Blogs from Dalian, Dalian, Liaoning, China, Asia

I admit it--I've been slack. Almost 8 months slack. I apologize (to you family members and friends who keep asking me where my blog is)--I'm sorry! Things got pretty crazy. But here's an entry just for you, probably my last one from China. 1. CHINA: I'll start with the beginning of the year: it was absolute chaos. We have a whole new system in place this year (we changed from a linear to a semester program), we had new policies in place, and we had an extra class to teach, and bigger classes. September to November are pretty much a blur; the only thing I really remember is going to Shanghai with my friend Jessica for the week break, and having my first-ever surprise party for my 30th birthday. Everyone was very burnt out by November, ... read more

This is my first real post for the first day of my trip. Likely won't have much time in the next while to give any lengthy updates but hope to be able to fire off a quick few as things progress. Tomorrow (March 17th), I fly from Vancouver to Dalian, China, with a layover in Beijing. I will arrive Friday evening (local time), which is convenient because it allows me the weekend to get settled and prep for my courses on Monday. I will be teaching at a private school in Dalian, that runs a hybrid program of both Chinese and BC curriculum, and employs BC certified teachers (such as myself) to teach many classes. The classes are all in English, and at the end the students receive a BC Dogwood which gives them an edge ... read more

so we arrived in xi'an, i gave a gift from my tea girl to her father at the airport. after that we went to HanYangLing Mausoleum, it is the only museum where you could go downstairs and stand on glass to see what were buried for Emperor's afterlife. that was the impressive! later that day we finished my going to Big Wild Goose Pagoda, which is the most famous and popular Buddhist temple in Xi'an. then we ate at the most amazing buffet dinner ever at our amazing hotel. it was a great day! the next day we woke up early, had breakfast and then headed out for the day. we first stopped at a factory that makes terra-cotta warriors like they use to in the ancient days. then off to the Terra-cotta Army Museum. the ... read more

well a few nights ago me and my german girl walked to get dinner. it was a really nice night, and we were walking on the beach. then she had to stop by an atm, where we saw this woman with her little dog. they were both wearing strips, so we had to get a picture of them! haha! after that we went to youhome to find green friendly product labels. it was hilarious! the workers in the store had no idea what we were doing, and they didn't know enough english to ask. we got some strange looks, but she got here homework done. i also found a box of condoms that read" medicated for long love making. she took a picture of it haha i also recently made a trip to the forest zoo, ... read more

so we got to Beijing on a thursday night. headed to the hotel and then went to their buffet for dinner. it was the best buffet i ever remember going to! Indian, Japanese, Chinese, and American food. it was delicious! i typically am not a buffet person, but this one was wicked good. the next day we woke up early and had breakfast. then we headed out to the Forbidden City. that was pretty interesting. i took a lot of pictures, and fought my way through the crowds to get good pictures. after that we went to the square across the street. it was by some government buildings. then off to the silk market! i love shopping here, everything is so cheap. i am also pretty damn good at bartering. i got shoes, jeans, a belt ... read more

you get hit by a car that only has 3 wheels, you see a donkey with a carriage of trash going the wrong way on the road, random people take photos with you, all the english you hear is 'hello' and/or you visit a nice flower park that even has a local man peeing on the flowers. i love china! so dad's coworker made us dinner the other night. it was delicious! shrimp, pork, garlic shoots, dumpling galore! his local coworkers are very hospitable. another one of them is taking me and a german around a different part of town on sunday. other then that i got my nails redone and i LOOOOOVE them. i got a pedicure. bought random accessories. coffee. lattes. finished my second book since i have been here. the language barrier is ... read more

so the other night i went out partying with some Germans, Chinese and Australians. it was a fun time. we got really cheap bottle service, and danced. in china you can literally drink and smoke everywhere: street, bus, train, taxi, bars, ect. i love china! there was free coat check in every bar, and the drinks were insanely cheap. i don't think i will go out partying here again, but it was an experience. the next day me and one of the germans went hiking. we weren't feeling very well, but we hiked for about 3 hours. it was a very beautiful day to hike, and the scenery was really neat. we hiked through some mountains to the ocean. some locals took a picture with us and about 8 random locals said "hello", haha. we stopped ... read more

so yesterday my dad's chinese teacher came over around 1pm, so i had to leave the apartment. i walked around the beach and read for a while. the weather was great yesterday! it was very peaceful being by the water. after that i picked up one of my tea house girls and we went shopping. the place we went to was called 'victory plaza', and it was an underground marketplace. the lower the level you go, the cheaper the prices get. i have been freezing here at night so we went looking for a sweater/jacket and a scarf. it was a lot of fun experiencing the marketplace with a local! she helped me get lower prices and told me when we should just walk away. i am really happy with the sweater/jacket that we got and ... read more