Into the Lion Mouth

Well folks, I made it to Dalian, the "supermodel of Chinese cities," as Frommer's describes it. This is really a different kind of city, maybe a different kind of China.

I've been here three days now, and the place is starting to grow on me. My apartment (sort of a super-dorm) is on campus. I have a bedroom, a living room and a bathroom. My windows overlook the ocean.

The kitchen is across the hall and I share it with a few other teachers. On my first night, three Japanese teachers and one of their students invited me to eat with them. I dazzled them with my ability to use chopsticks.

I spent most of today walking around downtown, which is where this city really shines. Tall buildings, wide streets, grass, none of this feels like the China I saw in Beijing or Xi'an. I kept stretching my arms out just to enjoy the sensation of not bumping into anyone.

One of the odd things I've noticed here is how much I'm not an oddity. While I don't speak Chinese, and that's an issue when I try to interact with people, I can walk down the street completely unnoticed. In Beijing, and in Xi'an even more so, someone was always trying to sell me something. I learned very quickly that "hello" or "halloo" is a bad word and should be avoided. Here, I get none of that. No stares, no desperate vendors, no weird xenophobia.

Part of it, I think, is that Dalian has been so exposed to the outside world for so long. This city was always a port, and at various times in its history it was controlled by the Japanese, then the Russians, and back and forth. The Chinese didn't take full control of it until the 1950s. And there is still a large contingent of Russians and Japanese. With so many colonial leftovers, I suppose a handful of Americans, Canadians and other Westerners don't stick out so much. I'm sure I get mistaken for a Russian most of the time.

Also, I know I still haven't posted anything about Xi'an. That's coming soon. I'm posting from an internet cafe, and most of my Xi'an notes are on my laptop. I can't get online at school until Monday. I'll post pictures then, too. This time I promise.

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