The Diaries

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June 9, 2009

Dalian...our 2 week destination

Posted by Alex Mutschler

Well the train ride itself from Beijing to Dalian was rather uneventful once we were on the train. Our arrival in Dalian was rather hectic because we arrived 15 minutes ahead of schedule and were unsure of where exactly to go in order to meet with our Dalian welcomers.

The city itself is much more upscale and modern because it has only been developed in the last 25 years or so. Regardless, it's still very crowded and noisy like Beijing. There is however, very little smog; we will have to deal with fog and the "marine layer" coming off the ocean for the remainder of our stay. I'm rather excited to be in what's been noted as one of the most beautiful cities in China...merely judging from what I can see, there really does seem to be a lot of scenic views with the mountains surrounding the city.

We finally met up with our welcome party at the Dalian train station and were on our way to the campus hotel. Once there, we were welcomed with a lovely banner devoted to the participants of the Global Skills course and formally met with Mr. Sen, Hubert & Anna. Mr. Sen had told us before we'd arrived that the hotel was not the best available, but he and the hotel staff would do everything to make us comfortable. What did we get? A top of the line hotel room with lavish ammenities and personalized welcome cards complementary from Dalian University...they really have gone out of their way to help ensure our stay is positive. The one obligation we are required to report to the university is our body temperature, which must be recorded twice a day...what's the problem? They only gave us one thermometer...but nothing a little hot water and alcohol-containing mouthwash can't fix.

We've all seem to notice that the food prepared among various meals during the day isn't all that differentiated day to day, or meal to meal for that matter. The bright side to Dalian University's breakfast in the hotel is the fact that they serve fried eggs (one of my favorites...I'm still looking for the salt and pepper however). One of my favorite dishes thus far has been a seafood dish called "guanbaro"...essentially sweet and sour fried fish fillets. Another thing we've noticed is that the Chinese population in general is very conscientious about how meals/dishes are laid out on a table...organization and presentation are key.

Dinner was rather interesting with Mr. Sen as well...we ate at a restaurant situated right next to the ocean. The night got really exciting when Mr. Sen brought out some Chinese "white wine"...we might as well have called it tequila because it was a clear liquid with 50% alcohol and it burned like rocket fuel. The most important thing we did learn about the dinner was who was properly seated where at the dinner table.