The Diaries

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April 8, 2009

Tomb Sweeping

Posted by Kelly

Well, I had a pretty lazy weekend! Since it was Tomb Sweeping Day it felt like the city was empty—A lot of people travel to visit family and friends. This was very apparent when I went to the gym! It was the first time I didn’t have to wait for an open treadmill or to use a weight machine.

One cultural tradition I did witness was small, controlled fires in the streets. The family burns fake paper money and other provisions for the dead to use in the afterlife.

I also saw my first extremely tall Chinese man! He had to be around 7 feet tall if not taller! I think he was hired by the shopping mall to draw attention and bring people into the mall. Everyone was taking his pictures and gawking. For once I’m glad the attention wasn’t on the foreigner! Speaking of gaining attention, while I was exploring the downtown area I stumbled about a park and decided to take a break, relax, and test my photography skills. I was sitting down on a bench and I noticed a group of young males pointed in my direction. Later the same group of males had one of their friends stand a ways away from me, but took a picture. I could tell that they weren’t pointing the camera at their peer, but at me! It was a little awkward. I would have smiled if they would have ASKED to take my picture.

I did experience another interesting cultural norm. While waiting for the light rail/subway, a mother held up her young daughter so she could use the public trash can as the bathroom. Evian said it’s pretty common for parents to allow this for their kids under the age of 3. I guess if you have to go, you have to go! So word to the wise, don’t stand too close to the trash cans in public places!

On a different note, during my exploration, I did find the underground shopping area that I had researched online. It’s under the Victory Square. I was warned that it’s very easy to get lost amongst, the many levels and small aisles of stores, but I made it out OK. I was a little surprised that it wasn’t bigger than I originally thought! Sadly, I didn’t buy anything. I tried on a few things, but most were too small! Most of the clothes are not made for long-armed American girls. Most of the jackets were about 3 inches too short in the sleeves. The sales girls assured me that the things fit me, but I think they just wanted me to buy the clothes. I also find it kind of humorous when I try on things. If I’m at the mall, I usually have a small crowd gather to watch me slip on a jacket. I’m not sure why it’s necessary to watch the foreigner try on things, but I often wonder if they are betting on if things will fit me!

Sunday I spent the day with Evian and her mother. Evian and I climbed to the top of the mountain with the UFO. We took the hard way to get up the mountain. Instead of walking on the sidewalk next to the road, we opted for the more “scenic” route with a steep incline and lots of stairs! (This took the place of going to the gym!!!) All the stairs were worth climbing: from the top of the UFO you could see all of Dalian’s Development Zone as well as the ocean and nearby suburbs. I could even see my apartment building! After our sightseeing Evian invited me back to her home and her mother made another wonderful dinner! It was delicious! We had bbq ribs; a chicken, carrot, celery dish; candy-fried eggs; fried fish; and a few other things! (No wonder why the clothes didn’t fit!!) Her mother fried the extra fish for me to take home. I definitely could get used to the home cooking!