[Edna's in China AGAIN? It's break time!]

NOTE:

The previous post may be my last for a while. In a couple hours, I'll be flying out to Shanghai and spending the summer there at an internship. I hear Blogger is currently off-and-on in China (in terms of accessibility), but on top of that, I do not have an internet connection at the family apartment (in the French Concession, whoo!). I'll update when I can find wi-fi, but regular daily posts will continue when I return on August 12.

Steamy Night

The mildly famous 'top of the hill.' When I arrived in Dalian it was still winter, but as spring crept up the tiny restaurants set up their chuanr (like grilled kebabs) stands, all in a row. At night, in the chilly air, you could see the smoke from the chuanr as you walked up the Dawai hill, as crowds of people huddled for warmth around the coals.

Seaside

Hey, my internet's been fixed!

This photo was taken at Binhai Lu, or a long stretch of road along Dalian's coastline. It has gorgeous views and an entire day could be spent walking along the road. Or, if you don't have all day, you can hire a taxi to drive you for a certain distance/length of time. I did this three times; with my two best friends over May Holiday, when my dad came to visit in June, and when my mom visited in September. 

Also, notice the clarity of the water. This is generally not seen in China and is an example of why Dalian is known for being one of the cleanest cities in which to live.

[Still not working]

Yes, Blogger is still down for me. From what I hear, it's being blocked over in China now as well, due to some sensitive anniversaries coming up. YouTube is also still blocked.

Considering that I keep two blogs and a video diary, I'm interested in seeing how I'll manage the summer without being able to update everyone through those forms. Words on their own become very boring, very fast.

[Technical Difficulties]

So for the last day and a half Blogger hasn't been uploading my photos. I'm not sure if it's a problem with my MacBook, my internet connection, or Blogger; I'm guessing it's probably not the latter. In any case, just wanted to say I'm not neglecting the blog, and I'll be back as soon as I'm able.

The CPC Building

At least, that's what I always assumed it was. Located in the middle of Zhongshan Park, Dalian. 

The night I took this, my two best friends and I were walking back to Dawai from the place where they tutored (coincidentally, where I would end up living the next semester- Xinghai Ren Jia). They walked the route four or five times a week, and it took about an hour and a half. By the end of that semester, both of them had lost significant amounts of weight.

Cross-cultural Communication

Better known as, Chatting up the white guy over a beer or two. (Or thirty.) 

This was after a punk-rock show at Hopscotch Bar, so the fellas actually discussed their favorite kinds of music for a while. We also had fun with their obnoxiously large cameras that were sitting on the table.

My Mom/我的妈妈

In the spirit of Mother's Day, today's post is of -who else- my mom. She came to visit me in Dalian towards the end of September, and it was great to show her "my city" -school, apartment, friends, all that. 

This picture was taken at Xinghai Square. In writing this post, I started thinking that I took very few pictures of my mom.... Then I realized that an entire folder of pictures from that day is missing. Uh-oh.

Pandora's Chinglish

I can't believe that in over three months of postings, I have yet to publish one on Chinglish. Chinglish is the unfortunate (and by unfortunate I mean awesome) result of Chinese-English translations gone awry. I have a sneaking suspicion that the Chinese are onto us foreigners and actually continue producing Chinglish for the sake of keeping up appearances. [Yes, that was a reference to old BBC shows!]

For all your DVD needs

[This picture is blurry because I had to sneak it while the owners were looking away.]

To get to this shop, which has every DVD from My Fair Lady to the latest Seth Rogen movie, you have to first enter the maze that is Victory Plaza. Find the legit CD/DVD shop on the third underground floor, and ask to "go downstairs." The girl there will grab her keys and take you 

to the end of the hallway, 

through a set of doors, 

down three flights of stairs, 

and into a tiny hallway lined with closed doors. 

It's extremely dodgy, but the DVDs were cheap (a dollar) and of reliable quality. Every time I visited them I brought a different friend with me -always a Westerner. After a month or so they started to recognize me and a simple nod of my head came to mean, "Take me downstairs."

Paper Cuts

Vendor at the Muslim street market in Xi'an, February 08. I believe the woman cut at least some, if not all, of these herself. Paper cutting is an incredible art, especially at such a large scale, because it requires a good deal of foresight and nimble dexterity.

[Something Different]

No photo today- I have to study for finals!

Instead, you can check out this awesome list of 61+ Women English-language China bloggers by CNReviews.com, on which I'm pretty stoked to be listed: 

http://cnreviews.com/people/bloggers/china-women-blogger-directory_20090504.html

I'll be back tomorrow- with junior year of college completed!

Chongqing Port

Chongqing was the city where we disembarked at the end of our Yangtze River cruise on May 1 (Labor Day). This is one of many pictures taken while waiting for a van driver to become available. The thick haze was a combination of early morning humidity and typical Chinese city smog. Those two sitting on the steps were just staring into the distance; I don't know if they were laborers waiting for the odd job offer (like unloading cargo) or Chongqing residents simply resting by the river, surveying the horizon.

[click on the image for full-size, to see the two figures in greater detail]

Shennong Stream

An excursion into a tributary of the Yangtze River, with tour guides and boat rowers who are people of the Tujia minority. The boat rowers are also known as 'trackers' and in older days pulled boats while naked through shallow waters. We glided in small sampans through the waters, surrounded by huge cliffs on either side and remnants of their houses and land that are being overtaken for the Three Gorges Dam project. 

Old Shanghai Couple

[Click on the photo for full-size, better detail]

On one of the busiest streets in Shanghai, this adorable couple just rested as people rushed on by. With Shanghai constantly changing and becoming more 'modern', I wondered what the city had been like in their heyday. Would have love to known what they were thinking at this moment.

"Bottom of the Hill"

The "bottom of the hill" referred to the street at the base of the hill where Dawai was located. (For example: "Wanna grab lunch at bottom-of-the-hill Chinese?") There was a 24-hour karaoke place always brightly lit up- even though its sign proclaimed "25 Hour KTV". Every night the street vendors would face the KTV and ease their boredom by watching the music videos playing on the enormous outdoor screen.

How is this a selling point??

Seen in one of Dalian's Carrefours (French grocery chain in China). Then seen again in another Carrefour on the other side of town. They stayed on display year-round. I'm not sure what kind of subliminal messaging Carrefour is up to here.