The Diaries

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July 6, 2009

Happy Birthday America!

Posted by Kelly

Wearing my red, white, and blue my friend Sophia and I went out for an authentic American BBQ downtown Dalian. We found a bar that was throwing an all-you-can-eat buffet. Little did they know that I was coming and I would eat so much they’d probably lose money. We ate delicious hamburgers, chicken burgers, corn on the cob, steak, potato salad, garlic bread, salad makings, and lots of drinks!
Since fireworks are an everyday occurrence here, the bar only set off a few fire crackers. Each was concluded with a round of applause by everyone.
Oddly I met one of the previous China Interns from UNI. Drew was also partaking in the night’s festivities. I didn’t know he was in Dalian and I had no idea he would be at the BBQ! The phrase, “It’s a small world,” really is true!

After I was too full to eat or drink anymore I decided to throw in the towel and head back to DDA. Since the light rail train only runs till about 8pm, a taxi is the only option to get home. Luckily, the save some money, you can call a taxi service and share a ride with 3 other people also going back to DDA. It’s save you about 50RMB which is great! Sophia helped me call the service. This taxi ride was definitely an experience! We picked up a few people so it was me, sandwiched between one large Chinese male, and another woman with another person in the front. The taxi driver must have been in a HUGE hurry since he whipped around each corner and drove 100+ miles per hour. At first it was pretty humorous to be whipped around corners trying not to crush the fellow passengers. But then when the taxi driver was driving at 190 kilometers per hour on the uneven, bumpy roads, then I began to say my prayers. It was necessarily the speed that scared me, but it was the fact he was drinking tea, smoking a cigarette, and talking on his cell phone at the same time. Now, I’m all for multitasking, but this was ridiculous! Luckily the ride was short lived since he drove so fast, but I’m not sure if it was worth saving some money!