大连: First Impressions

Aaaaand we're back. Apologies to any loyal followers of my blog out there, I was blindsided by a midterm season that was more intense than expected. The good news is that even though I didn't post, it doesn't mean I don't have a ton of material to share with you all!

We'll go reverse chronological again, so I can explain some of my more illuminating experiences while they're still fresh in my memory. So first, to the just-concluded weekend...

This past weekend was incredible. My Chinese friend and I travelled to her hometown of 大连 (Dàlián), which is... actually, I still don't know where it is, so we're going to Google Map it and find out just where I spent my weekend.

Well, look at that. You see Dalian, right there on the tip of that protrusion coming down from the north? I guess I could have swam over to North Korea if I really wanted. But that would involve some minor risks, so it's probably best I didn't try. Who would want to leave Dalian anyway? It's a beautiful, well-kept city, and more modern than I anticipated. It's a bit of a vacation town, very clean and accessible, and definitely nowhere near as crowded as Beijing. And due to the city being occupied by eight different Western powers and one point or another, the buildings are riddled with all different styles of colonial Western architecture. Dalian is also home to what is supposedly the largest public square in all of China. The mood in the city was incredible; everyone seemed so festive. That might also be because they typically don't have to deal with problems such as poverty; Dalian is one of the wealthiest cities in the country:

Example A: The parking garage of my friend's apartment complex could have been a fully-stocked Mercedes Benz car lot.
Example B: When said friend's parents took me shopping, the first three stores we hit were Gucci, Prada and Louis Vuitton. In response, I ushered us over to Sephora where I bought a ¥50 ($7) container of glitter. Yes, I am a high roller.
Example C: There are a variety of foreign restaurants (which usually denote the presence of disposable income) in the city, including a Western-style buffet on the ground floor of the Shangri-La Hotel, where my friend's parents treated me to dinner Saturday night. The selection was amazing: steak, chicken burritos, nachos, tossed salads, cheeses, fresh fruit, spaghetti carbonara, rolls and rolls of sushi, a chocolate fondue fountain, cakes, pudding cups....

Yes, I think I'm ready to go back to Dalian, at least as a guest. Guests have it made when they go to China. True, many cultures put an emphasis on making guests feel at home, but few cultures that I have encountered roll out the red carpet the same way that the Chinese do. During breakfast the first day, my host family noticed my affinity for peach juice. That evening, while my friend and I were buying her some boots, the father went to Carrefour and bought multiple boxes of peach juice, both for me to drink during my stay and for me to take back to Beijing. What's more, they watched over my every bite, concerned that I hadn't eaten enough or had enough to drink, and ready to offer more at a moment's notice. They drove me around the city for over an hour just to make sure I had seen all I wanted to see. And they were infinitely patient as I tried to understand their rapidly-spoken Chinese and respond in kind. It helped that their daughter knew enough English to be a helpful translator.

So there you have it, my first impressions of Dalian. Much more to come, including a visit to the Chinese version of Sea World, making my own Chinese dumplings, and observations of Chinese familial culture.