in our ears. Pyrotechnic smoke began to cloud the roadway, but still the cars went by unconcerned with the possibility of an errant explosive device sailing into an open driver side window. The local Japanese teppanyaki restaurant window was full of specators including the cooks and wait staff. One of the chefs held onto one of the lighters near the roadway, as he was one of the participants in the spectacle. The massage parlour next door featured the same window of awe-filled faces, which were obviously full of anxious excitement. It was even more impressive than some of the Canada Day fireworks we'd watch as kids, yet this was simply an amateur display on a Saturday night.

Ten long minutes later, the last of the happy explosions blasted in the sky above us. We started dusting the burnt ash from our shoulders and hair as we laughed and began to head upstairs. You couldn't have peeled the smiles from our faces. It was such an amazing scene without any real context or indication that these fireworks may have been connected to something specific. Maybe it was a promotion for the Japanese restaurant. Maybe it was to celebrate a wedding and to wish good luck to a newly married couple. Whatever the case may be, the simple pleasure derived from the event was well worth it.

We spent the rest of the night filling our bellies with food and drink and playing cards while the sun sank from view over the Bo Hai Sea. The night remained warm and calm. I knew the next morning would come quickly as I planned to tag along with Mandy and a few of her teacher friends on an hour-long run through the streets and hills around Kaifaqu. But as we got back to their apartment and I landed on the couch, I laughed at the fact that you never really know what you're going to experience here on any given night.

The school week has started once again and I've started thinking about my winter holiday trip in January and February. Because of the complications with my pay dates (and first month amount), I haven't booked any of my excursion(s) yet. However, I'm hoping to find my way south to Malaysia and other parts of SE Asia. In the meantime, I'm hoping to join D's hockey team as "Coach" on a trip north of Dalian, as they've set up a game with another hockey team next weekend. We still have plans for a weekend trip to Beijing as well, and I'm still hoping to keep in shape well enough that I can train for the Great Wall 1/2 marathon. I don't think the weather will be hospitable enough (nor will I have the partner support) for me to train for the full marathon (not this year, anyway), but I hope to do the half in May. But there are many days and big plans ahead, so I'll just have to see where the adventure takes me. 

T

The right hand and the left hand

I guess I should begin by clarifying… even though you could probably assume that this is a reference to the political structures of the West and the East, I'm actually referencing the adage about one hand knowing what the other is doing. Because in my school's company, two offices can't seem to sort their information  out.

Since I've embarked on this whole China adventure, I've run headfirst into a jungle of miscommunication about a variety of things. I think I've mentioned that the school had no idea when I was coming or who I actually was until the day I flew in to Japan. Nor did the school have any way of contacting me leading up to or upon my arrival in China. The Vancouver office or whoever was in charge of the office in China just neglected to let the school know something so simple as an email address for me. So my apartment wasn't really ready, I had no way of communicating with the outside world (no internet, no idea how to use the phone, no access to the school offices) and since everyone was away for holidays, I was more or less on my own when I showed. Again, I'm pretty lucky I had saviours in the form of friends over here.

Now, there's payroll issues. The school is trying to pay me in cash for this month because for some strange reason, the finance office here doesn't have my banking info that I provided to the Vancouver office weeks ago. And they also only want to pay me for less than half the month, even though my contract started on the first day of the new pay period. And although it wasn't payroll related, I tried to talk to my lead teacher (more or less the woman who heads up the Foreign Language Teachers) about marking schemes/rubrics for her assignments that I took over. Not only did she not have such things, she adamantly refused to make some up for me so the marking was fair or reasonable. And THEN I learned (or more accurately realized) that I am under almost no obligation to teach these kids anything of value. Last year, two of the teachers spent the bulk of their teaching time watching episodes of American Idol. Yes, that's right, American Idol. And apparently that was okay! American reality TV was curriculum for some of the people here. I figure if I mention the word "noun" at some point in the next year, I'll received a medal of honour or a special doctorate or something.

Okay… I'm being a bit ridiculous since my frustration is beginning to show. And the non-teachers reading this have probably stopped reading and are checking their hockey pools or their Facebook status, but it's getting a bit ridiculous.

In other news, I discovered the deliciously cheap cafeteria food on campus. For lunch, there's a sort of cafeteria buffet for teachers. And, the best part? It costs the Canadian equivalent of less than 75 cents! That's right folks, 4 Chinese RMB for lunch. There's about 6.2 RMB per Canadian dollar. I might get fat over here, but I'll do it in frugal style!

Oh… remember how I said the lunch hour ends in random music? Right now there's a song on the PA from the high school musical soundtrack. SO RANDOM! On that note, I must run off to class. Until next time…

T

Week 2

It's still a bit startling to think that it's already mid-October, but the weather has been holding up. Right now it's a comfortable 21 degrees even with a bit of a cloudy sky. It feels more like early or mid September in Victoria right now instead of the mid October in China that is my daily reality. It's hard to believe that it's week two of living on this side of the world. I can't say that time is flying by, but I sometimes have a hard time getting my head around the fact that I'm in a foreign place. When you feel like you're in control of your environment (even if it's just some of the time) I think it seems less strange and less alien than it really is. I'm sure I've said this already but it keeps popping into my mind.

After a double dose of Thanksgiving feasting over the weekend, I made my way back home to Daheishi and back to the school. Sunday night was pretty uneventful (as I expect most of them will be) and came back to my newly installed internet in my apartment, which definitely made for an excellent end to the weekend. I can rekindle my obsession with my various TV shows now that I can actually spend more than an hour downloading something!

Strange Thing #1 for Tuesday: the school plays really random music at the end of breakfast and at the end of the lunch/nap period. Yes, there is actually a designated nap hour at lunch. I've been trying to convince everyone who would listen that this is an awesome idea. I think the communication was just passed forward to the school here so I would be able to revel in it once I arrived. Anyway, our PA system is currently blaring out "You are Not Alone" by Michael Jackson as a melodic cap to our day. What came on the stereo last night at a get-together for the grade 9 ESL teachers last night? Barbie Girl. Yes, that annoying song from the nineties that put the band Aqua on the map. Sad, but true. Another strange follow-up? After Michael was done his ballad, three students came on the PA to tell about the history of the sport of swimming. Life is just a bit strange over here.

On a higher note (if that wasn't high enough), I was invited over to one of the Chinese ESL teachers' apartments for a birthday party for another teacher. I was fed all the hot-pot food I could handle and we ended off the event with a lot of picture taking and just a bit of karaoke. So funny.

Well, off I run… my last class of the day starts in about 10 minutes, so I should actually get going to class. Until again, mes amis.

T

Week 1 Complete

I’ve now been here about 9 days… a seasoned vet, right? Okay… not so much. But, I’ve officially started teaching, but I really can’t complain about my schedule. I have 6 blocks of kids that I’m taking, and I teach each block three times a week (and only 40 minutes at a time!). So even with my prepping and marking, it’s a really light teaching load. That just means I’ll have to be active with my running and I’ll probably watch a HUGE amount of tv on the internet.

After spending last weekend here with D&M, I went out to Darren’s school (where I hope to get on teaching either this year or for sure next year) to meet some of the other teachers and meet the admin. He’s in a brand new school at the Jinshitan campus, and it’s quite the place. The admin seems awesome and the teachers were extremely friendly. For the timebeing I’m happy where I am, but when you can work at a school with 5 other foreign language teachers, or a school that has over 120 BC teachers, it seems easy to have a preference for the latter. We made a stop at the supermarket before he had his driver make the made dash across the entire city to get me home with my 5 bags of foodstuffs in the trunk.

D&M and I spent the late morning and early afternoon of yesterday (Saturday) hiking a beautiful mountain that has the same name as the town I’m in: Daheishi, which literally translates into “Big Black Mountain”. We were out on a great trail that was scattered with temples and shrines of Buddha, and the trees shone red with strips of red prayer cloth that could be purchased at the bottom of the route. Many of the more traditional Chinese people who climb the trail will buy the cloth at the bottom (the red symbolizes good luck), and either tie the cloth to a tree on the way up, or wait until the top where they can also burn incense and say a prayer at the shrine itself. The trail featured a tonne of stairs, as the Chinese seem to make the hikes as accessible as possible for as many people as possible, especially if there are shrines en route. And the stairs were extremely steep in some areas. But old and young both were braving the calf-burning experience of being able to overlook the entire surrounding landscape. Daheishi (the mountain, not the town I’m in) is actually the highest mountain in the Liaoling province, so it’s pretty awesome that I’m only a short trip away.

This weekend has also been a pretty epic food weekend as well. Some friends of D&M (Damon and Shannon) had a huge number of people at their place here in Kaifaqu for Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. There was turkey, stuffing, and all the traditional fixings you could imagine (including lots of beer). I then had a follow-up turkey dinner at “The Real Eddie’s”, a western-style restaurant here in Kaifaqu with the foreign language teachers from my school. Both dinners were delicious and it was great to get to know both the teachers that I’m working with and ones that I will hopefully work with in the future.

Well, it’s after 8am now, so it’s time to try to access some Hockey Night in Canada back home! I’ll be in touch soon.

T

Oh… and my Mandarin is still terrible, and I can still only say about 3 words. But I’m heading to the Chinese Language Centre at my school this week. Wish me luck!

Lazy Sundays

Fireworks are going off about 15 feet from D&M's window. It's Sunday which means that there are a number of weddings taking place all over Dalian (and likely in cities across China). Part of the celebration tradition is the setting off of fireworks in the streets, and it just so happens that earlier this morning we saw a massive procession of black vehicles heading away from their apartment, and saw the fireworks crates below in the street, ready to be lit. Last night, after hanging out with some of the other Jinshitan teachers, playing cards and Guitar Hero, we were treated to an intense thunderstorm that rattled the apartment for an hour. It was pretty crazy, but beautiful and exciting like all thunderstorms are. The fireworks were a little startling at first, but fun to see after the initial fear of being shot.

Today is quite the lazy day. D cooked up a great quiche for breakfast, and we watched the Habs game while sipping coffee and embracing the sunshine out the window. Since arriving, each day has been about 24 degrees and sunny. He had to run out to get some school work done, and M is talking to her mom on Skype while I listen to the third set of fireworks to go off in the last hour. We're planning to go for a run a little later and probably do some more shopping to get a bunch of sundries for when I return to my school/apartment tomorrow night. I'm likely going to tag along to the Jinshitan school tomorrow so I can meet some of the admin. My school doesn't return to class until Thursday, so I have some flex time to get my feet under me before starting class. We got some schools supplies and kitchen items yesterday, and we have another big list to fill before tomorrow so I can get comfortable when I arrive.

I still don't speak any Mandarin. I've had a head cold since getting here (stupid recycled air on the plane!), so I haven't felt too ambitious to learn anything new. And since my brain has only been firing about half-speed, it hasn't been at the top of my priority list. I know… this is the case A LOT. But come on folks, cut me some slack! Today and tomorrow, though, the learning will begin. Being in a rural place and in a place where there are only a handful of English speakers (D&M live about an hour away by transit/taxi), the learning curve is going to be particularly severe.

Although I need to get going, I've already had the pleasure of doing the following things while here: heading to the barber to get rid of my mullet (it cost 10RMB… the equiavalent of $1.25!!!), had an hour-long, full body massage (which cost less than $10), ate TONNES of delicious food, and have met a tonne of teachers from the high school. But now, the sounds of more distant fireworks need to be my cue to exit. More to come soon!

T

Arrival on distant shores

Not sure if this will work, since I have to email my blog posts from my email system. But here goes!

It was dismal exit out of Tokyo, but only in regards to the weather. The previous day was a balmy and humid 26 degrees when I flew into Japan, and my jeans and hooded proved to make me a bit on the overdressed side. The 10 hour flight to Narita (the Tokyo suburb with one of their main airport hubs) was smooth as silk as we followed the sun all the way to Asia.

I had the pleasure of sitting next to a friendly older gent and retired psychologist from Comox (via Amsterdam via Indonesia) who was on his way to Indonesia for the first time since he left for Holland as a child (before coming to Canada in his 20s). Talking to him made the flight zip by, in combination with watching 3 movies on the way over. I had to leave the Victoria bus station at 5:30am that morning, so it made for a long trip to Vancouver before heading over the Pacific.

The time in Tokyo was fairly short-lived. I landed around 2:30 on Thursday afternoon and caught a bus to my hotel a few minutes away. The rest of the day was spent at the hotel trying to understand what was happening on the nutty Japanese game shows that were featured on the local TV stations, along with showering and attempting to stay awake as long as possible to prevent the impending jet lag. It didn't work out as well as intended. After a shower and a massive (and expensive) but delicious sashimi dinner, I sampled to local hop-flavoured water and was out like a light by about 7pm.

The clouds set in the next morning as I ate a huge buffet breakfast at my hotel before flying out to Dalian. The plane was pretty empty, but it was nice to be able to stretch out and watch another movie on the way to China. About the time we were flying over South Korea, the clouds seemed to part and the Pacific was shining clear below me. You could see the extensive shipping barges below and the green hills around Seoul. Within the hour, I caught a glimpse of the shoreline that would soon be home.

I knew that Dalian was a coastal city, but I guess I wasn't sure what to expect. The little I knew about NE China didn't really provide me with a sense of what I was in for. But as the plane dropped it's altitude in preparation for landing, I was stunned by the beautiful countryside and what seemed to be quite modern apartments/condos surrounding the airport.

After getting through customs, I was met by a small contingent from the school I'm teaching at. However, it wasn't what I was expecting. Since it's a national Chinese holiday, none of the actual teachers from the school were available to come pick me up, so I was escorted to the school two men who worked at the school in different capacities (neither of whom spoke English) and a grade 9 student who was being used as a translator. Doris, the friendly middle schooler, was one of about 23 kids out of the 1100 that didn't make it home for holidays, and since all the other teachers were gone, I'm pretty sure they dragged her out to the airport to be my language guide.

My friend Mandy (her husband Darren and I did our teaching practicums together in K-town) was also at the airport briefly to meet up with me, hand me a cell phone stocked with minutes and a charger so that her and Darren could call me once he finished classes. Hopping into the car, I was taken through the chaotic streets of Dalian through to the middle school I'll be teaching at. It's amazing how modernity is immediately contrasted by poverty, and how order is mashed together with chaos. There are thousands of people around, and the drivers zip in and out of lanes, brushing by jay-walkers everywhere. The amount of honking is tremendous, but I was really impressed at how clean and modern everything looked here. After being dropped off at the school in my new apartment, I was shocked at two things: the fantastic view of the ocean and hills around Daheishi (the area of Dalian I'm in), and the huge size of my new place! It's probably twice the size of my apartment in Victoria and the view in unbeatable. The main drawback was the lack of people around. Since it's a national holiday, our school is out until next Thursday, so there was no one really around to help me get settled.

Luckily for me, Darren and Mandy came to my rescue shortly thereafter. Since Friday afternoon, I've been staying with them in Kaifaqu, which is a suburb of Dalian where a number of the Jinshitan teachers work (Jinshitan is the BC high school campus Darren and Mandy work at, and is the school I hope to get a job at sometime this year).

I'll tell more stories about my weekend soon, but I can't help but know that I would've been in a world of trouble and confusion if I didn't have D&M around to give me a crash course on Chinese living. I have a tonne to learn, and I know I need to work hard on my Mandarin in the next few months if I'm going to survive my time here. But, so far so good! Oh... and the food has been fantastic!

Just a quick sidenote... I'll have little or no access to Facebook while I'm China (commonly blocked unless I'm visiting with D&M, who can access it through a web portal), so if you'd like to get a hold of me you'll have to email me or get me on Skype. Until again. Ni Hao.

T