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p 30 20
09
Dalian vs. Suzhou
Despite the combative title, it’s rather tough to A-B the two places I’ve spent the most time with in China. They are both supported and mired by a number of attributes that make them both rather unique places to live.
Last week Maggie and I grabbed a flight out of PVG and made our annual pre-holiday trip to visit the inlaws and friends in Dalian. That we both work outside the confines of anyone’s schedule but our own, we are fortunate that we can travel when the rest of the country is distractedly focused on tying up loose ends before…
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p 02 20
09
Chinese cities with beautiful women, I seem to know how to pick ‘em
Before moving to Dalian in 2005 I spent a good amount of time on the Internet researching the place to see if it was the type of city I’d like to live in. Looking back on what I read, it was the typical “Dalian is a beautiful sea-side city” tourist crap that I would hear mindlessly repeated to the point of nausea while living there.
What wasn’t mentioned on the Web sites I reviewed, but was added to the rhetoric after I arrived was that Dalian girls are considered some of the most beautiful women in China. I’m betting had…
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t 14 20
08
A Son of Dalian
I’ve just returned from 5 days offline and out of Suzhou – two things I’m generally quite adverse to subjecting myself to. It was rather refreshing.
As the last time I got my visa in Suzhou the woman told us in no uncertain terms not to come back, Mags and I knew we’d be heading to Dalian this month when my visa expired. Any trip to Dalian is generally a welcomed one for Maggie, as it means she can visit with her family. For me it means squirming through uncomfortable Chinese conversations with my inlaws, and getting drunk with…
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n 19 20
07
Announcing: Your China Pal
Hey all, I’m way behind in this announcing stuff, but wanted to wait until we had really got things going before plugging my newest venture on here.
A friend of mine here in Suzhou and I have created this business as a way for foreigners visiting China to have access to an English-speaking local Chinese guide (or ‘pal’ if you will), while circumventing the shady world of Chinese tour-guides (sorry guys, but you know you are).
Anyone that knows me, or has been reading here long enough, knows that whatever my opinions are, I generally shoot straight. I…
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y 05 20
07
Back From Dalian
Well, I’ve returned from the savage lands north east of the wall, and despite my inlaws doing their very best to stuff me to the point of explosion, I survived.
I’m going to say this once, to be clear about things… NEVER TAKE THE FUCKING BUS IN CHINA.
As I mentioned post-previously (c’mon, that’s kinda fun to say) – Maggie and I opted to take the bus as she was told (by the ticket agent) that it was faster and cheaper. Cheaper it was (300 RMB vs. the 400 RMB of the train, and 800 RMB for a flight),…
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r 28 20
07
Returning To Dalian
I’ll likely be offline for the next few days, as later this afternoon I’m packing myself into a sleeper bus for the 15-hour journey from Suzhou to Dalian.
Though I’m always quite keen to go back up to my old stomping grounds in 东北, and Maggie’s thrilled to see her father for the first time since we went in December to register our marriage, the main reason for our visit is so I can be properly welcomed into the family.
As we didn’t have a ‘traditional wedding’ in any sense of the term, I’ve…
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v 20 20
06
The Library Project
Hey, my friend Tom, through his company Nomadic Marketing, has set up The Library Project, an ambitious and altruistic (as far as corporately sponsored altruism can be truly altruistic) goal of providing two local Dalian orphanages with libraries. Desks, chairs, reading mats, bookshelves and a bunch of books to fill them with. It's an admirable cause, and has inspired me to see if it might be duplicated down here in Suzhou. I suggest you check it out.
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n 13 20
05
Orient-ation
It’s 7:30 a.m. and I’m just waiting for the water to warm up for my morning shower – sadly, though constantly reminding myself last night I forgot to turn on the water heater before bed.
I’m heading into my second day of orientation and yet another day of trying to track down access to my Canadian bank account. If I had had an inkling of knowledge that this would be so difficult (I think I’ve tried around 20 ATMs in Jinzhou and Dalian) I would have tried a lot harder to find an international ATM at one of the various…
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n 11 20
05
Dag Yo, I’m In Jinzhou!
As mentioned, I’ve successfully made it to China – and have been “stationed” in a small city just outside of Dalian called Jinzhou (pronounced jin-joe, sorta).
My last few days getting accustom to everything here has been a bit daunting, but taken in good form none the less. I left FAR too late from Chris and Jeremy’s house on Friday morning (damn journal posting!) but thankfully caught a cab without too much hassle and headed to the MUNI station, then the BART station and got to the airport at 1:04 p.m., with my flight at 1:35, I was a bit…
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n 10 20
05
Soundsapound
Alright, I’ve not much time on here, but I just wanted to quickly say that I did indeed make it to the airport in SF (a feet that questions the validity of our space-time continuem) and have survived the flight to China.
I’m in my new home, Jinzhou (or is it Jinzhuo…), a “small” city just outside of Dalian (small in China is a VERY different term than it is in the rest of the world…this place is huge). I’m at the school I’ll be teaching it. I just got back from a wedding (of all things) and am about…
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Yeeling: 
AJB: 
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