Week 22: V

I knew it would be difficult to find anything beginning with V in Chinese. The "v" sound doesn't exist, which is why I keep hearing about wideo games. Oddly enough, I'm going to Italy next, where they pronounce their w's as v's. Come on world, can't we all just get along?

W will be a little shaky, too, but I promise an excellent X, Y and Z.

I still have two more days to find a better V, but in the meantime, I will show you preparations for what the Chinese will be celebrating on VALENTINE'S Day. February 14th just happens to be Chinese New Year this year.  Here are some of the lights that they have put up near Olympic Square:

When you drive down the main street at night, every available tree is just draped in glittering lights. It's VERY beautiful.

2010 is the Year of the Tiger. (Picture from our VISIT to the zoo, where you could pay about $20 to throw a live chicken into the tiger area):

Spring Festival also means VACATION. I'll be heading to Qingdao (for those of you who learned geography by drinking beers from around the world, this is where they make Tsingtao beer) for two days and then Shanghai for a few days, beginning on February 11.

Week 21: U

Feeling very UNINSPIRED by U. Actually, I've been trying to take pictures of some universities near my house, but my poor sense of direction and the weather have been foiling my plans.

This is a statue of an UNSKILLED worker in People's Square. (The same square that featured a giant statue of Stalin until a few years ago.) Unfortunately, you can't make out in the picture the same exact cart being used right in front of the little building in the background.

UIGHYR--Uighyr might make you think of ethnic unrest in Northwestern China, but for me, it means the restaurants with the best lamb kabobs in town.

Blog Title Update

I've confirmed my travel dates, so now it looks like the new title to the blog should be:

Chopsticks & Spaghetti & Sushi & Spaghetti & Steak & Salmon

China--Italy (March)--Nagoya, Japan (April-July)--Italy (a few days, due to round-trip tickets)--KC (a few days)--Alaskan Cruise

What $2 buys

Here's what $2 buys at my local market. I'm trying to remember how much fruit I could buy at home for $2. Better yet is the 50 cents for two roasted sweet potatoes that they sell on the streets -- the best take home food EVER!

Spit Police

I'm thinking about moving to Guangzhou and living in this housing complex where residents can be evicted for spitting.

Week 20: T

TELEMARKETERS: I just got a call from a Chinese telemarketer. How great that the phrase "I don't speak Chinese" actually helped me out today!

TAXI: Taxis are a dime-a-dozen here, and almost cost that much. When I'm feeling lazy, the ride from my apartment to school (which is about a 35-minute walk) costs 8 RMB, or $1.  Almost all the taxis in town are VW Jettas.

TRASH: There is a lot of trash heaped up on corners and on the streets, but because Dalian is the cleanest city in China, there are also cadres of trash cleaners. And, yes, they all use brooms like this one. 

TURTLES: The very first thing you see when you walk through the supermarket are the live turtles in a tank. (The next display is pig lungs. I wonder why I don't have much of an appetite going through the market.)

TREES in a park in winter:

Week 19: S

Naturally, I was tempted to present you all with a photo essay of the many globules of SPIT that I see on the sidewalks as I walk to school or the lovely SQUAT toilets in the school or the SLUDGE that is composed of who-(wants to)-knows-what on a market street near the school or the dog S... well, you get the theme....  However, I've decided to look up rather than down and see what else is on display.

STATUES and SKYSCRAPERS. To celebrate the fact that Beijing was awarded the Olympic games, Dalian commissioned statues of Olympic sports all throughout Xinghai Square.

Most Chinese are actually pretty conservative in their dress and manners (the women's bathing suits look like they come out of an Annette Funicello movie), so I was a little surprised by this statue dominating Xinghai Park.

I took advantage of the balmy 23 degrees to take a walk today, and came across a giant indoor food market. Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera with me, or I would have taken a picture of the giant row of SEA URCHINS and SPICES for sale. When I saw this bag of SUGAR in the market, I was hoping that they would be like STARBURSTS. Once I read on the package that they were "sandwich juice," I knew they had to be good.

Verdict: Yip, just like stale Starbursts.

STREET FOOD: In our orientation, they told us not to eat street food the night before we had to teach, because we would invariably become sick. For some reason, this turned me off of the idea of street food entirely, but it sure smells and looks good when I walk down the street.

SENIORS: I love how active the seniors are. Of the adults accompanying the children to our school, I would say at least half of them are grandmothers and -- most adorably -- grandfathers. Here's another park scene with some seniors. (Oh, and since I'm quickly approaching seniordom, I have a story to confirm what many of us suspect. My 23-year-old roommate just went to a job interview and they told her, "We're so happy you applied. We were looking for someone younger.")

Some things I miss from home

Some things I miss from home:

Paper towels with perforations.

Double-paned windows. This ice is on the INSIDE of my bedroom window.

The smell of brewing coffee.

Recycling. I can barely live with the guilt.

Not eating off of cutesy dishes. In fact, I really miss not having to see cutesy things all the time. Hello, Kitty? How about Goodbye, Kitty??

Not having to boil water just to wash my strawberries or to wash the dishes.

Being able to say "stop" when the bus driver goes past my stop.

News about Jon and Kate...uh, not really.

Enjoy the special things, even if you don't think they're special.

Week 18: R (continued)

Happy New Year! And RED is the color de rigueur here. Red is a symbol of luck and good fortune, so all the flower arrangements (these were all outside florists, but I'm not sure who buys them or what they do with them), calendars, etc. are in red. The Chinese don't celebrate the New Year with a massive countdown at midnight, but the schools and many businesses are closed today, and I've heard rumors of a fireworks display tonight.

Little RUSSIA? Yes! With its Northern ice-free port, Dalian has been a treasured prize of both the Russians and Japanese. Russia controlled Dalian from 1898-1905 and brought a bit of her architecture to a street right near the port. Although there are many Russians living in Dalian today (and most Chinese people assume that we are Russian when we walk down the street), the biggest traces of Russia that you will see on this street are the cheap nesting dolls for sale.