Impressions on Placement

 I am not sure what i was expecting but it was not this. Arriving in Dalian to start my three week placement, the group and i had high hopes. Those were quickly dashed upon arriving in our apartment. A stop at walmart to buy pillows/blankets/mattress covers showed us the “welcoming” part of welcoming committee was used liberally.

Upon arriving at our apartments our key would not work. It seems you can put it into the lock four different ways but only one way works. And to lock it your turn right but if you actually want to pull it open you go left. This is because it does not have a door handle, and why would it right? The lack of light in the hallway makes it clear that you are not supposed to enjoy walking into your building.

Once in the apartment it seems like a place a slumlord would try to rent to fresh faced university students unaware of what they are getting into. No wifi capabilities, so this blog was written on my laptop before being able to be posted online. There is a fridge, water cooler and microwave....but only one plug for all three. So some vital decisions to be made there. Though I should be happy that we actually have water in ours, some group members are not so lucky.

There are two beds here. One has a mattress that seems like it has been passed down from family generations past. The other does not. I mean it does not have a mattress. It is just a two inch box frame on top of wooden planks. Again how welcoming is that? After traveling and being in a new place all you want is a good nights sleep. Not to have to make your box spring up for a nice cold sleep. Cause there is no heat.

But hey at least we have a shower, that has a water heater that we needed to turn on. Meaning my roommate had one hell of a cold shower. I waited till the last second before showering in hopes of having a half decent shower. Which was not horrible. Though the lack of ventilation and a window in the bathroom makes me wonder about mold. Also lends itself to the bathroom not being the best smelling as everything here is heavy in spice and garlic, so the end result of it is not pleasant.

We do have a TV, with channels 1 and 0. Two channels and the TV looks like it is from 1995, when the school opened. There is a remote but no batteries. Again “welcoming” is a liberal term.

“Does this place even have a fucking garbage can” my roommate yells as I write this. And no, it doesn’t.

There is a kitchen, with some sort of gas grill. But the grill is upside down, filthy, and under the counter. Though perhaps they thought we liked upside down cake and just did not understand the concept. So no chance of cooking, though I can always ask our landlord Dragon, and hope he knows English.

I do need to also say that in this we are guinnea pigs and are suppossed to encounter issues so that future groups can not have the issues.

As I bash the physical sense of this welcoming committee I do have to applaud the human sense of it. We were met at the airport by the principal of the Foreign National School, Karl. That was nice and it was pleasant to have a bus to drive us back to the campus. We were taken out for a nice late dinner upon arrival that had a bunch of food pre set for us when we set up. The principal of the school covered that, though I assume it was charged back to the school.

On the second day we were given a walking tour of the surrounding areas of Jinshitan. (Jinshitan is the name of the ‘suburb’ on the outskirts of the city Dalian where the school is located) We were met at the boys gate (referring to the boys boarding campus gate) by Brandon, Britton, Karl, and Yvonne (all teachers or principals) and taken to Suzan’s pizza for breakfast. This is operated by a Canadian (Stan) and his Chinese wife and is the only place in town to offer authentic breakfast. Some scrambled eggs and pancakes with syrup plus unlimited coffee was a nice treat. Stan had been a teacher for around 40 years before opening up this restaurant. I would not be surprised if I end up there a couple times in the next three weeks. He gave us a bit of a spiel about the area and how it has developed.  During breakfast met Carm, a guy who had been mentioned to us numerous times by Jenna (roommate during Beijing/Xi’an) who had worked with him before. Type of guy that is quick to show you around.

After breakfast headed to a local market called Manjiatan Market. Here I bought a pillow and some laundry detergent (two more things I would have assumed the school would have provided). After dropping our goods off at our apartments (another 5 minutes to figure out the door) we went into Kai Fa Qu (middle spot between Jinshitan and Dalian). Kai Fa Qu is more cosmopolitan and developed. A place you go for food/drinks/shopping. The area has a heavy foreigner presence. Lots of Koreans, Russians (both because of proximity to Korea/Russia), Germans (there is a VW plant near) and Canadians (because of Maple Leaf) so it is a mix of things. This seems to be the place to go for drinks on a Friday night or if you want to find something specific. We walked around an outdoor food market. I had some fried up tofu that was good except the insides had turned soft (think the inside of a marshmallow after the outside had been crisped up). The rest of the group headed back to Jinshitan with Brandon while I wondered off with Carm and Britton. I needed a little break from the group after 8ish days together.

Went and had sushi. By now the whole vegetarian things has been derailed by the fact that most everything is cooked together and I generally have no idea what I am ordering. So dealing with sushi and being in a foreign country put me in an adventurous mood. Had salmon roe (i think that is fish eggs), crab cakes, some deep fried fish and durian rolls (durian is a fruit).  Good meal and surprised myself with liking some of the things. Who knows Jan, I may come back finally liking fish.

Toured around with Britton as he looked for various goods and had a good chat about the benefits of traveling abroad for the rest of the afternoon. When I got back to the apartment the group was nowhere to be seen. I decided to venture off on my own and went back to the market I was at today and grabbed some fruit. I feel I was ripped off but cant complain for about 10 bucks for a ton of grapes oranges and banana’s. I am clearly still thinking in Canadian terms as I feel I could have got it for half.

On the way back grabbed some chips and beer and now just finishing up this blog. Highlight of the day is definitely laundry. Had been a while for this one.

I am writing this on May 10 8pm China time. So I would like to take this time to wish a Happy Mothers Day to all of my mothers.  Happy Mothers Day Jan. Happy Mothers Day Mom. And a very special Happy Mothers Day to the newest mother Kate. Oh and I bought Tdawg a Chinese silk outfit so tell him he has to stop growing so it fits when I get back.